Key Takeaways
Lead with decision frameworks, not more data. Without clear frames defining purpose, perspective, and scope, tools alone won't improve decision making.
Change management drives success. Decision quality is 80% cultural transformation, 20% methodology—budget and timeline accordingly.
Connect before you optimize. Connected systems outperform even the most advanced AI tools running on siloed data.
Scenario planning speed matters. Organizations answering strategic questions in minutes versus months have fundamentally different competitive capabilities.
Governance remains non-negotiable. Clear decision rights, risk protocols and agile governance frameworks enable everything else.
Despite unprecedented investments in data, analytics, and AI tools, the summit exposed a major gap: organizations still struggle with portfolio governance processes and change adoption.
North Highland Showcases Portfolio Agility and Real-World Lessons from Life Sciences Leaders
The North Highland Life Sciences team attended the 2025 Executive Project, Program & Portfolio Management (EP3M) Summit, where leaders from Bristol Myers Squibb, Biogen, Eli Lilly, Moderna, Sanofi, and others shared strategies to improve portfolio management decision-making and program management.
More Data Isn't the Answer
Organizations have invested heavily in sophisticated analytical capabilities but even with Monte Carlo simulations, advanced metrics, and optimization tools, most organizations still can't answer the question, “How do we execute decisions quickly to optimize our portfolio?”
Leaders pointed to a critical gap: decision frameworks that give data meaning. As one presenter put it, "Data without a frame is just expensive noise." The industry excels at collecting data but struggles with the "frame triangle," which refers to defining the purpose driving decisions, understanding stakeholder perspectives, and determining what to decide now versus later.
This challenges conventional wisdom that more analytics solve decision-making problems.
Scenario Planning Exposes Organizational Limits
When asked to identify their biggest challenges, scenario planning topped the list alongside framing, alignment, and leadership buy-in.
Technology demonstrations proved that gap isn’t computational. AI can run 10,000 portfolio outcomes instantly. But when asked how long it would take their organization to assess one strategic scenario, most said “weeks to months.”
Most organizations remain in the "weeks to months" category not because the technology can't handle it, but because their systems and processes can't.
The 80/20 Reality
The summit underscored a consistent insight: Decision quality is 80% change management, 20% methodology.
"You're not implementing a process, you're changing a culture,” one presenter noted. This timeline challenges typical software implementation mindsets and explains why transformations stall despite significant technology investments. When asked about the biggest challenge, attendees ranked "leadership engagement" above technical capabilities.
What does this actually look like in practice? Successful change doesn't begin with enforcement. It begins with credibility. Teams need to meet stakeholders where they are, build trust through small wins, and avoid forced engagement. Most organizations spend months one through nine building credibility, months 10-18 earning the right to guide decisions, and only after 18+ months do frameworks begin to embed naturally.
Integration Beats Sophistication
Multiple presentations reinforced a core principle: the fundamental challenge isn't AI readiness—it's disconnected planning. Silos create timeline risks, budget gaps, and inefficiencies that even AI can't fix.
Successful approaches prioritize integration over sophistication. Organizations should standardize program and study planning first, then progressively connect enrollment forecasting, financial forecasting, and clinical supply management. Connected systems built on aligned assumptions deliver more value than advanced AI operating on fragmented data.
Alignment Remains Elusive
This integration challenge connects to a deeper issue. Leaders across functions face a universal struggle: “Everyone has a goal and they’re not always aligned with one another.” This misalignment between strategic intent and execution creates the portfolio agility problems that organizations try to solve through better tools.
The real solution is to start with governance. Ask the important questions: Who owns the decision? Does regular risk communication exist? Do governance forums enable discussion and decision-making?
Implementation Lessons
Real world examples brought these principles to life. Scoring frameworks typically lack calibration and fail to differentiate projects. In one rollout, the initial criteria were set too low, causing scores to cluster at the high end. As a result, teams had trouble identifying true priorities.
Monitoring scoring consistency also proved more resource-intensive than expected, requiring dedicated support and ongoing coaching to prevent inflation.
Key lesson: Shared ownership matters. Teams naturally resist frameworks where every project scores high by default.
Measuring What Matters
Leaders reflected on how success metrics are evolving. Organizations are shifting from measuring portfolio outputs to measuring organizational capability. Success metrics now include user adoption rates, time savings in specific use cases, decision-making quality, and speed of strategic pivots from intent to execution.
Fast strategic decisions (made in minutes rather than months) signal true competitive agility.
North Highland's Perspective
Throughout the summit, Senior Managing Director Erik Raper's presentation reinforced that portfolio agility isn't primarily a tools or analytics problem—it's a people and change problem. North Highland's NH360 framework reflects the summit's core message: Sustainable transformation requires changing how organizations think about decisions, not just what tools support them.
Our approach balances four critical elements:
- Strategy alignment that connects portfolio decisions to business outcomes
- Governance structures that clarify decision rights and accountability
- Execution capabilities that turn insights into action
- Leadership behaviors that sustain transformation momentum
Ready to transform your portfolio management approach? Discover how North Highland's NH360 Portfolio Insights can help your organization bridge the gap between data collection and strategic decision-making.
