I was talking yesterday to my real estate agent, and we arrived at the same conclusion. There are so many opportunities out there! Just a question of picking up the right one! But there are so many, that you don’t know what to choose. Exactly that happens in many fields these days. PPPs for example. Agencies launch a new project and they expect companies lining up for the bid. Then… they find the hard way that there is just silence in the room. Zero excitement. Too many projects and agencies...
2 days ago • 1 min read
Most projects fail for boring reasons.Not for lack of brains.Not for lack of money.For lack of aligned incentives. Boring, because they repeat over and over. We write 300 pages of clauses. Pay great sums to lawyers working with the best views and more expensive offices. Then we hope.And hope is not a control. You want performance?Make winning for them the same as winning for you.Make losing for them the same as losing for you. Simple. Brutal. Fair. In PPPs, I’ve seen both worlds. World A:...
3 days ago • 1 min read
I read these lines today: Choosing to do good and be kind to others is a powerful way to live. When you extend kindness, whether through a small gesture or a significant act, you ignite a spark that uplifts those around you, creating a ripple effect. This approach not only enhances others' well-being but also boosts your own happiness reminding us that even the smallest gestures can leave a lasting impact. Great cultures thrive on kindness. Agree? It’s Monday, so be kind to yourself. Learn...
4 days ago • 1 min read
It’s still surprising to me to see the weights agencies around the globe put on the people that will actually be running the PPP Project. Minimum. Still, despite evidence demonstrating the people and experience are essential ingredients to deliver a successful project, nobody is paying attention. Bad contract, bad project but great people… you have a chance. But if the people that know how to make things to happen are not there… forget about it. So agencies burn billions of dollars globally...
5 days ago • 1 min read
How to pick up the one? Easy. Imagine that you want to renovate your kitchen… then ask yourself… what do you want of that company? That they have lots of experience. That they have lots of happy clients. That they give you a fair price. Do you want a successful PPP? Start by the people. Yes. Those guys that will be reading the contract, interpret it and deal with the unexpected. On real time. So, you want: People that have done it before, with lots of experience in successful PPPs People that...
6 days ago • 1 min read
How to make the other party to understand. This is one of the key problems that more often I receive on my desk. I always start by one question. “Have you talked to them?”. “Many times”. “And…?” “They don’t understand” “Then, you have not dig enough” Yeah. This is a typical frustration. “How the other side can’t understand this”. Look. There are no miracles. But there are lawyers. They have the incredible capacity of grabbing people’s attention… specially through letters. They can also point...
7 days ago • 1 min read
Sometimes they don’t listen. And they do… they don’t understand. Even, what’s evident. It’s like they had something blocking their brains. You think that it’s simple. That’s evident. That’s what’s in the contract. That they are partners. Win-win. And they don’t get it, or they don’t want to get it… which is the same. They are just empowered to say no, and they like the feel of power. The feel of I’m god, your master, and you’re my servant. If you think that this is bad in normal commercial...
8 days ago • 1 min read
How many times have you felt like that? Dealing with a two-headed beast where each head has no clue what the other is up to? Well… Welcome to the wonderful world of environmental permits in PPPs. A classic. Just like trying to build a highway while one government department waves you in and the other one just shrugs and says, “Not my problem, buddy.” But from time to time, laziness and Pilates’s syndrome stays away. Let me talk for a second about a unicorn moment. Year 2014. Riyadh, Saudi...
9 days ago • 1 min read
It was supposed to be India’s big PPP success story.A shiny new metro for Hyderabad.60 km of elevated track.Glossy renders.Big press. Then… disaster. The first consortium collapsed in slow motion. Delays.Land issues.Political fights.The kind of chaos that turns engineers into philosophers. Equity providers in beheaded chickens. And lenders in beggars. The project was drowning in paperwork and blame. Everyone pointing fingers.Nobody holding the wheel. Until someone said the magic words: “A...
10 days ago • 1 min read