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First week of “relax” and meetings to celebrate my well-deserved holidays. Having been for so long on the infrastructure world, logically I’ve been catching up and meeting people from banks, private equity firms and infrastructure investors, in general. In a coffee with investors talking about how I could help them in the future, I was asked something like… why would I be a good advisor for them. I was thinking that we were practising the art of conversation and coffee tasting and this caught me totally out of guard. “Because I scored you many goals” – without thinking. ​ Not the best answer, I’m afraid, but they loved it, and we could continue our coffee. And you know that I love coffee… Well… I correct. You know that I love good coffee… ​ And why did they like my answer? Well… This is a constant in business. ​ If you wonder, why the FBI uses hackers to protect their IT system or help them to “spy” on others’ computers… well… I’m sure you can guess. The best security guys can perfectly be former robbers. So, I guess that someone wanting to buy infrastructure, or any other thing would love to have a seller from the other site of the table advising them. I know where all the tricks and flaws could be in an asset. I’ve delivered many. It’s like buying a house… you would love to have a former real estate agent with you. Don’t you? ​ If so, and you want to learn a few tricks about infrastructure, you need to take a look to this. ​The 15 Top Lessons of a PPP Project Nightmare - The audiobook​ ​ 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. ​ ​ |
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I tried to move the suitcase. And I couldn’t believe the weight. “But… what have you put inside, just for a few days?” “Almost nothing, it’s half-empty” I wondered what the weight would be for my wife if the suitcase was half-full. We live in a world of abundance. But this creates a big issue in many people. It’s difficult to decide. To choose. Pick up something and disregard the rest. I call it the Tinder syndrome. Lots of dates, but zero commitment… as you feel that you’re missing out if...
I’ve been doing quite a lot of work these days with market lead proposals. I mean, proposals coming directly from the market and made to the government of New Zealand. I love the ideas put forward by proponent. Their enthusiasm. And commitment. Most of them fail in the “exclusivity” criteria. Why you are so good that the government absolutely needs to negotiate with you directly without going to the market. It’s fascinating. That’s a high bar, but some people get through it. IP, exclusive...
Most construction disasters happen on Mondays. Some on Fridays. But only the truly legendary ones wait for Christmas Day. New York City, 2007. Downtown Manhattan. A 40-storey office tower under construction. Skeleton up, façade almost done, 70% completed. The kind of project where everyone, owner, contractor, union, inspectors, just wants to go home and eat turkey. On the morning of December 25th, a security guard on site hears something strange: “Clank… clank… clank…” He thinks it’s a rat. A...