Resources: Archives — Past Meetings 2004

February 18, 2004

Strategic Portfolio Management

Investing Smarter in New Product Development:  
How a company increased its portfolio return by over 100% while reducing the number of projects by 80%.

Under pressure to produce dramatic business results from limited new product development resources, a technology-based packaging company applied a value-based approach to project selection and portfolio prioritization. To their delight, many project teams voluntarily agreed to cancel "exciting" but low value projects in favor of higher return opportunities. By combining People, Process and Analysis through an enterprise system, the company quickly gained alignment on the projects to fund. In the past, they had argued without coming to decisive and implemental conclusions.  This talk will review this company's case and the critical success factors that enabled their (and other's) success.

We will also give away one signed copy of David's book, The Smart Organization, to the winner of a business card drawing. 

David Matheson is President and CEO of SmartOrg, Inc. SmartOrg (www.smartorg.com) makes solutions that enable companies to evaluate and manage the economic value of R&D and New Product Development. David has conducted extensive research into decision making in R&D, and is co-author of the book, The Smart Organization (Harvard Business School Press). Prior to founding SmartOrg, David was a principal at SDG, where he led consulting engagements in strategy, R&D and product development for companies in the U.S. and Europe. His industry experience includes high tech,pharmaceuticals, utilities, consumer products, packaging, chemicals, oil and gas, equipment and materials manufacturing and entertainment.  David received his Ph.D. from Stanford University.

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