Weekly insights on how to perform when it matters | High-stakes decisions. Real situations. No BS. | 👇JOIN +2k readers 👇
Which of these two options would you choose?
|
Daniel Kahneman, the author of Thinking, Fast and Slow, did an experiment. He gave two options: Would you accept a gamble that offers a 10% chance to win $95 and a 90% chance to lose $5? Or. Would you pay $5 to participate in a lottery that offers a 10% chance to win $100 and a 90% chance to win nothing? Well… if you studied engineering, you have convinced yourself that the two problems are identical. In both, you are either richer by $95 or poorer by $5. But that’s engineering mindset… No question why we take so long to find someone that can endure us. The reality is that the second option attracts more people. A bad outcome is much more acceptable if it is framed as the cost of a lottery ticket that did not win than if it is simply described as losing a gamble. We should not be surprised: losses evoke stronger negative feelings than costs. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, you should take a look to the book below. It will teach you to avoid gambles and call some costs, investments.
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 👇
You opened the project on time. Construction is finished. The ribbon has been cut. The lenders are happy. The Board can finally breathe. And then operations begin. Good for you. This is what we want to be in a big project. A few months pass by, and suddenly you realize that you are handling a different kind of monster. The subcontractor starts interpreting the contract in its favour. Small issues become recurring issues. Performance reports say everything is fine, while cash is slowly leaking...
Everyone speaks confidently. Everyone uses acronyms. And you are trying to work out whether you have missed something obvious. Suddenly, someone expects you to have a view. Sh*t… The problem is not that you are not capable. The problem is that nobody ever taught deep how PPPs really work. Not the theory. The decisions, traps, negotiations and mistakes that can define an entire career. Stop trying to learn PPPs one painful meeting at a time. Start thinking like a leader. Not how to sound...
Your biggest challenge is probably not technical. It is getting everyone to listen to you. Then, make sure they agree on what the real problem is. Then making a decision. Then making sure that decision survives contact with lawyers, contractors, financiers, Boards and government. The project rarely fails because nobody knew what to do. It fails because nobody took control early enough. What are you waiting for? Speak up. Some ideas, below. THE ROOM: 15 Great Lessons of a Successful PPP...