Defining the Operating Model
for the Digital Enterprise
IOM Summit, Köln, September 2016
Lee Bryant POST*SHIFT

POST*SHIFT
ConsultingSoftwareResearch

SOCIAL
TECHNOLOGY
‣Social Business strategy
‣E2.0 / SocBiz platforms
‣Use cases / process surrounds
‣Adoption & awareness
Social technology is an enabler for the future of work
ORG
DESIGN
‣Agile / podular teams
‣Networks and communities
‣Open / data-driven working
‣Customer / market pull
SOCIAL
TECHNOLOGY
FUTURE
OF WORK
‣New roles and tasking
‣Network-centric leadership
‣Business model innovation
‣New business structures
ORG
DESIGN
SOCIAL
TECHNOLOGY

Social tech in the workplace: necessary but not sufficient
http://www.margolis.co.uk/enterprise-social-networks-study

Progress happening, but internal structure still a blocker

The world is changing faster than our organisations

Connected products require a connected company

As products change, so must the organisation

Agility is now the number one change goal for large orgs
Source: Jon Husband's logo for Wirearchy

We have some great new
theories and models of
the organisation…

Circle-based structures (e.g. Medium)
SUB-CIRCLE:
Dedicated to a function
SUPER-CIRCLE:
Responsible for the overall purpose
ROLE:
A task related to a function

Tribes & Guilds Model (e.g. Spotify)
TRIBE
SQUADGUILD
CHAPTER

Autonomous Business Units model (e.g. Haier)
CUSTOMERS
VALUE CREATING FUNCTIONS: Marketing, R&D, Manufacturing etc.
SHARED SERVICES PLATFORM: IT, HR etc.
SERVANT LEADERSHIP: Execs, Management

But in large firms, any new model hits major barriers
• leadership culture & hierarchy
• central departments & bureaucracy
• top-down approach to change
• digital skills & employee culture
• poor / centralised tech
• competing owners of topics
• focus on tech, not the org & people

But in large firms, any new model hits major barriers
• leadership culture & hierarchy
• central departments & bureaucracy
• top-down approach to change
• digital skills & employee culture
• poor / centralised tech
• competing owners of topics
• focus on tech, not the org & people

Here’s how I think you
can overcome the
biggest barriers…

… by helping create the
two key foundations of
the adaptive enterprise…

1An Organisational
Operating System
that embodies
core services in a
shared platform
2A distributed
Operating Model
that enables
evolutionary
improvement

1A new Organisational
Operating System

(why organisations should
be more like software)

FrameworkFrom vertical integration to pace layering, services, APIs

Platforms and a service-oriented architecture

Platforms and a service-oriented architecture

Iterative & agile approaches beat central planning

Connected software: more value from human interaction

Amazon: great example of ‘business as a platform’

But this is not just confined to tech firms

But this is not just confined to tech firms

Platforms are the most viable alternative to hierarchy

Digital Enterprise needs a better way to coordinate work

From puppets to actors…

Platforms: the stage on which people & teams can shine

SHARED SERVICE PLATFORM
A service-oriented architecture for the organisation

Platform services as a base for app-like user experiences

Platforms enable new management methods

Platforms enable new management methods

Rules, processes, directives can be embedded in software

AI needs connected data and service platforms to work

Platforms for people and things to work together

ESNs, intranets, data and
collaboration systems are a
good starting point for
creating the service layers
required by the platform

2A new distributed
Operating Model

38
Market
V U C AVolatility: unexpected
and unstable market
conditions
Uncertainty: lack of
information to foresee
changes
Complexity: many
interconnected parts
and variables
Ambiguity: casual
relationships are
unclear or unknown
A VUCA future needs constant adaptation / evolution

How can we use our
existing ESNs & intranets to
become more adaptive?

A human sensor network for distributed transformation
Sheeren mosaic 2 by Paul Wells

Existing adoption metrics alone don't tell us very much

Structure
• Decentralised
• Resilient
• Adaptive & Emergent
• Networked
• Service-oriented
Culture
• Open
• Customer-centric
• Innovative
• Experience-led
• Passion & purpose
Practice
• Agile & Iterative
• Data-driven
• Collaborative
• Task-focused
• Podular
© Postshift LLP, 2014
Target organisational capabilities, not adoption metrics

‘Quantified self’ continual improvement for the organisation

Some practical small steps for
owners of internal platforms

Gather and share stories of change
Princess and the Frog by Joana Coccarelli

Recruit and animate an internal change agent network

Consider scale & intimacy: networks / communities / teams

Ask the org what new capabilities it needs at each level

Always be capturing ideas, pain points, needs & data

Write agile user stories for new organisational capabilities

Coordinate & measure change actions that target them

Do > Observe > Think: distributed, agile transformation

We need to go beyond simple
communication use cases for
internal systems and make the
case that they should become
part of the platform for a new
organisational operating system

thank you for listening :)
{ }Please continue the
conversation with us:
• @leebryant / @postshift
• lee@postshift.com
• www.postshift.com
POST*SHIFT

Additional image credits and references
https://flic.kr/p/foH23g
https://flic.kr/p/6ukbKf
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https://developmentofwindows.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/windows3.jpg
http://www.engadget.com/2015/10/04/daimler-self-driving-truck-test/
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http://intenseminimalism.com/2010/the-dot-loop-the-simplest-process-possible/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/blakespot/3029273217/
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sponsored/china-watch/business/12006363/zhang-ruimin-haier-group.html
http://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/business-technology/our-insights/the-digital-tipping-point-mckinsey-
global-survey-results
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/05/financial-times-meet-the-cobots-humans-robots-factories/