Why “Lessons Learned” Are Usually a Lie
Every failed project has a “lessons learned” report. Almost none of them are honest.
The same phrases appear every time: communication breakdowns, unclear scope, stakeholder complexity. These aren’t lessons — they’re excuses dressed up as insight.
The real lessons are uncomfortable. They involve poor leadership, ignored warnings, political pressure, and decisions made to avoid short-term pain rather than long-term damage. Those lessons rarely make it into official reports because they implicate people, not systems.
Until organisations are willing to document who overruled whom and why, they’ll keep repeating the same failures and pretending they’re learning.
Projects don’t need more lessons. They need more accountability.
