09/10/2026
POV: HR does not have a shortage of important work.
The challenge is that almost everything on the list can be justified. Keeping the light on matters. Leadership development matters. Employee experience matters. AI readiness matters. Workforce planning matters. Technology matters. Manager capability matters.
From my experience, that is EXACTLY why prioritization becomes so difficult. The conversation is rarely about choosing between something important and something unimportant. It is usually about choosing between several things that all matter.
I believe this is where HR needs stronger portfolio discipline.
A long list of initiatives is not the same as a strategy. HR leaders need a clear view of what matters most, what the organization has capacity to absorb, where priorities are competing, and what may need to pause or stop.
Because when everything is a priority, ex*****on starts to suffer, and I mean REALLY suffer!
I wrote this article about why portfolio discipline is becoming such an important capability for People Strategy Ex*****on, and how HR can start managing the People agenda as an integrated portfolio rather than a collection of separate projects.
👉 Read the blog here: www.intheworx.org/blog
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