Project management - 4 lessons from Frank Gehry

The Sydney Opera House is a well-known architectural piece. However, it took 14 years to complete; the original estimate was five years, costing 15 times more than the original budget.

Bent Flyvbjerg, Professor at the University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School, analysed over 16,000 projects, everything from tunnels to building to bridges, dams, power stations, highways, railroads etc. He discovered that only 8.5% of these were delivered on time and within budget, and only 0.5% of the completed projects delivered the expected benefits! 

However, the master architect Frank Gehry who undertakes complex structural projects, mostly delivers on time and within budget! How? Read the full article here —> click here.

Below is my summary.

Frank Gehry is a world-renowned Canadian-American architect known for his bold, unconventional designs. He is widely considered one of the most innovative and influential architects of our time, and his work has profoundly impacted the field of architecture. Gehry's signature style is characterised by using unconventional materials, such as corrugated metal and chain-link fencing, as well as sculptural, organic forms. Some of his most famous works include the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in Spain, the Walt Disney Concert hall in Los Angeles, and the Louis Vuitton Foundation in Paris.

The four lessons that make him successful are

1. Make sure you have the power to do what you are responsible for — Power dynamics can cause unnecessary friction during large projects, which can have unintended consequences. So control is indispensable. 
2. Ask “why” — “Why are you doing this project.” This helps to ensure there are no undiscussed assumptions. It helps Gehry to know what the clients really want rather than what they think they want!
3. Emulate, iterate and assess — Practice makes perfect. Gehry’s designs are radical and need cutting-edge engineering. Stakes are high, and mistakes are not an option. So he and his team plan meticulously and fine-tune at an early stage. Whilst designing the Manhattan skyscraper, the final design was the 74th iteration! 
4. Think slow, act fast — If a project starts without careful planning, problems will happen later on that will cause delays, extra costs, and failures. This will also cause problems for the leader, and the project will take longer and cost more. If this happens, it can lead to even more problems and delays. Although Gehry's planning process takes a lot of time, it ultimately saves time in the long run.

#projectmanagement #planning #longterm