Strategic Planning In Project Management

Strategy loves certainty. Innovation assumes the opposite. Guess which one adapts faster. A connection pointed me to the Presilience methodology by Dr. Gav Schneider. The core idea: don't just bounce back from disruption. Prepare for it. Build the capability to turn uncertainty into opportunity. My first reaction: that's exactly what good innovation management does. Every innovation process worth its name runs on a few principles: 💎 We work with assumptions, not truths 💎 We test before we commit 💎 We expect to be wrong and design for it 💎 We treat pivots as progress, not failure That's proactive by design. You don't need a special label for it when the process already bakes it in. But here's where it gets interesting for strategy. Most strategy work still operates as if we can predict the future. We build 3-year plans, lock in budgets, define milestones. And then reality happens. The innovation mindset would say: run smaller bets. Validate before you scale. Decide after each step, not before all steps. That's not anti-strategy. That's better strategy. Because the question was never "do we have a plan?" The question is: "how fast can we update and pivot when the world changes?" Strategy practitioners could learn a lot from innovation here. Not the creativity part. Not the brainstorming. The part where you systematically manage what you don't know. That's where real adaptability lives. What do you think, does your strategy process have a built-in mechanism to deal with being wrong?

How Sustainability Teams can make money. Ethical operating companies like Patagonia, Ben & Jerry’s, and Interface have proven that sustainable business practices aren’t just a “nice to have”. they drive profitability. It improves the bottom line of a company. Now, as corporate sustainability teams face growing pressure to prove their value amid deregulation and cost-cutting, it’s time for a strategic repositioning. Sustainability isn’t just policy work. It’s a core driver of business success that delivers financial returns. Here’s an approach that aligns impact with investment: High ROI + High Impact 👉 Priority Initiatives Low ROI + High Impact 👉 Strategic Investments High ROI + Low Impact 👉 Quick Wins Low ROI + Low Impact 👉 Low Priority Projects Impact How much does this project contribute to environmental and social sustainability? 💚 Carbon Reduction 💚 Circularity 💚 Water & Energy Savings 💚 Social Impact 💚 Biodiversity Protection ROI (Return of Investment) How much financial value does this project generate? 📈 Cost Savings 📈 Revenue Growth 📈 Regulatory & Compliance Benefits 📈 Brand & Customer Value 📈 Operational Efficiency Scoring System To prioritise projects, it’s necessary to have a scoring system in place—for example, a 1–10 scale for each metric under both Impact and ROI. Then, you weight the metrics according to the company’s priorities (e.g., carbon might be weighted more heavily). Examples Here are some examples for potential business cases: 💡 LED lighting retrofits 👉 Priority Initiatives Often has payback periods < 2 years with significant energy savings 🔃 Product redesign for circularity 👉 Strategic Investments Transformative impact but requires R&D and retooling 🚚 Optimising logistics routes 👉 Quick Wins Quick fuel savings but smaller portion of overall emissions 🌳 Carbon offsetting low-impact activities 👉 Low Priority Projects When direct reduction would be more effective »When you are led by values, it doesn't cost your business, it helps your business.« - Jerry, Greenfield / Co-Founder Ben & Jerry’s. This Matrix helps to prove it.

Most planning and forecasting processes fail for the same reason: They’re built on habits, not principles. That’s why I’m excited to share 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 & 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗕𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝘁, a set of ten core principles that can radically improve how finance teams plan, forecast, and influence. These principles cut through complexity and force clarity in how we connect strategy, assumptions, scenarios, and actions. They apply to every organization, regardless of the industry or maturity. 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝟭𝟬 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘀:  1. Always align your plan to your strategy  2. Always thoroughly document your assumptions  3. Maintain a robust feedback loop  4. Separate target setting, forecasting, and resource allocation  5. Treat accuracy as an outcome, not a goal  6. Make planning collaborative and cross‑functional  7. Strive for simplicity  8. Be able to re‑forecast within a week  9. Always consider multiple scenarios 10. Leave room for contingencies and resource liquidity The truth is simple: in a world that changes faster than your planning cycle, the quality of your principles determines the quality of your decisions. P.S. If you could only improve one principle this year, which one would have the biggest impact on your planning process?

