How Big Things Get Done
By Bent Flyvbjerg

Best Books of 2023and -and The Financial Timesand andand The EconomistShortlisted for Financial Times and Schroders Business Book of the Year 2023 Important, timely, instructive and entertaining' - Daniel Kahneman, bestselling author ofand Thinking, Fast and SlowWorld expert Bent Flyvbjerg and bestselling author Dan Gardner reveal the secrets to successfully planning and delivering ambitious projects on any scale.Nothing is more inspiring than a big vision that becomes a triumphant new reality. Think of how Apple's iPod went from a project with a single employee to an enormously successful product launch in eleven months. But such successes are the exception. Consider how London's Crossrail project delivered five years late and billions over budget. More modest endeavours, whether launching a small business, organizing a conference, or just finishing a work project on time, also commonly fail. Why?Understanding what distinguishes the triumphs from the failures has been the life's work of Oxford professor Bent Flyvbjerg. Inand How Big Things Get Done, he identifies the errors that lead projects to fail, and the research-based principles that will make yours succeed:Understand your odds.and If you don't know them, you won't win.Plan slow, act fast.and Getting to the action quick feels right. But it's wrong.Think right to left.and Start with your goal, then identify the steps to get there.Find your Lego.and Big is best built from small.Master the unknown unknowns.and Most think they can't, so they fail. Flyvbjerg shows how you can.Full of vivid examples ranging from the building of the Sydney Opera House to the making of the latest Pixar blockbusters,and How Big Things Get Doneand reveals how to get any ambitious project done - on time and on budget.'Entertaining . . . compelling . . . there are lessons here for managers of all stripes' -and The Economist