Portfolio strategy

Most organizations fund by inertia. Last year's allocation plus a percentage, adjusted by who argued hardest. Portfolio strategy is the discipline of deciding again, deliberately.

Assess each line on two axes

Attractiveness — is this a good place to be? Market size and growth, structural profitability, concentration of buyer power, regulatory direction, and how the economics behave as it scales.

Right to win — is it good for us? Our position relative to alternatives, the assets or capabilities that transfer, and whether the advantage is durable or borrowed.

The combination gives you four postures, and the honest one is usually uncomfortable: