Ferdinand de Lesseps — the hero who built the Suez Canal — tried to repeat his triumph with the Panama Canal. His refusal to accept that Panama was fundamentally different from Suez killed 20,000 workers and bankrupted France.
Highlights
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Past success can be the biggest obstacle to future judgment
De Lesseps succeeded at Suez and assumed the same approach would work at Panama. Suez was flat desert; Panama was mountainous jungle. He refused to adapt because Suez had proved him right.
20,000 workers died because one man's ego wouldn't admit a mistake
De Lesseps continued the sea-level canal approach for years after evidence showed it was killing workers and was technically impossible, because admitting the error would have destroyed his reputation.