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When the client team was the problem…
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Not corruption. Not politics. Just… incompetence. A real project. $800M. In LatAm… No more details, as in this distribution list, there are too many people living in that country… Here you are the 4 red flags that would have helped you to smell blood miles away. First red flag: They didn’t understand their own project. I’m not exaggerating. They launched the RFP with: Misaligned traffic studies Outdated geotech data A design that didn’t match the environmental permits Second: They outsourced thinking. This is becoming more and more popular… Advisors were running the show. Yes! Advisors advise. They don’t decide. So every time a real decision was needed… Silence. Workshops. More reports. Another round of comments. No ownership. But hours and hours paid by the taxpayer… And suffered by the bidding teams. Third: They were afraid of the market. Bidders raised real issues: Revenue risk was unbankable Construction timeline was fantasy Interface risks were dumped on the private side The response? “We will consider.” Of course… They never did. Do you remember what I was saying about ownership?? Fourth: Meetings from hell. No agenda. No decision-makers in the room. Contradictions between ministries / agencies. And power points… many power points. You’d get an answer in the morning… And the opposite in the afternoon. Banks noticed. Equity noticed. Advisors noticed. Everyone noticed. At the end… One bidder walked. Then another. The last one stayed… but priced the chaos. Hard. As you can imagine… the usual suspects. Aggressive contingencies. Higher margins. Tighter conditions. The government panicked, and cancelled. After 18 months… of pain. Millions spent. And reputation damaged. I don’t know what you would have done in this situation… But what I’m sure about is… That you would have loved to have joined my mentorship months before. ​My mentorship - Weekly PPP Lessons from a PPP ex-CEO​ 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
I talk about Personal Growth, Management, Infrastructure and More | 👇JOIN +2k readers 👇
Selling used stuff online is hard work. A lottery. A candy box. I tried it once. In less than 5 minutes, I got a message. 30 seconds later, I knew it was a scam. Emoticons. Broken grammar. Asking for my number immediately… when the platform literally tells you not to. Block the user. Close the chat. And then do what a good SPV CEO does… Subcontract. Pass it to someone who knows better. Create the right incentives. Supervise. Manage issues. Etc. Life is just another PPP. Your standards say a...
The pattern... Different country. Different name. Same movie. A “strategic” project. Big announcements. Strong political backing. Aggressive bids. Beautiful financial models. Everyone smiling at financial close. And then… After bonuses paid and elections won… Reality. Costs go up. Time disappears. Risks… yes, those that were “managed” and “transferred to the party better able to deal with”, start showing up. Suddenly: - contracts are “reinterpreted” - assumptions were “too optimistic” -...
When people talk about successful projects, these are the usual suspects: The deal was clear from day one Risks were allocated… not hidden The wrong bidders didn’t show up Time was respected Decisions were made early The contract was readable Banks believed the story Equity had skin in the game The public side knew what it wanted Advisors added value (for once) Construction was not “optimistic” Problems were solved fast Ego was controlled Operations were considered from day one Someone owned...