Projects go off the rails all the time. Some statistics I’ve seen say only one in eight projects can truly be declared a success. Why are we so horrible at executing projects, especially when we have all these “tried and true” project management methodologies?

There are seven deadly killers of projects. Any one of them can undermine your project’s success. However, we can teach people how to avoid these issues. For the benefit of all my readers, I’ve outlined these seven killers below along with ways to overcome them.

Team disengagement

The team is just checked out. Low morale. Disinterest. Apathy. Their work products are late or low quality.

To mitigate: Ensure your project is listed on team members’ personal goals, get their manager to commit them to the project, and show them how the project benefits them personally and professionally.

1. Sponsor disengagement

The sponsor rubber-stamps decisions, misses meetings, and doesn’t fight for the team to get the resources it needs.

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