The Top 101 Consulting Frameworks (with Summaries)

Mark Bridges
76 min readJun 23, 2022

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A consulting framework provides a structured approach to analyzing and solving a common business problem. It allows consultants to address a client’s business issue in an organized, thorough, and efficient manner.

Likewise, frameworks are incredibly useful to any business professional beyond just management consultants, particularly C-level executives and upper management.

There are hundreds of business frameworks available, and which ones are used often depends on the organization and the needs of the clients. Consulting firms dedicate significant R&D and resources in constantly pioneering new frameworks and thought leadership.

At the end of each year, Flevy publishes a list of the top 101 consulting frameworks from the FlevyPro Library. Flevy is the largest online knowledge base of consulting documents, ranging from management consulting frameworks to financial models to deliverable examples.

FlevyPro is a subscription service for consulting frameworks, templates, and other tools. New frameworks are added to the FlevyPro Library each week based on market trends and customer demand. Each of these framework guides is a detailed PowerPoint presentation that provides a structured approach to analyzing and overcoming a business challenge, from issues in Strategy Development to Digital Transformation to Organizational Design (OD).

For just the list of the top 101 frameworks go here.

In this article, we have included summaries for each of the frameworks. If you would like a copy of this article as a downloadable whitepaper, along with PowerPoint slide visuals for each frameworks, go here.

For a current running list of the top 100 best practices, check out these links:

In this article, we have included summaries for each of the frameworks. If you would like a copy of this article as a downloadable whitepaper, along with PowerPoint slide visuals for each frameworks, go here.

1. Organizational Design and Capability Analysis

Organizational Design involves the creation of roles, processes, and structures to ensure that the organization’s goals can be realized. Organizational Design span across various levels of the organization. This framework focuses on the following 3 initial steps of the full 10-step Organizational Design process:

  • Step 1. Vision and Business Architecture
  • Step 2. Clarifying Design Criteria
  • Step 3. Defining Capabilities and Competencies

This framework also discusses Capability Analysis. Capability Analysis is a source of strategic insight into an organization, as it provides a vital insight to the organization’s ability to follow or implement a potential strategic option.

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2. Smart Organizational Design

Business environment has transformed drastically and has become immensely challenging due to competition, disruptive technologies, laws, and globalization. These challenges warrant better performance to address customer needs and to survive — and outpace — intense competition.

Consequently, organizations have become more complex. The work that individuals perform in an organization has also shifted from manual labor and clerical work to knowledge-based experiential work. Traditional workforce was required to adhere to commands and stick to routines. The workforce, today, is more empowered and innovative.

In order to stay competitive or beat the rivals, Transformation and Change programs are constantly underway in organizations across the globe. However, a large percentage of these programs fail to achieve the desired outcomes. One of the main factor attributed to this failure is utilizing traditional approaches to reorganization, which have become archaic and ineffective in this Digital Age.

This framework deliberates on a new approach to reorganization — the Smart Organizational Design — the principles that govern the new approach, and provides a comprehensive overview of the 3 steps that are critical to implement the new approach:

  1. Purpose: Define Why Reorganization Is Necessary
  2. Design Elements: Determine the Behaviors Critical to Support Reorganization
  3. Execution: How to Execute the Smart Organizational Design

The framework then reflects on the Critical Success Factors mandatory to significantly improve the odds of a reorganization initiative.

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3. 5 Ps of Purpose

Most of us have experienced a uniqueness in some organizations. They stand out, exude fervor and zeal. Their customers are pleased with the company, employees enjoy working there, and investors and shareholders take pride in being part of it.

It is not their exceptional product or service rather the Purpose that makes organizations unique — their reason for existence and the resulting impact it makes on the world.

In order to be genuine, Purpose has to be embedded in the organization’s DNA, which is not a trivial task. This framework discusses the 5 Ps of Purpose that can help organizations entrench genuine Purpose in its core. The 5 Ps identifies 5 core areas of focus:

  1. Product Portfolio Strategy
  2. People & Culture
  3. Processes & Systems
  4. Performance Metrics
  5. Positions & Engagement

Case examples are also discussed to illustrate successful implementation and alignment of Purpose in the business world.

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4. Best Practices in Strategic Planning

Strategic Planning is a process of defining the organization’s strategy and making decisions on allocating resources to pursue this strategy. It’s a crucial process, but often poorly executed that leads to poor translation from strategy to execution.

In most companies, executives complain that their Strategic Planning is overly bureaucratic, insufficiently insightful, and doesn’t accommodate today’s rapidly changing, digital markets.

This framework presents an overview approach to Strategic Planning, along with 4 best practices to ensure effective Strategic Planning that leads to successful Strategy Execution:

  1. Explore Strategy at 3 Time Horizons
  2. Constantly Reinvent and Stimulate the Strategic Dialogue
  3. Engage the Broader Organization
  4. Invest in Execution and Monitoring

Topics covered include the 3 Strategy Time Horizons, Strategic Dialogue, Art of Questioning, Strategic Initiatives, Strategy Dashboard, among others. The concepts discussed are based on the research and thought leadership of BCG.

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5. Business Transformation Framework for New CEOs

Corporate Transformation is about making fundamental changes in how business is conducted in order to help cope with a shift in market environment and achieve a sustainable, quantum improvement in performance. Specifically, this fundamental change can be in the company’s corporate strategy, business model, organization, culture, people, or processes.

This framework explains a Business Transformation framework geared towards the specific situation of a new CEO taking charge of the organization. When a new CEO is hired, stakeholders expect significant changes, including Transformation. For this Transformation to be effective, the CEO needs to take action immediately. While this framework is designed for new CEOs, the approach and concepts can also be applied to any type of Transformation project.

This Transformation Framework follows a 4-phase approach:

  1. Define the Ambition — starts up to 100 days before starting
  2. Energize the Organization — first few weeks
  3. Prepare and Launch the Transformation — first 100 days
  4. Drive the Transformation — first 18 months

Additional topics covered include No Regret Initiatives, Medium Term Initiatives, Types of Transformations, Common Pitfalls, Transformation Levers, Case for Change, and Transformation Goals.

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6. Go-to-Market Model Design

In an intensely competitive consumer goods sector, optimized Go-to-Market (GTM) Models are essential. This entails the design for routes to market that companies use to sell and deliver their products and to service their trade accounts.

GTM Models enable profitable growth, service excellence, and consumer engagement at the point of sale. But the more diverse a company’s customer base and product portfolio, and the more competitive its markets, the more challenging it is to design an effective and efficient GTM Model.

Companies with a large customer base often use the same route to market to manage all trade accounts. Some accounts were being underdeveloped and underserved while others are given more attention. As a result, sales potential of existing accounts was not being fully captured and cost-to-serve was higher than necessary. New resources could have been deployed to establish, maintain, and develop new accounts to optimize market potential.

This framework provides an in-depth understanding of the 3 essential sets of core activities of the Go-to-Market Model Design and its Modular Approach.

  1. Growing Activities
  2. Sustaining Activities
  3. Value-adding Activities

The Modular Approach provides an orderly and structured approach to GTM Model Design. The application of the Modular Approach can result into differentiated GTM Models to suit and optimize different market segments.

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7. Digital Transformation Governance

The constantly evolving digital landscape necessitates executives to dynamically design and govern their portfolio of Digital Initiatives.

