Phronesis is a fancy word for practical wisdom. Aristotle studied and developed this philosophy and thought process that can be used to help determine how to achieve a goal and assess whether a goal fits within the overall mission and good. In construction, this process can be applied to a variety of actions including, company missions, project pursuits (including client development of a project) and personnel management. Bent Flyvbjerg has applied phronesis to mega projects in more than one study. What he's found is that practical wisdom is often lacking on mega projects from client, to designer, to builder and subs and vendors. Because of the scale and scope various entities up and down the construction supply chain seem to throw out common sense. Projects that are deemed feasible and assumed to deliver a great value rarely get put in check, changed or canceled when conflicts with the initial goal arise or when it is shown that the project goal (especially as the estimated benefits) begins to erode and/or come into conflict with the overall mission or greater good of an organization or society.
As builders, are we chasing and winning these kinds of projects only to be stuck in a death spiral once mega project issues can no longer be ignored? Are we committing too much to an internal goal or initiative and refusing to alter or stop course once the goal becomes unfeasible or in conflict with the great good of the company? As individuals, we can apply this thinking to our careers, as well. Our industry is full of hard working and (mostly) smart people. We can be gluttons for punishment with long and weird hours. In pursuit of a personal goal or advancement, we can get ourselves into these cycles of increasing work with diminishing returns. We often think if we work harder, it will get better. Sometimes it will but if we apply practical wisdom, we might assess the situation differently. We might decide to continue to perform well at work but that getting the promotion to the big position or big project won't actually add happiness to our lives, even if our bank accounts might increase. We can make sure our professional goals and position requirements align with our personal goals and requirements to best guarantee overall happiness and life success. Practical wisdom on a personal level says it is unlikely that we can make millions a year, eat dinner at home every night, coach our kids teams and take nice vacations every year. The attainment of all of this simultaneously is possible but is essentially a mega project - grand in scale and scope but likely a fruitless pursuit where some, or even all, cannot be accomplished at the same time. Use a little practical wisdom and pick the right job, projects and personal pursuits to chase that align with each other and mesh that will lead to attainment of overall goals and success.
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