Executives and managers of organizations both large and small manage portfolios of assets and activities representing what the business is and what it does. Managed well, these portfolios directly support the effective and efficient achievement of mission goals. Managed poorly, these portfolios target achievement of differing and sometimes competing objectives or inappropriately expend resources on low value activities; ultimately diminishing the organization’s ability to maximize value creation. Thus, the focus of portfolio management is the optimization of resource deployment across the collection of activities most directly supporting achievement of mission goals.
Types of Portfolios
Portfolios are the collections of either assets sharing similar characteristics or activities supporting achievement of common objectives. Individual items with the collection may or may not be interdependent or directly related. These logical groupings, however, facilitate measurement, comparison, and prioritization which in-turn provides portfolio managers with the information necessary to make and implement decisions that maximize value creation for the resources expended.
Management of asset and activity portfolios requires a different focus and skill set. While both asset and activity portfolio management involve the management of resources, asset portfolio management focuses on value creation through the acquisition, deployment, and release of resources whereas activity portfolio management focuses on the prioritization, selection, and execution of value creating work using resources. To better illustrate this concept, the following asset and activity portfolio definitions are offered:
Asset Portfolios: collections of items the use of which generate value
Financial: collections of convertible instruments that create value and/or can be exchanged for other resources. Examples include: cash reserves, options, stocks, and bonds
Material: collections of physical property used in the creation of value adding products and services. Examples include: structures, equipment and tools, and raw materials, components, and supplies
Intellectual: collections of knowledge resources used in the creation of value adding products and services. Examples include: data, patents, copyrights, trademarks, and retained human knowledge and experience
Labor: collections of employees, typically grouped by skill set, who perform value adding work. Examples include: managers, engineers, graphic designers, and mechanics
Activity Portfolios: collections of business activities through which value is created or enhanced.
Operational Portfolios: collections of the major, ongoing and repetitive activities that either directly or indirectly support organizational value generation. Examples include: marketing, sales, production (of goods and/or services), maintenance, human resources, and finance
Project Portfolios: collections of projects typically used to enhance or expand existing operational portfolio activities. Examples include: business process reengineering, enterprise resource planning software implementation, and new product/service development
Note: While effective management of both asset and activity portfolios is critical to the success of any organization, postings within the Portfolio Management category will focus on activity portfolios. Insights regarding the management of asset portfolios will be provided within the Resource Management category.
Activity Alignment with Mission Goals
Aligning activity portfolios with the organization’s mission goals necessarily begins with the strategic planning process. Because no one project or recurring activity is likely to satisfy all of an organization’s goals, executives and managers work together to identify, prioritize, and select collections of activities possessing the greatest value potential for a given cost, bounded by the organization’s limited resource availability. Quantifiable measures of value and cost assigned to aid in activity prioritization and selection are then translated into performance measures against which the portfolio manager judges the collection’s ongoing mission alignment. (See Figure 1)
Effective, Efficient Deployment of Resources
Today’s rapidly changing business environment and the dynamic nature of operational activity and project execution demands continuous reevaluation, reprioritization, and, as necessary, redistribution of the organization’s limited resources away from low and no value adding work to those more directly supporting goal achievement. Making resource allocation adjustments to maximize an activity portfolio’s value is, subsequently, a primary responsibility of the portfolio manager.
In order to maximize a portfolio’s ongoing value creation, portfolio managers must act to ensure performance of their portfolio’s activities remains in alignment with and drives achievement of stated mission goals. Therefore, these managers need to clearly understand the organization’s overall objective goals and the value proposition of each activity within their portfolios. It is with this knowledge that they divert resources from low and no value adding work to those more directly supporting goal achievement.
Focus of the Portfolio Management Forum
Materials in the Portfolio Management Forum will focus on the underlying principles, best practices, and warning flags associated with maintaining effective activity portfolio alignment with mission goals while, at the same time, efficiently deploying the organization’s limited resources. The following articles, podcasts, documents, and resources cover those topics critical to a robust portfolio management program.
StrategyDriven Podcasts focus on the tools and techniques executives and managers can use to improve their organization’s alignment and accountability to ultimately achieve superior results. These podcasts elaborate on the best practice and warning flag articles on the StrategyDriven website.
Nathan Ives is a StrategyDriven Principal, and Host of the StrategyDriven Podcast. For over twenty years, he has served as trusted advisor to executives and managers at dozens of Fortune 500 and smaller companies in the areas of management effectiveness, organizational development, and process improvement. To read Nathan’s complete biography, click here.
