PMO and strategic planning advisory
A finished project isn't an outcome.
We help leadership teams shift portfolio management and strategic planning from delivering projects to delivering outcomes, and change the culture that decides whether the shift lasts.
Take the 10-minute HealthCheck26 questions. No sign-up. Your results and recommendations appear right away.
You're delivering, but can't show it's working
The signs are usually easy to spot
Everything shipped. Nothing changed.
Projects close on time and on budget, and the business looks much the same.
The team disbands the day it goes live.
The people who understood the problem move on, and nobody owns the result.
Nobody can say what last year's spend delivered.
Business cases win the funding, then disappear once the project closes.
The PMO counts milestones. Leaders ask what it achieved.
A lot of effort goes into status reports that can't answer the real question.
The shift from project thinking to product thinking
Projects still have their place. What changes is what you fund, measure and hold people to.
| Project thinking | Product thinking | |
|---|---|---|
| Success | On time, on budget, in scope | The outcome was achieved |
| Funding | Project by project, once a year | Products and value streams, reviewed regularly |
| Teams | Assembled, then disbanded | Stable teams that own the result |
| Planning | A fixed annual list | A regular cycle, adjusted on evidence |
| Governance | Gates that check the plan | Decisions based on what's working |
| The PMO | Tracks status | Helps leaders steer outcomes |
| Culture | Rewards activity and heroics | Rewards results and honest decisions |
The process is rarely the problem. The culture is.
The greatest challenge in any change isn't designing the process. It's shifting the culture around it. If that doesn't move, people drift back to the old way, and you never get the full return.
What gets rewarded
If heroics earn the praise, no process will persuade people to plan ahead.
What's safe to say
If bad news costs people, your reports will stay green until it's too late.
What leaders do
People copy what leaders do, not what the new process says.
So we work on both. A new process gets you started. A change in behavior gets you the return.
Start with ten minutes
- Answer 26 questions. Plain-English choices about how your portfolio really works, across eleven disciplines.
- See where you stand. How far you're managing for outcomes, and whether your culture will let change stick.
- Get your first moves. Specific actions you can start this month, with or without us.
What it covers
- Strategy to outcomes
- Governance and ownership
- Investment prioritization
- Delivery confidence
- Funding model
- Risk and dependencies
- Teams and capacity
- Outcomes and value
- Outcome reporting
- Portfolio data
- Culture and leadership
Where we come in
All servicesProject-to-Product Transition
Funding, teams and ownership built around lasting outcomes, starting where it will pay off first.
Leadership and Culture Shift
The behaviors, incentives and leadership habits that decide whether change lasts.
Strategy-to-Outcomes Alignment
Strategy expressed as measurable outcomes, with funded work tied to each one.
Outcome-Based Governance
Clear decision rights and forums that review results, with named owners after go-live.
Prioritization and Capacity Reset
One list ranked by expected outcome, a view of real capacity, and explicit stop decisions.
Outcome and Value Tracking
Outcomes measured against a baseline, in numbers finance will stand behind.
Independent Delivery Assurance
An honest, evidence-based read on what will land, and whether it will still deliver the outcome.
PMO Operating Model and Reporting
A PMO that helps leaders steer outcomes, with trusted data and reports that drive decisions.
How we work
A partner leads every engagement
The person who scopes the work does the work, and a second partner from another discipline reviews what matters.
Fixed scope, defined outputs
You'll know what you're getting, how long it takes and what it costs before we start.
Independent advice
We don't resell software or implementation work, and we don't take referral fees.
Built to last
We work with the tools and people you have, so the new way of working is still there when we leave.