Ego vs execution war story

Published 7 months ago • 1 min read

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

Get those lessons now

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.

But you can afford it!

A couple of weeks ago, I received a call from an agent. Vicente, I have this house for you, and you should take a look. I receive the link. I take a look. The ratio rooms: people was 2:1 and I counted the cat as one. “Too big for us”. “Too big? But you can afford it” “That may be true, but it’s too big, we don’t need that space”. The conversation could have ended there, but insistence is too much of a temptation… especially, when you don’t have many prospects. If you thought that the decision...

about 7 hours ago • 1 min read

The Street Lights Nobody Believed Could Be a PPP

Most people say: “It’s too small for a PPP.” They’re wrong. In fact, this one might be your best lesson yet. In Eldoret, Kenya, the local government pulled off a PPP for solar-street-lighting. Project size: approx USD 23 million. Yes… 23 million US in a country in Africa… In a PPP! More data: Scope: ~20,000 LED street-lights + around 3 MWp solar + 10 MWh storage. Goal: Replace ageing lighting, reduce cost, save lives, cut emissions. And this is why you should study this PPP Project: 1. Small...

1 day ago • 2 min read

The world is at war

The world is at war. Not sure if you realized it. Take a look. The far left and the far right. Work–life balance. Working hours and retirement. More rights and fewer taxes, or more; housing, precarity and the minimum wage… Pensions; emissions, plastics and manatees. Republic or monarchy. “No immigration” or open borders. Separatism or globalism. Fake news; the killers from one side or the torturers from the other, from this war or the other one… And football, rugby, the Black Friday and a...