Why the ‘whole is greater than the sum of parts’ in portfolio management - PART 1

Innovation Talks

Huub Rutten is the Co-Founder and Vice President for Product Research and Design at Sopheon. With over two decades of experience in language management and a Master’s degree in Applied Linguistics from Radboud University in the Netherlands, Huub is instrumental in developing Sopheon’s linguistics and knowledge management technologies and continues to lead the organization into solutions for innovation. Huub integrates his expertise in linguistics and information technology to innovate language management technology within knowledge-intensive business processes and, recently, has created an in-depth course on portfolio management.

Huub joins me today to discuss why, when it comes to innovation portfolio management, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. He explains why the front-end of a portfolio needs to be separated from the ‘realization’ end of a portfolio. He discusses why the launch strategy of a new product is as important as its development. He also highlights why companies need to focus on establishing the value of realization instead of the value of the front-end of a portfolio, describes why the portfolio leader needs to ensure a portfolio’s balance and direction, and underscores why portfolio management has to be executed in combination with concrete decision-making.

“Look at a portfolio—and portfolio management—as a business object in itself, a collection of things, of products, of projects that have value, business cases, and risk.” - Huub Rutten

“Companies who look at portfolio management as a tool for change, transformation, and modernization of a company will be more mature.” - Huub Rutten

“Innovation management is about making promises for the future, and you have to believe in the promise of the whole thing.” - Huub Rutten

This week on Innovation Talks:

● The tendency of people to look at portfolios as reports instead of a business object

● The fundamentals and foundations of innovation portfolio management

● Distinguishing the difference between the ‘front end’ and ‘realization’ parts of a portfolio

● Separating the front end innovation portfolio from your ‘realization’ portfolio

● Feature development and its prototyping

● Examples of features and components in different products

● Considering the pipeline value of a portfolio

● How a portfolio’s front end is an important knowledge base

● Portfolio management as an organizational transformation tool

● Portfolio leadership and why companies struggle to transform their organization

● Theory versus practice in portfolio management

Related Episode:

● AI and machine learning in innovation with Huub Rutten

Connect with Huub Rutten:

● Huub Rutten on LinkedIn

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

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