Tech business leaders, turn your brilliant idea into beautifully crafted messaging that leads prospects to your inbox like the Pied Piper. It's the approach I used to build three scale tech businesses.
Last week we pulled out of a bid process. The workload requirement was ridiculous. Paperwork, forms, references, accounts, examples, policies. I called the guy running it and told him it wasn’t worth it for us. “You don’t understand” was his reaction. What was it I didn’t understand? That he was going to pick the lowest price and then try to lower it, because, you know, procurement rules. He didn’t understand. Apparently, it was the way the industry worked. I asked him who made that rule. “It’s always been that way” he said with all the grace of an Soviet volleyball coach. “So what happens if you decide to break that rule?” “It’s always been that way”. The record was stuck, so I ended the call. In the 1960s Mary Quant hit the fashion industry between the eyes by breaking the rules. Women’s dresses were worn below the knee. It was the rule. She hadn’t been to fashion college so didn’t feel constrained by the rules. She wanted to make practical clothes that people her age would wear. She invented the mini skirt because it let her run for the bus. “But Mary, dresses are below the knee. It’s always been like that.” Her response: “Rules are invented for lazy people who don’t want to think for themselves.” She’s right. If you obey all the rules, you’ll fit in perfectly. If you want to do something different, you have to break some rules. Netflix broke the rules. Uber broke the rules. Love him or hate him, Elon Musk broke the rules. People suck through their teeth when I swear in my copy. Apparently. it’s not how you write. The rules 🙄 Fuck that. I’m with Mary.
I had a bid to do for a housing association. it was a xxxxxx to do, then there were the interviews, followed by a detailed, very detailed pricing doc with rates for hundreds of items from repairs, maintenance and new installations. After going through all this over a 3 month period we were successful only to be sent the pricing doc and told we would get the contract if we reduced the rates by 30%. We declined.
Perchance was this a public sector contract you were bidding? Eternal race to the bottom abandoning all rationale and sense. Then utter dismay when suppliers close their business because they aren't making sufficient margin to sustain the company. As a Bid Expert I often tell people only to bid winnable, profitable contracts. Walk away from the others. It is difficult to do but is essential. Your withdrawing from the bid is to be applauded. If it's not right for you in the bid phase, it certainly won't suddenly become good in delivery. Chapeau! Hard decision Peter but the correct one.
I’m lucky. Stopped tendering years ago. Time is better spent in conversation with clients and prospects. Run a mile when tender is mentioned.
It has never been a "procurement rule", other than maybe in someone's head. Or their boss's. At best it was a narrow minded practice used by those who didn't pay attention on their procurement training courses. Or who never took any. At least no course I ever attended or delivered..
I’m so on board with this Peter. I once worked at a company who had a ‘bid team’. All they did was troll the trade journals and web sites, pick the contracts we wanted to bid for and then create the bids. We won around 1 in 20. I suggested to the MD that part of his role should be looking for these contracts and picking the best members of staff to create the bids as ad hoc teams for each bid. He admitted that it used to be done that way, but all our competitors had bid teams. Very long story short, we sacked the 4 person, highly paid, bid team and started winning 3 in 20.
I’m a rule breaker. In that my transformation includes innovation. I find a different way to resolve the problems. Only because I see things differently. I don’t know why. I’ve always been that way. People say to me that’s different or hadn’t thought of it that way. This makes my programmes or Projects a success. I find sloutions.
Another cracker Peter Simply relying on past achievements (a tender process that may have once fixed a problem) leads to stagnation. Of course, before entering into a client / customer relationship, the relevant due diligence needs to occur (both ways, I might add) but there are thousands of your Soviet volleyball coaches out there sucking the life out of what should be a much simpler process for all parties involved.
I was once told that British culture and start up culture are opposites. The more I read and experience, the more I’ve started to agree. Even your point on breaking the rules or swearing, i totally agree with you, but it’s a very British thing to not say the wrong thing or to not stand out to far 😂
"run for the bus". Best excuse ever.
I specialise in hospitality, helping leaders create the right conditions for their people to thrive & overcome the challenge of endless change. Think of me as the missing ingredient.
1moLove this post. Hate this post! There are rules and then there are other rules. Lazy people don't make an effort to know which rules are which. The rules of physics - sort of explain why things go bump in the night. The rules of tennis allow for the game of tennis to be played. But then there are rules that should be considered more like guidelines, with fuzzy edges that get less rigorous as you get near the edges. Fashion rules are one such set of rules. Rules as guidelines allow for innovation, in fact, are designed for innovation to happen, and importantly, people can determine how far they are from the hard core, the centre. Yes I am with you and Mary as long as you don't fuck with the rules of physics!