10 Principles for a Strong Sustainability Strategy 🌍 Building a strong sustainability strategy requires more than ambition. It demands structure, clarity, and disciplined execution. As expectations rise and disclosure requirements evolve, organizations must shift from ad hoc efforts to integrated, measurable action. It starts with anchoring in double materiality. Understanding what matters both to the business and to the world helps define priorities that balance impact and long-term value creation. Targets must be grounded in science and bound by time. Aligning with global frameworks such as the SBTi or SDGs ensures relevance and accountability while offering a shared language for progress. Sustainability cannot live in a silo. Embedding it across governance, operations, procurement, and risk management builds internal alignment and ensures that purpose translates into business decisions. Execution hinges on measurable performance. Operationalizing with KPIs linked to strategy enables progress tracking and creates the basis for incentives, accountability, and course correction. Strong governance matters. Roles and responsibilities at all levels must be clearly defined to ensure consistent oversight and effective implementation. Stakeholders must be engaged strategically. Validating priorities and gathering input from those affected increases legitimacy and drives better decision-making. Addressing risk and resilience is not optional. Climate, social, and systemic risks must be integrated into planning processes to anticipate disruption and safeguard future viability. No company can do it alone. Innovation and cross-sector collaboration are critical to scale solutions and unlock new ways to deliver impact. Finally, transparency and continuous improvement close the loop. Reporting progress and refining the approach over time ensures credibility, adaptability, and long-term relevance. These principles offer a pragmatic foundation to build or evolve any sustainability strategy into a driver of performance, trust, and transformation. #sustainability #business #sustainable #esg #strategy

🌱Are you strategic by being sustainable as a project professional? Being sustainable goes beyond environmental impact. Sustainable habits and strategies are crucial for project professionals looking to create long-term social and economic impact. Here are some key practices you can leverage: 𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐁𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐨𝐦 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐞 (𝐓𝐁𝐋) 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡: first introduced by John Elkington in 1994, this is widely used in sustainability and corporate social responsibility contexts. Project professionals should adopt the TBL framework which considers social, environmental, and economic impacts when evaluating project success. This approach ensures that projects benefit not just as it relates to the organization's bottom line but also the society and environment. 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭: Engaging with all stakeholders, including local communities, NGOs, government bodies, and businesses, is absolutely crucial. Understanding their needs, concerns, and aspirations helps in designing projects that align with their interests, increasing the chances of long-term success and support. 𝐋𝐨𝐧𝐠-𝐓𝐞𝐫𝐦 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠: Sustainable projects require a long-term vision and planning. Instead of focusing solely on short-term gains, project professionals must consider the long-term implications of their actions on the organization, environment, society et. al. 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞 𝐄𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲: Sustainable projects should prioritize resource (human, material or capital) efficiency. This includes reducing waste, proper work planning and utilization, optimizing energy and water consumption, and using renewable or recyclable materials whenever possible. 𝐒𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐈𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐃𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲: Ensure that the project promotes social inclusion and diversity, empowering marginalized communities and ensuring equal opportunities for all. This can lead to more resilient and equitable societies. Join Ahad Nazir and I on @strategic project leader podcast as we discuss sustainability becoming mainstream in the practice of project management. Join us live and be part of the conversation using the link in the comment. #strategicthinking #projectmanagement #sustainability #strategicprojectmanagement

We don’t suffer from making wrong decisions as much as we suffer from avoiding decisions.
 Indecision quietly drains energy, momentum, and opportunity. 
 Most daily choices are reversible and low-cost. ~80% need Tiny Bets → Act Fast
 Example: How to structure your team meeting, which supplier to trial, what book to pick up next? Some choices change the game, they are irreversible, high impact. ~20% need Bold Bets → Slow Down
 Example: A plant relocation, a career move, a key partnership. 👉 The rule of thumb, 🟣 If it’s reversible and uncertainty is high → ACT.
 🟣 If it’s irreversible → If it’s hard to reverse, slow down: run a failure-rehearsal (assume it failed and list why), get an outside review, and double-check assumptions with a deep risk review. To keep yourself honest, track just two numbers, ✅ Speed of learning (how many decisions you cycle through each week). ✅ Quality of bold calls (measured through after-action review). Because decision-making is not about being “always right.” 
 🎯 Decision-making isn’t about being flawless. It’s about learning fast on the small calls and being wise on the big ones. *** #business #leadership #management #decisionmaking

