Author Archives: andrew campbell

About andrew campbell

Ashridge Executive Education Focus on strategy and organisation Currently working on group-level functions and group-level strategy

How to design for agility

Posted on January 9, 2021 by andrew campbell

I was stimulated, by an article in the Journal of Organization Design, about how to do design work recognizing the need for agile evolution, the fact that designers do not always get it right and the fact that people don’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Agile and operating models, Tips for design work | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Thoughts about HR and Operating Models

Posted on December 3, 2020 by andrew campbell

I was stimulated by this “4 stages of HR maturity” graphic, which was shared on a LinkedIn post. I am not sure of the original source. There were more than 30 comments against the post, all of which were complimentary, … Continue reading →

Posted in HR, OM frameworks | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Supplier relationships

Posted on June 24, 2020 by andrew campbell

An important topic in any operating model design is the design and maintenance of good supplier relationships.  The first step is to decide what should be done in house versus by suppliers.  For this, use the “supplier matrix” tool.  The … Continue reading →

Posted in Supplier Matrix | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Five guiding thoughts for good operating model work

Posted on June 15, 2020 by andrew campbell

I enjoyed reading an article by Marcia Blenko, a Bain & Co advisor, about operating model work for charities – https://www.bridgespan.org/insights/library/organizational-effectiveness/nonprofit-operating-models.  The article follows the Bain definition of an operating model, which is focused on organisation structure, accountabilities, governance, systems … Continue reading →

Posted in Decision grids, Design principles, Design tools, Strategy, Tips for design work | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Finance function operating model

Posted on April 1, 2020 by andrew campbell

I was recently asked to give some help to a team working on an operating model for their Finance function.  The prime objective was to upgrade the function, so that it added more value and cost significantly less.  The particular … Continue reading →

Posted in Finance function, functional alignment, Value chain | Tagged , | 16 Comments

The Operating Model Canvas, Kaizen and Agile

Posted on February 22, 2020 by andrew campbell

This week I was in Bologna and Vicenza helping launch the Italian edition of Operating Model Canvas.  The translation and funding for the Italian edition was provided by Kaizen Institute: who support companies wanting to improve their operations.  I was … Continue reading →

Posted in Operating Model Canvas | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Doing “genuine” work and being “genuine”

Posted on November 11, 2019 by andrew campbell

I have always been a bit suspicious of terms like “authentic” leadership or “genuine” leadership.  So I was interested to read Travis Bradberry’s “12 habits of genuine people” in Forbes. I had two reactions.  First, there is some good stuff … Continue reading →

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A Critique of Deloitte’s Thoughts on Operating Models

Posted on August 7, 2019 by andrew campbell

I have just read one of the better articles on operating models.  It is from Deloitte, and it appears to describe their approach.  I recommend it to you because it is relatively easy to understand (if you skip over the … Continue reading →

Posted in Capabilities, OM frameworks | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

The role of operations in strategy

Posted on February 25, 2019 by andrew campbell

I recently enjoyed an article by Kevin Laczkowski and colleagues at McKinsey titled “Seeing your way to better strategy”.  It argued for four lenses to help you “see your way” forward – Financial, Market, Competitor and Operating Model. The thought behind … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Comparing McKinsey’s procurement framework with the Operating Model Canvas

Posted on December 20, 2018 by andrew campbell

I have been reading a McKinsey article on procurement, titled “A next generation operating model for source-to-pay”, authored by Samir Khushalani and Edward Woodcock At the centre of the article is a “honeycomb” framework (see exhibit).  So I thought I … Continue reading →

Posted in Operating Model Canvas, Procurement operating model | Tagged , | 2 Comments