Tag Archives: portfolio management

How to Prioritize Strategic Initiatives

This article concludes with five recommendations for prioritizing strategic initiatives. It describes a the challenges that organizations face with too many projects, and explains that strategy is used to screen all of these important – or so-called strategic – projects into a much smaller portfolio of projects.
http://wp.me/pZCkk-OG Continue reading →

Posted in Interpreting Strategy Documents, Program & Portfolio Management, Strategic Planning Issues for Strategic Initiatives, Success Principles for Strategic Initiatives | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

HSBC’s Powerful Idea: Separate “Change the Business” from “Run the Business”

Strategic initiatives are intended to change the business, but have to compete with run the business imperatives for resources. HSBC has a simple powerful concept for portfolio prioritization: it’s either run the business or change the business. Greg Githens explains the concept, and covers three lessons for leaders of strategic initiatives: use this as a first cut, pay attention to the follow-the-money story, and think more deeply about the question, What is strategic alignment? http://wp.me/pZCkk-z6 Continue reading →

Posted in Program & Portfolio Management, Success Principles for Strategic Initiatives | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Eight Distinctions between Portfolio Management & Program Management

This article clarifies the differences between program management, portfolio management, and program management along 8 dimensions: purpose, temporal nature, aggregation, strategic alignment, success criteria, risk, decisions, & competencies. Greg Githens explains four implications for leaders of strategic initiatives: meaning of strategic alignment, number of strategic initiatives in the portfolio, strategic initiatives as programs, and immature standards. The leader applies strategic thinking to do that. Continue reading →

Posted in Program & Portfolio Management, Strategic Planning Issues for Strategic Initiatives | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments