1858.

England, land of pirates.

The British Parliament had a problem.

The river outside smelled like sh*t.

The reason was simple.

It was full of sh*t.

An unfortunate combination.

London had been dumping sewage into the Thames, and a hot summer made the consequences particularly difficult to ignore.

No wonder why French perfumes were so popular.

And of course… the smell was very close to where the lords sat… sorry… work… sorry, you know.

Suddenly, PPPS, water management became a very important and smelly political issue.

Human rights, wars, slavery, etc. could wait.

Probably, if you’ve gone to the school, know how to read, and you are not a lord, your obvious response would be:

“Perhaps we should stop filling the river with shit.”

And… yes….Eventually.

But first, they tried treating the curtains.

They soaked them in chemicals to keep the smell out.

You know, urgent political stuff.

The river is a sewer.

The solution is in soft furnishings.

That’s why I think some brainstorming sessions should be punished with jail.

“Have we considered better curtains?”

“Can we establish a Curtain Steering Committee?”

“Before we proceed, we’ll need to understand the impact on the existing blinds, find some consultants.”

Unfortunately, the smell proved rather resistant to governance.

And the legislation to tackle the problem went through in just 18 days.

I always say this: urgency improves when the decision-makers are hungry… or can smell the consequences.

Now.

My unsolicited advice of the day.

Before you fire an idea, ask yourself what your proposed action will actually change.

Reports and brain storming sessions have their place.

But when you’re leading a project, you need to know what happens after the workshop.

This is the kind of judgment I teach inside The Room.

Lessons from tendering, financing, delivering and operating PPPs. From difficult meetings, uncomfortable decisions, and situations where the contract was considerably tidier than reality.

Join The Room in the link below:

​The Room​

Preferably before someone puts you in charge of the curtains.

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