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Strategic Planning: presents methods for developing the business case for diversity and inclusion relating the impacts of having/not having an inclusive environment to the ‘bottom line.’ Includes training for communicating the business case to executives and board members
Human Resources: examines organizational behaviors and biases and how these impact the selection, promotion, and rating processes. Ties these behaviors and the resulting outcomes to the ability of an organization to attract, retain, and motivate diverse talent
Training: describes the various diversity and inclusion training types, such as awareness and skills training, and the benefits and challenges of each
Marketing and Sales: illustrates the impact of diversity and inclusion on an organization’s ability to market and sell its products and services to an increasingly diverse marketplace. Highlights methods by which affinity groups have and can help significantly improve an organization’s public image and open up markets; all of which increase sales and enhance the ‘bottom line’
Procurement: discusses diversity and inclusion of suppliers/vendors and the impact on the organization’s culture and its ability to market products and services to other organizations
Production (operations and maintenance): explores the impacts of engaging versus disenfranchising members of the workforce on production. Translates this impact, along with the impacts of undesired attrition, into ‘bottom line’ results
Benefits of Using this Reference
Significant, irreversible forces are flattening our world; bringing all people closer together in ways previously unimaginable. Today’s business environment offers unparalleled opportunities to richly combine the talents of the increasingly diverse workforce for the benefit of increasingly diverse clients if leaders can motivate and inspire each member of our team to contribute the fullest measure of his/her knowledge, skill, and experience to the achievement of mission goals. This level of engagement, however, only exists in accountable, diverse, and inclusive organizations.
While many individuals believe diversity and inclusion is the right thing to do, the Diversity Management Certificate Course helps these leaders express both their convictions and the business value of a diverse and inclusive work environment. By communicating the business value, these leaders earn the support of previously undecided executives and managers who now recognize the untapped value potential diversity and inclusion offers. Having garnered the critical mass of support, the organization can move toward increased accountability, diversity, and inclusion to the benefit of all.
By definition, strategy driven organizations are accountable, acting consequentially to promote the timely accomplishment of the organization’s mission, which subsequently enhances value creation. StrategyDriven Contributors believe accountable organizations will naturally be diverse and inclusive or becoming more so. The tools and techniques taught in the Diversity Management Certificate Course quantitatively illustrate this value relationship making this course a StrategyDriven recommended resource.
https://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/SDELogo5-300x70-300x70.png00StrategyDrivenhttps://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/SDELogo5-300x70-300x70.pngStrategyDriven2008-01-20 09:38:332015-09-17 23:19:21Recommended Resource – University of Houston’s Diversity Management Certificate Course
We have often asserted that organizations, like people, act in a manner consistent with its shared values. Subsequently, those ideals in which an organization’s members truly believe manifest themselves in every aspect of the organization’s physical and social environments. These environments are categorically represented as an organization’s:
physical environment
social environment
decision environment
positional environment
developmental environment
recognition and rewards environment
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As with all self assessments, there exists a wide array of tools that can be employed when examining each organizational environment. These tools range from the concrete direct observation to the less tangible surveys and interviews. Recommendations regarding the collection and synthesis of self assessment data can be found in Evaluation and Control Best Practice 1 – Data Synthesis and the Information Development Model.
Additionally, the most valuable self assessments use standards of excellence as their comparative basis and apply a highly critical eye to the organization’s conditions and performance. Information regarding the application of this high level of scrutiny can be found in:
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StrategyDriven Podcasts focus on the tools and techniques executives and managers can use to improve their organization’s alignment and accountability to ultimately achieve superior results. These podcasts elaborate on the best practice and warning flag articles on the StrategyDriven website.
Nathan Ives is a StrategyDriven Principal, and Host of the StrategyDriven Podcast. For over twenty years, he has served as trusted advisor to executives and managers at dozens of Fortune 500 and smaller companies in the areas of management effectiveness, organizational development, and process improvement. To read Nathan’s complete biography, click here.
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Business Programs
StrategyDriven Portfolio Management Forum
/in Portfolio Management/by StrategyDrivenTypes of Portfolios
Portfolios are the collections of either assets sharing similar characteristics or activities supporting achievement of common objectives. Individual items with the collection may or may not be interdependent or directly related. These logical groupings, however, facilitate measurement, comparison, and prioritization which in-turn provides portfolio managers with the information necessary to make and implement decisions that maximize value creation for the resources expended.
Management of asset and activity portfolios requires a different focus and skill set. While both asset and activity portfolio management involve the management of resources, asset portfolio management focuses on value creation through the acquisition, deployment, and release of resources whereas activity portfolio management focuses on the prioritization, selection, and execution of value creating work using resources. To better illustrate this concept, the following asset and activity portfolio definitions are offered:
Note: While effective management of both asset and activity portfolios is critical to the success of any organization, postings within the Portfolio Management category will focus on activity portfolios. Insights regarding the management of asset portfolios will be provided within the Resource Management category.
Aligning activity portfolios with the organization’s mission goals necessarily begins with the strategic planning process. Because no one project or recurring activity is likely to satisfy all of an organization’s goals, executives and managers work together to identify, prioritize, and select collections of activities possessing the greatest value potential for a given cost, bounded by the organization’s limited resource availability. Quantifiable measures of value and cost assigned to aid in activity prioritization and selection are then translated into performance measures against which the portfolio manager judges the collection’s ongoing mission alignment. (See Figure 1)
Effective, Efficient Deployment of Resources
Today’s rapidly changing business environment and the dynamic nature of operational activity and project execution demands continuous reevaluation, reprioritization, and, as necessary, redistribution of the organization’s limited resources away from low and no value adding work to those more directly supporting goal achievement. Making resource allocation adjustments to maximize an activity portfolio’s value is, subsequently, a primary responsibility of the portfolio manager.
