Strategy execution has never been harder. Markets shift overnight, priorities change in weeks, and opportunities vanish if you can’t move fast.
Speed and flexibility feel less like differentiators and more like survival skills.
If complex approvals, disconnected tools, and reactive reporting are still slowing you down, you’re not just behind schedule anymore. You’re at risk of losing your competitive foothold entirely.
Only 28% of organizations say they can adapt to change quickly, a sharp drop from 40% in 2021
Strategieumsetzung – eine Bestandsaufnahme: Wie Unternehmen die richtige Balance zwischen Geschwindigkeit, Anpassung und Kontrolle finden
So, how do you overcome this obstacle?
It starts with rethinking your portfolio management approach. Spreadsheets and manual processes can’t take you to the front of the pack. You need an innovative solution that connects strategy to execution and adapts as fast as your priorities change.
This is where Artificial Intelligence (AI) plays a critical role in on-strategy execution. From predicting risks before they derail projects to recommending resource shifts in real time, AI turns your portfolio management approach into a value delivery engine built for speed and proactive decision making that delivers measurable impact.
What Strategy Execution Laggards Still Get Wrong
Strategy Execution Leaders are embracing AI-powered portfolio management solutions to stay ahead of the curve. Laggards, on the other hand, are stuck in old habits like:
- Relying on gut instincts rather than data to make decisions
- Using disconnected tools instead of an integrated portfolio management solution
- Looking backwards with reactive reporting rather than to the future with predictive insights
These habits come with significant consequences, including:
- Slower decision making
- Blind spots that lead to misalignment and missed opportunities
- Time, money, and resources wasted on low-impact work
The numbers don’t lie. Only 6% of Laggards use AI across the organization and Laggards only achieve 49% of their strategic goals.
Compared to Strategy Leaders, who are 8x more likely to use AI and achieve 72% of their strategic goals.
Learn what sets Strategy Execution Leaders apart from the middle-of-the-pack and laggards. See how your organization compares. Take the practical steps to ensure your strategy stays connected to execution. Download the 2025 Benchmark Study: The State of Strategy Execution: Balancing Speed, Adaptation, and Control
Yes, AI is the New Standard… but There’s More to It Than That
There’s a lot of talk about AI right now and how it can fix everything.
But here’s the truth: AI without intent is just another shiny tool.
What organizations really need is AI that serves a purpose. In the case of strategy execution, the purpose is to enhance the core functions of portfolio management, enabling you to perform faster, better, and smarter. Here’s how:
Planning and prioritization
Many organizations struggle to align investments with business objectives because disconnected tools and outdated reports hide whether the strategy is actually being executed. A portfolio management solution closes this gap by consolidating data, providing real-time visibility, and surfacing misalignment as it happens. AI takes this further with predictive insights, what-if modeling, and continuous monitoring, helping Leaders anticipate underperformance, evaluate resource shifts before committing, and maintain balanced portfolios.
The result: strategy and delivery stay synchronized, resources flow to what matters most, and the hidden cost of misalignment disappears.
Delivery and resource management
Project teams face competing priorities, resource constraints, and risks that often stay hidden until they cause delays. Bottlenecks, such as overallocated skills, slipping dependencies, or scope creep, are usually discovered through escalation – when options are limited and replanning is costly.
An effective portfolio management solution mitigates these challenges by providing visibility into resource allocation, making it easier to identify and address those risks before they become problems. With AI, you can perform those functions even more easily and with greater accuracy. Predictive analytics leverages current and historical data to flag bottlenecks and overruns. Leaders can use AI to see what work is at risk, where skills are overallocated, and which dependencies are on track or threatened.
This absolutely transforms resource management and work delivery by moving from reactive, fire-drill scenarios to seamlessly balancing competing demands.
The result: teams deliver high-value work on time with fewer surprises and setbacks.
See AI with intent in action with Planview Anvi™: Anvi™ is more than a feature – it’s the intelligence engine behind smarter, faster strategy execution. From predictive insights and real-time alignment to automated governance and resource optimization, Anvi™ helps you stay aligned with strategy in order to deliver measurable impact.
Closing the Strategy-Execution Gap with AI and Portfolio Management
In a market that rewards speed and adaptability, being a Laggard is more than just inefficient – it’s being a liability. The organizations that are leading the pack don’t rely on spreadsheets, disparate tools, and gut instinct to inform their decision making. They’re using portfolio management solutions powered by AI to:
- Make informed decisions in minutes, not weeks
- Anticipate risks before they escalate into problems
- Identify and invest in initiatives that align with strategy goals
The gulf between Leaders and Laggards is only going to widen over time.
Strategy Leaders are 13x more likely to say it’s “very easy” to gather and analyze decision-making data. Meanwhile, Laggards struggle with blind spots and missed opportunities.
Discover how Leaders use AI and portfolio management at the strategic and project level.
Download our eBook,“Go from Missed Goals to Measurable Impact with AI,” to learn more. We’ll show you how to use AI to ensure your time, money, and resources are spent on the work that makes the most sense.
