Who Needs to Know?

Andy Jordan is President of Roffensian Consulting S.A., a Roatan, Honduras-based management consulting firm with a comprehensive project management practice. Andy always appreciates feedback and discussion on the issues raised in his articles and can be reached at [email protected] Andy's new book Risk Management for Project Driven Organizations is now available.

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Topics: PMO, Portfolio Management, Strategy

When I first started work no one talked to me about corporate strategy. It was something that happened many layers above me and it had no impact on the work I was doing.

But things change. And now they change so fast and frequently that employees at all levels need to not only understand strategy, but potentially impact it. Yet many organizations still operate as though strategy is exclusively the concern of the top few executive layers of the business. That’s a problem.

Fundamentally the concept of corporate strategy hasn’t changed in the 30 years since I joined the work force. Executives still determine the vision and direction for the organization and fund investments that are designed to help them achieve that vision. But there are now many more factors applying pressure on the ability to execute on that strategy—technological advancements, greater competition, higher and faster evolving customer expectations. As a result, the ability to deliver on a strategy without having to adjust and adapt is all but gone. Successful organizations today are the ones that can adapt the quickest to those factors and do so with minimal amounts of disruption. And that’s why anyone working on projects needs to have not only an understanding of the organization’s direction and priorities, but also must be empowered to influence them.

Strategy and projects

Organizations deliver …

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