In order to maximize a portfolio’s ongoing value creation, portfolio managers must act to ensure performance of their portfolio’s activities remains in alignment with and drives achievement of stated mission goals. Therefore, these managers need to clearly understand the organization’s overall objective goals and the value proposition of each activity within their portfolios. It is with this knowledge that they divert resources from low and no value adding work to those more directly supporting goal achievement.
Focus of the Portfolio Management Forum
Materials in the Portfolio Management Forum will focus on the underlying principles, best practices, and warning flags associated with maintaining effective activity portfolio alignment with mission goals while, at the same time, efficiently deploying the organization’s limited resources. The following articles, podcasts, documents, and resources cover those topics critical to a robust portfolio management program.
Articles
Principles
Best Practices
Warning Flags
StrategyDriven Podcasts
StrategyDriven Podcast – Special Edition
StrategyDriven Podcast Episode 7 – Vertically Cascading Organizational Performance Measures, part 2 of 3
/in Organizational Performance Measures, StrategyDriven Podcast/by Nathan IvesStrategyDriven Podcasts focus on the tools and techniques executives and managers can use to improve their organization’s alignment and accountability to ultimately achieve superior results. These podcasts elaborate on the best practice and warning flag articles on the StrategyDriven website.
Episode 7 – Vertically Cascading Organizational Performance Measures, part 2 of 3 elaborates on Organizational Performance Measure Best Practice 1 – Vertical Cascading. This discussion focuses on the five step process for creating a vertically cascaded performance measurement system anchored on the organization’s mission goals.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (19.1MB)
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About the Contributor
Recommended Resource – University of Houston’s Diversity Management Certificate Course
/in Diversity & Inclusion, Recommended Resources/by StrategyDrivenDiversity Management Certificate Course
Craig B. Clayton, Sr. PhD
Director and Diversity Strategist
Bauer College of Business
University of Houston
Website Address: www.bauer.uh.edu/degrees-programs/certificates/diversity-management.asp
About the Reference
The Diversity Management Certificate Course provides participants with the tools they need to identify and communicate the business value of a diverse and inclusive work environment. Topical areas covered by the Diversity Management Certificate Course include:
Benefits of Using this Reference
Significant, irreversible forces are flattening our world; bringing all people closer together in ways previously unimaginable. Today’s business environment offers unparalleled opportunities to richly combine the talents of the increasingly diverse workforce for the benefit of increasingly diverse clients if leaders can motivate and inspire each member of our team to contribute the fullest measure of his/her knowledge, skill, and experience to the achievement of mission goals. This level of engagement, however, only exists in accountable, diverse, and inclusive organizations.
While many individuals believe diversity and inclusion is the right thing to do, the Diversity Management Certificate Course helps these leaders express both their convictions and the business value of a diverse and inclusive work environment. By communicating the business value, these leaders earn the support of previously undecided executives and managers who now recognize the untapped value potential diversity and inclusion offers. Having garnered the critical mass of support, the organization can move toward increased accountability, diversity, and inclusion to the benefit of all.
By definition, strategy driven organizations are accountable, acting consequentially to promote the timely accomplishment of the organization’s mission, which subsequently enhances value creation. StrategyDriven Contributors believe accountable organizations will naturally be diverse and inclusive or becoming more so. The tools and techniques taught in the Diversity Management Certificate Course quantitatively illustrate this value relationship making this course a StrategyDriven recommended resource.
Diversity and Inclusion – What Does Your Environment Communicate?
/in Corporate Cultures, Diversity & Inclusion, Premium/by StrategyDrivenHi there! Gain access to this article with a FREE StrategyDriven Insights Library – Sample Subscription. It’s FREE Forever with No Credit Card Required.
In addition to receiving access to Diversity and Inclusion – What Does Your Environment Communicate?, you’ll help advance your career and business programs through anytime, anywhere access to:
Best of all, it’s FREE Forever with No Credit Card Required.
Additional Information
As with all self assessments, there exists a wide array of tools that can be employed when examining each organizational environment. These tools range from the concrete direct observation to the less tangible surveys and interviews. Recommendations regarding the collection and synthesis of self assessment data can be found in Evaluation and Control Best Practice 1 – Data Synthesis and the Information Development Model.
Additionally, the most valuable self assessments use standards of excellence as their comparative basis and apply a highly critical eye to the organization’s conditions and performance. Information regarding the application of this high level of scrutiny can be found in:
StrategyDriven Podcast Episode 6 – Vertically Cascading Organizational Performance Measures, part 1 of 3
/in Organizational Performance Measures, StrategyDriven Podcast/by Nathan IvesStrategyDriven Podcasts focus on the tools and techniques executives and managers can use to improve their organization’s alignment and accountability to ultimately achieve superior results. These podcasts elaborate on the best practice and warning flag articles on the StrategyDriven website.
Episode 6 – Vertically Cascading Organizational Performance Measures, part 1 of 3 elaborates on Organizational Performance Measure Best Practice 1 – Vertical Cascading. This discussion…
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (21.5MB)
Subscribe: RSS
About the Contributor