Based on a study of more than 100 companies on their digital challenges and interviews with 55 digital executives, we have distilled out 7 key governing principles that link Digital Transformation to impactful success.

  1. Centralize Shared Information.
  2. Decentralize Governance of Digital Initiatives over Time.
  3. Decentralize Ideation. Centralize Idea Evaluation.
  4. Ensure KPIs Measure True Impact.
  5. Focus on Compatibility, Consistency, and Continuous Integration.
  6. Implement a “Fit-for-Purpose” Mapping System.
  7. Perform Scenario Analysis.

By following the 7 key Governance principles, digital leaders can maximize the success quotient of their Digital Initiatives.

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8. Post-merger Integration (PMI): Integration Checklist (Part 1)

Post-merger Integration (PMI) is a highly complex process. It requires swift action as well as running the core business activities simultaneously. There is no one-size fits all approach to a successful PMI Process. However, careful planning focusing on the strategic objectives of the deal and the identification and capturing of synergies will help maximize deal value.

Due to the complexity of the PMI process, it is of utmost importance that organizations — both the Buyer and the Target, the integration team, and integration manager — have a guide that will provide them the detailed requirements of the process. The Post-merger Integration framework has a structured approach that can direct attention on important integration areas to maximize deal value. Inability to focus on priority areas can be a waste of resources, time, and investments.

This framework aims to provide organizations a detailed Integration Checklist to achieve PMI success. The PMI Integration Checklist is developed based on 12 priority integration areas. Undertaking the Integration Checklist will enable both Buyer and Target to reach the most strategic state necessary for the 12 Integration Areas.

This framework addresses the first 2 integration areas within the full checklist:

  • Finance & Accounting (F&A)
  • Legal

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9. Pathways to Data Monetization

We are living in the Age of Data. Every company operating today is essentially a data company. However, only 1 inf 12 are monetizing data to its full extent.

For organizations to achieve Data Monetization, there are 2 pathways they can take — one with an internal focus and the other with an external focus. This framework explores both of these 2 pathways in detail.

With an internal focus on Data Monetization, we look at Operational and Organizational areas of improvement, which can be broken down in Cost Reduction and Revenue Growth initiatives.

With an external focus on Data Monetization, we look at opportunities with Partners and Customers. We can also unlock 3 new business models.

These framework dives deeper in to these business models. We also delve into how to actually implement a Data Monetization Strategy through a 5-phase approach in setting up a Data Factory.

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10. Removing Organizational Silos

Staying competitive in the face of increasingly accelerated disruption can be a challenge to 21st century organizations. Many organizations have started to rethink and retool their offerings and operation. This kind of Business Transformation, however, requires a collaborative effort from all parts of the organization, no matter how different their processes, systems, and cultures have been in the past.

Often, the Transformation effort falls flat due to problems that arise when disparate parts of the company fail to work together with a shared sense of mission. Most large companies have divisions, or even groups and functions within divisions, that operate in silos. This can be for a good reason. In the Knowledge Economy, professionals need to work with people who possess similar professional skills to fulfill specific mandates. Silos can exist to harness knowledge-based skills, or specific job functions, or they can be geographic. In many industries, silos are vital to productivity. But when organizational Transformation is needed, it is a different story.

Silos, during Transformation, mean that the very parts of our company that must work together are unaccustomed to doing so, and are even unable to communicate with one another. They are culturally misaligned, inherently mistrustful, and territorial. These problems can complicate Change efforts, or delay or derail delivery of their benefits.

This framework highlights 7 strategies when breaking down silos become essential in achieving successful Business Transformation.

  1. Align leaders
  2. Create cross-functional teams
  3. Create clear roles and responsibilities
  4. Co-locate teams
  5. Create Joint Incentives
  6. Create a “two in a box” Leadership
  7. Clarify decision rights

These 7 critical strategies will help organizations harness the right mix of knowledge and skills needed to bring about large-scale change.

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11. Sales Force Effectiveness (SFE): 5 Components of Selling

Sales Force Effectiveness (SFE) generally decreases progressively over time. To improve SFE for our organization, we should analyze the full sales end-to-end process by closely examining opportunities across the 5 critical components of selling:

  1. Targeting
  2. Deployment
  3. Execution
  4. Engagement
  5. Enablement

This framework will discuss these 5 areas in detail, describing the various levers within each area that drive SFE. SFE is a key driver of revenue growth, which in turn drives our organization’s total shareholder value.

Additional topics covered include SFE guiding principles, SFE solutions, and reasons for SFE decline.

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12. Adaptive Leadership Team Development

Leadership at the top is a team sport. The CEO must rely on his or her senior level teams to accomplish important goals, manage change, and help spread the company’s priorities and values throughout the organization.

But, in a volatile and uncertain business environment, companies are finding it harder to keep up. Top teams must therefore be more than just high performing. They also need to adapt and thrive in these turbulent times.

Instilling Adaptive Leadership Team Development in our company’s DNA prepares our teams in times of business uncertainties. It can, in fact, be seen as a source of Competitive Advantage.

This methodology presents 3 important business frameworks that will prepare our company in our Adaptive Leadership Team Development Journey.

  1. The 4 Principles that provide the framework of creating an Adaptive Leadership Team.
  2. The 5 Fundamental Traits of a High-Performing Adaptive Leadership Team.
  3. The 3 Critical Steps in enhancing level of adaptation within a Leadership team.

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13. Process Communication Model (PCM): Personality Types

Process Communication Model (PCM) is a useful tool for communicating with customers, colleagues, acquaintances, and others.

The model was developed by Taibi Kahler in the 1970s. PCM is a prominent psychometric tool for team and individual development. The PCM model describes the reasons (and ways) for communication between people, and is of great assistance to people in improving their communication and influencing others.

This framework provides a detailed account of the 6 key personality types defined under the PCM model:

  1. Harmonizer
  2. Rebel
  3. Thinker
  4. Persister
  5. Imaginer
  6. Promoter

PCM allows the executives to understand their own and others’ personalities and needs — as well as find practical solutions in conflict situations.

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14. Strategic Alliance Management

A Strategic Alliance is referred to as “an agreement between 2 organizations to share resources to carry out a mutually beneficial initiative.” The arrangement differs from a Joint Venture (JV) given that both firms in a Strategic Alliance remain independent. Whereas, in a JV, 2 companies share resources to create a separate company.

Strategic Alliances are typically formed to:

  • Better compete in a market
  • Venture into a new market
  • To improve service or product portfolio.
  • Allow the 2 entities achieve a common goal for mutual benefit.

This framework provides a detailed overview of a practical approach to managing Strategic Alliances. The approach encompasses 5 interconnected phases imperative for executing effective partnerships.

Other topics discussed in the framework include 3 erroneous assumptions alliance managers typically make and key questions to consider and answer while implementing an alliance.

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15. Re-engagement after Restructuring

Restructuring is a turbulent process that shakes the foundations of the organization. Keeping focus on moving the organization forward with vitality means boosting the sagging morale of the employees who survive this storm.

This framework discusses the state of mind of employees who depart as well as those who stay. What bothers the survivors, what motivates them, and what actions should the management take before, during, and after Restructuring.

Employees typically showcase 4 types of reactions during this transition:

  1. Departure Grief
  2. Survivor Grief
  3. Survivor Irritation
  4. Departure Happiness

Other topics discussed in the framework include the drivers behind employee reactions and the steps that management should undertake to cope with each type of employee.

