OVERVIEW

"Whereas in 1900 the train carried almost all long-distance travelers, in 2000 such travelers almost all went by car or airplane [T]he real story after 1945 was the quickly disappearing railroad passenger."

From "American Railways in the 20th century" ^[1].

The story of passenger rail travel over the last 150 years is often cited to illustrate the dangers of failing to understand what business you're in. The railroads, the argument goes, continued steadfastly to believe that they were in the railroad business rather than the transportation business, and thus fell victim to the steep decline in passenger rail travel as people increasingly took to highways in cars and to the air in planes.

The story, often-cited though it may be, underscores the importance maintaining a dynamic portfolio that can adapt to changing market forces. The changes may not always be as dramatic as the rise of the interstate highway system and Americans' concomitant love affair with the automobile, but failure to adapt may be every bit as devastating.

A portfolio must be dynamic because it exists in a world in flux. Like the railroads, which continued offering a portfolio of rail travel while the technology and competitive landscape transformed around them, your company may be blindsided without a dynamic portfolio review process. This chapter is about that process and about what's necessary to ensure that the portfolio, ablaze with possibility at the moment of inception, can adapt and thrive in a changing world. What changes in...