Why Projects Fail - and how to guarantee success

I have been delivering projects for over forty years. I have been ‘teaching’ project management for over 25 years. I experienced a life changing project disaster in the 80s and vowed never to put myself in that situation again.

I compiled my first list of reasons for project failure in the 90s when running PM programmes at Lancaster University. Over the years I have seen similar lists being proffered by a range of consultants, academics and practitioners who promote their way of dealing with them. The fact that similar lists keep on appearing suggests the remedies are not very successful!! It’s not altogether surprising as we are dealing with human beings.

My latest list is a short one

Fear
People tell lies
Dont care
Cant be bothered
Lack of trust
Collective (shared) incompetence
Not doing the basics

Let’s translate this into something personal

I am afraid
I tell lies
I don’t care
I cant be bothered
I don’t trust
If I am part of a team they cant pin it on me
I didn’t do the basics

We need to turn this on its head to find the solution. But even that is problematic because even if you do all the right things your project may not succeed - but you will have a much better chance.

Your drivers for project success:

I am courageous
I tell the truth
I care
I am going to make this work
I must build trusting relationships
I will not hide behind team failure
I will do the basics

The theory of project management is easy - it’s putting it into practice that is the difficult bit. I can explain the fundamental theory in a few hours. It takes a lot of practice to get it to work properly. Stick with me for how to maximise success.