The terms 'operating model' and 'target operating model' are used frequently in business, consulting, and PE contexts. They are also used loosely, which creates confusion about what is being discussed, what is being designed, and what is being assessed. The Value...
Operating model design is not new. The large consulting firms have been delivering operating model engagements for decades, and much of that work has been valuable. The question is not whether conventional approaches are wrong, but whether they are complete, and...
Private equity value creation has evolved significantly over the past decade. Financial engineering alone, leverage, multiple expansion, and timing, is no longer sufficient. The returns that PE investors expect increasingly depend on operational improvement: making...
Operating model problems are not unique to any sector, but they tend to manifest differently depending on the industry context. The underlying causes are often the same: unclear decision rights, accumulated complexity, misalignment between strategy and operational...
There are situations where a full operating model assessment is neither practical nor necessary. A PE operating partner conducting due diligence on a potential acquisition. A new COO in their first month trying to understand what they have inherited. A board member...
Every organisation accumulates complexity. Processes that were introduced for a specific reason and never retired. Roles that were created during a reorganisation three cycles ago and still exist. Technology that was meant to be temporary and became permanent....
Operating model design under deal timelines is a different discipline from operating model design in steady state. The constraints are harder: time is compressed, information is incomplete, the organisation is distracted by the transaction itself, and the stakes are...
Every organisation loses value somewhere between strategic intent and operational delivery. The scale varies, the mechanisms differ, but the pattern is consistent. The strategy describes a clear path to value creation. The financial plan quantifies it. And somewhere...
Technology investment in most organisations follows a familiar pattern. A business case is built around a platform, a system, or a digital initiative. The investment is approved, often at significant scale. Implementation begins. And somewhere during delivery, the...