VP Strategic Initiatives Guide:
Traditional Financial Services

Navigating the Technology Landscape for Strategy Execution

For a VP of Strategic Initiatives, selecting the right tooling is critical. The market is shifting from generic project management tools to specialized Strategy Execution Management (SEM) and Operational Intelligence platforms. Here is a neutral assessment of the approaches available in 2025.

1. The Platform Approach vs. Point Solutions

• Point Solutions (Specialized): Tools specifically for OKRs, Project Management, or Risk.

• Pros: Best-in-class features for specific teams (e.g., Jira for devs).

• Cons: Creates data silos. The Strategy team cannot see the Dev team's backlog. Hard to aggregate data for the C-suite.

• Platform Approach (Integrated): End-to-end platforms (like ServiceNow SPM, Planview, or custom builds on low-code platforms) that connect strategy to execution.

• Pros: Single source of truth. Easier to link budget to outcomes.

• Cons: Higher upfront cost and longer implementation time.

• Recommendation: For financial services, the Platform Approach is superior due to the need for audit trails and cross-functional visibility (Risk + Tech + Ops).

2. Build vs. Buy Considerations

• Build (Custom Internal Tools):

• When to consider: If your organization has unique, rigid governance workflows that no vendor can match, or if data sovereignty requirements prevent SaaS usage.

• Warning: Internal builds often become 'legacy debt' themselves. 58% of legacy flaws stem from custom internal builds that were never maintained.

• Buy (SaaS Configuration):

• When to consider: For 90% of use cases. Modern enterprise SaaS can handle the complexity of banking hierarchies.

• Key Criterion: Look for 'Federated Governance' capabilities—the ability to let different business units work differently while rolling up data to a central view.

3. Evaluation Criteria Checklist

When interviewing vendors, look beyond the UI. Ask these specific questions:

• Integration: "How do you connect to our 20-year-old mainframe data? Do you have native connectors or rely on fragile APIs?"

• Compliance: "Can we tag specific workflows to specific regulatory paragraphs (e.g., DORA Article 6) for automated reporting?"

• Scalability: "Show me a case study of a deployment with 10,000+ users in a regulated environment."

• Telemetry: "Do you just track project status, or can you ingest operational metrics (e.g., transaction volume) to show the impact of the project?"

4. Common Selection Mistakes

• Buying for the PMO, not the Business: Selecting a tool that is great for project managers but too complex for business sponsors results in poor adoption and bad data.

• Ignoring the 'Shadow IT': Teams often run initiatives on Excel or SharePoint. If the new tool doesn't offer a better user experience than a spreadsheet, they won't use it.

• Underestimating Integration Costs: In financial services, getting security clearance for a new cloud tool can take 6 months. Factor this into your timeline.

FAQs

How do we measure the ROI of strategic initiatives before they are fully implemented?

You cannot measure lagging financial indicators (like revenue) early on, so you must measure leading indicators of value. Use 'Proxy Metrics' such as customer adoption rates, process cycle time reduction, or error rate reduction during the pilot phase. Research suggests that initiatives achieving their leading indicators in the first 3 months are 3x more likely to hit their financial ROI targets. Establish 'Value Release Points'—milestones where a specific unit of value (e.g., a capability) is delivered, rather than waiting for the end of a 2-year program.

How long does it typically take to see results from a transformation office?

While full maturity takes 18-24 months, you should target specific 'Quick Wins' within the first 90 days. Typically, a portfolio rationalization exercise (cutting zombie projects) delivers immediate OpEx savings within 3 months. Process instrumentation usually yields actionable data insights by month 6. If you haven't demonstrated tangible value (either cost saved or revenue enabled) by month 6, executive sponsorship is likely to wane.

Should we build our own dashboard or buy a commercial tool?

In 2025, 'Buying' is the recommended path for 90% of financial institutions. Commercial Strategy Execution Management (SEM) platforms have matured significantly and now offer necessary compliance and integration features out-of-the-box. Building internally often results in high maintenance costs and 'legacy debt.' Unless you have a hyper-specific, non-standard governance model that provides a unique competitive advantage, a configurable SaaS platform offers faster time-to-value and lower total cost of ownership.

How do I handle resistance from business unit leaders who want to keep their own 'pet projects'?

Resistance is best managed with data, not opinion. When you present a 'Strategic Value Matrix' that visually plots their project as 'Low Value / Low Feasibility' compared to others, it objectifies the decision. Furthermore, frame the conversation around capacity: 'We can't execute your critical priority A because resources are tied up in lower-priority B.' By giving them the choice of where to deploy their limited resource allocation, you turn them into partners rather than adversaries.

How does AI fit into this execution framework?

AI should be viewed as an accelerator, not a strategy in itself. In the short term, use AI for 'Project Intelligence'—analyzing status reports to predict risks and slippage before they happen. In the medium term, use Generative AI to automate the heavy lifting of compliance documentation and testing. However, remember the 'Garbage In, Garbage Out' rule: AI requires clean data. Your focus on 'Instrumenting the Journey' (Phase 2) is the prerequisite for successfully deploying AI at scale.

What are the specific regulatory risks we need to watch for in 2025?

In Europe, DORA (Digital Operational Resilience Act) is the critical focus, requiring mapping of all ICT third-party risks. In the US, the OCC is intensifying scrutiny on 'Banking-as-a-Service' partnerships and third-party risk management. Globally, AI governance is emerging, with regulators demanding explainability for any AI models used in credit or risk decisions. Your execution framework must generate the audit trails these regulators require automatically.