Like most in our profession, I could probably write a book on the bidding pitfalls I have experienced and still encounter. This issue of Bidding Quarterly illustrates numerous Catch-22s, paradoxes, contradictions, ironies, absurdities, bent rules and conflicting instructions as well as the general ambiguity around submitting compliant bids. This tangle of traps and tensions is slowly eroding the motivation and mental health of a large swathe of our profession. The real challenge is how we alter the mindsets of those with the power to change them.