Relationships are complicated. They can be idyllic and tempestuous. They can burn bright and fizzle out or they can last a lifetime. Starting a new relationship can be scary but, once we take the plunge, the butterflies give way to excitement as we make a connection and something wonderful blossoms.
Technology has been part of the bidding ecosystem for many years and our relationship with it has often been the topic of passionate discussion between advocates and sceptics. Recently, generative AI threw a hand grenade into that relationship and reignited the debate.
I believe now is the time for us to develop a more grown-up relationship with technology in bids and proposals, removed from the hype and paranoia. We need to discover how to fall in love with genuinely useful technology but without all the drama. This means setting healthy expectations and blending technology with processes while keeping people firmly at the heart of everything we do.
Set Healthy Expectations
In my consulting work I often see two types of unhealthy expectations:
- Blind Love is placing too much faith in a tool as the solution to all problems. The shiny new, fully integrated, AI-powered, everything automated platform is salvation itself.
- Toxic Partners are those stakeholders feeling vulnerable or threatened. They think it will fail and they’ll make it fail to prove themselves right.
Whether we expect technology to fix everything or nothing, we’ll be disappointed. It’s not a silver bullet. But it can bring enormous advantages when we use it well. That means defining clear and realistic goals: what problem needs solving? What measurable outcomes do we want? Not every tool is right for every team. And tools that don’t solve problems are problems.
Blend Technology with Processes
Strong relationships thrive on openness, trust, and understanding. We work together, provide support, and bring out the best in each other.
Similarly, our technology and processes need to operate in a dynamic, two-way partnership. Technology must fit the way we work and our processes must evolve to take advantage of what the tech offers. Each enhances and refines the other.
Keep Humans at the Heart
In the best relationships, each side contributes their unique strengths. Our relationship with technology should augment human skills, not replace them. And we humans augment technology.
Keeping humans at the heart means focusing on the user experience and the wellbeing of our people. When they believe in the vision and understand the strategy, they will help deliver success.
A grown-up relationship with technology means using tools to make our work easier, more efficient, and more enjoyable. Quite simply, it’s empowering brilliant people to do their best work.
Darrell Woodward
Darrell Woodward is an award-winning consultant helping organisations unleash the full power of proposal automation to win more business faster. As a Bid Geek and coffee lover, he believes technology in bidding is about combining the right blend of content beans – compelling narratives, tailored solutions, and persuasive arguments – and the expertise of bidding baristas to craft the perfect proposal brew.
