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Aprecedent was set at IGLC-14. We had our first keynote speaker. It was an easy precedent to set. Fernando Flores addressed the group. Fernando is the founder of a paradigm. There aren't too many others who can say that. The paradigm is know as the language action perspective (LAP). The LAP paradigm is reshaping how the AEC community is thinking about project delivery.

Fernando's speech to IGLC

Here's a little background on Fernando Flores. At age 27 he was the Minister of Finance for Chile in the government of Allende. He was imprisoned for three years by General Pinochet following the overthrow of the government. Eventually, Fernando was released and joined his family in California where he studied at Stanford for a masters degree in computer science and at UC Berkeley for a Ph.D. in philosophy. Fernando is the co-author of three books. He has been a serial entrepreneur and innovator. A few years back he returned to his beloved Chile to become a Senator. Fernando was also my teacher, a consultant to my company, and an employer.

"Bullshit (in business) starts by making ambiguous contracts."

Fernando took the room through a historical perspective on the development of the LAP paradigm. He was careful to give credit and show appreciation to his teachers. He also expertly connected to the concerns of the AEC project community. There was no doubt, in my opinion, that Fernando was prepared for the IGLC audience. At one moment he expressed his amusement that the network of commitments — something he first wrote about in 1983 — was having such a big impact 23 years later.

One of the more interesting things Fernando shared was his view of damaging ideas. He claims we suffer from our perspective of

• A fixed-object reality, and
• Communication as the transfer of information

He went on to say that what we need in the project community is a kind of "social therapy" to rid those damaging ideas.

There's much more I could say. But you're better off viewing the speech for yourself: Fernando's speech to IGLC.