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16. Artificial Intelligence (AI) Strategy: Top Priorities

Revamping traditional systems, implementing Artificial Intelligence (AI), and scaling, in reality, is not as simple as it seems. PwC’s 2020 Research validates that scaling and industrializing AI is not straightforward at all. Only 4% of the survey respondents asserted that they plan on implementing organization-wide AI in 2020. Whereas, a year earlier, the same survey revealed 20% of the executives planning to do that.

This shows a significant decrease in the number of senior leaders thinking of executing AI. The reason for this drop is attributed mainly to the lack of preparedness required for enterprise-wide AI implementation.

This framework talks about the 5 key priorities of a robust AI Strategy that businesses should follow to position themselves as AI leaders:

  1. Boring AI
  2. AI-ready Workforce
  3. Responsible and Ethical AI
  4. AI Operationalization
  5. Business Model Innovation (BMI)

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17. Consulting Proposal Structure & Template

This document presents an overarching structure for a consulting project proposal deck. It includes the high-level presentation flow, as well as specific slide structure and verbiage structure. You can follow it as a general presentation template. Details are more geared towards strategy projects, but the core concepts can be applied to any project.

This structure and template can be used for pitch decks, project kick-off presentations, as well as for specific status meetings after the project is underway.

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18. Storyboarding and Presentation Writing

You may have heard that management consultants spend the majority of their time cranking out PowerPoint slides. There is much truth to do this — and for good reason.

A PowerPoint presentation is not only a great communication tool, it is also the form of most consulting deliverables — i.e. the end product purchased by the client. The presentation must lay out the recommended solutions, the key takeaways, and analyses performed.

You may have done the most thorough, bullet-proof analysis and formulated the best strategic recommendation. However, all this is worthless, if you can’t communicate it clearly and in a compelling way through your PowerPoint slides.

This framework focuses on the art of presentation development. Topics covered include storyboarding, pyramid logic structure, rule of 2, document writing principles, and slide structuring. It also includes a training exercise.

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19. Six Building Blocks of Digital Transformation

Digital Transformation touches practically every function in the entire organization. This thus requires an unprecedented amount of coordination among people, process, and technologies throughout the organization, leading to a difficult Transformation program.

The 6 Building Blocks of Digital Transformation framework provides us with a holistic structure for thinking through and managing large-scale Digital Transformation programs. For a successful Digital Transformation, we must be able to orchestrate 6 Building Blocks:

  1. Strategy and Innovation
  2. Customer Decision Journey
  3. Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
  4. Organization
  5. Technology
  6. Big Data and Analytics

Digital Transformation has become crucial to the survival of companies, as the corporate lifespan has been dropping dramatically — from 61 years in 1958 to 18 years in 2011.

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20. SMO Series: Strategic Management Office (SMO) Implementation

The Strategy Management Office (SMO), also referred sometimes as the Office of Strategy Management (OSM), is the team responsible for managing the Corporate Strategy of the organization.

The ultimate role to execute Strategy lies with the line managers and employees, but without a core command and coordination office (i.e. the SMO), Strategy is either skipped from key processes or the processes are ineffectual across business units, causing poor Strategy execution.

This framework is the final in a series of 3. It covers the nuances of implementing a Strategic Management Office. Topics include the 4 common SMO Organizational Models and SMO resourcing need.

Additionally, we discuss a specific case study of SMO implementation with Chrysler in the early 2000s, including a deep dive into resource allocation across the 9 SMO processes.

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21. Management Consulting Problem Solving Process

At the core of any management consulting project is a strategic issue that we must help the client address. Strategic issues can arise at all levels of the organization.

However, their nature differs dependent on which level they arise. In this framework, we will discuss the different types and levels of strategy.

To help structure this, we introduce the Strategic Analysis Pyramid. This document also introduces the Analytical Problem Solving process, a 6-phase approach to solving a strategic issue. This is a common approach adopted by many top management consulting firms. This problem solving process is referenced and used throughout the remaining consulting training presentations.

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22. Objectives and Key Results (OKR)

Successful organizations are using Objectives and Key Results (OKR) now. OKRs are efficient way to track company and team goals and measure their progress. It helps every organization’s success by cutting out unimportant goals and focusing on what truly is important within the organization.

OKR is a framework for defining and tracking objectives and their outcomes. OKRs has been seen as a way to communicate so that there is clarity of purpose. It is also a tool for motivating and aligning people to work together. It increases transparency, accountability, and empowerment.

This framework provides organizations, teams, and employees an in-depth understanding on the OKR Framework. The OKR Framework is comprised of 2 important elements:

  1. Objectives
  2. Key Results

The goal of OKR is to define how to achieve objectives through concrete, specific, and measurable actions. Having a good understanding of OKR will guide companies and teams to better focus on what is important and connect work at every level to the most important goals. OKRs are best shared across the organization. They provide teams with visibility of goals leading to alignment and focus effort.

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23. Digital Transformation: Value Creation & Analysis

Most organizations recognize the significant potential in creating value through Digital Transformation Strategy. However, they may struggle with the question of exactly how much value they can create and where within the organization the value will come from. This framework deals with the various aspects of Value Creation through Digital Transformation.

Specifically, we explore the following topics:

  • Sources of Digital Value
  • Digital Value Chain Analysis
  • Digital Transformation Opportunity Assessment
  • Horizons of Digital Transformation

Most organizations are leaving money and value on the table with their Digital Transformation efforts. They focus only on specific functions, typically customer-centric operations, instead of looking for impact across the whole Digital Value Chain.

To capture the maximum value available, organizations need to assess the value at stake and invest proportionally to that value. They then need align their business and operating models accordingly. The potential impact of digital technology varies greatly by industry.

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24. Digital Transformation: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Strategy

The rise of the machines is becoming an impending reality. The Artificial Intelligence (AI) revolution is here. Most businesses are aware of this and see the tremendous potential of AI.

This framework defines AI and explains the 3 basic forms of AI:

  1. Assisted Intelligence
  2. Augmented Intelligence
  3. Autonomous Intelligence

Many companies are making investments across all 3 forms of AI over the next few years.

We also discuss how to adopt AI in our organization and develop an AI Strategy, following a 4-step process.

  1. Develop an AI Strategy aligned with our overall Corporate Strategy.
  2. Develop enterprise-wide AI capabilities.
  3. Institutionalize our portfolio of AI capabilities.
  4. Ensure appropriate and sufficient Governance.

Additional topics covered include Machine Learning (ML), Natural Language Generation (NLG), Robotic Process Automation (RPA), Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), and AI application deployments across industries.

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25. End-to-end (E2E) Operating Model Transformation

In many industries, executives have had their hands full staying competitive and surviving market downturns. This is done by making cuts, often silo by silo, and occasionally in ways that negatively affected customers.

It is time for organizations to rework their Operating Models in a new way, with an approach that ensures continuous improvement, increases capacity, and enhance customer service while reducing costs. The best way to do this is through an End-to-end (E2E) Operating Model Redesign. E2E redesign is basically a simultaneous reworking of all, or many, of a company’s functions based on an understanding of what clients value.

When structuring the company’s End-to-end New Operating Model, expect 4 core changes to occur in the entire Value Chain based on the clients’ needs. This framework discussed the 4 core changes that will guide companies as they go through the Transformation process.

