Mind the Gap: Strategy, Execution and Portfolio Management

The BIG CIC Conference is all about introducing Business Integrated Governance to people, and quickly linking attendees to examples of where integrated governance has been leveraged before, and where the BIG BOK has been used too. It will provide a practical session on helping protagonists to build a vision, cased and stakeholder base - enabling development of a business case to do something!

The Strategy-Execution gap is a reality and furthermore, failures in strategy implementation and project delivery remain all too common. The answer, disciplined portfolio management which, as Professor Robert Cooper says, “is how you operationalise your Business Strategy”. This session will focus on five key ways in which portfolio management can effectively align strategy and execution – balancing risk and return; portfolio categorization; aligning projects with strategy via benefits; what LSE Professor Larry Phillips refers to as ‘socio-technical’ prioritisation; and regularly re-visiting the investment decision.

Run vs Change – we extend the portfolio discussion into the challenge of balancing the objectives for strategy delivery delegated into portfolios with the objectives delegated into departments, functions and product groups for strategy delivery and performance. I will introduce BIG as a means to provide integration and oversight objectives from all these domains.

Discussion – including how do we get these topic onto an exec agenda?

• Part 1 – Portfolio Management in Strategy Execution: David and Stephen discussed the critical role of portfolio management in bridging the strategy execution gap, referencing research and practical examples to highlight its importance in organisational success.
• Part 2 – Defining Portfolio Management and Its Organisational Role: Stephen provided a comprehensive definition of portfolio management, describing it as the process of selecting, prioritising, and managing a collection of projects, programmes, and related work to achieve portfolio objectives, with David supporting the need for specialisation.
• Part 3 – Portfolio Structure, Delegation, and Governance: Stephen and David discussed how organisations should structure their portfolios, delegate authority, and maintain governance, referencing best practices and research to support focused and accountable portfolio management. Integration of Portfolio, Strategy, and Culture: Stephen and David explored the interplay between process, strategy, and culture, emphasising that all three pillars are necessary for effective governance and successful portfolio management.
• Part 4 – Portfolio Management and Organisational Prioritisation: David and Stephen addressed the challenges of prioritising investments across strategic, functional, and product domains, and the need for transparency and coordination in portfolio management.
• Part 5 – Extending Portfolio Management Principles Across the Organisation: David and Stephen discussed the potential for project, programme, and portfolio support functions to enable broader organisational performance management, including the application of OKRs and tailored investment criteria.

Watch an intro from David and Steve - https://youtu.be/5_b_IYh5A84?list=PLo1WPH5ee-6nnCzNb-DIxDtS-oBxkuzJ2

Please see our background blogs which talk about:

Fertile Ground for Projects

Mind the Gap: Strategy, Execution and Portfolio Management

Building the Fabric Between Strategy & Delivery