From Getting Fired to Mastering Projects: The Psychology of Success

In this thought-provoking episode of Tomorrow Today, host Shekhar Natarajan sits down with Antonio Nieto, globally recognized project management expert, former Chairman of the Project Management Institute (PMI), author, and Thinkers50 honoree, for a fascinating conversation about why projects fail, how organizations can execute strategy better, and what it takes to create meaningful value in an increasingly complex business world. Antonio Nieto has spent decades helping some of the world’s largest organizations navigate major transformations, strategic initiatives, post-merger integrations, and high-stakes projects across industries including banking, pharmaceuticals, and consulting. His career has taken him through organizations such as PwC, GSK, ABN AMRO, and Fortis, giving him a unique perspective on why even the most ambitious corporate strategies can fail during execution. In this deeply personal conversation, Antonio also shares the unconventional journey that shaped his career. From growing up across Mexico, Germany, Italy, and Rhode Island, to discovering his passion for project execution, he recalls the pivotal moment when he was fired after pitching a project advisory business model an experience that could have ended his career but instead became a turning point that helped define his professional mission. One of the most provocative ideas in the conversation is radical prioritization. Antonio argues that organizations often attempt to execute too many projects simultaneously, spreading their people and resources so thin that meaningful initiatives struggle to succeed. He explores why companies may need to eliminate a significant percentage of lower-value projects and concentrate their talent on the initiatives that can create the greatest strategic impact. Antonio also shares powerful lessons from big pharma and vaccine development, showing how extraordinary focus, dedicated teams, strong leadership, and clear priorities can dramatically compress timelines and accelerate execution. The conversation goes beyond project management into the deeper human dynamics of organizations. Antonio and Shekhar discuss corporate politics, executive sponsorship, organizational behavior, incentives, leadership, judgment, culture, and the importance of authentic relationships especially as AI becomes increasingly capable of automating knowledge work and back-office execution. They also explore the future of work and why the ability to navigate uncertainty, influence stakeholders, make difficult judgments, and build trust may become some of the most valuable skills in an AI-driven economy.