{"product_id":"9780771098437","title":"How Big Things Get Done","description":"\u003cb\u003eThe secrets to successfully planning and delivering ambitious, complex projects on any scale—from home renovation to space exploration—by the world's leading expert on megaprojects.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNothing is more inspiring than a big vision that becomes a triumphant, new reality. Think of how the Empire State Building went from a sketch to the jewel of New York's skyline in twenty-one months, or how Apple’s iPod went from a project with a single employee to a product launch in eleven months.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThese are wonderful stories. But most of the time big visions turn into nightmares. Remember Boston’s “Big Dig”? Almost every sizeable city in the world has such a fiasco in its backyard. In fact, no less than 92% of megaprojects come in over budget or over schedule, or both. The cost of California’s high-speed rail project soared from $33 billion to $100 billon—and won’t even go where promised. More modest endeavors, whether launching a small business, organizing a conference, or just finishing a work project on time, also commonly fail. Why?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eUnderstanding what distinguishes the triumphs from the failures has been the life’s work of Oxford professor Bent Flyvbjerg, dubbed “the world’s leading megaproject expert.” In \u003ci\u003eHow Big Things Get Done\u003c\/i\u003e, he identifies the errors in judgment and decision-making that lead projects, both big and small, to fail, and the research-based principles that will make you succeed with yours. For example:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003ci\u003eUnderstand your odds\u003c\/i\u003e. If you don't know them, you won't win.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003ci\u003ePlan slow, act fast\u003c\/i\u003e. Getting to the action quick feels right. But      it's wrong. \u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003ci\u003eThink right to left.\u003c\/i\u003e Start with your goal, then identify the steps to      get there.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003ci\u003eFind your Lego\u003c\/i\u003e. Big is best built from small.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003ci\u003eBe a team maker\u003c\/i\u003e. You won't succeed without an \"us.\"\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003ci\u003eMaster the unknown unknowns\u003c\/i\u003e. Most think they can't, so they fail. Flyvbjerg shows      how you can.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ci\u003eKnow that your biggest risk is      you.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFull of vivid examples ranging from the building of the Sydney Opera House, to the making of the latest Pixar blockbusters, to a home renovation in Brooklyn gone awry, \u003ci\u003eHow Big Things Get Done\u003c\/i\u003e reveals how to get any ambitious project done—on time and on budget.","brand":"Bent Flyvbjerg, Dan Gardner (CA)","offers":[{"title":"McClelland \u0026amp; Stewart |  Hardback  |  2023-02-07","offer_id":44152005591295,"sku":"9780771098437","price":37.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0329\/9075\/7001\/products\/BNCImageAPI_1610b70e-89c6-4907-8156-26a390212903.jpg?v=1674173087","url":"https:\/\/riverbookshop.com\/products\/9780771098437","provider":"River Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}