Project Management, Denial, and the Death Zone: Lessons from Everest and Antarctica

Project success rates havent changed in 20 years Learn why, and what you can do to improve them in your organization Today, less than a third of projects deliver their specified business benefits on time and within budget. Nearly 20% of all projects fail outright, and under-delivery of benefits on the average project is as high as 50%. Acutely aware of this and without understanding the root causes of the problem, organizations are busy advancing capabilities and investing in methodologies and processes that increase complexity, but just deliver more failure. Using examples and lessons learned from high-risk environments where the price of project failure is death, this innovative and captivating guide provides powerful insights into the root causes of project failure and how to manage them. The author examines the failures and achievements of the Antarctic explorers Scott and Shackleton, Mount Everest expedition leader John Hunt, and modern-day Everest climbers, and expertly connects these to the high-risk world of modern day project and program management. Written from a base of in-depth project management knowledge and experience, this essential reference for business leaders, portfolio owners, project and program managers, business analysts, and risk managers, explores the drivers of risk in projects, the relationship between our ambitions and our abilities, and provides pragmatic real-world solutions to this constancy of project failure that readers can apply directly to their organization.