He won the tender.

Sixty-six days later, he was eliminated…

I mean… dead.

Which is a fairly aggressive way to terminate a contract.

Rome.

AD 193.

Escalation did not have several levels of governance apparently… or they were just efficient too…

Anyway.

The Praetorian Guard murdered Emperor Pertinax.

An awkward development.

Especially considering their job was to protect him.

Like Lenders… when you do need them…

The fact is that the guys spotted a commercial opportunity.

A vacant throne.

Two bidders.

And absolutely no concerns about conflicts of interest.

Didius Julianus offered 25,000 sesterces per soldier.

His rival couldn’t match it.

Congratulations, Didius.

You are now Emperor.

Please collect your purple outfit from reception, and sign the project agreement in the next room.

There was just one tiny problem.

Stakeholders’ engagement…

Ahh… an obvious mistake and goes on and on two thousand years later.

The soldiers running the auction could put him on the throne.

They couldn’t make the rest of the empire accept him.

Of course, the Romans protested.

Rival commanders claimed power.

A general marched towards Rome like a lawyer with a termination notice.

And the Senate eventually sentenced Julianus to death.

Sixty-six days… of Remediation Period.

60.

From successful bidder to deceased incumbent.

Try explaining that variance in a monthly report.

Now.

Here’s the procurement lesson.

You can create a competitive process that produces a winner and still fail to secure the outcome you need.

Two bids don’t prove that you have a viable deal.

A scoring table doesn’t prove that the winner can deliver.

And an award announcement doesn’t make unresolved problems disappear.

It gives those problems a contractor.

As well as someone to argue with.

For years.

Before you launch your next procurement, answer three uncomfortable questions:

What must the winning bidder actually deliver?

What evidence will prove they can deliver it?

Whose decisions or cooperation are essential and have you secured them?

If those answers are vague, your tender documents will simply make the uncertainty look official.

Beautiful formatting.

Terrible afternoon at the Board.

That’s why I made:

​THE ROOM: The ONLY way of doing a proper procurement process.​

Of course, this and many other interesting stories can be found, in The Room.

P.S. Julianus bought himself a title. Make sure your procurement buys you something that works.

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