Weekly insights on how to perform when it matters | High-stakes decisions. Real situations. No BS. | 👇JOIN +2k readers 👇
Critical infrastructure. Someone drank it.
|
In 1991, researchers at Cambridge had a supply problem. Coffee. You know how this is… Nothing can get done without a great coffee. The poor scientists trying to save the world walked down several flights of stairs to discover an empty pot. Demand was strong. Storage was inadequate. And the previous users had consumed the strategic reserve. Anyone working in infrastructure should recognise the situation… the pattern… and the claims. So they installed a camera, connected it to their computer network, and checked the coffee level from their desks. It’s not confirmed, but situations like this could have something to do with the invention of the internet… The system took about a day to build. I assume the steering committee was unavailable. The images later went onto the web, and the setup became famous as the world’s first webcam. All because some very clever people refused to walk downstairs for disappointment. There’s a lesson here. Get the information before making the trip. Or entering the meeting. Especially the meeting where everyone assumes you know what happened this morning. Which brings me to Morning Brew. Business news in your inbox. An easy way to see what’s happening beyond your own project’s latest variation claim. Subscribe to Morning Brew below. Cambridge monitored the coffee. You can monitor the world while drinking it. Slightly larger scope. No additional stairs. Enjoy and use this information to your own risk. 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. |
Vicente Valencia
Weekly insights on how to perform when it matters | High-stakes decisions. Real situations. No BS. | 👇JOIN +2k readers 👇
A German and a Swiss engineer build a bridge… Sounds like the start of a joke. But it is real. It happened in Laufenburg. The two countries used different reference levels for measuring elevation. A 27-centimetre difference. The engineers knew about it. So they corrected it. With the wrong sign. The difference became 54 centimetres. Beautiful. Two countries working together to make one problem twice as big. There’s a lesson here… The pictures are in the internet. If you’re not sure exactly...
Imagine the meeting. A team arrives with a brilliant infrastructure idea. Good engineers. Beautiful drawings. Some very expensive lawyers wearing 5.000 suits… so that you know well where your money is going… They may even have intellectual property. Actual IP. Something more substantial than putting “proprietary” in the footer. The project will reduce congestion, create jobs and transform the economy. Of course. Nobody has ever arrived at a minister’s office promising to make traffic worse....
Apparently, Poland has a PPP project with a CAPEX of €12,000. I haven’t forgotten any zeros. Twelve thousand euros. A colleague of mine in Poland told me the story. My first thought? Surely the lawyers cost ten times more. I haven’t seen their invoices. But, I would say… Please don’t send me a legal letter. It might double the project budget. But seriously. You know I work in PPPs. I like them. I’ve spent more than 20 years bidding, delivering and managing them. And sometimes, the most useful...