Yes, we agree on portfolio management. The aim of portfolio management is not to have a 100% safe portfolio. This will imply no growth in most companies. Like a tortoise we need to stick our heads out if we want to move. We should not avoid risk in our portfolios but manage it. Most people do not understand this difference.

The aim is to have a balanced portfolio with enough growth (risk) and sufficient Safe work to ensure economic success at the same time.

Who said it would be easy?

When I use my business manager hat I always try to look deeper. A project which looks like a non-existent-margin one can bring other values. Satisfaction of the customer who will come to order another big project. First step in new product area which will allow us to gain valuable experience. Doing a project for the client for the first time which will effect in references and possibly a market expansion. The list of possible reasons is long.

In many cases typical PM or a developer would give me an evil eye and ask “Why the heck we’re going to do that?” Until they get whole business perspective it probably doesn’t make much sense.

Anyway, I agree that choosing bad project, which can’t be justified with reasonable business arguments, is well, a really bad choice. I went through that in one of my previous companies where reluctancy to bury one of the product lines resulted in never ending list of project failures talking both about quality and money.