"Ninety-five percent of AI projects fail. MIT's Project NANDA has made the number famous, and it now opens countless strategy sessions and keynote addresses. Leaders naturally ask how they can join the 5% that succeed. But that question ignores the real issue, which is that if you scope your project using the wrong objectives, you might build the "right" tools and hit the "right" milestones-but still set yourself up to lose."
"is a C-level advisor; a senior fellow (Competition) at the University of California, Berkeley; and a four-time HBR Sangeet Paul Choudary 10 Must Reads author. He is a recipient of the 2025 Thinkers50 Strategy Award for his book Reshuffle, on the economic impact of AI."
Ninety-five percent of AI projects fail, a statistic popularized by MIT's Project NANDA and invoked across strategy sessions and keynotes. Leaders frequently ask how to join the 5% that succeed, focusing on technical delivery and milestone achievement. That focus overlooks the fundamental problem of mis-specified objectives. Projects scoped to the wrong objectives can yield the "right" tools and meet milestone metrics while still undermining strategic goals and competitive position. True success requires aligning project scope and objectives with real business outcomes rather than only delivering technically accurate artifacts.
Read at Harvard Business Review
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