Article
Why transformation stalls after the strategy is approved
How readiness, stakeholder alignment and behavioral change determine whether new operating models are adopted or quietly resisted.
Design the enterprise around how value should be created, decisions made and capabilities shared
We connect strategy with enterprise-wide accountability, governance and capabilities to define how business units, functions and the center should operate together.
Enterprise operating models often accumulate through successive reorganizations, acquisitions and local decisions rather than deliberate design. Business units gain or lose autonomy, corporate functions expand, shared capabilities emerge and governance layers multiply without a common logic for how the enterprise should work. As strategy changes, these inherited arrangements can slow decisions and obscure accountability. Enterprise operating model design establishes the principles and architecture governing where work belongs, what should be integrated and how the different parts of the organization combine to execute strategy.
Focus
An operating model defines how strategy becomes decisions, capabilities and work
It connects strategic choices with structures, governance, processes, talent and enabling infrastructure.
Read nowStrategic Challenges
Can the enterprise execute strategy through an operating model built for another era?
The challenge is redesigning work without treating structure as a substitute for end-to-end operating choices.
Read nowStrategic Impacts
A coherent operating model aligns resources with the work strategy actually requires
Clear choices across capabilities, governance and delivery reduce structural contradictions and execution fragmentation.
Read nowObserved Patterns
Operating model redesigns often begin with organization charts instead of enterprise work
Changing reporting lines first can preserve broken processes, ambiguous interfaces and outdated decision mechanisms.
Read nowStrategic Challenges
Can the enterprise execute strategy through an operating model built for another era?
The challenge is redesigning work without treating structure as a substitute for end-to-end operating choices.
Read nowStrategic Impacts
A coherent operating model aligns resources with the work strategy actually requires
Clear choices across capabilities, governance and delivery reduce structural contradictions and execution fragmentation.
Read nowObserved Patterns
Operating model redesigns often begin with organization charts instead of enterprise work
Changing reporting lines first can preserve broken processes, ambiguous interfaces and outdated decision mechanisms.
Read nowPOV
If strategy changes but the operating model does not, execution depends on workaround
Strategy falters when governance, capabilities, processes and accountabilities remain tied to the old model.
Read nowOur approach
Translate enterprise strategy into explicit choices about integration, autonomy and accountability
Our approach begins by identifying how the enterprise creates value and which strategic outcomes require coordination across businesses, functions or geographies. We define design principles before examining where accountability, capabilities and decisions should reside across the corporate center, shared functions and operating units. Integration is applied selectively where enterprise value exceeds the benefits of local autonomy. Governance, interfaces and performance mechanisms are then designed around these choices, and the target model is tested against critical decisions and workflows before transition requirements are defined.
The data and estimates presented are indicative and intended for illustrative purposes. Actual outcomes may vary based on each company’s specific context, market conditions, operating model, implementation choices, and the quality and consistency of execution, including actions undertaken by the client.
Keypillars
Explore the key pillars that define this capability and shape how we create focused, measurable business impact.
Strategic alignment
Connects enterprise strategy with structural choices on governance, capabilities, decision rights, and the distribution of responsibilities
Operating coherence
Designs the relationships between functions, business units, processes, and governance mechanisms that shape how the enterprise operates
Execution architecture
Defines how strategic priorities translate into accountable decisions, coordinated activity, resource allocation, and operating routines
Does your operating model still reflect how your enterprise needs to compete and execute?
Get in touch with our Enterprise operating model strategy and design team to examine structures, interfaces and execution requirements.
Get in touchStrategic Framework
Explore our Strategic Framework
Explore our strategic framework applied to page_title and discover which model we apply to help you achieve your goals and objectives.
Discover our framework01. Frame strategy
Translate enterprise strategy into the capabilities, organizational requirements, and operating choices it demands
06. Embed model
Establish management mechanisms that operationalize the model and support adaptation as strategic needs evolve
05. Plan transition
Sequence operating model changes around dependencies, business continuity, implementation capacity, and risk
02. Diagnose model
Assess how structure, governance, processes, capabilities, and resources currently support strategic execution
03. Set principles
Define the operating principles and design criteria that guide enterprise-level organizational choices
04. Design model
Configure structures, accountabilities, governance, interfaces, capabilities, and resource allocation mechanisms
How we help
Define how businesses, functions and the corporate center should work together as one enterprise
We provide enterprise operating-model strategies that translate corporate direction into explicit choices about accountability, autonomy, integration and shared capability. The work can include operating-model diagnostics, design principles, corporate-center roles, business-unit mandates, capability placement, governance, decision rights and enterprise interfaces. Outputs establish where activities and decisions should reside, which capabilities should be shared or differentiated and how the enterprise should coordinate across organizational boundaries without adding unnecessary structural complexity.
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Operating model diagnostic
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Target operating model design
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Operating model principles
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Capability architecture design
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Enterprise process architecture
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Governance model design
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Organization model design
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Enterprise decision model
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Service delivery model design
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Shared services architecture
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Center-led model design
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Operating model localization
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Operating model scenario analysis
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Operating model cost assessment
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Operating model transition planning
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Operating model implementation governance
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Operating model effectiveness review
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Post-merger operating model design
Explore our FAQs
Find answers to the most common questions about this service, including key features, processes, and practical considerations. Explore our FAQs for additional insights and guidance.
When strategy, scale, portfolio shifts or persistent execution problems make existing structures and governance materially ineffective.
It should clarify structure, accountabilities, decision rights, governance, capabilities and how work flows across organizational boundaries.
An organization chart shows reporting lines; an operating model defines how decisions, capabilities, governance and work operate together.
Usually not. Structure should follow strategic requirements, critical capabilities, decision needs and the way value is created.
Define where common standards create value and where local authority is necessary for market responsiveness or operational effectiveness.
Ambiguous accountabilities, legacy processes, conflicting incentives and unresolved interfaces often undermine otherwise coherent designs.
Review it against strategic shifts, performance evidence and recurring organizational friction rather than treating the design as permanent.
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Editorial overview
Articles
The operating model is the strategy
Why organizational structure, decision rights and cross-functional coordination increasingly determine whether strategic priorities translate into performance.
Read articleWhy transformation stalls after the strategy is approved
How readiness, stakeholder alignment and behavioral change determine whether new operating models are adopted or quietly resisted.
Read articleFocus
Culture changes when everyday choices, consequences and leadership signals change together
Behavior is shaped less by stated values than by the routines, incentives and informal norms people experience daily.
Organization design works when structure, roles and work are engineered together
Effective design connects accountabilities, layers, spans, interfaces and role requirements to the work itself.
Strategic challenges
Most operating friction sits between functions, not inside them
Performance deteriorates when decisions and accountabilities cross organisational boundaries without explicit ownership.
Can accountability become clearer without simply redrawing reporting relationships?
The challenge is translating required work into roles and structures without creating overlap, gaps or excess hierarchy.