Ego vs execution war story


Dear project managers and executives
You are not paid to referee ego wars.
You are paid to protect outcomes.

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:
Remove them both—or at least the one you can control.

Will it feel disruptive? Yes.
Expensive? Maybe.
Unfair? Possibly.

​
But trust me... it’s a bargain compared to the cost of keeping them around.

I've seen projects lose millions because someone had to be right.
I’ve seen teams break, timelines collapse, and reputations tank—
Not because of risk or complexity...
But because no one had the guts to pull the ego out of the room.

Leadership is about subtraction.

​
Sometimes, the best move is cutting the wrong person at the right time.

More wisdom? Check below.

$99.90

The 15 Top Lessons of a PPP Project Nightmare

Learn about:
The number 1 killer of Projects
Why this was not going to be just "another construction project, mate"... Read more

​

PD 1: If you liked this email, don't keep it in secret and forward it to a friend. They will thank you enormously one day.

PD 2: If somebody has sent you this email and you want to receive emails like this yourself, visit vicentevalencia.com

PD 3: If you want unsubscribe, click the link below.

Vicente Valencia

Weekly insights on how to perform when it matters | High-stakes decisions. Real situations. No BS. | 👇JOIN +2k readers 👇

Read more from Vicente Valencia

Politics is a pain in the a$$. But you can hardly avoid it. It is hard to be brave all the time. It is hard to tell every person throwing bullsh*t into the room that they are wrong. It is also tiring. And sometimes, it can backfire. Badly. It can put you in a difficult position. And it can put the people behind you in a difficult position too. So yes. Sometimes, at high tables, you need to swallow. You need to let something pass… Let them, as Mel Robbins would say. You need to smile when you...

A few days ago, Monge Malo, the best sales trainer in Spanish language talked about The Abilene Parados. The Abilene Paradox happens when a group of people does something nobody actually wants to do because everyone assumes the others want it. Like Christmas dinners. Or most corporate meetings. Twelve adults in a room. Nobody agrees. Nobody believes the plan. Nobody thinks the process makes sense. But everyone nods. The junior person thinks the senior people know better. The senior person...

Yesterday at 23:59, the price of the two Hand-Back Requirements courses almost doubled. As announced. As promised. As warned. So if you bought them yesterday, congratulations. You acted like an adult. Rare. If you didn’t… Maybe you were busy. Maybe you had to feed your fish. Maybe your dog needed emotional support. Maybe your procurement committee required three working groups, two memos and a risk register before approving a very simple decision. Maybe you opened the email, thought “I should...