Important, timely, instructive and entertaining. What more could you ask for?A
wise, vivid and unforgettable combination of inspiring storytelling with
decades of practical research and experienceHaving researched the properties of planning errors, I am confident that
nobody has studied the topic more broadly and deeply than Bent Flyvbjerg. His focus ranges from Olympic Games to the renovation of your dog houseMy only complaint about this book is that it wasn’t written earlier. It distills
decades of systematic research from thousands of projects. The result is a crystal-clear pattern of surprising reasons why almost all big human projects fail to deliver as expectedThe best scientific advice on project planning. It is arguably
the bargain of the century.
For a few dollars you can
tap into thousands of dollars of insights in executive-education classroomsA truly fascinating read.
There’s a practical pay-off, too: a toolbox with eleven smart heuristics for better project leadership that
every planner should knowThe secrets to successfully planning and delivering ambitious, complex projects on any scale.
‘Important, timely, instructive and entertaining’ – Daniel Kahneman, bestselling author of Thinking, Fast and Slow
'Wise, vivid and unforgettable' – Tim Harford, bestselling author of The Undercover Economist
World expert Bent Flyvbjerg and bestselling author Dan Gardner reveal the secrets to successfully planning and delivering ambitious projects on any scale.
Nothing is more inspiring than a big vision that becomes a triumphant, new reality. Think of how Apple’s iPod went from a project with a single employee to an enormously successful product launch in eleven months. But they are the exception. Consider how London’s Crossrail project delivered five years late and billions overbudget. More modest endeavours, whether launching a small business, organizing a conference, or just finishing a work project on time, also commonly fail. Why?
Understanding what distinguishes the triumphs from the failures has been the life’s work of Oxford professor Bent Flyvbjerg. In How Big Things Get Done, he identifies the errors that lead projects to fail, and the research-based principles that will make yours succeed:
- Understand your odds. If you don't know them, you won't win.
- Plan slow, act fast. Getting to the action quick feels right. But it's wrong.
- Think right to left. Start with your goal, then identify the steps to get there.
- Find your Lego. Big is best built from small.
- Master the unknown unknowns. Most think they can't, so they fail. Flyvbjerg shows how you can.
Full of vivid examples ranging from the building of the Sydney Opera House to the making of the latest Pixar blockbusters, How Big Things Get Done reveals how to get any ambitious project done — on time and on budget.
Bent Flyvbjerg is a professor at Oxford University, an economist, and 'the world’s leading megaproject expert,' according to global accounting network KPMG. He has consulted on over one hundred projects costing $1 billion or more and has been knighted by the Queen of Denmark.
Dan Gardner is a journalist and the New York Times bestselling author of Risk, Future Babble, and Superforecasting (with Philip E. Tetlock).