  1. Design New End-to-end Operating Model
  2. Develop Functional Centers of Excellence (CoE)
  3. Focus on Process Efficiency and IT
  4. Align Location and Outsourcing Strategies to Functional Model

Like any Transformation program, E2E Operating Model Redesign has its challenges — from establishing its initial plan to a bigger challenge, the implementation. Understanding the E2E Operating Model Transformation will provide companies a good perspective on how they can go from theoretical to the real.

An established initial design and a well-thought of implementation plan will maximize the value of End-to-end Operating Model Transformation Programs.

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26. Digital Transformation Strategy (Primer)

Digital Transformation is being embraced by companies across most industries, as the role of technology shifts from being a business enabler to a business driver. Digital Transformation opportunities includes both Operational Improvement and Growth Driver initiatives, where the latter is driven largely by improved Customer Experience.

Digital Transformation is driven by 6 Technology Trends:

  • Social Media
  • Mobility
  • Internet of Things (IoT)
  • Cybersecurity
  • Big Data
  • Cloud

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27. Business Model Innovation (BMI)

As core markets become saturated with new entrants and products, we find it more and more difficult to grow the core. We find traditional approaches that have successfully driven growth historically are also reaching points of diminishing returns.

Business Model Innovation (BMI) is a powerful, yet underleveraged tool that can drive breakout growth within an organization’s core business. There are 6 key business model elements at play through BMI:

  1. Product or Service Offering
  2. Target Segment
  3. Revenue Model
  4. Value Chain
  5. Organization
  6. Cost Model

Leveraging these elements in a coordinated manner, we arrive at 9 common BMI solutions to drive Core Growth, which can be categorized into 3 groupings

  1. Redefine the Value Proposition
  • Shift from Product to Service
  • Shift from Product to Experience
  • Shift from Product to Outcome

2. Support the Value Proposition with a New Operating Model

  • Build New Capabilities
  • Leverage External Partners
  • Redefine Interactions with Customers

3. Redesign the Model to Capture Margins

  • Redefine the Basis of Differentiation
  • Develop a New Cost Model
  • Find New Ways to Monetize

Leading organizations leverage BMI to move beyond product innovation and redefine the basis of competition.

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28. Leadership Competency Model

Behavioral competencies have long been utilized across many organizations to assess the competencies and potential of leaders. The competency models are prevalent due to several reasons — shared vocabulary to express the expectations from people, a basis for performance management planning, clarity around the important parameters for promotion, and set a direction for leaders’ advancement. However, problems emerge when competencies are taken as the only factor in evaluating the leaders’ potential.

The main reasons for criticism and limitations of competency models in assessing leaders’ potential include:

  1. Their extensive reliance on past behavior rather than future potential where relevant experience is considered a critical element in establishing a leader’s competence
  2. Complexities in implementation
  3. Clash with human psychology

These limitations and complexities warrant a more robust approach to assess the leadership potential of managers.

The Leadership Competency Model identifies the building blocks of potential for senior managers. The Leadership Competency Model is comprised of 2 distinct areas:

  1. Leadership Competencies
  2. Leadership Potential

The Leadership Competency Model encompasses 4 Leadership Competencies, which further comprise 8 Core Competencies. Each Core Competency is mapped across a 4-stage Leadership Maturity Model. This framework also includes 4 dimensions of Leadership potential. Each Leadership Potential is also mapped against specific personality dimensions/factors, which can be assessed on a scoring model.

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29. SMO Series: Strategy Management Processes

The Strategy Management Office (SMO), also referred sometimes as the Office of Strategy Management (OSM), is the team responsible for managing the Corporate Strategy of the organization.

The ultimate role to execute Strategy lies with the line managers and employees, but without a core command and coordination office (i.e. the SMO), Strategy is either skipped from key processes or the processes are ineffectual across business units, causing poor Strategy execution.

This framework is the second in a series of 3. It dives deep into the 9 cross-functional processes that should be run by the Strategy Management Office. These are split into 3 categories:

Core Processes

  1. Scorecard Management
  2. Organization Alignment
  3. Strategy Review

Desirable Processes

4. Strategic Planning

5. Strategy Communication

6. Initiative Management

Integrative Processes

7. Planning/Budgeting

8. Workforce Alignment

9. Best Practice Sharing

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30. Business Model Canvas

The Business Model Canvas, developed by Alexander Osterwalder, is a Strategic Management and Lean Startup template for developing new or documenting existing business models. The canvas is presented as a visual chart with 9 elements spanning the areas of the organization’s core offering, infrastructure, customers, and finances. These 9 elements are:

  1. Key Partners
  2. Key Activities
  3. Key Resources
  4. Value Propositions
  5. Customer Relationships
  6. Distribution Channels
  7. Customer Segments
  8. Cost Structure
  9. Revenue Streams

This tool can be used in a collaborative setting, e.g. strategy workshop. It helps organizations align their activities by illustrating and discussing potential trade-offs in a structured manner. Business Model Canvas is a framework to literally bring everyone on the same page.

Many consulting firms have developed their own canvases for specific niches, based on the principles of the Business Model Canvas.

This framework also discusses the accompanying tool, the Value Proposition Canvas. The Value Proposition Canvas allows us to dive deeper into the Value Proposition and Customer Segments elements.

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31. Robotic Process Automation (RPA)

Robotic Process Automation (RPA), also referred to as Robotic Transformation and Robotic Revolution, refers to the emerging form of process automation technology based on software robots and Artificial Intelligence (AI) workers.

RPA represents a tremendous opportunity for organizations to increase performance, improve productivity, decrease costs, among a plethora of other benefits. The benefits from RPA are immediate, plentiful, and significant — and can be grouped into 3 core areas:

  1. Improved Employee and Customer Satisfaction
  2. Accelerated Productivity Gains
  3. Enhanced Compliance

RPA also has wide applicability across the organizations, including Finance, Accounting, Marketing, Customer Service, Compliance, and IT/MIS. Furthermore, most organizations adopting RPA have not laid off employees. Rather, many workers have been redeployed to do more interesting work.

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32. McKinsey Feedback Model

Giving feedback can be difficult and it can be a challenge. When not founded on specific framework and structure, it may result into predominantly negative feedback. It is essential that giving feedback is done in a most effective way.

When done right, feedback can have a multiplier effect. It motivates top performers and increases engagement by all. It is essential for leaders to be equipped to give and receive both constructive and positive feedback.

This framework provides us the essential understanding and tools of providing constructive and positive feedback. Core principles of this framework include:

Integrating the McKinsey Feedback Model within our company’s culture will position our employees and our business for success in the 21st century.

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33. Intelligent Process Automation (IPA)

Intelligent Process Automation (IPA) is a set of emerging Digital Technologies that combine process redesign with Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and Machine Learning (ML). IPA can be viewed as a suite of Business Process Improvements and Digital Transformation tools that assists the employee

IPA essentially augments RPA technology with additional emerging Digital Transformation technologies. In its full extent, IPA is comprised of 5 core technologies:

  1. Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
  2. Smart Workflow
  3. Machine Learning (ML) & Advanced Analytics
  4. Natural Language Generation (NLG)
  5. Cognitive Agents

The disruptive power of IPA is that is supplements traditional rule-based automation with decision-making capabilities driven by emerging Deep Learning and Cognitive Technologies. The benefits of IPA are numerous and significant in impact. They center around enhanced productivity and efficiency, reduction in operational risks, and improved Customer Experiences. IPA will be a foundational part of organizations’ next-generation Operating Models.

