Built to Fail: Why Construction Projects Take So Long, Cost Too Much, And How to Fix It

The construction industry is as big as it is important. Without construction, our society would cease to be. We would have no ports, roads, or bridges. No communications networks, power grids, or water systems. No hospitals. No schools. No homes.

But we can barely get anything built. Capital projects are routinely finished late and over budget. Everyone acknowledges the problem, but no one seems to have the vision, or the will, to fix it.

The problem is the separation of “planning” from “doin...