Capability-based planning starts with a shared capability model and asks a focused question of each strategic goal: which capabilities must improve for this to succeed. Investment then follows the capability gaps, not the loudest project sponsor.
This reframing matters because capabilities cut across the organization. A single capability may touch several functions and systems, so planning around it forces the coordination that function-by-function budgeting often misses.
It also makes trade-offs visible. When every initiative is expressed as its contribution to defined capabilities, leaders can compare unlike investments on a common basis and stop funding overlapping work.