Mind the Gap: Strategy, Execution and Portfolio Management

In this blog, we are signposting the BIG Conference – 5th November 2025

• Strategy Delivery – we know its an issue
• Portfolio Management – the case to do the right things, right
• The BIGger picture
• Find out more….

Strategy Delivery – we know its an issue

We’ve all seen it happen: a strategy looks good on paper but somehow never translates into results. Research shows this is all too common — with around half of projects and programmes failing to deliver on expectations. As Stephen Jenner recently noted in a recorded conversation with David Dunning ahead of our November BIG Conference, if medicine or education had a 50% failure rate, there would be a public outcry. And yet, in many organisations, this reality is quietly accepted.

With almost half of global GDP now delivered through projects and programmes, failure at this scale is no longer something we can afford to shrug off. The real question is: how do we bridge the gap between strategy and execution?

The Case for Portfolio Management

Stephen argues that portfolio management is one of the strongest answers. Every organisation has a portfolio — the issue is whether it is managed as such. Done well, portfolio management helps us:

• Choose the right things to do (and be brave enough to stop the wrong ones)
• Do them at the right time, matching ambition to genuine organisational capacity
• Do them right, by managing dependencies and removing barriers without displacing project and programme managers

It sounds straightforward, but anyone who has wrestled with competing priorities, “pet projects” or overstretched resources knows it requires discipline, focus and a structured approach.

But there is a BIGer picture…

David and Stephen also touched on the bigger picture.

In Managing Portfolios, Stephen highlights the investments required for strategy delivery. But at the BIG Conference, we will also recognise that business performance underpins strategic progress — and that leadership time, funding and resources are shared across business-as-usual, strategic change initiatives, and ongoing product development. (Is that strategic investment, or BAU investment?)

Portfolio management is powerful in its own right, but when combined with clear, integrated governance it becomes transformational. And even then, process alone is not enough. We need a culture that actively supports delivery. As David put it, culture shouldn’t “eat strategy” — it should be deliberately shaped to help it succeed.

So the challenge becomes: what do we need to build and operate to ensure the investment leg of our strategic stool is balanced with business performance and product development needs – but vitally – HOW DO WE GET THIS ON THE EXEC AGENDA?

What were we talking about?

• 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.
  

To Access the Conversation

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Join the Conversation in November

Will you join us to reimagine strategy delivery?

This is just a flavour of what’s to come at the Business Integrated Governance Conference on 5 November. Stephen will explore the practicalities — from balancing risk and return, to socio-technical prioritisation, to aligning portfolios with benefits that really matter.

Alongside other expert sessions on BIG, strategy, governance, case studies, and practical guidance on senior stakeholder engagement, it promises to be a thoughtful and pragmatic exploration of how to close the strategy–execution gap for good.