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Ego vs execution war story
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Dear project managers and executives I have seen this many times. And doubts and concerns freeze you like a bunny looking at the two lights of the car moving to you. Look. If you're witnessing a standoff between two inflated egos, do everyone a favor: Will it feel disruptive? Yes. ​ I've seen projects lose millions because someone had to be right. Leadership is about subtraction. ​ More wisdom? Check below.
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Vicente Valencia
Weekly insights on how to perform when it matters | High-stakes decisions. Real situations. No BS. | 👇JOIN +2k readers 👇
You arrive on Monday. You open your inbox. There are 63 unread emails. Three say “urgent.” Two contain decisions that should have been made six weeks ago. The contractor is waiting for an instruction. The public agency is waiting for more information… delaying an approval that you desperately need. The lenders are waiting for extra information to give you the blessing for a zero-cost unsubstantial change. And your team is waiting for you. You open the programme. The completion date has not...
In 1944, the predecessor of the CIA published a manual on sabotage in order to destroy enemy regimes. Not bombs. Not weapons. Meetings. Yes… meetings. The Simple Sabotage Field Manual, which was the name of the document, explained how ordinary people could quietly damage enemy regimes, organisations and whole countries from within. The instructions included: Cause delays. Insist on strict compliance with every procedure. Refer decisions to committees. Demand additional reviews and approvals....
Future-proofing infrastructure for the next two or three generations sounds responsible. It sounds visionary. It can also be a spectacular waste of money. Because the future rarely arrives exactly as predicted. Technology changes. Cities move. Demand shifts. Political priorities disappear. And yet, we keep designing enormous projects to solve every possible problem for the next 50 or 100 years. The result? One project eats the budget. It consumes the best people. It takes ten years to plan,...