Keep Winning – How to Consistently Increase Project Success
Lenka Pincot, PMI
Lenka, Chief of Staff to the CEO at the Project Management Institute, brought a global perspective and concrete data from PMI research. She discussed how to maintain the impact and success of projects in a constantly changing world:
Start with what matters most – what does success mean to you?
Only 37% of projects worldwide define success criteria at the beginning. Even fewer track progress effectively. Yet the combination of three steps – defining success, measuring performance, and monitoring progress – significantly increases the likelihood of project success.
Measurement pays off – but only if you measure what matters.
It’s not enough to track timelines and budgets. Real success is reflected in the project’s impact, the quality of deliverables, and stakeholder satisfaction.
Key takeaway?
Define, measure, and monitor. In today’s world, success isn’t measured by sticking to the budget – it’s measured by the impact the project creates. And that impact must be visible.
Winners and Losers of Agile Transformations
Ondřej Kavula, Agisense
With humor and perspective, Ondřej shared his 20 years of experience from the Czech Republic and abroad, shedding light on what truly works – and what ruins agile transformations:
❌ What doesn’t work:
- Big Bang approaches without clear goals
- Blindly copying frameworks without considering company culture
- Obsessive KPI tracking without understanding the value of teamwork
- Underestimating technical excellence and the role of middle management
✅ What works:
- Aligning structure with culture (not the other way around)
- Investing in middle management leadership – as coaches, teachers, and inspirers
- Emphasizing technical skills and development culture – “Build the cult of software engineering”
- Product-based transformations instead of structure-based ones
„Agile won’t disappear – it’ll just be called something else. Adaptability is stronger than buzzwords.“
From Failure to Innovation
Valér Dzvonik, ex-O2
Valér openly shared the story of a failed recruitment campaign at O2 that turned into an HR success – and most importantly, how the team managed to learn from it:
- The campaign’s failure, with minimal impact, prompted the team to rethink the entire recruitment strategy.
- They focused on high school students and created a series of workshops (“How to Succeed in a Job Interview”), which have now reached over 300 young people.
- Emphasis on authenticity, a healthy work environment, and clear communication paid off – new hire attrition dropped from 49% (2021) to 20% (2024).
What began as a failure became an opportunity – the company is now building a long-term talent pool and has improved its employer reputation.
