Explaining that you were in charge of a completely new team, and that the old team was kicked away, would have put your advice in a more favourable perspective.

Explaining that you were in charge of a completely new team, and that the old team was kicked away, would have put your advice in a more favourable perspective. However: - Either there are reasonable targets for the replacement team, making the project a new and not failing yet one, or taking over the project is a suicide mission. It isn't at all clear what your starting situation and the attitude of your upper managers were along that spectrum. - I still have no idea of what kind of "shortcuts" and unethical behaviour you are alluding to. Lying about progress and problems? Pressuring and cheating the team to make them work overtime, unpaid for extra credits? Dirty tricks against colleagues? Theft and swindling? Envy, resentment and violence? Something beyond my imagination? In general, if you want to discuss your project management experience I think you should start from your story, telling it in detail (enough to allow readers to judge by themselves), and offer advice only as lessons learned. Exposing general advice first and tackling vague and unsettling hints of the experiences that justify it is much less effective.