Gold Medal Projects: What the Olympics Can Teach Nonprofits About Getting Big Things Done
As the world turns its attention to the 2026 Winter Olympics, we are treated to a display of incredible human achievement. But behind the scenes of every Olympic Games lies a much darker statistical reality.
If you caught our recent post on Bent Flyvbjerg’s How to Get Big Things Done , you know he is the authority on why massive projects succeed or fail. Flyvbjerg shares our appreciation for the logistical dream (and occasional nightmare) of the modern Olympics, using a full chapter to showcase them as the quintessential example of the "Iron Law." It’s a brutal statistical reality: Olympic projects have a 100% cost overrun rate, consistently exceeding budget, timeline and complexity expectations.
At Clearly Consulting, we see nonprofit leaders facing their own "Olympic" challenges every day—whether it’s a massive CRM migration, a global website overhaul, or a total digital transformation. The stakes are high, the resources are lean, and the complexity is daunting.
How do you beat the odds and ensure your big project reaches the finish line? Here are four lessons from the Olympic chapter of How to Get Big Things Done that you can apply to your 2026 roadmap.
1. The Power of the "Torch Date"
The Olympics have one advantage over almost every other project: the deadline is immovable. The torch will be lit on the opening day, regardless of whether the stadium is finished or the software is bug-free.
In the nonprofit world, we often suffer from "deadline drift." When a project gets difficult, we push the date back. But the Olympics teach us that a hard, immovable deadline—a "Torch Date"—is actually a gift. It forces radical prioritization. It forces you to ask: "What is the absolute minimum we need to be successful on day one?" By setting a "Torch Date" for your 2026 initiatives, you stop the bloat and focus your team on the mission-critical tasks that actually move the needle.
2. Avoid the "Iconic" Trap (Build with LEGOs)
Olympic host cities often fall into the trap of wanting to build something "unique" and "iconic." This is where the budget dies. Unique means untested, and untested means expensive.
The same is true for nonprofit tech. When an organization insists on a highly customized, one-of-a-kind solution, they are entering the Olympic danger zone. Flyvbjerg argues that the most successful "Big Things" are modular. They are built like LEGO blocks—using proven, repeatable, and standard tools.
If you want to win the gold medal of project completion, stop trying to reinvent the wheel. Use the "out-of-the-box" features of your CRM or ERP. Use proven modules that have worked for thousands of other organizations. Reliability is more valuable than "iconic" customization.
3. Take the "Outside View"
Most leaders plan their projects using "The Inside View." They look at their specific team, their specific plan, and their specific goals and assume everything will go right. This is where Optimism Bias takes over.
The "Outside View"—also known as Reference Class Forecasting—requires looking at the actual outcomes of similar projects. If 80% of nonprofit CRM migrations take six months longer than expected, your project probably will too.
Instead of saying "our team is different," embrace the data. By acknowledging the real-world hurdles faced by others in your "reference class," you can build a 2026 roadmap that is grounded in reality, not hope.
4. Strategic Risk Control: Think Slow, Act Fast
We often think the best way to hit a deadline is to start building as fast as possible. But the most successful Olympic venues are those where the design and risk-assessment phases were front-loaded.
At Clearly Consulting, we focus on those those high-impact risks that could derail everything before the work begins. Flyvbjerg’s research shows that when you take the time to de-risk your data, your integrations, and your team adoption plan during the "slow thinking" phase, the actual implementation can happen at Olympic speed.
Turning Complexity into Clarity
The Olympics are a reminder that even the biggest, most complex goals are achievable with the right framework. You don’t need an Olympic-sized budget to get big things done; you need a commitment to realism, modularity, and radical prioritization.
As you watch the games this month, take a look at your 2026 project list. Are you building an "iconic" disaster, or are you building a modular success?
If you’re ready to turn your organization’s confusing chaos into measurable clarity, Clearly Consulting is here to help you navigate your own "Torch Date." Let’s build your gold-medal roadmap together. Contact us to discuss.
