One of my first acts when I wake up in the morning is to check the latest with BBC news on my iPhone. As most mornings this summer, I woke up with headline news about the Greek debt crises. Not surprisingly, the European Union´s finance ministers could not agree on a new Greek bailout last… Continue reading Summer Reading List – Inspired by Greece
Category: Risk Management
Nigel Hurst on Risk Management in Projects
The benefits of risk management in projects are huge. You can save a lot of money and avoid unnecessary delays if you deal with uncertainty in projects in a proactive manner. The result will be that you minimise the impact of project threats and seize the opportunities that occur, allowing you to deliver your project… Continue reading Nigel Hurst on Risk Management in Projects
The (Dark) Art of Procurement
Procurement is a necessary process that involves an organisation acquiring services from an external source, in a structured and accountable way. Limited or open procurement is a common method for obtaining consultancy or other services throughout the world. When a tendering process is initiated it should allow a fair and confidential opportunity for bidders to… Continue reading The (Dark) Art of Procurement
New French trains are “too large”
A news article caught my eye this morning which demonstrates how easily a project can go badly wrong, and the financial consequences of rectifying the problem. France’s national railway operator SNCF recently ordered 2,000 new TER (Trains Express Regionaux) trains from Alstom and Bombardier, as part of a £2.43bn national upgrade. Responding to customer demands… Continue reading New French trains are “too large”
EBN TECH CAMP 2013
On the 4th to 6th December 2013, the Bearing team attended the successful EBN (European Business Network) Tech Camp 2013 event in Rovereto, northern Italy. The three day event was organised by EBN for Business & Innovation Centres, Incubators, Accelerators and similar organisations whose clients are new or early-stage companies growing innovative businesses. Providing innovation… Continue reading EBN TECH CAMP 2013
High Speed 2: Controversy on the rails
High Speed 2 (HS2), the controversial planned high speed railway which will link London, Birmingham and the north west of England has taken a major step forward this week as Members of Parliament have approved legislation allowing funding for the next stage. Phase 1 of HS2 will run from London to Birmingham, with a small… Continue reading High Speed 2: Controversy on the rails
The Black Swan – The Impact of the Highly Improbable
Nassim Nicholas Taleb is an expert on risk and randomness. In the lecture below, he discusses “The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable“. a book published in 2007 that focuses on the extreme impact of certain kinds of rare and unpredictable events and human tendency to find simplistic explanations for these events retrospectively.… Continue reading The Black Swan – The Impact of the Highly Improbable
Great Planning Disasters
Adventure is just bad planning – Roald Amundsen In most of Europe, today is a cold mid winter day, which is a perfect setting for staying indoors and engaging in some tranquil reflection and thought. In this blog post, we examine the nature of public planning disasters, taking off with a recent example from Berlin´s… Continue reading Great Planning Disasters
Death March Projects
Being in management consulting long enough, we have all been in at least one or two of them. They are the projects where he project schedule, budget, and staff are much less than what is necessary for completion of a daunting task. The planned objective is unrealistic. People are working 14 hours a day, six… Continue reading Death March Projects