Manage Your Project Portfolio, 2nd Edition

Define Strategy at Your Level

You can think about strategy in any number of ways. I don’t happen to like SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis. To me, it’s too inward-looking. If it works for you, great. Strategy is how you define and achieve your future organization. You need both great execution (how you manage the project portfolio can help) and understanding of what the future is (understanding your corporate values and how you want to compete in the future).

I prefer an iterative approach to defining and living your strategy. I like thinking about strategy in Top Management Strategy: What It Is and How to Make It Work [TZ80].

Every organization has different operational and strategic strengths. The managers ...