“This Is the (bid) Way”
A Mandalorian’s Guide to Bid Delivery
It was a rainy afternoon yesterday, and I was watching The Mandalorian with my daughter—again. She loves Grogu, I love the storytelling, and as always, my brain couldn’t help but draw parallels between sci-fi battles and the world of bid leadership.
As I watched Mando navigate a world of shifting alliances, high-stakes missions, and unpredictable crew members, I realised: bid delivery is just like bounty hunting - a mission with an impossible deadline, a reluctant team, and external forces working against you at every turn.
The more I thought about it, the clearer it became: Bid Leaders and Mandalorians are one and the same.
So, here’s my take on why bidding and Mandalorian’s are on the same mission.
The Bounty Contract: Bid Opportunity
Every bid starts with a contract. A target. A high-value job that must be secured.
Much like Mando taking on a new mission, I assess the risks. Do we have the firepower (resources, time, and sanity) to pull this off? Is this opportunity a trap, rigged for another competitor? Will the client team actually deliver what they promise, or am I about to spend the next six weeks herding chaos?
There’s no time for hesitation. The deadline looms. The client wants their proposal.
I accept the contract. This is the way.
“I’m not leaving my fate up to chance.”
— Din Djarin, Mandalorian (Season 1, Episode 3 – Chapter 3: The Sin)
Assembling the Crew: Bid Team Dynamics
No Mandalorian fights alone - though sometimes, they wish they could. Bid Leaders are much the same. A mission of this scale requires a team, but every crew comes with its characters. Some are dependable, some are unpredictable, and some make you question all your life choices.
Once the team is mobilised and briefed, I lay out the battle plan. We kick off.
The Team
The Silent But Deadly Estimator (Cara Dune): Strong, reliable, and precise. They’ll crunch the numbers, refine the costings, and deliver a rock-solid estimate. The only problem? They communicate about as often as a droid in sleep mode.
The “I Work Alone” SME (Boba Fett): A lone wolf, a specialist, an undeniable expert in their field. They disappear for days, ignore formatting, and drop a wall of text into the document at the last possible moment. But when they do contribute? It’s pure gold.
The Chaotic Reviewer (Grogu): Small, unpredictable, and strangely powerful. One comment is insightful genius; the next completely derails the document. Their feedback is a gamble every single time.
The Executive Who Just Discovered the Bid (The Armorer): A respected leader who sweeps in at the 11th hour, dropping grand strategic insights as though the previous 60 pages of carefully crafted content didn’t exist.
The Unexpected Voice of Reason (Kuiil, the Ugnaught): The wise, seasoned expert who provides clear, actionable feedback with no fluff, no drama, and no unnecessary rewrites. When they speak, you listen. Because they have spoken.
“I will help you. I have spoken.”
— Kuiil, Vapor Farmer on Arvala-7 (Season 1, Chapter 1: The Mandalorian)
Then the Jawas’ Strike: SOOGAA!
Everything seems to be on track… until the Jawas show up.
Just as Mando’s ship, the Razor Crest, is constantly stripped by scavengers, so too is my carefully crafted bid, dismantled by a relentless wave of unexpected challenges:
IT Jawa: “We’ve updated the submission portal. No one can log in.”
Legal Jawa: “We have an additional 15 departures to add”- received after everything is approved and final.
SME Jawa: “I rewrote my entire section overnight. Here’s a completely different version.”
They scavenge, they disrupt, they leave. I sigh. I rebuild.
“Stop touching things.”
— Mando to Grogu, as he playfully presses buttons on the Razor Crest’s control panel (Season 1, Chapter 4: Sanctuary)
“Initiate self-destruct sequencing”
- IG-11, Assassin Droid (Season 1, Chapter 1: The Mandalorian)
Then comes the moment in every bid where I hit my IG-11 breaking point. It usually happens right after defeating the Jawas, and under one week out from the deadline date, when a slew of additional challenges arrive, such as:
The executive summary ballooning from the agreed two pages to over 15 pages.
The Estimator still tweaking the costings - 24 hours out from the deadline.
SharePoint crashing or initiating organisation wide updates - creating multiple versions of schedules.
At this moment, self-destruct mode feels like the only rational option. I could flip my laptop, walk away, and take up farming on an isolated planet.
But, like IG-11, I override the sequence. Self-destruct: disengaged. We fight on.
Final Battle: Submission Day
The final showdown. The last stand. The end of the road.
Despite extensive planning, numerous reviews, and approvals, stress levels are high, coffee levels low. The clock ticks down as the file uploads. The team holds its breath.
There’s a final panic - wrong version? Which version? Is it: Submission_Final-final v1-Final v2-Final final v2…
Against all odds, the bid is lodged. Victory? Or Just Another Bounty?
The submission is in. The battle is over. Did we win? Only time will tell. But like Mando, I know another contract is waiting.
Another bid. Another battle. Because in bid delivery, much like bounty hunting:
- this is the way.
Written by Brittany Walker
Brittany is the Founder and Director of MBD & Co Pty Ltd, bringing over 15 years of experience in bid management, business development, and strategic marketing. She has a proven track record of delivering complex, high-value bids across the construction, mining, transport, and infrastructure sectors. Brittany’s expertise spans diverse contract models, including Collaborative Pain/Gain Share, GC21, Alliance, Joint Venture, Design Early Contractor Involvement (dECI), Design & Construct (D&C), and Public-Private Partnership (PPP). Known for aligning technical solutions with strategic objectives, she ensures her clients consistently achieve winning outcomes. Through MBD & Co, Brittany is dedicated to helping businesses build strong foundations for tender success, combining thoughtful planning with strategic execution.
References
https://www.disneyplus.com/en-au/series/the-mandalorian/3jLIGMDYINqD