Issue 25 - The Stakeholder Issue

Synopsis

I have noticed a rising tide of “us vs them” rhetoric in our industry forums – bid professionals battling with Sales, SMEs, Procurement, and C-level colleagues – that undermines the reality of how great bids are won and risks longer-term reputational damage to our profession. This milestone 25th issue of BQ aims to provide the antidote to this rhetoric, exploring the essential craft of stakeholder management.

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I have noticed a rising tide of “us vs them” rhetoric in our industry forums – bid professionals battling with Sales, SMEs, Procurement, and C-level colleagues – that undermines the reality of how great bids are won and risks longer-term reputational damage to our profession. This milestone 25th issue of BQ aims to provide the antidote to this rhetoric, exploring the essential craft of stakeholder management.

The story begins by retiring an old habit. Javier Escartin reminds us there is no “them” in a winning bid. Nigel Dennis shows that calm process beats heroic chaos every single time, and Alana McCarthy demonstrates how a team moving forward together earns a real competitive edge. Rebecca Link points out that the “us vs. them” narrative in GovCon isn’t new, it’s just loud, leaving proposal teams feeling underappreciated.

Timing comes next. Jeremy Brim and Larissa Cornelius both argue the real work happens long before kick-off – in targeting, capture and qualification. Pippa Birch warns against the parachute model of bid writing and champions year-round relationships instead.

A clear distinction then emerges. Nina Christiansen draws the line between stakeholder management – the structural discipline – and stakeholder engagement, which is altogether deeper and more transformative. Rita Mascia complements this beautifully, showing how empathy, recognition and leadership visibility convert friction into flow.

From there we move into tailoring. Andy Haigh decodes the hidden agendas of every group around the bid table. Michael Brown introduces the bidding chameleon – flexibility as competitive edge. Jon Williams takes us all the way to Vienna’s Imperial Hotel for a masterclass in delighting every stakeholder, every time.

The specialists get their own spotlight. Darrell Woodward proposes curated knowledge bases that ask for an SME’s judgement rather than their time. Bella Stevenson finds the right rhythm with technical experts. Nigel Thacker turns the spotlight on operational teams, whose buy-in so often makes or breaks a rebid.

Then the bid team itself takes centre stage. Sarah Hinchliffe builds her pursuits around a tight core team. Tony Birch shows how a “tell us how to make this better” mindset transforms reviews. Jim Carley exposes the small but mighty discipline of better proofreading.

We close on the soft skills. Gemma Waring shares coaching techniques that flip difficult conversations into productive ones. Ceri Mescall borrows from behavioural economics to explain why stakeholders behave the way they do. And Ken Erskine reminds us that, after all the technology, people still buy from people.

Across twenty-one distinctive voices, the same encouraging message emerges. Stakeholder management is not a battle to be fought but a craft to be practised. With trust, empathy, structure and a little well-directed curiosity, every bid will become easier to win.

Issue 25

Synopsis

I have noticed a rising tide of “us vs them” rhetoric in our industry forums – bid professionals battling with Sales, SMEs, Procurement, and C-level colleagues – that undermines the reality of how great bids are won and risks longer-term reputational damage to our profession. This milestone 25th issue of BQ aims to provide the antidote to this rhetoric, exploring the essential craft of stakeholder management.

The story begins by retiring an old habit. Javier Escartin reminds us there is no “them” in a winning bid. Nigel Dennis shows that calm process beats heroic chaos every single time, and Alana McCarthy demonstrates how a team moving forward together earns a real competitive edge.

Timing comes next. Jeremy Brim and Larissa Cornelius both argue the real work happens long before kick-off – in targeting, capture and qualification. Pippa Birch warns against the parachute model of bid writing and champions year-round relationships instead.

A clear distinction then emerges. Nina Christiansen draws the line between stakeholder management – the structural discipline – and stakeholder engagement, which is altogether deeper and more transformative. Rita Mascia complements this beautifully, showing how empathy, recognition and leadership visibility convert friction into flow.

From there we move into tailoring. Andy Haigh decodes the hidden agendas of every group around the bid table. Michael Brown introduces the bidding chameleon – flexibility as competitive edge. Jon Williams takes us all the way to Vienna’s Imperial Hotel for a masterclass in delighting every stakeholder, every time.

The specialists get their own spotlight. Darrell Woodward proposes curated knowledge bases that ask for an SME’s judgement rather than their time. Bella Stevenson finds the right rhythm with technical experts. Nigel Thacker turns the spotlight on operational teams, whose buy-in so often makes or breaks a rebid.

Then the bid team itself takes centre stage. Sarah Hinchliffe builds her pursuits around a tight core team. Tony Birch shows how a “tell us how to make this better” mindset transforms reviews. Jim Carley exposes the small but mighty discipline of better proofreading.

We close on the soft skills. Gemma Waring shares coaching techniques that flip difficult conversations into productive ones. Ceri Mescall borrows from behavioural economics to explain why stakeholders behave the way they do. And Ken Erskine reminds us that, after all the technology, people still buy from people.

Across twenty distinctive voices, the same encouraging message emerges. Stakeholder management is not a battle to be fought but a craft to be practised. With trust, empathy, structure and a little well-directed curiosity, every bid will become easier to win.