This nice summation really reminds me of a quote from Shawshank Redemption which is, I must admit, not the most flattering in a business context: >I'm a convic

This nice summation really reminds me of a quote from Shawshank Redemption which is, I must admit, not the most flattering in a business context: >I'm a convicted felon who provides sound financial advice - it's a nice pet to have. The best takeaway for Technical / SV minded folks in this posting is quite clear: The odds of success are greatly enhanced when you have a Top Flight Communicator at your disposal. An ability to "walk amongst the tribes" is very important. It's a lot like getting various human systems into harmony / unison (nerves and cardiovascular for instance). I can state from first-hand experience with Bids/RFPs for projects worth tens of thousands to billions that the most important person in the room is the Proposal Coordinator and they get the least respect and compensation out of the gate. It's realistically a horribly stressful job that is only rewarding to a very select group of people, one of which happens to be me. I've learned how to herd cats. If I wanted to be, uh, less generous in my perspective, the Machiavellian perspective is much more clear: "Manipulating people is a profitable enterprise." That's why I have a photo of Winston Wolf in my peripheral vision every day at work, because his motto makes the most sense in a world plagued by Murphy's Laws... >My name is Winston Wolf. I solve problems.