In “Trend Watch” – a section of PMI’s PM Network® magazine, this month, we found Roberto Toledo once again speaking with concise lucidity * about a topic near and dear to our hearts.  We got permission (and even encouragement) from Roberto to quote from the article.  The article itself of course, is copyright  ©PMI 2011, all rights reserved.

In the article, “Bridging the Strategy Gap“, Roberto agrees with our previous post in which we reference Stanford University’s Strategic Execution Framework.

In both cases, projects, programs and portfolios are the bridge between Strategy and Operations.

Roberto says:  “Each strategic plan is as unique as the organization that creates it, but all should include standard elements such as the company’s mission, vision, and values.  (These become) specific operational goals – translating the strategy into a portfolio of projects.”

The mission, vision, and values piece is what Stanford calls Ideation.  The operations are jointly referred to by this article and the Stanford Execution Framework, and what’s in the middle in both cases  is projects.

Let’s take a side step.  Mind the gap!

Do you remember Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz?  In particular, do you recall her footwear?  No Jimmy Choos for Dorothy, and no Keds either.

What was she wearing?  Ruby slippers.  And do you remember what the Good Witch of the North told her?  She told Dorothy that she had the power to go home all along.  She just had to click her heels together three times…

What project managers must understand – is that they (effectively) are in this gap.  They are the bridge.  And they are wearing ruby slippers (yes, even the guys…)

Click on the Ruby Slippers to see the scene from Wizard of Oz…

Anyway, we as project managers have significant power – all along – to use that power to meet project objectives, gain stakeholder agreement, and to drive sustainability goals which are likely in the company’s mission, vision and values, and if the company is worth it’s leadership, have found their way into the strategy (and therefore are not lofty statements made only to make concerned citizens feel better).

*you will need to be logged into PMI’s site to see the online PM Network Article