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Would you play a game where you have 99% chances of losing? Before you answer, listen. Or read… sometimes I forget that this is an email… Well… read or listen. It’s impossible to make an adult to change their mind. Impossible, at least in one conversation, demonstration or else. In fact, the more you try, the more convince that “adult” is on their position. It’s that simple. And if not impossible, let’s say that this won’t happen 99% of the time. Well… People are still playing that game. Over and over. Over and over. Every single day. No wonder why they could be called losers. Still, people argue. People get angry with one another. People lose their friendships. What a waste. And very importantly remember this. Remember it very well. Repeat it every day. People prefer to be right than knowing the truth. I do my things. I let others argue, enter into arguments… I just go with MY flow. I do small investments, some other quite big. Since I don’t argue, I live happier and wealthier, and I go faster. A lot of this is expressed in my philosophy about how approach real estate. If you want to know more… here you can get some clarity. ​Is this piece of real estate a good investment​ 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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Imagine you are building a hospital. Actually, make it two. Both under PFI contracts, aka, another acronym in the PPP world. One morning, your contractor goes into liquidation. That morning arrived on 15 January 2018. The contractor was Carillion. The hospitals were Royal Liverpool and Midland Metropolitan. Construction stopped. Unfortunately, patients could not be admitted to a PowerPoint explaining the risk allocation. Fortunately, only their taxes were claimed. The projects had to be...
You know those “premium” sofas in New Zealand? The ones that are so premium that are also suddenly 50% off? Wonderful news. Until you wonder what the original price was doing. Was I about to pay for a sofa? Or fund the retailer’s retirement? Or their kids going to Harvard? Now imagine that feeling in a procurement room. Well… I found a case that it’s the perfect example. 1976 General Electric was bidding to build part of PAVE PAWS, a US missile warning radar system. Its original price for the...
A train fails its final test. Normally, you fix the train. In Ottawa, they found another option. They changed the test. Just as Margaret Thatcher when she didn’t like her unemployment numbers… The context. In 2019, the city’s new light rail system was approaching opening day. The final trial was supposed to show it could run reliably before passengers got on board. The first three days exposed serious problems. Testing was paused. This is the point where a sensible person says: “Perhaps we...