MIT Sloan Management Review Article on Keeping Innovative Projects Aligned With Strategy

Innovative companies have no shortage of ideas for new initiatives. How do they ensure that projects serve strategic ends?

Growth-oriented companies that seek to foster a culture of innovation have no shortage of good project ideas. However, many of them will fall outside the control of existing business lines or the organization’s formal structures for managing innovation, such as the R&D department. As a result, potentially valuable programs can suffer from a lack of oversight while others risk misalignment with the company’s strategic priorities.

We’ve seen some innovative companies adopt a mechanism — the portfolio team — for overseeing projects that might otherwise fall between the organizational cracks. The team is made up of senior corporate, strategic, and business managers who identify, monitor, and adjust the mix of projects to ensure that the best ones go forward and remain aligned with the corporate mission.

About the Author

Ard-Pieter de Man is a professor, Anna Plotnikova is an assistant professor, and Ludwig Hoeksema is an associate professor at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam’s School of Business and Economics.

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