|
PPP = Prolonged, Painful, and Pointless. But not this time. Somehow, against all odds, cultures, and acronyms… The New Royal Adelaide Hospital in South Australia didn’t just avoid disaster — it delivered. Let me break it down for you:
The predictions? “Too complex.” But guess what? They finished it. And not just finished — they pulled off a clinical-grade, digitally-integrated, energy-efficient mega-hospital that actually works. The secret sauce?
Crazy, right? How couldn’t I have thought about it? A PPP that respected scope, handled conflict like grown-ups, and even came out functional on the other side. How could it be possible… Anyway. Some still say it was luck. I say it was proof that PPPs can work… if you don’t staff them with saboteurs. Do you want some blood? Take a look to the lessons below?
​
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. |
Weekly insights on how to perform when it matters | High-stakes decisions. Real situations. No BS. | 👇JOIN +2k readers 👇
Look. There are many boring industries. Infrastructure is one of them. PPPs are even worse. Long meetings. Technical reports. Risk registers. Governance papers. Contracts nobody wants to read. Very boring. Good. Boring markets are often gold mines. And you know my opinion on this too. The best PPP or major infrastructure project is usually boring too. No drama. No heroic recovery plan. No ministerial crisis. No contractor threatening to walk away. No board meeting that feels like a hostage...
The person across the table is rarely the real problem. The unresolved issue is. But once negotiations get tense, we forget that. We start blaming motives. Questioning competence. Building a case against the person. And from there, everything gets worse. Because when you turn the other side into the enemy, solving the issue becomes almost impossible. Bye, bye, partnership. The better approach is simple: Separate the person from the problem. Be hard on the issue. Clear on the facts. Direct...
January 2018. London. Whittington Hospital. A fire. It was controlled. Patients evacuated. The hospital continued operating. Crisis over? Not even close. The fire exposed a much bigger problem. There were serious disagreements. Condition of the building. The fire safety defects. Who was contractually responsible for fixing them. Etc. The NHS Trust said the PFI company had failed to remedy the problems. The PFI company disagreed. A “mis huevos” (ego battle) situation… Payments were withheld....