​​​​Dr. Isik Ates Kiral​

I would like to talk about a management model I observed in a British company whose name I prefer not to disclose. This company is known for undertaking extremely high-risk, high-cost construction projects, often in environments with serious safety challenges. Those familiar with the UK industry will probably guess the company already. What I want to focus on in this post is the leadership model they use and the motivation techniques built around it. The company defines criti

Recently, I have been reflecting on an issue that has particularly drawn my attention, and I would like to share it with you. Conventional civil engineering education has long been built upon a strong technical foundation. This approach aims to equip students with solid computational skills in core areas such as structural analysis, mechanics of materials, geotechnical engineering, structural design, and construction management. In other words, within this problem-oriented ed

Today I want to share a topic I've been thinking about regarding project risk management: Black Swan events. This concept, coined by Nassim Nicholas Taleb, describes a truth we all know but often overlook: There are certain events that are unpredictable have a huge impact when they occur and nobody believes they are possible before they happen. These events are called "black swans." However, there is a significant deficiency in construction project management. A large portion

I wanted to share an anecdote from my Construction Project Management class today. Concepts like uncertainty, risk, decision-making, and leadership, which are crucial in construction project management, are either never mentioned or remain too "theoretical" for people working on real construction sites. To break this cycle, I first explained these topics in a classic theoretical way during the class: definitions, models, approaches… Then, I used an example from my previous ex