Insights on Public Sector Project Risk

Ideas, analysis, and expert takes on public sector project risk.

Why Public Sector Projects Fail — and What You Can Learn From It.

Public sector projects fail for the same reasons over and over again — misaligned leadership, unchecked assumptions, and a failure to see the real risks in time.

This page brings together insights from my years of oversight, audits, coaching, and front-line experience — to help you better understand the dynamics behind success and failure in public sector project risk. You’ll find original articles, podcast interviews, and guest features — all focused on what it really takes to deliver under pressure.

Insider Lens #28: Why Project Culture in Government Can’t Be Left to Chance

The Insider Lens is a weekly newsletter on leadership, risk, and delivery in public sector projects. Get practical…

A diverse group of government professionals sits at a boardroom table with arms folded, while one individual raises their hand with a calm, hopeful expression — symbolizing the challenge of speaking truth to power in government projects.

Speaking Truth to Power in Government Projects – Without Torching the Outcome

Government is a hierarchical beast – there’s no getting around that. We talk about empowering everyone to be…

Four business professionals sit in a meeting room with duct tape over their mouths, exchanging anxious looks — a visual metaphor for the challenge of getting teams to speak up in public sector projects.

Insider Lens #27: Getting Teams to Speak Up

The Insider Lens is a weekly newsletter on leadership, risk, and delivery in public sector projects. Get practical…

A parade float shaped like a large rocket labeled “Transformation,” decorated with patriotic streamers, being slowly pulled by a single person on a bicycle — symbolizing the imbalance between transformation vs delivery in government.

Transformation vs. Delivery in Government: 3 Public Projects That Confused the Two

Transformation always sounds bigger than mere “change.” It suggests a fundamental re-think and re-do of what was there…

Two construction crews working from opposite ends of a bridge, with each side nearly complete but visibly misaligned, leaving a dramatic gap in the center. Symbolizes project failure due to program and IT misalignment.

Insider Lens #26: When Program and IT Misalignment Wrecks a “Successful” Project

The Insider Lens is a weekly newsletter on leadership, risk, and delivery in public sector projects. Get practical…

Office building with a “Transformation Project Complete” banner, hiding chaos behind the scenes — a visual metaphor for back-office transformation failure.

7 Deadly Sins of Back-Office Transformation Failure

Everyone likes to think that their project is unique – but most mistakes in public sector transformation aren’t…

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