Strategic Misrepresentation

Project promoters deliberately underestimate costs and overstate benefits to secure approval — knowing that once started, projects are rarely cancelled regardless of cost overruns.

• The Sydney Opera House was planned for 4 years at $7 million; it took 14 years and cost $102 million.
• Bent Flyvbjerg's research found that 9 out of 10 major infrastructure projects go over budget — not by accident, but by design.
• Business plans presented to investors routinely project hockey-stick revenue growth that almost never materializes — the plan is designed to get funded, not to be accurate.