How can you balance creativity and practicality in a strategy portfolio?

1 Define your criteria

Before you start generating ideas for your strategy portfolio, you need to define the criteria that will guide your selection and evaluation process. These criteria can be based on your strategic objectives, your capabilities, your constraints, your risks, or your opportunities. For example, you might want to consider the impact, feasibility, cost, time, alignment, innovation, or sustainability of each potential initiative. Having clear and relevant criteria will help you focus your creativity and filter out impractical or inappropriate ideas.

2 Diversify your sources

Creativity is not something that you can force or control. It is a result of combining different perspectives, experiences, and knowledge. Therefore, to increase your chances of finding creative and practical solutions for your strategy portfolio, you need to diversify your sources of inspiration and information. You can do that by involving different people in your ideation process, such as your team members, your customers, your partners, or your competitors. You can also use different tools and methods, such as brainstorming, mind mapping, prototyping, or benchmarking. The more diverse your sources are, the more likely you are to discover new and valuable insights.

4 Balance your portfolio

A strategy portfolio is not a collection of isolated or independent initiatives. It is a system of interrelated and interdependent actions that affect each other and the overall outcome. Therefore, you need to balance your portfolio, not only in terms of creativity and practicality, but also in terms of other factors, such as risk, reward, complexity, simplicity, urgency, importance, or novelty. You can do that by using tools and frameworks, such as the portfolio matrix, the portfolio canvas, or the portfolio map. These tools will help you visualize and evaluate your portfolio as a whole, and identify gaps, overlaps, or conflicts.

5 Communicate your portfolio

A strategy portfolio is not a static or final product. It is a dynamic and evolving process that requires constant communication and collaboration. Therefore, you need to communicate your portfolio, not only to your team and stakeholders, but also to your customers and partners. You can do that by using stories, visuals, or metrics, that convey the value, the logic, and the vision of your portfolio. Communicating your portfolio will help you build trust, engagement, and support for your creativity and practicality.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?