Many organizations believe they struggle with strategy execution when the real issue is a lack of portfolio prioritization discipline. Strategic plans are approved, funding is allocated, and initiatives are launched—but too many projects move forward at once, diluting focus and slowing delivery across the board. The result is predictable: everything is labeled a priority, yet…
Strategy execution is like the blind-side tackle in the NFL. Their job is to keep pressure from crashing into the quarterback from behind. When they do it well, nobody talks about the blocker. They talk about the quarterback, the throw, and the touchdown. That is part of what makes strategy execution hard to value. When…
Many organizations claim their project portfolios support corporate strategy. Yet when executives review active initiatives, they often find dozens of projects with only a loose connection to strategic priorities. The problem is rarely the strategy itself—it is the absence of clear strategic guardrails guiding portfolio decisions. Strategic guardrails are explicit boundaries that define where the…
When an organization decides to divest part of its business, maintaining strategic alignment becomes both complex and critical. The divestiture process—separating operations, assets, and teams—tests the organization’s ability to stay focused on its strategic goals while ensuring minimal disruption. The PPMO is uniquely positioned to bring order to this complexity, ensuring that every project, resource,…
Turning strategy into real, measurable results remains one of the hardest challenges for executive teams. For credit unions, where growth must align with mission and member value, effective strategy execution is essential—not optional. Yet, a PwC study found that only 2.5% of organizations complete all their strategic initiatives successfully (PwC Strategy& Survey, 2023). The gap…
High-Performing Executives Plan for Strategy Execution Success. “Sixty-one percent of corporate strategists say poor strategy execution is the primary reason that new growth initiatives fail,” says Marc Kelly, VP at Gartner. “It’s more of a problem than the strategy itself or the funding of that strategy, and it stems from a range of issues.” Gartner…
When organizations struggle to meet strategic targets, the issue often lies not in the strategy itself—but in how well projects support it. Strategic project alignment is not a one-time planning exercise. It is a continuous discipline embedded in the earliest stages of project intake. Without it, even high-performing projects can become irrelevant. According to PMI’s…
Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are often pursued for strategic reasons—market expansion, operational synergy, or digital transformation. Yet, up to 70% of M&A deals fail to deliver the expected value, according to research by Harvard Business Review. One critical reason: poor alignment between post-merger integration (PMI) activities and enterprise strategy. This is where the portfolio project…
