New Cathedrals

I have spent some of the last few days in discussions with what one could call "railway types" - those responsible for building and delivering the rail networks we take for granted. Absolutely fascinating. I have travelled a lot by train and even been involved in projects to bring high-speed communications track-side. Trains provide a place of relative calm where plans get made and problems sometimes get solved.

I had never appreciated those in the industry being akin to the cathedral builders of the middle-ages. Now I do. Listening to the idea that the current project of a young enthusiast was likely to be so long that it might be their last job was strange. To hear they were happy about it, was truly extraordinary.

Built to the greater glory of a Christian God, cathedrals were clearly mammoth undertakings. Taking as long as 600 years to finish (Cologne) or thrown-up in just a couple of generations (the rest). Why so long? I guess there was the usual issue of money and then the added complication of unforeseen circumstances, like encountering local opposition (a.k.a. war or revolution). It seems that this latter element was mostly to blame for delays. Then again, with a project the scale of a cathedral and the methods of construction used, I suppose that planning was by its nature long term! Agile development techniques were in their infancy.

Imagine, designing a building in the knowledge you would never see it finished. Just being content in setting the ball rolling and playing your part as best you can. Putting your skills in the mix. Just knowing that you were involved in something big and worthwhile. That's where I believe the analogy of comparing those who build our railways to those who built our inspiring cathedrals does resonate. Built through the present and there for the future.

I have had a great half-career where the notion of having a long term plan has become less and less fashionable. I began with helping to write 5 year tomes. They shrank to 3 year plans and then withered to rolling forecasts that worked in trendy horizons of anything from a quarter to a half-year. Contrast that with some cultures that work in true horizons. I still remember a celebration I attended of a Chinese company, where the Chairman talked of the success of the first 15 years and the promise of the next 50!

Pressure from involved stakeholders or just the Street? What matters most - getting there or the journey? When does the line needing appropriate visibility get crossed to become an unduly heavy interest? Should a crisis of confidence across an industry lead to the end of good risk taking and management? Then innovation surely dies and progress stalls.

Imagine the then Pope holding a planning session with Michelangelo... "Listen Mikey, how's that ceiling going? Looks to me like you're fallin' a bit behind. Can you show me the get well plan by Wednesday, else I'll call Leo?"

Railways will likely be the last industry we will see building cathedrals. Magnificent, great and green iron roads that allow time for people to dream.

Off to book a Thalys ticket.