Understanding the Question

When an interviewer asks, "How do you prioritize projects or initiatives?" they are probing into your decision-making process, time management skills, and ability to align your work with the broader goals of the organization. For a Strategy Consultant, this question is crucial because it highlights your approach to handling multiple projects, often with varying degrees of complexity, urgency, and impact on the business. The interviewer wants to see if you have a systematic approach to evaluate and prioritize work, ensuring that resources are allocated efficiently and strategic objectives are met.

Interviewer's Goals

The interviewer aims to understand several key aspects of your professional capability, including:

• Strategic Thinking: Your ability to see the bigger picture and align projects with the company's strategic goals.
• Critical Evaluation: How you assess the value, urgency, and impact of different projects or initiatives.
• Decision-Making: Your process for making choices under pressure, when resources are limited or when competing projects vie for attention.
• Adaptability: How flexible you are in adjusting priorities based on new information or shifting organizational goals.
• Communication: Your skill in communicating priorities and rationale to stakeholders, including team members, management, and possibly clients.

How to Approach Your Answer

To answer this question effectively, you should articulate a clear and logical method for prioritizing projects. Here's how you can structure your response:

1. Identify Criteria: Start by outlining the criteria you use to evaluate projects. This could include strategic alignment, ROI, impact on customers, urgency, and resource availability.
2. Explain Your Process: Describe the process you follow to assess projects based on these criteria. Mention any tools or frameworks you use, such as the Eisenhower Matrix (urgent-important matrix), MoSCoW method (Must have, Should have, Could have, Won't have), or any other prioritization technique.
3. Demonstrate Flexibility: Highlight how you remain flexible and adapt priorities in response to changing circumstances or information.
4. Showcase Communication: Explain how you communicate priorities and decisions to stakeholders, ensuring buy-in and addressing any conflicts that arise due to resource allocation.
5. Reflect on Outcomes: If possible, conclude with a brief example of a successful outcome resulting from your prioritization approach.

Example Responses Relevant to Strategy Consultant

Example 1: "In my approach to prioritizing projects, I start by evaluating their alignment with the strategic objectives of the organization. I use the MoSCoW method to categorize projects based on their necessity and potential impact. For instance, during a portfolio analysis for a client, I identified key initiatives that were critical ('Must have') for maintaining market competitiveness and proposed a phased approach for 'Should have' projects, based on available resources and strategic fit. This method, coupled with regular stakeholder communication, ensured that we focused on high-impact projects without overextending resources."

Example 2: "I prioritize projects using a combination of the Eisenhower Matrix and ROI analysis. This approach helps me distinguish between projects that are urgent and important and those that can either be scheduled later or delegated. For a recent initiative aimed at digital transformation, I prioritized projects that offered quick wins in customer experience improvements, due to their high impact and alignment with our strategic goal of increasing customer satisfaction. Regular updates and discussions with the project team and stakeholders helped manage expectations and ensure alignment."

Tips for Success

• Be Specific: Use concrete examples from your experience to illustrate your approach, making your answer more credible and insightful.
• Highlight Soft Skills: While discussing your process, subtly highlight soft skills like collaboration, negotiation, and leadership.
• Stay Concise: While it's important to provide a detailed answer, stay focused and avoid getting lost in minutiae.
• Reflect on Learnings: If applicable, briefly mention any lessons learned or how your approach to prioritization has evolved over time.
• Customize Your Answer: Tailor your response to reflect the specific context of the role you're interviewing for, focusing on the aspects of prioritization that are most relevant to the position.

By carefully preparing your answer to this question, you can demonstrate your strategic acumen, decision-making skills, and ability to drive projects that align with business objectives — all key qualities of a successful Strategy Consultant.