The book on how big things get done
Sometimes the way to find the answers you’re seeking is to get out and explore the world beyond your corner.
Building an interstate highway may seem, at first, totally unrelated to building strategic partnerships. But a new book entitled How Big Things Get Done showed me how massive infrastructure projects offer lessons that directly apply to building partnerships.
Bent Flyvberg is the world's leading expert on what he calls “megaprojects” - bridges, tunnels, airports, nuclear plants, etc. Flyvberg has spent 25 years assembling a database of 16,000 megaprojects.
Flyvberg’s explores questions like why did it take NASA 7 years longer than expected to complete the Webb telescope? How was the Empire State Building completed on time for 17% less than forecasted?
These megaprojects are complex, high-stakes, multi-stakeholder, multi-year investments.
Strategic partnerships, like the one between Microsoft and OpenAI, are also complex, high-stakes, multi-stakeholder, multi-year investments.
From the data he collects on megaprojects, Flyvberg has crafted elegant theories about psychology and decision-making. His analysis is now used by public and private sector leaders around the world.
The questions Flyvberg investigates about megaprojects are the same questions that CEOs and boards need to ask about big partnerships deals. Why do some succeed and others fail? What are the best ways to mitigate risk?
Flyvberg’s book concludes with 11 heuristics - simple guidelines - for how to get big things done. These gems of wisdom could just as easily fit into a book called “how to get big deals done.”
You can find them below - I’ve condensing some, adding my own commentary and re-ordering them a bit.
For more details, you can checkout his book How Big Things Get Done.
Flyvberg’s 11 Heuristics for Better Project (and Deal-making) Leadership
Hire a masterbuilder.
This is Flyvjberg’s number one priority rule. When facing a big project (or a big deal), find someone with a proven track record of success and domain experience.
Ask why?
The first task of the masterbuilder is to ask why this project (or deal) exists. What is its objective? That will shape whether the project (or deal) is worth pursuing and, if it is, what team to assemble.
Get your team right.
This is the primary task of the masterbuilder. Success will be defined not just by the masterbuilder but by their team. Flyvberg notes that this is the only heuristic cited by every great project leader he has interviewed.
Say no and walk away.
Some projects should be shutdown before they ever get started. Similarly, some deals should never be pursued. These tough calls begin with the masterbuilder asking the right questions at the outset about staffing, resources and timelines. Their willingness to say no is essential to successful outcomes.
Think slow, act fast.
This is a shorter, punchier version of the famous Lincoln quote, “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” However, Flyvberg highlights that once you get started speed really matters. This is also true of deal-making. As the saying goes, “time kills all deals.”
Take the outside view.
Too often teams convince themselves that their project (or deal) is “first of its kind.” Your big project is (almost certainly) not unique. Take the time to go learn from how others have conquered similar challenges to the one you are facing.
Make friends and keep them friendly.
Flyvberg emphasizes how important relationships are to getting big things done. “Build your bridges before you need them,” he writes. Often, these relationships prove critical to overcoming obstacles.
Build with Lego.
Don't try to build everything at once. The way to tackle a big project is to break it into smaller pieces and stages. Flyvberg writes that “big is best built from small.”
Watch your downside.
Flyvberg urges those undertaking big projects to maintain laser focus on the specific risks that can kill their project (or deal). Until the project is completed, these risks are more important than on the project’s upside.
Know that your biggest risk is you.
In taking on a big project your success is driven by your ability to anticipate and mitigate risk. Therefore, one of your very biggest risks is your own inability to envision and prepare for what might kill your project. Enlist your team to imagine the risks you may overlook on your own.
Build climate mitigation into your project.
This is now a priority for every project we undertake as humans - big and small.
