Ten Billion Jedi Loss Reason Codes
no deal + excuse ≠ deal
It’s a simple formula, written daily on many a salesroom whiteboard around the globe.
As excuses go, “bias and political influence” at this level takes some beating.
I’m more used to witnessing ‘product deficiencies and price too high’.
Microsoft’s Azure (somehow?) beat Amazon Web Services, AWS, to a $10bn government contract. Cloud for the American Defense Dept, acronymed Jedi.
Amazon cry foul. Duly lodging an ‘appeal’. Apparently ‘surprised’, feeling the current President’s ‘feud’ with their billionaire founder prejudiced their proposal;
“AWS is the clear leader in cloud computing, and a detailed assessment purely on the comparative offerings clearly lead to a different conclusion”
Self-appointed market leadership and their own scorecard.
Whatever the politics (with both small and large ‘P’) it smacks of many a post-loss wash-up under shock.
If ‘leaders’ were so insurmountable then how come the weight of history shows so many more sector challengers ascending the throne than long unbroken stints by either the market creator or any number one slot holder?
If ‘detailed comparative assessments’ were so primary then how come no deal is ever won on the quantitative rankings of specification against desire alone?
Whatever the outcome from these machinations, we mustn’t fall foul of the same distractions.
How robust are your lost deal reason codes? Do they truly reveal insight into process improvement? Are they mere scapegoating exercises with little interest in overall upliftment?
This case may turn out to be that incredibly rare event; a selection reversed post-signature.
But you somehow doubt it.
Amazon would be better advised directing their energy at how to turn this perceived ‘injustice’ into a positive. So protecting themselves from fallout on bids presently or imminently running.
I’m pretty sure they can come up with a whole bunch of enticing handles and pitches.
As well as a crushing reminder that deals are never won solely on the numbers.