Project failures don’t just happen. Failed projects are deliberately sought out and pursued by overeager contractors. An example of the type of thinking you run into is the response that a building contractor gave when asked why he did not pursue highway jobs: “Because I have no experience in bridges. I don’t get opportunities to bid on that type of work,” he said. When asked whether he would oblige if a customer wanted him to build one, he replied, “Certainly.” Another contractor, when asked why he had attempted to build a river crossing that eventually drove him out of business, said he had wanted to expand into bridges.
Then there are these responses from a homebuilder. Asked why he did not pursue commercial construction, the homebuilder replied, “I have no opportunities in that type of work because I have never done it.” But when asked whether he would submit a proposal for such a project if he were invited, he said, “Of course.”