Mega projects never seem to get done on time, or on budget. Planners often repeat similar errors due to a lack of data on comparable projects. Fortunately someone has spent a career building a database to provide evidence for understanding them projects and allowing for comparative time and cost comparisons. Summarizing findings, sharing experiences and providing a wide range of case studies, Bent Flyvbjerg and Dan Gardner's 2023 book "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" is an interesting read. At first glance, and particularly for those who are involved in project management, the "findings" and suggestions verge on common sense. However, given the frequency that these "common sense" approaches do not occur, the book certainly has a place. Lessons include: Investing time in planning (think slow, act fast), having a plan / theory of change / many other names from a range of domains that have a similar meaning, working with people who have experience, the importance of teams, the value of modularity and learning, avoiding first times / customs / biggest / tallest / fastest that require doing things newly for the first time, creating costing and timelines based on similar actual projects rather than theoretical scenarios ... I think the value of this book is not the list of tips and tricks, but the in-depth case studies as well as the evidence drawn out from the large database created by the author(s). The authors (first author one assumes) has also a wide range of firsthand experience from around the world and in different sectors (building schools in Nepal to transportation projects) which provide insight into the application of the "common sense" ideas. This is an enjoyable, easy read. The content is accessible for non-academics and is not buried in technical management jargon. If you are interested in project management, this is worth a read (or a listen, there is an audiobook version).  

This is the question that drives the recent book by Leslie Crutchfield, "How Change Happens: Why Some Social Movements Succeed While Others Don't" (2018). This book is about social movements in the US, or that are primarily US-led. It offers some interesting case studies, quite descriptive throughout. The author summarizes the objective as seeking to understand why "some changes occur, but others don't? What are the factors that drive successful social and environmental change campaigns, while others falter? This book examines the leadership approaches, campaign strategies, and ground-level tactics employed by a range of modern social change efforts peaking since the 1980s" (p. 3). The key lessons can be summarized in six points:

• "Winning movements are fueled by energy that materializes from the bottom up." (p. 12)
• Do "the yeoman's work of pushing for improvements at the state and local level, advocating town by town, racking up small wins and building momentum incrementally, rather than going for national change at the start." (p. 12)
• "change public attitudes so people believe the changes they seek are fair and right" (p. 13)
• Put your "egos and organizational identities to the side (if only temporarily) so disparate factions can come together around a common agenda" (p. 13)
• "Businesses can affect major change by altering their employee policies; raising their influential voices in public debates; and leveraging their innovation capabilities, as well as their brands and customer loyalty, for causes" (p. 13)
• "Instead of small handfuls of elites dictating to troops from the top down or an amorphous mob of activists genuflecting for change from the bottom up, the most effective movements find the balance between the "leaderless" and the "leader-led" extremes" (p. 14).

I found the book somewhat repetitive. Given two years had passed since "How Change Happens" (Duncan Green's version) was published, and all the hullabaloo around it, it is odd that the author does not even cite Green's book (same title, same topic). Many of the key concepts this book tried to introduce (e.g. complexity, systems) where already introduced in Green's book. Maybe more disappointing is that Crutchfield does not employ complexity or systems approaches consistently, but rather uses them narrowly and in a specific way. Other findings in this book are reflected in a range of existing books (which are also not cited), such as those on leadership, which includes books that are also specific to the US context. Two relevant omissions were McChrystal (2015) and Bond and Exley (2016). The lack of engagement with all this relevant literature is unfortunate, particularly given the research produced was done by a large team. If you are looking for a book on this topic, I would suggest Green's 'How Change Happens' before this one (unless you are seeking out the specific US case studies).