Additional topics covered in this framework include IPA use cases, IPA Transformation process, Operating Model design, Minimal Viable Product (MVP), Change Management, Customer Journey, and Value Creation.

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34. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): Best Practices

There are clear and measurable differences that exist between organizations that use Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to monitor and assess performance and those that use KPIs to guide and drive performance improvements. Data-driven and customer-oriented leaders use KPIs to transform their organization, while those more concerned with hitting their numbers remain focused on efficiencies. Who is better positioned to adapt, evolve, and compete?

More sophisticated managers explicitly use KPIs to promote cross-functional — not just vertical — alignment. For them, KPIs are the means and methods for rigorously defining and measuring the fundamentals that matter. To be effective, KPIs must be able to clearly communicate how it tracks Value Creation and delivers value for our stakeholders — customers, employees, and investors.

This framework provides practical and actionable next steps for organizations to obtain greater value and returns from their KPI investments. It discusses 4 best practices around KPIs:

  1. Focus on Customer Experience (CX)
  2. Identify Top Enterprise and Top Functional KPIs
  3. Foster Enterprise-wide Discussion of KPIs
  4. Treat KPIs as a Special Class of Data

The 4 KPI best practices are every organization’s guide to using KPIs to guide and drive performance improvements.

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35. Digital Organizational Design

Digital technologies have transformed the way we interact and work. An open culture and candid communication between the employees and executive management builds mutual rapport and trust, which is essential for timely and effective decision making in these changing times.

Organizations have already started embracing flat and lean organizational structures with decentralized decision-making authorities across the board, or at specific departments.

Companies are experimenting with unique operating structures devoid of any defined hierarchy, strategy, management, or titles; and have witnessed better results. These “digital native” structures are not likely to be implemented everywhere but should not be ignored by the leadership.

This framework elucidates on the 4 operating models of Digital Organizations, which should be painstakingly evaluated and tried to be incorporated by traditional organizations to become digital savvy:

  1. The Tactical Model
  2. The Centralization Model
  3. The Champion Model
  4. The Business as Usual (BUA) Model

These digital organizational models provide a foundation for the leadership to develop their own structure to achieve Digital Maturity.

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36. Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A): Target Operating Model (TOM)

In an M&A situation, a fundamental question is what the Target Operating Model (TOM) of the resultant organization will look like. This framework addresses the topic of TOM Development in an M&A.

In formulating the Target Operating Model, there are 6 core areas that must be analyzed in an integration between 2 organizations:

  1. Vision, Integration Principles, and Critical Success Factors (CSFs)
  2. Organizational Structure
  3. Process Organization and Core Processes
  4. Systems and Technology
  5. Property Rights and Contracts
  6. Assets

Each area raises its own key question, which can only be properly addresses with detailed analyses and proper due diligence. These core areas a thus discussed in detail in this framework within the content of a case study.

Additional topics discussed include the TOM mission statement, pitfalls, lessons learned, TOM development approach, integration process, among other topics.

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37. Greiner Growth Model: Stages of Evolution and Revolution

The Greiner Growth Model (Stages of Evolution and Revolution), developed by Larry Greiner, is a maturity model describing how organizations evolve through 5 stages of growth. Each stage requires appropriate strategies and structures to cope.

The Greiner Growth Model is a descriptive framework that can be used to understand why certain management styles, organizational structures, and coordination mechanisms work, and why some don’t work at certain phases in the development of an organization.

Each of the 5 stages is marked by a period of evolution, crisis of management, and period of revolution. The 5 stages are defined as follows:

  • Stage 1: Growth through Creativity
  • Stage 2: Growth though Direction
  • Stage 3: Growth through Delegation
  • Stage 4: Growth through Coordination
  • Stage 5: Growth through Collaboration

This framework suggests the future and growth of an organization is less determined by outside forces than by the organization’s history and management structure. This is an effective model to analyze the current growth of a business and to plan ahead for the challenges experienced by growing organizations.

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38. Moving from Data to Insights

Insights are arguably the most important component of a management consulting project. Insights answer the critical question from clients — “so what?” An insight offers a new perspective on an existing issue, situation, or problem.

This framework defines and teaches how to recognize an insight. It explains how insights are different from assertions, hypotheses, data, analysis, and findings. It also covers approaches to developing insights, as well as potential pitfalls.

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39. SMO Series: Strategic Management Office (SMO) Primer

The Strategy Management Office (SMO), also referred sometimes as the Office of Strategy Management (OSM), is the team responsible for managing the Corporate Strategy of the organization.

The ultimate role to execute Strategy lies with the line managers and employees, but without a core command and coordination office (i.e. the SMO), Strategy is either skipped from key processes or the processes are ineffectual across business units, causing poor Strategy Execution.

This framework is the first in a series of 3. It provides and overview and background to the Strategy Management Office concept.

This framework is divided into 3 core sections:

  1. Current state of Strategy Management — the current Strategy Management is very fragmented
  2. Emerging Strategy Management Office — provides background to the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) and how that translates to the SMO
  3. Strategy Management Office — delineates the 9 key Strategy Management processes, roles & responsibilities, strategy integration & alignment

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40. Supply Chain Management — Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) Improvement

Today’s competitive global markets necessitate a strong attention on Supply Chain Management and the underlying Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) process. Shorter product life cycles, unstable demand, and international supply chains yield planning even more difficult.

This framework deliberates on the following critical elements for consideration that can constructively influence the entire Supply Chain to build a robust S&OP process and create a sustainable Competitive Advantage:

  1. Detailed and Reliable Information
  2. Utilizing Segmentation to drive accurate Demand Forecasting
  3. Leadership Commitment

Other topics briefly discussed in the framework include Role of Management Meetings in S&OP Process, Factors affecting Supply & Demand, Demand forecasting, Demand Predictability, Demand Planning, Capacity Planning, Surplus Inventory, Underutilized Capacity, Forecast Bias, Demand Volatility, Channel-level Segmentation, Sales Channels, and Product Segmentation.

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41. Data Gathering and Analysis

After we have formulated our hypothesis, the next step is to gather the proper data (to analyze to test this hypothesis). It is important to have a structured approach to both data gathering and data analysis.

This framework introduces a 7-phase approach to data collection and analysis. We will also discuss the 4 key areas of data analysis, usage of business frameworks & visual tools, and research strategy.

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42. Employee Engagement Culture

Improving Employee Engagement is a priority in most Talent and HR Strategies. This framework provides a 5-step approach to building a culture of Employee Engagement. This processed was developed by Aon Hewitt based on the Aon Hewitt Top Companies for Leaders study.

Best practices from the leading organizations have shown leaders lead the way to a culture of Employee Engagement. These leaders focus on building skills, empowering others, and driving individual accountability to take ownership of one’s own engagement. Thus, engaging leadership is the first step in our model:

  1. Build Engaging Leadership
  2. Create a Compelling Employee Value Proposition (EVP)
  3. Grow our Talent
  4. Enable Engagement and Performance
  5. Focus on the Individual

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43. Post-merger Integration (PMI): Day One Activities

The Post-merger Integration (PMI) is a highly complex process. It requires swift action as well as running the core business activities simultaneously. There is no one-size fits all approach to a successful PMI Process. However, careful planning focusing on the strategic objectives of the deal and the identification and capturing of synergies will help maximize deal value.

