My Redacted Life: Chapter Ten (Cont._4)

As I mentioned, a part of my profession would involve submitting competitive proposals for work. It was a nasty business. It worked this way.

A public body would have some project. For some reason or other, it would decide that it had to perform a “selection process” to choose a firm to do the project. This might be a planning project, design, oversight or any other work that required a professional services firm.

They would publicize their need and request either or a “Request for Qualification,” (RFQ) or a “Request for Proposals” (RFP)). The first was much simpler. The second was much more fun for those doing the selection. It usually required both a written submittal and a live presentation, i.e. more hoops for the firms to jump through and more agony to observe.

It was quite an ordeal for the firms, for there were several governing doctrines.

1. At times, the final selection bore no relationship to which firm was the most qualified for the work. There were old grudges extant and the lure of working with a big firm from New York City often proved irresistible, particularly for young staff members on the selection committee who might receive the hint of a promise to visit “the home office” for purposes of coordination.

2. In a large majority of cases, the public body needing the work knew beforehand which firm they would select. The others simply went through the motions. These bore the title of being “wired.” In almost all cases, this was because the agency had worked with a firm before, had a good relationship with that firm, the firm had a good reputation, and the firm had done preliminary work on the project in question for free. This might include, for example, writing the grant application that funded the project.

3. The process would often pass over a potential genius in the field because the firm was new or small.

4. There was a dictum (some have called it a "third-world mentality") in our state positing that Arkansas firms lacked the talent or capacity to undertake large or significant projects. This required local firms to enter some competitions as a “Joint-Venture.” That involved dealing with individuals from out of state. Almost without exception, these were the most arrogant, supercilious, egotistical jerks on planet. In those cases where a joint venture worked, the Arkansas firm, most often, receive little if any, of either remuneration or credit.

One may notice that I never mentioned actual bribery or skulduggery. Over nearly half a century, I witnessed only one case in which we felt money had changed hands. The head of the organization at the time was a county judge, not a city official. He later held state office and was sent to prison from there for malfeasance in office. Our suspicions may have been well-founded. Who knows? We lived over it.

At any rate, no personally observed instances of bribery by cities in half a century is a record that surely allows them to claim a record of honesty that would hold any other organization or profession to shame.

One may ask, with all those obstacles, how did one compete?

My solution was simple. Form a reputation and build relationships that would allow one to appear most often on the “wired” side of the equation. It worked for me.

In less than a year, I would go through another type of selection process. It would involve even more skill and planning. And it would involve lasting repercussions.