"If you launch more projects than you finish, you're a bad leader. Your role is not about launching projects — it's about finishing them."

Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez, creator of the project economy concept and author of Powered by Projects, joins Aidan McCullen to explain why agile — a 20-year-old idea — is no longer enough, and why the next evolution is the project-driven organization (PDO): a company rearchitected around dynamic, empowered, cross-functional project teams.

In this conversation, Antonio reveals:

Why EY's Project Everest collapsed despite a perfect plan — and what it says about ego at the top
The structural blind spot that undermined Nike's digital transformation
The robot hairdresser that shocked a luxury company's C-suite — and why "safe" jobs aren't
Why COVID briefly turned every surviving company into a project-driven organization
How Bill Anderson is dismantling hierarchy and approval steps at Bayer
The insurance company that ring-fenced €50 million for crazy ideas — and why employees only asked for €2 million
The bank that had Revolut's idea first, then killed it in the budgeting cycle
Why "are you crazy?" is the best compliment an idea can receive
The Toyota-style kill switch every transformation needs — and why 90% done is done
How Alan Mulally's all-green KPIs at Ford exposed a culture that couldn't ask for help

Chapters:

00:00 Lead Through Transformation

01:13 Sponsor Message Kyndryl

01:40 Why Projects Really Fail

02:03 Meet Antonio And Project Economy

07:04 Projects As Your Future

08:33 Case Study EY Project Everest

10:29 Case Study Nike Structure Fails

13:09 Rethinking Org Structure For AI

15:02 AI And Robots Disrupt Work

17:29 From Agile To Project Driven

21:57 Change Fatigue Too Many Projects

26:02 Co Creation And Leadership Focus

27:37 Great Resignation And PDO Shift

29:09 Burnout After Covid

30:12 Bayer And Haier Blueprint

34:09 Empower Teams To Stop

36:09 From Projects To PDO

39:19 Finish Early Kill Fast

42:42 Exponential Crazy Bets

50:40 Transparency And Town Halls

56:09 Final Advice And Wrap

Find Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez at https://antonionietorodriguez.com and on LinkedIn.

This series is brought to you by Kyndryl, who run and reimagine the technology systems that drive advantage for the world's leading businesses. With a unique blend of AI-powered consulting built on unmatched managed-service capability, Kyndryl helps leaders harness technology for smarter decisions, faster innovation, and lasting competitive edge. Learn more about Kyndryl and the Kyndryl Institute at https://www.kyndryl.com.

Subscribe to the Thursday Thought on Substack for a chance to win a copy of Powered by Projects, with thanks to Kyndryl: https://thethursdaythought.substack.com

About The Innovation Show: the Thinkers50-recognised podcast where square pegs find their place in a world of round holes. Hosted by Aidan McCullen, author of Undisruptable, it brings you conversations with world-class authors, scientists and practitioners on disruption, innovation, change, transformation and leadership.

Website: https://theinnovationshow.io

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Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez — Powered by Projects and the Project-Driven Organization

The Innovation Show

Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez — Powered by Projects and the Project-Driven Organization