Spring 2023: New books, recommended favourites and podcasts to keep you entertained
Including Antonio Nieto Rodriguez on Bent Flyvbjerg’s analysis of how to get big projects delivered on time, to budget and with all the promised benefits.
How Big Things Get Done: The Surprising Factors Behind Every Successful Project, from House Renovations to Space Exploration
Bent Flyvbjerg with Dan Gardner (Macmillan)
Projects are designed to deliver benefits; that’s the whole point. Every year, around $48 trillion is invested in projects. Yet, success rates are alarming and appalling. According to Bent Flyvbjerg’s research on more than 16,000 megaprojects, 47.9% are delivered on budget, 8.5% are delivered on budget and on time, and 0.5% are delivered on budget, on time and with the projected benefits.
It is even harder to quantify the losses in unmet benefits, social impact and revenues from these massive delays or failures caused by poor projects and deficient project leadership. Flyvbjerg’s Iron Law of Megaprojects couldn’t be more accurate: “Over budget, over time, under benefits, over and over again.”
The book provides extremely detailed facts about exceptional projects, such as the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, the Empire State Building and Pixar’s movie planning, and the stories and insights from the actual leaders who made these projects a reality. As a big believer in the importance of the purpose of projects, Flyvbjerg advises that asking why you’re doing your project will focus you on what matters and the outcomes you have to deliver.
In a profession in which thorough planning has been labelled as old-fashioned and bureaucratic, Flyvbjerg’s seminal work proves that detailed planning and multiple prototyping before actually starting implementation are fundamental for project success. Planning is relatively cheap and safe; delivering is expensive and dangerous. Good planning boosts the odds of quick, effective delivery. He calls this “think slow, act fast”, reminding us of the work by Nobel Prize winner Daniel Kahneman.
Another of the book’s many great insights is Flyvbjerg’s advice to think about Lego blocks when working on your project. Every project, even megaprojects, should be seen as a set of Lego blocks. After developing the basic building block, you can scale it up while getting better, faster and cheaper as you continue building your project. This approach has been successfully applied to software, subways, hotels, hospitals, rockets, cars and app stores.
If you are passionate about project management and want to learn how big projects work, Flyvbjerg’s book is the ultimate go-to guide. It will help you increase your knowledge about extraordinary projects and teach you new, simple and proven techniques to thrive in the project economy.
Review by Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez, author of The Harvard Business Review Project Management Handbook. Check out APM Podcast’s recent interview with Bent Flyvbjerg, discussing the book in depth.
5 stars
The Get Things Done Book: 41 Tools to Start, Stick With and Finish Things
Mikael Krogerus and Roman Tschäppeler (Profile)
This is an uncomplicated and enjoyable read. The opening section on procrastination, with its frankness about just how common this issue is, together with the relatable and unapologetic tone of the dialogue sets the reader up for a pleasant, reflective and useful experience, rather than an intimidating self-reflective mountain, as other informative books of a similar nature tend towards.
There are lots of different techniques to try, some rather analytical, explained in brief and understandable psychological terms rather than in too much detail, which could distract by causing over‑psychoanalysis of oneself. I was particularly interested to learn about the five‑second rule, perhaps the simplest of them all, which has since turned out to be instrumental in my own life and getting to the root of my procrastination psyche, something I wouldn’t have learnt without this book.
The book acts as a great crib sheet and introduction to a myriad of useful tools that can be applied both professionally and personally, without any overly analytical self-evaluation. The various techniques are brief in explanation, but I like this informal structure to draw out freedom of thought around the concept. There is a comforting consistency in the drawings that accompany most sections so one is able to visualise the techniques. I particularly enjoyed the section on doing things differently, covering some interesting psychological concepts that I’d not come across before in project management theory.
Review by Amelia Morgan, Legal Project Manager at Pinsent Masons
4.5 stars
My Bedside Books
Haukur Ingi Jónasson, Professor of Project Management, University of Reykjavík
Project Psychology: Using Psychological Models and Techniques to Create a Successful Project
Sharon De Mascia (Routledge)
This book, written by a dear friend and colleague, looks at project management from occupational psychology perspectives; it suggests a variety of people skills to effectively lead projects of all kinds. An excellent read, especially for managers who could benefit from some sound psychological insights!
Putin’s People: How the KGB Took Back Russia and then Took On the West
Catherine Belton (William Collins)
I read this to understand the archaic mindset of Putin and his alliances and the outdated vulgarism that seems to prevail in the state of Russia. The book gives a convincing, detailed and well‑researched account of how Russin got Putinified and gives insights into some of the darkest aspects behind some projects and their management.
The crazy PMPprep: A novel for the PMP and CAPM certification preparation and everybody else
Rüdiger Geist & Bernie Cornwell
This is a very innovative and fun book that prepares for PMP and CAPM certification by telling a story of people at a mental institute. You cannot but identify with the characters, who struggle with situations that mirror the challenges of project management. I recommend it!
We’re all ears – podcasts to listen to
It might be spring already but now is the perfect chance to reflect on what Project columnist Eddie Obeng defines as the three biggest trends that will influence projects in 2023. While you’re at it, listen to our round-up of the five project management lessons we learned in 2022 through the advice and experiences shared by our podcast guests, from those behind the James Webb Space Telescope to the raising of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s ship, Endurance.
Emily Maitlis, Jon Sopel and Lewis Goodall – three of the UK’s top journalists – host this daily news podcast. They’re not just here to tell you what’s happening, but why, with astute analysis and explanations of the day’s news – plus a healthy dose of scepticism and the ability to laugh at it all when needed. A pithy half-hour listen to bring you up to speed with world events.
As an organisational psychologist, Adam Grant rethinks how people lead, work and live. His pioneering research has inspired people to question assumptions about motivation, generosity and creativity. Each episode takes you inside the minds of some of the world’s most unusual professionals to discover the keys to a better work life, including a group of misfits at Pixar who defied expectations and broke boundaries with The Incredibles.
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