It is inevitable that some element of information will be withheld from a Buyer pre-deal. Further, not all the synergy benefits originally identified in the deal will prove to be achievable. The foremost challenge for management at the onset of the PMI Process is to identify how value can be captured from the newly combined organization via synergies and cost savings.

Closing and Day One of change may be the most critical in the Post-merger Integration Process. It is the initial starting point towards the change of ownership. It is the starting point of bringing 2 organizations together to experience major change, while simultaneously ensuring that business continues as usual.

This framework will focus on Closing and Day One of the PMI Process — the essential factors organizations must take note of when starting off with the PMI Process. During the Closing or Day One, the organization must focus on 3 core areas:

  1. Corporate Communications
  2. Operating Structure
  3. Systems & Controls

Understanding the key elements essential in Closing and Day One prepares the joint organization in what could be a complex process.

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44. 9 Principles of Organizational Design

Recent research conducted in 2015 showed that many companies today are in a nearly permanent state of organizational flux. Within the past 2 years, almost 60% of the companies interviewed experienced a redesign within the past 2 years and the additional 25% 3 or more years ago.

This increase in Organizational Design efforts is due to the accelerating pace of strategic change driven by the disruption of industries. As a result, companies alter the organization every time it switches direction to deliver the hope for results.

Frustratingly, only less than a quarter of the Organizational Design efforts are successful. Companies can do better — much better. Following the 9 principles of Organizational Design will increase the odds of a successful outcome.

Successful leaders and companies take advantages of Organizational Design to rebuild the future but, a landscape littered with failed efforts is a sobering reminder.

This framework provides companies the 9 fundamental principles of Organizational Design necessary to make a successful redesign. Corporate Organizational Design provides organizations a rare opportunity to identify the stable backbone and set up those elements ripe for dynamic change.

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45. 10 Principles in Leading Change Management

The evolving business landscape is shaping new markets, innovative technologies and business models. Companies have to become more sophisticated — acquire up-to-date skillsets, apply best practices to transform their organizations while remaining sensitive to the role that organizational culture plays — and get their implementation abilities to the highest level.

Transformation initiatives are a “must-have” considering the disruption being caused to businesses. However, the success rate of Change initiatives is quite low, warranting a better approach.

This framework talks about the guiding principles that help leaders implement Change initiatives in a systematic manner to maximize chances of success. These principles are:

  1. Acknowledge the Underlying Culture
  2. Start with Leadership Commitment
  3. Do Not Undermine the Role of Lower Ranks
  4. Aligning the Rational and Emotional Case
  5. Model the Behaviors Essential for Success
  6. Constant Communication
  7. Identify and Involve Informal Leaders
  8. Leverage Formal Mechanisms
  9. Leverage Informal Solutions
  10. Identify What Works and Adapt

Additional topics discussed in this framework include Transformation overview, challenges hampering the Change initiatives, results from the Global Senior Executives’ Survey on Culture & Change Management, and more.

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46. Defining Issues and Generating Hypotheses

The art of hypothesis generation is critical to any business problem solving initiative. In fact, the hypothesis provides the foundation for all future analysis and a roadmap for that analysis. Without an initial hypothesis or set of hypotheses, future analyses would be directionless. We will end up “boiling the ocean,” instead of focusing on specific activities that either prove or disprove our hypothesis.

In this framework, we will cover the basics of hypothesis-driven analysis. We will learn how to build hypotheses from limited data. We will also cover what makes a good vs. a bad hypothesis.

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47. Crisis Recovery Strategy

Many organizations are unable to successfully recover from a crisis and end up bankrupt. Organizations typically react to crises by adopting only short-term, operational measures.

To maintain a sustained Competitive Advantage and recover from the crisis stronger, we must tie short-term decisions to long-term strategy. To achieve this, there are 6 core elements to the Crisis Recovery Strategy:

IMMEDIATE IMPACT

  1. Procurement
  2. Operations & Production
  3. Sales

SUSTAINABLE SUCCESS

  1. Industry Perspective
  2. Scenario Analysis
  3. Focus for the Future

With these elements in mind, this framework breaks down the Crisis Recovery Strategy, which includes 6 components, along 2 phases of activities: 1. Immediate Impact and 2. Sustainable Impact. Aggressive cost reduction will produce an immediate impact, but could be detrimental to the organization’s chance of surviving the crisis in the long-term.

Other related topics include Supply Chain Optimization; Strategy Development; Balancing Liquidity, Profitability, & Strategy; among other concepts.

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48. Supply Chain Resilience

Supply Chain “resilience” is the Supply Chain’s ability to respond and recover quickly to potential disruptions. It can return to its original situation or grow by moving to a new, more desirable state in order to increase customer service, market share, and financial performance.

Resilience is currently an increasing concern in Supply Chain caused by globalization and, most recently, the COVID-19 pandemic. Our Supply Chain is globally being subject to diverse types of disturbances. The largest disruption to global Supply Chains in modern history is the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, followed by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan. With the rising level of logistical complexity, the resiliency of the Supply Chain has not kept pace. These disturbances need to be handled in the right way, compelling the use of tools and approaches that can support resilient Supply Chain decisions.

In an increasingly networked world, Supply Risk Management is top of mind in global organizations as well as key differentiator for leading Value Chain organizations.

This framework provides businesses the essential approach to improving Supply Chain Resilience. Through proper understanding and planning of increased risks of disruptions from events, reconfiguring of Supply Chain can be achieved. There is a 5-step approach that can be used to reconfigure the Supply Chain.

  1. Identify Strategic Objectives.
  2. Map Supply Chain Vulnerabilities.
  3. Integrate Risk Awareness into Supply Chain Design.
  4. Monitor Supply Chain Resiliency.
  5. Track Risk Management Warning Signs.

Building the organization’s capability to implement a 5-step approach to reconfiguring the Supply Chain will keep the organization’s Supply Chain Resilient, efficient, and profitable.

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49. Galbraith Star Model

The Star Model™ framework for organization design is the foundation on which a company basis its design choice. The framework consists of a series of design policies that are controllable by management and can influence employee behavior.

Organizations use the Star Model™ framework to overcome the negatives of any structural design. Every organizational structure has positives and negatives associated with it. If management can identify the negatives of its preferred option, it can better design other policies around the Star Model™ to counter the negatives while achieving the positives.

This Galbraith Star Model™ framework consist of 5 components essential in this learning.

  1. Strategy
  2. Structure
  3. Processes
  4. Rewards
  5. People

The 5 components are necessary to create new capabilities to compete in a given market.

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50. Performance Management Maturity Model

The organizational maturity notion signifies the progress of an organization in terms of developing its people, processes, technology, and capability by implementing quality practices. Organizations aiming to achieve the highest maturity levels in performance need to take care of the intricacies involved in deploying a Performance Management System and the relationships it has with the other key organizational activities.

This framework discusses the 5 levels of progressive growth that are used to assess the Performance Maturity of an organization:

  1. Initial
  2. Emergent
  3. Structured
  4. Integrated
  5. Optimized

This maturity model helps us gauge how developed our Performance Management System is and what we need to do to advance it to become a High Performance Organization.

The framework then provides an overview of the assessment criteria, tools, techniques, processes, and architecture present at — and are necessary to achieve — each of the 5 maturity levels.

