OVERVIEW

"Where there is unity there is always victory."

Publilius Syrus, Roman philosopher and author, ?100 B.C.

If you have ever observed a half-time show at a football game, you know it can involve many individuals, each performing a different activity. However, when seen from afar by the audience, the individuals become much more than just a tuba player making a 90-degree turn or a gymnast doing three handsprings. The audience sees a flag unfolding, a flower blooming, or a star forming. The job of the show's choreographer is not only to design what the audience will see but also to figure out what each of the individuals will do to create the desired end result, and then communicate that to the bandleader who will manage the whole process. While the tuba player can't see the flower blooming, he or she knows that marching in the right place and turning at the right time will contribute to the overall picture.

At the moment of creation, the newly conceived portfolio may be a company's best-kept secret like the half-time show that is still a sketch in the choreographer's notebook. Only a handful of people outside of the management team that spearheaded the effort may know anything about it. Thesenior manager who carried the torch as the portfolio champion to unite the company's vision, mission, and strategy with customer needs now must effectively communicate the portfolio and the customer needs that spawned the portfolio to the rest of the company. Each person, like the...