“I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious.”- Albert Einstein
Curiosity isn’t just a trait of the intellectually gifted, it’s a critical enabler for organisations navigating the complexities of Strategic Portfolio Management (SPM). In a world where businesses must continuously prioritise, govern value, execute and measure their initiatives and product development to improve value, curiosity serves as the engine that fuels better decision-making, innovation and value delivery.
Curiosity combined with quality questions might just determine your future competitive edge.
When executives and practitioners apply curiosity and quality questions to the four core threads of demand, value, delivery and outcomes, they unlock new perspectives, uncover risks earlier and drive sustainable value.
How Curiosity Elevates Strategic Portfolio Management
- Demand: Identifying and Prioritising the Right Opportunities A curious mindset challenges assumptions about what should be prioritised versus what truly drives value. Leaders who ask, “Why is this a priority?” and “What’s missing from our pipeline?” ensure alignment between business needs and portfolio investments. "How might you frame a question here to inspire curiosity? Applying flow engineering interlaced to value streams and customer journey analysis helps surface hidden pain points and emerging market trends that might otherwise be overlooked.
- Value: Enhancing Decision-Making and Risk Management A rigid governance structure stifles adaptability. Curious governance leaders continuously question: “Are our policies enabling or hindering agility?” "How might you frame a question here to inspire curiosity? They explore ways to simplify approvals, clarify accountabilities, and balance oversight with speed. Curiosity fosters a proactive risk mindset, ensuring organisations anticipate regulatory shifts, financial risks, capacity, capability and ability to tell the right stories in the right way, anticipate and manage strategic roadblocks before they escalate.
- Delivery: Driving Execution Excellence Successful delivery isn’t just about following a plan—it’s about adapting to change while staying aligned with strategic intent. Teams that cultivate curiosity continuously explore better ways to execute, leveraging methodologies like Agile, Lean and Systems Thinking to optimise performance, and we have said it for years – putting change first. Asking, “What’s slowing us down?” or “How can we remove friction?” , “Whats the future experience and lets work backwards” fuels process improvements that enhance speed-to-value.? "How might you frame a question here to inspire curiosity? This reflection should also be asked of your strategic portfolio management function and practices .. Are you a value office focused on collective outcomes or a project office focused on individual outputs!
- Outcome Management: Measuring and Maximising Impact while managing the impacts of what will be different Curiosity ensures organisations don’t just track output (projects completed) but focus on outcomes (business value realised). Instead of assuming success based on milestones, curious leaders dig deeper, asking: “What do our customers and stakeholders truly need?, What areas of our flow will this have the greatest impact to and lets develop the story focused on the value vs individual steps achieved to make ourselves feel good”. "How might you frame a question here to inspire curiosity? They embrace continuous feedback loops, using insights from data, employees, and customers to iterate and drive measurable business impact.
Fostering Curiosity in the SPM Community
For curiosity and quality questions to thrive in Strategic Portfolio Management, organisations must embed it into their culture and ways of working:
- Encourage Strategic Questions: Shift from “reporting on the past” to exploring future possibilities. Ask “What patterns are emerging?” and “Where are the gaps?”, “What failed – what was the learning”
- Empower Experimentation: Support teams in testing new approaches, whether through small pilots, scenario planning or what impacts can occur to customer journey insights by dialling up or down value steps.
- Make Data-Driven Curiosity a Habit: Leverage PPM tools to track insights, spot trends and make informed prioritisation decisions.? Are you using AI insights with your PPM tool?
- Challenge Assumptions Regularly: Facilitate governance discussions where stakeholders challenge long-held assumptions about budgets, resource allocation and capabilities and market positioning. Shake up the historical way of looking at Strategic Portfolio Management.
- Create a Safe Space for Inquiry: Leaders should model curiosity by asking, listening and exploring solutions collaboratively rather than enforcing rigid mandates.
The Competitive Edge of Curiosity & Quality Questions in Strategic Portfolio Management
Curiosity is a muscle that needs regular exercise. When applied effectively, it transforms Strategic Portfolio Management from a reactive function into a proactive force helping organisations navigate uncertainty, optimise resources and deliver meaningful business outcomes. Set aside time each day to nurture your curiosity, explore new perspectives and embrace the unknown.
By fostering a culture of curiosity across demand, value, delivery and outcome management, executives and practitioners create a strategic advantage, ensuring that investments drive long-term value and measurable impact.
So, ask yourself:
How curious is your organisation about the way it prioritises, governs, delivers and measures success??
Are you asking quality questions?
What are you or your organisation doing to help the people who support and govern this function to think and do differently from yesterday to tomorrow?
The answer might just determine your future competitive edge.
“The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existence.”- Albert Einstein.
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