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51. Quantifying the Size and Growth of a Market

Quantifying the size, share, and growth of a market offers invaluable insight, but it is not a simple process — especially when data is not readily available. This document outlines various approaches to market sizing.

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52. Strategy Map

A Strategy Map is a diagram that conveys the primary strategic goals being pursued by an organization. It is a strategic part of the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) framework to describe strategies for Value Creation. More specifically, a Strategy Map describes how our organization creates value by connecting strategic objectives in explicitly cause-and-effect relationship with each other in the four BSC objectives Financial, Customer, Processes, Learning and Growth).

Strategy Maps enable managers to capture their plans in an easy-to-read one-page visual. It also connects vision, strategy, and resources at all organization levels. A core feature of this framework is its emphasis on communication strategy to the whole workforce.

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53. Big Data Enablement Framework

This framework elaborates on the following Core Components of Big Data:

  1. Data Usage
  2. Data Engine
  3. Data Ecosystem

The framework also discusses the 6 core capabilities that will help organizations identify and pursue new ways to work with data to get ahead of the competition. Specifically, these capabilities are:

  1. Identify Opportunities
  2. Build Trust
  3. Deploy Technology Infrastructure
  4. Structure the Organization
  5. Participate in a Big Data Network
  6. Make Relationships Work

This framework also talks about the ways to master Big Data and the risks associated with adopting new technologies.

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54. Key Account Management (KAM): Large Global Accounts

Key accounts represent a major chunk of revenue and margin for most suppliers. Therefore, losing an important customer can have negative repercussions on organizational growth.

The significance of key accounts is urging top B2B companies to revisit their Key Account Management (KAM) approaches. Additionally, the increasing level of sophistication of the purchase process being adopted — such as, centralized procurement, competitive bidding and auctions, and laborious negotiations — by large buyers is a crucial element for B2B companies to consider to win large accounts.

Suppliers that face declining win rates and margins with key accounts often present fairly commoditized offerings and rely more on price to win large procurement opportunities.

This framework deliberates on the 4 drivers of growth that the suppliers can utilize to develop best-in-class KAM practices and increase their large contract win ratios. These drivers are actually the 4 critical imperatives that leading organizations do to fuel their growth:

  1. Quantified Value Proposition (QVP)
  2. Value-based Selling
  3. Coordinated Account Management
  4. Negotiation Preparation

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55. Scenario Planning for Consultants

Scenario Planning is a planning tool to make flexible long-term plans that will deal with major, uncertain shifts in the organization’s environment. It is a tool that allows companies to develop a resilient strategy or test the flexibility of the existing company strategy against various possible future alternatives. Scenario Planning, when done right, can be one of the most sophisticated and elegant techniques in Corporate Strategy.

It is powerful in a way that it allows organizations to think about how changes can impact business and determine what is required to succeed and develop a strategy. This framework provides the essential elements of building up a Management Consultant’s understanding of Scenario Planning as a powerful planning tool.

  • Understanding the Power of Scenario Planning
  • Managing the Scenario Planning Tool Limitations
  • Internalizing the 6-Phase Approach to Scenario Planning

Mastering the 6-phase approach will enable Management Consultants to better utilize Scenario Planning in guiding companies to focus their strategies on what is essential and important.

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56. Knowledge Management (KM) Strategy

In today’s business environment, learning and knowledge have become key success factors and intangible resources are of vital importance. The struggle between competing firms have moved from tangible resources to intangible resources where knowledge and the ability to use knowledge have crucial roles.

Organizations are becoming more global, multilingual, and multicultural with people being required to work smarter and faster. People have become more connected with them being expected to be “on” all the time and the response time measured in minutes instead of weeks.

Indeed, today’s work environment has become more complex with businesses being threatened by vulnerability, uncertainty, and crisis that could have been prevented if Knowledge was better managed. Better Knowledge Management can help companies anticipate uncertainties and design strategies to lessen its impact. Given the importance of Knowledge to efficiency and productivity, it is critical that organizations manage their Knowledge effectively.

While managers would like to take a strategic approach to avoid impending crisis, often they find themselves fire-fighting. With a Knowledge Management (KM) Strategy, corporate executives can better manage the complex, chaotic, and non-predictable environment, in which companies must achieve performance.

This framework clearly discusses the importance of KM Strategy and 3 core strategies that companies can take to maintain its competitiveness.

  1. Reckless Negligence
  2. Knowledge Competence
  3. Knowledge as a Competitive Advantage

The 3 core strategies can spell the difference between high performance or failure in this highly volatile world.

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57. Internet of Things (IoT) Decision Framework

Internet of Things (IoT) products are more complex than typical products, since there a 5 layers of technology to consider, whereas other products may only have 2 or 3. With each additional layer, the complexity includes exponentially.

The IoT Decision Framework provides a structured approach to developing and improving an IoT product. It helps ensure all decisions are consistent and aligned with the Product Strategy, Digital Transformation Strategy, and overall Corporate Strategy.

Within the IoT Decision Framework, we 30 decision points pairings between the 5 layers of the IoT Technology Stack and 6 decision areas:

IoT Technology Stack

  1. Device Hardware
  2. Device Software
  3. Communications
  4. Cloud Platform
  5. Cloud Applications

Decision Areas

  1. User Experience (UX)
  2. Data
  3. Business
  4. Technology
  5. Security
  6. Standards and Regulations

This framework will help you uncover pitfalls early on, before your organization has invested time, effort, and money going in the wrong direction.

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58. Post-merger Integration (PMI): Integration Checklist (Part 2)

Post-merger Integration (PMI) is a highly complex process. It requires swift action as well as running the core business activities simultaneously. There is no one-size fits all approach to a successful PMI Process. However, careful planning focusing on the strategic objectives of the deal and the identification and capturing of synergies will help maximize deal value.

Due to the complexity of the PMI process, it is of utmost importance that organizations — both the Buyer and the Target, the integration team, and integration manager — have a guide that will provide them the detailed requirements of the process. The Post-merger integration framework has a structured approach that can direct attention on important integration areas to maximize deal value. Inability to focus on priority areas can be a waste of resources, time, and investments.

This framework aims to provide organizations a detailed Integration Checklist to achieve PMI success. The Integration Checklist is developed based on 12 priority integration areas. Undertaking the Integration Checklist will enable both Buyer and Target to reach the most strategic state necessary for the 12 Integration Areas.

This framework addresses 2 of the integration areas within the full checklist:

  • HR & Personnel
  • Corporate Communications

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59. Profitability and Cost Structure Analysis: Internal Data Analysis Frameworks

Profitability and cost structure analysis provides many invaluable insights. Obvious examples include identifying profitable products and projects and identifying key cost driving activities and resources — which lead to better strategic decisions.

There are a number of business frameworks to conduct profitability and cost structure analysis. In this consulting training series, we will discuss 4 common frameworks split into 2 categories:

  1. External Data Analysis
  2. Internal Data Analysis

This is the set of frameworks focused on the latter category, Internal Data Analysis.

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60. Analyzing the Competitive Landscape

It goes without saying that understanding the competitive landscape is crucial to succeeding in the market.

This represents a collection of 4 frameworks to understand and analyze the competitive environment — and ultimately develop a sustainable competitive advantage:

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61. Capability Development

Consumer preferences and behaviors, global markets, technology, and environment are changing faster than ever before these days. Organizations need to consistently build new capabilities and plan their future needs to keep pace and stay ahead. Capabilities not only mean the practical and Leadership skills individuals need to do their jobs, but also the overall institutional capabilities (knowledge, processes, proprietary systems, structures, etc.) needed to sustain performance.

