Reinventing Project Management
SERIES ARTICLE
By Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez
Madrid, Spain
Introduction
I am delighted to have the opportunity to contribute once again to the PM World Journal and to share a new series of monthly articles throughout 2026. My sincere thanks to David Pells for his continued leadership and for inviting me to be part of this global platform that has become a true reference for project professionals around the world.
In this introductory article, I’d like to outline the overarching theme of the series — the reinvention of project management — and preview some of the key topics that I will explore in the coming months.
Why Project Management Needs Reinvention
Every major transformation in history — from the building of cities and nations to the creation of new technologies and industries — has happened through projects. Projects have always been the vehicle through which ideas are turned into reality.
Yet, paradoxically, just as the world becomes more project-driven, our profession finds itself struggling to adapt. While organizations now rely on projects to deliver nearly every strategic initiative, the methods and mindsets we use to manage them were designed for another era — one of stability, predictability, and control.
We have entered what I call The Project Economy: an era where projects are the primary driver of value creation across both business and society. By 2030, more than half of the world’s GDP will come from project-based work. But in this new context, project management can no longer be confined to checklists, templates, and Gantt charts. It must evolve into a discipline of strategic leadership and value creation.
From Control to Purpose
For the past 50 years, the profession has been shaped around control, process, and compliance. These principles served us well when the world was slower and more linear. But they have also created a culture of bureaucracy — where success is measured by adherence to plan rather than impact on purpose.
The new world of work requires something different: purpose-driven project management.
More…
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Editor’s note: This series of articles is by Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez, PMI Fellow and author of the “Harvard Business Review Project Management Handbook “. He is one of the world’s most popular authors and sought-after speakers on the project economy and the future of project management.
How to cite this work: Nieto-Rodriguez, A. (2025). Reimagining Project Management for a New Era, series article 1, PM World Journal, Vol. XIV, Issue XII, December. Available online at https://pmworldlibrary.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/pmwj159-Dec2025-Nieto-Rodriguez-reimagining-project-management-reinvention-series-1.pdf
About the Author
Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez
Madrid, Spain
Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez, PMI Fellow, is one of the world’s leading experts in Project Management and Strategy Implementation. He is the author of the “Harvard Business Review Project Management Handbook ” (HBR 2021) and is the most published author on project management matters in Harvard Business Review. His upcoming book, Powered by Projects: Leading Your Organization in the Transformation Age, will be published by Harvard Business Review Press in early 2026.
Antonio has brought Project Management to the center of executive leadership, positioning it as a critical capability for transformation in the next decade. He is the creator of influential concepts such as the Project Economy®, the Hierarchy of Purpose®, and the Project‑Driven Organization™, which argue that projects have become the operating system of modern organizations—and the language of future careers.
His global impact on management and leadership has been recognized by Thinkers50, where he is the only project management thinker included twice in a row in the ranking of the world’s most influential management thinkers. He is also the recipient of the prestigious Thinkers50 Ideas Into Practice Award and a member of the Marshall Goldsmith 100 Coaches community.
He was the global Chairman of the Project Management Institute in 2016 and has been recognized as a Fellow of PMI for his contribution to the project management profession. He led the creation of the Brightline Initiative, founded Projects & Co, and co-founded the Strategy Implementation Institute.
His work focuses on advising senior leaders on how to prioritize and implement strategic initiatives and lead transformational change.
Antonio is also the author of “Lead Successful Projects” (Penguin, 2019), “The Project Revolution” (LID, 2019). and “The Focused Organization” (Taylor & Francis, 2014) and has contributed to seven other books. A pioneer and leading authority in teaching and coaching senior executives the art and science of strategy execution and project management. Currently visiting professor at Duke CE, Instituto de Empresa, Solvay, Vlerick, Ecole des Ponts, and Skolkovo.
He is a much-in-demand speaker at events worldwide. Antonio has presented at more than 800 conferences around the world, regularly evaluated as the best speaker. European Business Summit, Strategy Leaders Forum, Gartner Summit, TEDx, and EU Cohesion Policy Conference; are some of the events he has delivered inspirational keynotes.
He is former Sustainability Program Director and Head of Global Program Management Office at GlaxoSmithKline Vaccines. Previously he also served as Head of Project Portfolio Management at BNP Paribas Fortis and Head of Post-Merger Integration at Fortis Bank, leading the acquisition of ABN AMBRO, the largest in financial service history. He also worked for ten years at PricewaterhouseCoopers, becoming the global lead practitioner for project and change management.
Born in Madrid, Spain, and educated in Germany, Mexico, Italy, and the United States, Antonio is fluent in five languages. He is an Economist, has an MBA from London Business School and Insead’s IDP. You can follow Antonio through his LinkedIn Newsletter – Lead Projects Successfully. For more information, visit his website at www.antonionietorodriguez.com. He can be reached via email: antonio.nieto.rodriguez@gmail.com
