With the holiday season upon us, we often think of grand gestures or big surprises when it comes to what we want for Christmas. But in the world of bidding it’s not dazzling innovations or sudden “ah-ha” moments that win contracts. Instead, it’s something more fundamental: execution.
Winning bids is like preparing a holiday feast that becomes family lore. The ingredients and recipe are well known – frameworks, processes, methodologies, experienced project managers, rigorous review gates, compliance checks, the strategic use of consultants. Answer the question and put the customer and their concerns first, and Bob’s your festive uncle. But having these ingredients won’t guarantee success.
Like cooking, where anyone can follow a recipe, the difference lies in the details – how the ingredients are combined, the timing, the skill in execution. Top chefs aren’t successful because they know secret recipes – it’s how they combine ingredients and lead their teams to achieve consistent, precise results. The same is true in bidding: it’s about flawlessly executing every step – often under pressure.
Many chase innovation, believing a new game-changing tool will bring home the pigs in blankets. Clients often expect to be dazzled by some new or magical solution to their problems. The Artificial Intelligence under the Christmas tree is only as good as the Actual Intelligence of the person using it. But like Christmas gifts, the most exciting ideas often fade. What lasts and truly adds value is the gift of consistent quality and reliability. Innovation should raise the standard but reliability raises the bar.
So, here’s our Christmas gift, a simple lesson tied with a well-executed ribbon. Don’t woo clients with the next tinsel-drenched novelty, focus on helping them perfect the basics and fine-tune their processes. Aim to raise their standards at every step, from pre-planning to final submission and review processes, win or lose. Just as chefs sharpen their knives, plan their approach, refine their skills and taste the sweetness of success, you can help your clients understand that bidding is a long game of execution.
This holiday season, drop the gift of bidding enlightenment down your clients’ chimneys and bring them into the warmth of consistent execution. Whether bidding on a simple project or a major flagship contract, forget about the bells and whistles. It’s about how well you bring the elements together – how you execute, day in and day out. Perfect that and the results will speak for themselves. Oh…and think of getting your loved ones a boring but thoroughly reliable gift they’ll use year on year – like a quality rolling pin…
Happy holidays. Here’s to a year of flawless execution.
Jesse Morgan
Jesse founded Hillhouse Morgan to help transform his clients’ expertise into successful proposals. He has spent the last two decades helping clients win more bids in infrastructure, medicine and energy. He has authored several books and has an extensive background in consulting, communications and journalism. Jesse is also a trained lawyer, allowing him to help clients navigate procurement’s complex legal landscapes.
