How Big Things Get Done

The Surprising Factors That Determine the Fate of Every Project, from Home Renovations to Space Exploration and Everything in Between

By: Bent Flyvbjerg, Dan Gardner

Narrated by: Rob Shapiro

Length: 7 hrs and 16 mins

Publisher's summary

“Why do big projects go wrong so often, and are there any lessons you can use when renovating your kitchen? Bent Flyvbjerg is the ‘megaproject’ expert and Dan Gardner brings the storytelling skills to How Big Things Get Done, with examples ranging from a Jimi Hendrix studio to the Sydney Opera House.”—Financial Times (Best Books of 2023 So Far)

“Entertaining.... There are lessons here for managers of all stripes.”—The Economist

Finalist for the Financial Times and Schroders Business Book of the Year Award

Nothing 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.

These 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?

Understanding 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 How Big Things Get Done, 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:

• Understand your odds. If you don’t know them, you won’t win.
• Plan slow, act fast. Getting to the action quick feels right. But it’s wrong.
• Think right to left. Start with your goal, then identify the steps to get there.
• Find your Lego. Big is best built from small.
• Be a team maker. You won’t succeed without an “us.”
• Master the unknown unknowns. Most think they can’t, so they fail. Flyvbjerg shows how you can.
• Know that your biggest risk is you.

Full 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, How Big Things Get Done reveals how to get any ambitious project done—on time and on budget.

For a visual representation of the charts and graphs mentioned throughout, as well as Appendix A and B, please be sure to download the Bonus PDF accompanying this program.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2023 Bent Flyvbjerg and Dan Gardner (P)2023 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“Entertaining . . . The picture that [Flyvbjerg] and Mr Gardner draw of why projects, large and small, tend to go wrong is compelling. . . . There are lessons here for managers of all stripes.” —The Economist

“Stories of gigantic and costly failures, from the Sydney Opera House to successive editions of the Olympic Games, are entertaining and chastening in equal measure. But Flyvbjerg and Gardner also manage to extract valuable lessons about how to plan, forecast and execute any size of project, be it a kitchen remodelling or a high-speed trainlink.” —Financial Times, Best Summer Books of 2023: Business

“Ignore [this book] at your peril.” —Peter Coy, The New York Times

Good story, lots of history

Overall, it is good but is missing the silver bullet. Planning, legos, but did not give me a new tool to apply.

Should be required reading

This should be required reading for all engineers especially in the civil infrastructure space.

Fantastic

One of the best business books I’ve ever listened to. The author’s huge historical database of project outcomes lend credence to his solutions.

Absolutely Amazing!

How Big Things Get Done is a must read for anyone working on any size project! The book provides many real world examples and various tools on how to approach any size project. I learned a tremendous amount from this book and will definitely be utilizing the tools and practices it teaches in my profession and personal life. Highly recommend!

Fantastic book, cover to cover

Absolutely loved this one, cover to cover. Highly recommend, particularly for those in leadership roles or aspiring to join those ranks.

“Your biggest risk is you “

This is an important book. Written clearly and to the point. There are profound lessons woven together throughout; and discussed in a way that can be comprehended, visualized and put into use.

Must read for project management

Really good book on how to focus and deliver successful projects with real life simple examples

Very useful

Succinct, clear, actionable. Good examples and interesting references. I read some things on project management before, but have never been an expert. But I work with complex IT projects for a living as an IC and saw many fail and few succeeded. Recently started leading my own and we have actually began applying some of the advice. So far it feels like the best of the systems I worked with.

Giving this book to everyone I work with!

Hugely helpful for anyone looking to do home renovations all the way up to mega projects. This book helped my team restructure how we operate. Highly recommend.

Fantastic topic.

This was very week done. Could not put it down. i would recommend this to anyone working on large, complex projects.