You have invested months in a project that clearly is not working.

Everyone knows it is not working.

But stopping now would mean admitting that all that time, money, and effort did not produce what you expected.

So the organization invests even more.

That is the Sunk Cost Effect:

Past investments can keep us committed to decisions that no longer make sense.

The problem is that the original investment is already gone. Continuing does not recover it. It only determines how much more you may lose.

The better question is not, “How much have we already put into this?”

It is, “Knowing what we know today, would we still choose to continue?”

Sometimes quitting is not giving up.

It is finally paying attention.