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Program Management Commentary

ALIGNING A PROGRAM WITH ITS ORGANIZATION’S BUSINESS STRATEGY

By Russell Martinelli, Tim Rahschulte & James Waddell
Program Management Academy

Oregon, USA

Editor’s note:  This is the 3rd article in a new series on program management, program leadership and leading global program teams, by executive consultants at the Program Management Academy.  Based on their many years of experience in managing programs and projects at major technology organizations and on their books, Program Management for Improved Business Results and Leading Global Project Teams, Martinelli, Rahschulte and Waddell provide useful advice and perspective.  For more on the topic, see other articles in this series or contact the authors.

In most organizations there is a distinct division of labor between strategy and execution.  Strategic planning and portfolio management are often activities reserved for senior management, and program planning and execution activities are the responsibility of the program manager and core team.  Given that these activities are performed by different personnel, gaps in communication and understanding of strategies and corresponding objectives can occur resulting in misalignment and a disconnection between the intended business objectives and what is ultimately achieved by the work effort.  Such gaps can result in lost opportunity, not to mention a waste of human and financial resources.

The challenge with creating and maintaining alignment was well documented by Andrew Pateman, President at the Palladium Group, in his article Linking Strategy to Operations: Six Stages to Execution. Pateman noted, “Organizations’ success at strategy execution, as exemplified by their results, remains low.” He further noted that to successfully execute the organization’s business strategies requires a management process that systematically links strategy to operations and demands that all parts of the organization work in concert to deliver successful performance.

Program managers and others charged with the responsibility to implement projects need to fully understand organizational strategies in order to properly formulate plans and actions for optimal execution.  Therefore, it is imperative that a process is established to enable an ongoing flow of information and discussion to occur between those developing the strategy and those responsible for executing program solutions.

Successful organizations that have established and maintained alignment between strategy and execution have a generalized three-step systematic process:

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About the Author Russ Martinelli Co-Author Russ Martinelli is  a co-founder of the Program Management Academy and co-author of Leading Global Project Teams and the comprehensive book on program management titled Program Management for Improved Business Results.  As a senior program manager at Intel Corporation, Russ has many years of experience leading global product development teams in both the aerospace and computing industries.  Russ can be contacted at russ.martinelli@programmanagement-academy.com

About the Author Tim Rahschulte Co-Author Tim Rahschulte is co-author of Leading Global Project Teams and an executive director at the Program Management Academy. Tim is also responsible for international management and leadership studies at George Fox University in Oregon.  He consults with state governments in the USA on matters of organizational change as a business transition architect.  Contact Tim at tim.rahschulte@programmanagement-academy.com.

About the Author Jim Waddell Co-Author Jim Waddell, former director of program management for Tektronix, is a co-founder of the Program Management Academy.  He is an experienced management consultant in his fields of expertise: program management, mergers and acquisitions. He has held a variety of management positions, has been a speaker at numerous conferences, and is a co-author of Leading Global Project Teams, and Program Management for Improved Business Results.  Jim can be contacted at jim.waddell@programmanagement-academy.com.

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