I talk about Personal Growth, Management, Infrastructure and More | 👇JOIN +2k readers 👇
If you think that this is impossible today, you’re...
|
You’ve probably heard about a space ship hitting badly Venus or Mars, I don’t remember, because of miscalculations, right? Well, that’s everywhere. When you do your taxes, when you calculate your retirement or when you receive an inheritance. All are miscalculation errors. In construction, there are everywhere. In 1970, during the construction of the Kadena Air Base Bridge in Okinawa, Japan, engineers made a slight miscalculation. As usual… Two teams started building from opposite sides of the river, expecting to meet perfectly in the middle. But when they finally got close... one side was 2 meters higher than the other! I mean… not 1 cm, not 2 cm, not 10 cm… just 2 meters. The error? One team had used metric measurements, while the other worked in imperial units. If you think that this is impossible today, you’re absolutely wrong. If you don’t believe me, check this list of lessons learnt from my last project.
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
I talk about Personal Growth, Management, Infrastructure and More | 👇JOIN +2k readers 👇
Someone lied to me yesterday. And not even a good lie. A lazy one. A client texts me on WhatsApp: “Aqualia came. They say we need to build an additional drainage point to install the final water meters. We have 10 days.” 10 days. That was the giveaway. Let me translate this for you. Aqualia. The most incompetent utility provider in Spain after Endesa (about those guys, I can talk another day). The same Aqualia that took 7 months to even show up. Now suddenly… they give us 10 days? Come on....
In 27 minutes on the phone, I domesticated the beast. “How did you do it?” my project manager asked. Using his ego. Context. Contractor. Spain. Penthouse. Water coming from the ceiling. “Go fix it. It’s under warranty.” “No. Warranty expired. When I left, there was no leak.” I’ve seen worse. And more creative lies. This one was just… lazy. Less than a year since notification. In Spain, that’s a 3-year warranty. But fine. Let’s play. In judo, you don’t fight strength. You use it. Same here....
PPP is political. Innovation is often bullshit. Preferred bidder is where power shifts. Claims are part of the game. Long hours don’t mean value. Most people don’t understand the deal they’re working on. Risk allocation is everything. Relationships beat intelligence. Timing beats perfection. The best players think about the exit… from day one. If this makes you uncomfortable… good. That’s reality. Most people in this industry are busy.Very few are effective. And the gap between the two?...