Strategy tells you where to go. The operating model is how you get there. We design organisations that work — across every layer, in every corridor, not just on the slide deck.
Strategy tells you where to go. The operating model is the mechanism by which the organisation gets there — and without it, the gap between strategic ambition and operational reality persists indefinitely.
Six interdependent layers. Hover any layer to see what CN does inside it.
Each layer connects to the others. A change in process requires a change in people capability. A change in technology requires a change in governance. Operating model design that treats the layers as independent will fail in the integration.
End-to-end process mapping that follows the work rather than the org chart. Handoffs identified and minimised. Standard ways of working that stick because they are designed with the people who do the work.
Technology decisions made after the operating model is designed — not before. System architecture that serves the process. AI adoption embedded in ways of working rather than bolted on.
How the organisation reaches its customers, citizens or end users. Channel design that matches how people actually want to interact. Service standards with genuine accountability for what happens when they are not met.
Management information that enables decisions rather than reporting for its own sake. Data that flows to where it is needed. Performance culture that treats problems as information rather than evidence of failure.
Decision rights that are clear and respected. Accountability that is real rather than diffused across committees. Risk and assurance that supports delivery rather than impeding it.
We design operating models from first principles — not from a template. Every engagement starts with understanding the specific organisation, its specific constraints and its specific definition of success.
Understanding the current state across all six layers. Where it works, where it does not, and — critically — why. Including the informal reality, not just the documented one.
Co-designing the target model with the people who will live with it. Options appraised. Trade-offs made explicit. A recommendation — not a list of options — presented with evidence.
The plan for getting from here to there. Change management running in the corridors and the boardrooms simultaneously. Readiness assessed before each stage. Go-live earned, not assumed.
Month 12 benefits review included as standard. We come back to verify the model is working as designed and that benefits are being realised. Not to claim credit — to confirm it held.
Most operating model work produces excellent documents. The target model is well designed. The organisation structure is logical. The process maps are thorough.
And then it meets the organisation. The managers who were supportive in the workshops go back to their teams and quietly signal that the new way is optional for now. The informal leaders whose opinion shapes what forty people think decide — in the corridor, before any official communication reaches them — that this is another initiative to be waited out.
CN designs operating models to work in the organisation as it actually is — not as it is on the slide deck. We design for the corridor as well as the boardroom, because that is where operating models are either adopted or quietly abandoned.
Talk to us about your operating model