
Lean Portfolio Management aligns strategy and execution by applying Lean and systems thinking approaches to strategy and investment funding, Agile portfolio operations, and governance.
– Richard Knaster, Scaled Agile Framework (SAFE) Distilled
The Business Problem
The Global Learning and Development (GL&D) group of a major global pharmaceutical company was looking for a better way to manage their comprehensive Portfolio of Learning and Development (L&D) programs in support of their Manufacturing Division.
Lack of transparency/access to the portfolio content and understanding of progress being made.
Learning Directors were not aligned with the organization’s overarching goals nor collaborated effectively.
Portfolio funding/financial management was inefficient and complex.
Portfolio Management practices were inconsistently applied.
Delivery of value was slow and intermittent.

At Magic Hat Consulting, we are collaborative and adaptive in our approach. We partner with clients to meld seamlessly with their culture, building successful teams that deliver significant and lasting results
Addressing the Issues: Embracing New Ways of Working & Prioritization
Partnering closely with leadership, we quickly assessed their current operations and developed a roadmap to guide them along their journey.
We focused first on supporting leadership to embrace Lean Agile Principals, to help overcome cultural barriers through a change in mindset.
We leveraged Lean Portfolio Management Processes as the foundation to support new ways of working.
We provided executive coaching to help support and accelerate the overall adoption of Lean Portfolio Management.
Delivering Successful Outcomes
Clear insight into a single, comprehensive and transparent portfolio.
Strategy and execution alignment through the adoption of an interrelated hierarchy of work items.
Simplified and effective financial management by moving from project to value stream budgeting.
Efficient portfolio execution through the adoption of a consistent planning and delivery cycle.
Learning Directors becoming an empowered, self-organizing and high-performing team of Portfolio Managers through the adoption of the Lean Agile Principles.