This year, for the first time ever, I estimated the time I had spent on proposals. The grand total? Three hundred hours in four months.

One hundred of those hours went into a single brief—a large retainer pitch where we made it to the final two, only to lose. We didn’t lose because our strategy was weak. We lost because we intentionally left something out, believing it didn't belong in that stage of the process. The client disagreed.

That’s the kind of loss that keeps you up at night. It’s not like getting clearly outgunned by a competitor; it’s the sting of realising you are wrong…