Why Most Projects Fail—and How to Achieve Better Outcomes
From HBR On Leadership by Harvard Business Review
February 18, 2026 · 25 min · Episode 149
About this episode
Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez discusses the high failure rate of projects and offers strategies for better outcomes.
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.”
People in this episode
Guest: Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez
Topics covered
- project management
- business strategy
- organizational structure
- project failure
- improving outcomes
Keywords
- project management
- project failure
- business projects
- organizational structure
- project economy
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Harvard Business Review
Books & works: Harvard Business Review Project Management Handbook, The Project Economy Has Arrived
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