This webinar challenges common myths about cost estimating and shows what really drives project outcomes. Drawing on 25 years of experience, it explores how benchmarks mislead, contingency becomes negotiated, and early estimates quietly lock in decisions long before design maturity exists. Moving beyond tools and models, the session focuses on the human side of estimating, judgement, pressure, and the organisational dynamics that shape numbers. It offers a candid perspective on why estimates rarely fail due to methodology, but rather to the decisions made around them. Ultimately, it reframes the estimator’s role as a guardian of realism and integrity in environments where optimism often prevails.