From ‘Bid to Business as Usual’: Building a Golden Thread That Stops Margin Leakage
Most programmes don't fail because of one bad decision. They fail because the assumptions made at the bid stage quietly stop being true and nobody notices until the margin has gone, the team is exhausted, and difficult questions arise.
In this webinar, Charlie Burtt (Partner, Spitfire) is joined by Marc Sylvester (Director, Spitfire) and Jenny Moten (Managing Director, Crown Plus) to explore the full journey from bid to delivery. They discuss how to build a golden thread that keeps commercial intent, operational reality, and team behaviour aligned throughout.
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Why good programmes drift
Bids are built on past experience, not what actually happens. Historical norms, optimism bias, and group think produce a bid that tells a positive story rather than an honest one.
Mobilisation becomes the first casualty. Go-live dates don't move, everything else does and teams skip the foundations. As Jenny Moten puts it, that's like building a ten-storey building without any foundations.
Teams are data rich but intelligence poor. Data exists but doesn't translate into decisions. When KPIs turn red, teams question the measure rather than the performance.
Frontline leaders are promoted on potential, then left to sink or swim. If they already had the skills to lead, they'd already be doing it. Promoting potential only works if you invest in building the capability the new role requires.
What you’ll learn
You’ll come away with understanding:
Why the golden thread has to start at bid stage and what it looks like when it doesn't
How incumbent contractors are often the most at risk when a contract remobilises
How to build trust in your data without waiting for a perfect picture before acting
What effective frontline leadership development looks like in practice
How to sustain performance gains and prevent regression when pressure builds and personnel changes