Service pathway
Organisation & Operating Model
Give the organisation a structure and a decision system it can actually run every month, not just draw on a chart.
The problem
As organisations grow, the org chart usually changes faster than the decision rights underneath it. The result is structural clarity on paper and continuing ambiguity in practice: people are unsure what they are allowed to decide without checking, and checking becomes the default.
What we see
In businesses scaling past the point where the founder can be personally involved in every decision, the second layer of management is frequently given responsibility for outcomes without the authority to make the decisions that drive them.
Reorganisations are often used to solve problems that are not structural — a reporting-line change is asked to fix what is actually a governance or accountability gap.
The number of people a single decision has to pass through before it is confirmed tends to grow quietly with headcount, until a routine approval takes weeks without anyone having decided that it should.
Our position
Structure is the least important part of an operating model and the part everyone reorganises first. Decision rights, governance, and execution cadence matter more, and they are harder to design because they require leaders to give up control they are used to holding personally. Our position is that an operating model redesign that does not explicitly reallocate decision rights has not actually changed anything, whatever the new chart shows.
What this includes
Organisation Structure DesignStructure and roles designed for the next stage of growth, not for history.
How we deliver it
- Diagnose the current structure against the work that actually needs to happen
- Design the target structure, roles, and reporting logic with leadership
- Pressure-test the design against real scenarios before announcing anything
- Plan the transition: sequence, communication, and the first ninety days
What you walk away with
- A structure sized to your next stage, not your past
- Roles with clear purpose and ownership
- A transition plan that protects the business while it changes
Operating Model RedesignRedesigning structure, decision rights, and governance together, not structure alone.
How we deliver it
- Map where decisions really get made today, and where they get stuck
- Design decision rights and escalation thresholds for each level
- Build the governance calendar around decisions rather than reporting
- Install the new model and coach leaders through its first full cycle
What you walk away with
- A decision-rights map that resolves escalations
- Approvals measured in days, not weeks
- A cadence leadership actually runs every month
Business Process Re-engineeringRebuilding a core process end-to-end where the current one no longer fits how the business actually operates.
How we deliver it
- Map the process as it really runs, workarounds and all
- Find the points of delay, error, and unnecessary handoff
- Redesign the process with the people who run it, and name its owner
- Pilot the new process, then standardise and measure it
What you walk away with
- Visibly shorter cycle times
- One accountable owner per process
- A process that is measured, not assumed
Governance & Decision ArchitectureDesigning the forums and escalation paths that carry a decision to closure.
How we deliver it
- Audit existing forums against the decisions they actually close
- Build a decision inventory: what gets decided where, by whom, at what threshold
- Redesign the meeting architecture around decisions, risks, and value
- Run the first governance cycle with support, then adjust
What you walk away with
- Fewer, sharper meetings
- Decisions closed at the right level
- Escalation rules everyone can see and use
Manpower OptimisationRight-sizing structure and headcount against the work that actually needs to get done, not historical headcount.
How we deliver it
- Analyse activity and workload against roles as they exist today
- Benchmark spans of control and management layers
- Develop options with costs, risks, and service impact made explicit
- Build a phased implementation plan that protects delivery
What you walk away with
- Headcount matched to real work
- Sensible spans and fewer unnecessary layers
- A defensible, phased plan rather than a blunt cut
Role Clarity & Job DescriptionsWhat each role owns, decides, and is measured on, written down and usable.
How we deliver it
- Map accountabilities across roles and expose the overlaps and gaps
- Define each role: purpose, decision rights, KPIs, and interfaces
- Validate with the managers and role-holders who live with them
- Embed the definitions into performance reviews and hiring
What you walk away with
- Job descriptions with KPIs people actually use
- Overlaps and orphaned work removed
- Accountability conversations that get easier
Operating Model Architecture
How the work is structured
A layered stack from structure down to execution cadence, because operating-model problems are almost always found at the seam between two layers.
- 01Structure
How the organisation is actually shaped, versus the chart that says it is.
- 02Decision rights
Who can say yes, at what threshold, without escalating.
- 03Governance
The forums and escalation paths that carry a decision to closure.
- 04Execution cadence
The meeting and reporting rhythm leaders actually run every month.
What the diagnostic looks for
- How many approval steps a routine operational decision passes through before it is actioned
- Whether role descriptions specify what a role can decide, or only what it is responsible for
- How frequently escalations reach the most senior leader for decisions that should sit two levels down
- Whether the governance calendar reflects how decisions are actually made, or a formality layered on top of it
What an engagement can include
What leadership receives
- A decision-rights map leadership can use to resolve escalations without involving the most senior person by default
- A governance calendar built around decisions rather than status reporting
- A structure sized to the organisation's next stage, not its history