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Writer's pictureLily Weston

How Big Things Get Done - Flyvbjerg and Gardner

Updated: Oct 23


Give your employees books


Two weeks prior to my arrival at Stories, Sandra kindly sent me two books to read as part of my onboarding process: Bent Flyvbjerg and Dan Gardner’s How Big Things Get Done, and Simon Sinek’s Start With Why. Before I kick-off my key takeaways on the former, I’d like to quickly reflect on why recommending books as part of an onboarding process is such a good idea:


  1. It conveys your values as an organisation. The books you choose for new employees to read speak volumes about your core principles and how you fundamentally operate.

  2. It invites fresh perspective on what you may have started to take for granted.

  3. It enables employees to solidify these principles from day 1, and challenge on what you may be letting slip.

  4. It creates a sense of excitement prior to joining.

  5. It gives nervous starters something to talk about on day 1!


Reading How Big Things Get Done the week before I joined primarily prompted #4 for me – the compelling stories of successful and failed projects, from Jimi Hendrix’s Electric Lady Studios to the Sydney Opera House, spurred both enthusiasm and eagerness for the job (and career) I was about to embark on.  


This is what makes this book so effective – it seamlessly embeds incredibly valuable principles for any project, big or small, in both a comprehensive database of megaprojects and fun, insightful case studies from across the (admittedly Western) world. I’d highly recommend it to anyone taking on any kind of project – not just in the built environment – as a guiding light to avoid cost explosions and huge delays. As the authors note in the first chapter, 91.5% of projects go over budget, over schedule, or both.


If I’d have read this at the start of my Master’s thesis, for instance, I perhaps wouldn’t have worked solely for the first 4 months on a topic I eventually scrapped, too stubborn to overcome both sunk costs and excessive optimism. The book is packed with practical lessons and useful heuristics to guide the successful delivery of ambitious projects, many of which I wish I'd learnt sooner. Here are some of my key takeaways:

 

Think Slow, Act Fast


Dedicate time to planning where there is room for creativity and ideas can be explored without blowing the budget. This aligns with what the authors term ‘Pixar planning’, drawing upon the methods of the popular animation studio behind Up and Inside Out. Experiment as much as possible in the planning stage, where it is cheaper, and utilise models, simulations and technology to creative explore different iterations.


Once planned, deliver projects fast - this is where costs explode, and quick delivery minimises the potential for inevitable crises and black swans to sweep in.

 

Think from right to left


Ask why you are doing what you are doing - pin down the outcomes you want to achieve and work backwards to reach them. This aligns closely with the second onboarding book, Simon Sinek’s Start with Why, which argues just this.


One example Flyvbjerg and Gardner used that I found particularly effective was exploring the motivation behind building a bridge. When simply asking why, a better conclusion can be reached – take this hypothetical conversation between Mary and Jim:

  • Mary: Why are you building a bridge?

  • Jim: To connect the island with the mainland.

  • Mary: But why do you want to connect the island with the mainland?

  • Jim: To provide better access to jobs, boost the local economy, access suppliers more easily and allow people to connect.  

  • Mary: Then is building a bridge the best solution? What about high speed internet? Or a regular, reliable ferry?


When we start with why, we do not pin ourselves down to a narrow vision of the 'how' and the 'what'. We start planning creatively and avoid inefficient solutions and greater costs.

 

Figure out your “Lego”


Modularity is a key factor for success – devise your core building blocks, your Lego, and repeat, rapidly progressing along the learning curve. The Empire State Building is the model example of this, where construction was essentially transformed into an assembly line, producing astonishing construction speeds of one storey per day.


One small criticism is Flyvbjerg and Gardner overlook the role modularity can play in the planning process. These past couple weeks at Stories we’ve spent a lot of time discussing floorplans. In trying to find the optimal layout, modularity has been crucial to switching in and out cluster and studio options to find our solution. This flexibility not only speeds up decision making, but also enables us to adjust layouts as we learn new information. This connects to another of Flyvbjerg and Gardner's arguments - don't assume what you see is all there is (WYSIATI) and commit too early. Explore as many alternatives as possible.

 

Reference-class forecasting


Your project is not as unique as you think it is. Look to similar projects (within your ‘reference class’) to understand how to forecast your timeline, spot and mitigate risks and learn from successes. Flyvbjerg and Gardner stress the importance of using the right anchor, meaning the most accurate point of reference.


Using the wrong anchor is something I have struggled with in transitioning from academia to the world of work. By the end of my four years at university, I knew the time it would take me to read x number of articles, compile my notes, and plan and write my essay. When transitioning to researching and writing reports at work, I used my academic timings as my anchor and found my time estimates were hugely over or under what I expected. I was using the wrong anchor. Instead, I looked towards my colleagues for advice on how much time I should dedicate to each stage of the process and how to prioritise, using their experience as my anchor.


This leads me on to the final lesson…

 

You simply can’t beat experience


Getting the right team of people on board, who bring the relevant knowledge to the table, is absolutely vital for a project’s success.


Once the team is on board, it is then essential that everyone ‘rows in the same direction’, and work with a unified purpose and to a shared vision and objective. This again speaks to pinning down the ‘why’ early on.


The example used here was aptly chosen. The construction of Heathrow Terminal 5, to me at least, is a relatively dry topic - and yet I found myself inspired by the author's recount of the purpose and motivation that drove the team forward to deliver on time and on budget. This example was so well chosen as it demonstrated the potential to find a powerful 'why' in any project, even those where it is not glaringly obvious.

 

Final thoughts


This book is a love letter to planning – which, as a planning graduate, undeniably appealed. However, I would add that it at times is repetitive in its messaging (plan, plan and plan again), and could be improved by providing more granular, actionable steps for the execution phase of projects. It could also benefit perhaps from more contemporary examples of planning successes, particularly within tight regulatory environments.


Having said that, the book's power lies in its simple, but memorable, messaging, which can be called upon quickly in the field. Flyvbjerg's database of 16,000+ projects, the bedrock of his findings, also leaves little room for critique - and the undeniable relevance and wide applicability of the core lessons hugely outshine any shortcomings.

 

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