You are convinced the company should walk away from a deal that everybody else wants to win. How do you make that case, and what do you do if you lose the argument?
Answer
Short answer
Separate what is technically true from what you would prefer, write it as a one-page recommendation with named conditions that would change your view, and escalate to the level that can accept the risk.
Keep bid no bid explicit in the answer because that is the concept the interviewer is actually trying to test. A good bid no bid explanation names the trade-off, the failure mode, and the evidence you would use before choosing. Use bid no bid once more at the decision point so the answer reads as judgement rather than a detached example.
Keep bid no bid explicit in the answer because that is the concept the interviewer is actually trying to test. A good bid no bid explanation names the trade-off, the failure mode, and the evidence you would use before choosing.
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Likely follow-ups
- What are the two or three grounds on which you would escalate rather than concede?
- How do you write the paper so the sales lead is not put on the defensive by it?
- You have been overruled twice on similar calls and were right both times. What do you change?
- The deal is signed and fails as you predicted. What do you say in the review?
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