S06E03 Why Zombie Projects Never Die

AI initiatives do not fit neatly into old portfolio models. Are they experiments, capability-building efforts, innovation bets, or hype-driven distractions? This episode unpacks why AI creates such a difficult governance challenge.

Scoring models promise fairness and objectivity, but they can also create false confidence. This episode explores what prioritization helps with, what it hides, and why numbers do not remove the need for judgment.

Almost every project claims to be strategic. But when everything sounds aligned, does strategy still help us choose? This episode examines when strategic language becomes more performance than discipline.

Some projects stop creating real value long before they stop consuming time, money, and attention. This episode looks at zombie projects, sunk cost, and the growing burden of portfolio debt.

Most organizations manage two portfolios at once: the official one on the slides, and the shadow one made up of urgent fixes, hidden work, and constant interruptions. This episode explores the gap between planned priorities and lived reality.

Welcome to season 6 of Management talks with Gunnar Wettergren. This first series is a reflective podcast series about what really shapes IT project portfolios, including strategy, politics, hidden work, AI, resilience, public value, and the future of portfolio leadership.  In this first episode we ask why weaker projects survive while better ones quietly disappear? This opening episode explores the real forces behind portfolio decisions, including power, sponsorship, visibility, timing, and organizational politics.

This module helps students understand how ideas move from abstract concepts to tangible learning tools. The focus is on prototyping as a way of exploring assumptions, testing as a way of generating evidence, and iteration as a disciplined process of improvement. Students should leave the module with a clear understanding that prototypes are not unfinished failures, but purposeful instruments for learning under uncertainty.

This episode helps you understand how meaningful problems are identified in real communities. The focus is on moving beyond assumptions, abstract problem statements, and solution-first thinking. 

This episode introduces Design Thinking as a human-centered and iterative way of approaching complex problems. After this episode, students should be able to explain what Design Thinking is, why it differs from solution-first approaches, and why empathy, experimentation, and iteration are central.

In this lecture, we explore the ideas of Peter Drucker, often called the father of modern management. Drucker argued that the true purpose of business is to create a customer, and that innovation and responsibility are at the heart of management practice. We discuss his influence on concepts such as management by objectives, the rise of knowledge workers, and the ethical role of corporations in society. With examples from Intel, Apple, and Johnson & Johnson, the episode highlights how Drucker's broad and pragmatic vision continues to shape how organizations think about strategy, purpose, and responsibility in a turbulent world.