Customer centrism
It sometimes amazes me how organizations large and small can so easily lose sight of their raison de existance. For instance, have you ever heard someone remove functionality from a project's scope based on level of effort, completely ignoring customer need? While I'm sure in some desparate situations this can be rationalized, e.g. where regulatory or other externalities force an organization's hand in hitting a date, let's face it: most of our projects are not that critical.
Good organizations put customers first. It sounds like dogma, but it's not. Building shareholder wealth means looking out for the short- and long-term interests of the customer to improve the probability of a continued revenue stream. It's just that simple.
Another troublesome sign on projects is the untouchable requirement. These usually come in the form of management mandates, though many of those are taken out of context and bastardized to the point of losing the spirit of the original intent. You know this is happening on a project when team members are afraid to challenge an area of requirements. They incorrectly believe that falling into line and marching in goose-step fashion to management mandates will keep them snug and comfortable in their jobs. And don't get me wrong, organizations need both chiefs and indians (pardon the Western metaphor). But in defining products and services for customers, blind subordination has no place. Go with the customer, and the rest will take care of itself.