Sunk cost is the quiet killer of large programmes. The longer a programme has been running and the more that has been spent, the harder it becomes to say the thing nobody wants to hear: this path will not get us there.
The instinct, when a programme stalls, is to re-plan. Another schedule, another re-baseline, another round of optimism. But a re-plan only helps if the underlying approach is sound. Sometimes it isn't, and the honest answer is architectural: the thing cannot be recovered in its current form.
Reaching that conclusion responsibly takes a rapid, evidence-based diagnosis, not a hunch. You have to be able to show your working, because you're about to ask people to walk away from something they've invested in heavily.
And the pivot only works if it's done in the open. A rebuilt business case, a transparent conversation with the board, and new governance to match; not a quiet course-correction hidden inside the next status pack. Done that way, a pivot rebuilds confidence rather than spending it.
Courage in delivery isn't reckless. It's rigorous. The bold call and the disciplined diagnosis are the same act.