❓ Is your sustainability strategy ready for the real world? So, You've done the work—research, securing stakeholder buy-in, choosing the right partners. You’ve laid a strong foundation for a sustainable supply chain. But before you launch, have you considered every detail that’ll keep your efforts on track? Imagine this: You’ve set ambitious goals, like reducing fleet fuel consumption by 5% or cutting warehouse electricity use by 10%. But to hit those marks, you'll need the right checkpoints. In the first month, check in with your data partner—is everything being captured effectively? At two months, ask your suppliers if they're comfortable with the Service Level Agreements (SLAs) you’ve set together. By six months, assess whether the data you’ve gathered allows you to make meaningful predictions and take new action. Data backs the need for these checkpoints. A study by McKinsey reports that companies with a structured sustainability strategy see 20% higher supply chain efficiency. And according to the World Economic Forum, sustainable supply chains can reduce overall environmental impact by up to 50%, while increasing resilience against future challenges. But sustainability isn’t just about hitting numbers. It’s a cultural shift. From top leaders to new hires, your team needs to embrace the mindset that goes beyond "doing business as usual." Internal education is essential—create programs that inspire every team member to see the value of these efforts. When your employees understand how their day-to-day work impacts long-term goals, the commitment deepens. Remember, Sustainability is also about outward visibility. Sharing your journey publicly can set you apart as a trusted, forward-thinking organization in your industry. When others see your authenticity and progress, customers and partners are more likely to trust and admire your mission. Let’s lead the change, One small improvement at a time, and proves that businesses can drive meaningful impact for people, the planet, and profit alike.

Reporting matters. But be careful not to end up just being a historian, a month behind the moment. Strategic finance is different. It’s about asking the curious questions - ▶️ What are we learning from this month’s margin, not just recording it? ▶️ Which customers/products truly move the needle - and which quietly drain us? ▶️ Do we have the cash headroom to choose, not just cope? It’s about creating rhythms - ▶️ A rolling view of cash so decisions become easier. ▶️ One page that tracks the few things that change outcomes: price, mix, volume, cost to serve, and working capital. ▶️ Meetings that end with a decision, a date, and an owner. Strategic finance protects energy as well as profit. It happens before any reports are written: setting the questions, testing the levers, building the systems that make good choices easier. Keep a record of the past, and use it to design a better future. That’s the shift to strategic finance. #PortfolioFinanceDirector #VirtualCFO #FractionalCFO #SMEFinance #SmallBusinessFinance

Critiquing the Development of a Funding Plan: Its Theory, Practice, and Strategic Interaction Understanding the intricate dynamics between the development of a funding plan and its interaction with both the wider finance operating plan and strategic plan is essential for any banking professional. The theory behind developing a funding plan often emphasises structured, predictive frameworks that rely heavily on historical data and forecasting methods. In theory, these plans are designed to ensure liquidity and support strategic objectives with conservative yet sufficient funds allocated where they are projected to be most beneficial. However, the practical application of these theories in real-world scenarios often presents a different narrative. In practice, the alignment of the funding plan with the strategic and financial operating plans can be fraught with challenges. These include fluctuating market conditions, regulatory changes, and unexpected shifts in business strategy. Although the theory suggests a seamless integration, the practicalities require adaptive management and real-time decision-making to handle the complexities of the financial environment. Moreover, the interaction between the funding plan and the organisation's strategic plan is a critical area that requires a pragmatic approach. This interaction is not just beneficial; it is crucial for the long-term sustainability of the organisation. A well-integrated plan aids in the precise allocation of resources, enhancing the organisation's ability to achieve its strategic objectives efficiently. However, misalignment between these plans can lead to resource constraints or inefficient capital use that might impede strategic goals. It is therefore prudent for financial strategists and planners to not only devise realistic and flexible funding plans but also continuously evaluate and adjust these plans in alignment with the overarching strategic goals and the prevailing economic conditions. This ongoing adjustment ensures that the practice of funding planning remains as close to its theoretical ideal as possible, thus maximising the strategic benefits for the organisation. This critique shows that while theoretical frameworks provide a foundational understanding, the real-world application demands a more dynamic and responsive approach to manage the interaction between various financial plans effectively. This understanding is crucial for anyone involved in the financial planning and strategic management sectors, highlighting the need for an adaptive, informed, and strategic approach in financial management.

Strategy without execution is just wishful thinking. To turn strategy into results, you need the right finance processes that connect big ideas to daily action. It’s a chain: Strategy → Long Range Plan → Budget → Rolling Forecasts → Operational Plan 🔹 Strategy Where we want to go and why. 🔹 Long Range Plan Translate the vision into high-level numbers for the next 3–5 years. 🔹 Budget Turn that plan into a 12-month roadmap with targets and limits. 🔹 Rolling Forecasts Update the outlook regularly to stay agile and forward-looking. 🔹 Operational Plan Guide the daily work— what to do, when, and how much to spend. Finance is the glue that connects strategy to tactics. So don’t stop at goals. Make sure you have the processes to bring them to life. Want help setting this up in your team? Let’s talk. I help finance pros build models that connect strategy to execution.