Why Most Projects Fail—and How to Achieve Better Outcomes

HBR On Leadership

Companies of every size in every industry and part of the world are basing more of their work around projects. And yet research shows that nearly two-thirds of those efforts fail. Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez, who has studied projects and project management for decades, explains how we can do better. He offers advice on the right way to frame projects, how to structure organizations around them, and pitfalls to avoid. Nieto-Rodriguez is the author of the Harvard Business Review Project Management Handbook and author of the article “The Project Economy Has Arrived.”

Key episode topics include: project management, operations strategy, organizational change

• Listen to the original HBR IdeaCast episode: The Future of Work Is Projects—So You’ve Got to Get Them Right
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2026-02-18 25 min

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