Importance of Excelling in the Project Economy

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The 21st century is characterized by organizational change driven by project work, forming the project economy. This economy is projected to generate $20 trillion in economic activity and employ 88 million people by 2027. Despite its significance, research shows that only 35% of projects are successful, indicating that improvements are necessary in this critical business function.

Companies of every size across the world are basing more of their work around projects than at any time in the past. But research shows that nearly two-thirds of those efforts fail.

Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez, who has studied projects and project management for decades, argues that at least some of the blame for these failures lies with executives who misunderstand the fundamentals of projects and fail to dedicate enough of their time to those they sponsor.

In this episode, Nieto-Rodriguez explains how to get better outcomes from project-based work. He also discusses how to frame projects, structure organizations around them, and avoid common pitfalls.

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

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