The “Capability for Performance” (C4P) framework creates sustainable improvements to outpace competition. The C4P framework is based on Capability Development programs that have worked for companies around the world in various industries.

The C4P framework also relates to the 4 critical imperatives for setting the direction of a sustainable Capability Development Program, which are:

  1. Identify Lacking Capabilities
  2. Invest in Experiential Learning Programs
  3. Implement a Double Pilot System
  4. Foster a Continuous Improvement Culture

Implementing an institutional Capability Development initiative to bring rapid and sustainable performance improvement necessitates resolution, conviction, and commitment.

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62. Digital Supply Chain Strategy

In today’s Digital Age, organizations are faced with the changing nature of the demand curve and the element of uncertainty in the Supply Chain. For Operations Teams, the challenge and Competitive Advantage has become: How well we respond and execute against ongoing uncertainty.

With the world being so unpredictable, chaos is now the new normal. Timetables and priorities have shifted. A supplier fails to deliver. Demands on Supply Chains are increasing exponentially. A few years ago, Supply Chain performance was all about batch quantities, timetables, and lead times. Today, millions of packages are shipped a day, with many with just only few items.

In the face of this upheaval, Supply Chains try to predict what will happen, then optimize performance against plan. Most often, those plans are not met. The path forward demands a bold leap in Supply Chain performance.

This framework provides organizations and their Operations Teams an effective Digital Supply Chain Strategy to address potential Disruption and achieve Supply Chain Resilience. To achieve sustainable Competitive Advantage, a Supply Chain Strategy must follow a 2-prong approach.

  1. Sense and Pivot
  2. Digitize and Automate

Organizations must be adept in developing and executing Digital Supply Chain Strategy to achieve cyber resilience.

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63. 10 Principles of Customer Strategy

It’s no longer enough to target a few, select purchasers and develop products for that clientele. The key ingredient that most leaders overlook while serving their clients effectively is a thoughtful and planned Customer Strategy. It entails speaking the language of the customer, knowing how to anticipate the customer’s needs, coming up with solutions to problems that have not been stated yet.

This framework emphasizes on the 10 key principles that form the core of a Customer Strategy. A company’s Customer Strategy should focus on developing unique, long-term value and experiences for the customers, required offerings, channels, operating model, and capabilities.

To stay ahead, the following 10 principles should be at the center of your Customer Strategy:

  1. Innovate with Speed and Judgment
  2. Recognize Your Customers Well
  3. Link Customer Strategy to the Organizational Identity
  4. Focus on Core Customers
  5. Treat Customers as Assets
  6. Draw on Your Relationships Network
  7. Build an Omnichannel Customer Experience
  8. Develop a Delivery Strategy
  9. Restructure According to Your Customer
  10. Align Culture with the Customer Strategy

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64. Transformation Journey

Rapid changes in conditions and circumstances can erode our company’s market position slowly or quickly. Strategic Drift happens when our company fails to take countermeasures in good times. The result is our company falls from the market carousel.

Without delay, our company must embark on a Transformation Journey clearly and consciously even if market signals are not clear.

The Transformation Journey framework follows a 5-stage process:

  1. Awareness
  2. Ambition
  3. Arrangement
  4. Action
  5. Anchoring

We got into detail with each stage, including the key process steps, relevant tools and measures, and overarching objective/question.

There are also several catalysts to a successful Transformation Journey, including fostering our organization’s “energy to change,” as well as having a good understanding of the critical points of leadership — Vision, Culture, and Coaching.

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65. 10 Principles of Managing Strategy through Execution

Linking strategy with execution is crucial for the success of organizations, driving Innovation, Quality, and Growth. If they don’t align in a coherent way, a firm potentially risks losing its focus. Leaders need to be expert at both strategy and execution. For organizations to become successful global business, they need to organize a clear winning value proposition, underpinned by unique capabilities, by linking their strategy with execution to everything they accomplish.

This framework explains the guiding principles of Strategy through Execution that provide a concrete layout to bridge a firm’s strategic direction with what it is able to deliver the best, and navigate the growth avenue. Top global enterprises have exceptionally coherent strategy and execution functions.

The following principles also provide a dependable approach for the organizations to harmonize their strategists and implementers together:

  1. Set High Objectives
  2. Fortify Your Distinct Capabilities
  3. The Critical Ability to Be Ambidextrous
  4. Individuals’ Commitment Counts
  5. Align Metrics and Incentive Systems to Strategy
  6. Surpass Functional Barriers
  7. Embrace Digital Technology
  8. Strike the Balance between Simplicity and Complexity
  9. Strengthen the Value Chain
  10. Instill Collective Mastery

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66. Influence Model for Change

Corporate Transformation initiatives aren’t easy to manage. In fact, data suggests most Transformation efforts globally to have ended up in failure. Organizations tend to execute large-scale Change initiatives devoid of any real focus on the human element — building their people’s faith and commitment, bolstering it, and minimizing any resistance to Change. These priorities seem simple but are most likely to be missed out on during the hue and cry of the Transformation endeavor.

This framework is the “Influence Model” for Change Management, which is comprised of 4 building blocks. These 4 building blocks are actually the key actions that Transformation programs should focus on to alter the mindsets and behaviors of the workforce, in order to induce real Change. Whereas organizational culture largely encompasses employees’ mindsets, the Influence Model focuses on changing the behaviors across the board.

The Influence Model has been endorsed by both academic research and practical experience. The 4 key actions of the Influence Model are derived from formal organizational mechanisms and work practices that work best for Transformation:

  1. Understanding
  2. Reinforcement
  3. Skills for Change
  4. Role Modeling

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67. Customer-centric Culture

The use of Internet and other online tools have turned consumers to be more empowered and are now shopping differently. Customers are becoming more demanding and accustomed to getting what they want. With greater access to reviews and online rating, customers are better equipped to switch to new products and services. Consumers now want to buy products and services when, where, and however they like. They expect companies to interact with them seamlessly, in an easy, integrated fashion with very little friction across channels.

As customer expectation continue to evolve — accelerated by the amplifying forces of interconnectivity and technology — markets are becoming increasingly fragmented with demand for greater product variety, more price points, and numerous purchasing and distribution channels.

Companies should be able to adapt to these increasingly disparate demands quickly and at scale. Staying close to the customer experience across an increasingly diverse customer base changing over time is no longer a matter of choice. It is a business imperative and a matter of corporate survival.

The Age of the Customer now calls for companies to be a customer-centric company. Successful ones have discovered that building a customer-centric company depends, first and foremost, on building a Customer-centric Culture.

This framework focuses on the building a Customer-centric Culture utilizing the Corporate Culture Framework. The Corporate Culture Framework is anchored on 4 Primary Cultural Attributes and 4 Secondary Cultural Attributes.

The 4 primary Cultural Attributes are critical in building a Customer-centric Culture.

  1. Collective Focus
  2. External Orientation
  3. Change and Innovation
  4. Shared Beliefs

Customer-centric organizations also project 4 secondary Cultural Attributes.

  1. Risk and Governance
  2. Courage
  3. Commitment
  4. Inclusion

Companies with a Customer-centric Culture can drive superior financial results and a rich source of competitive advantage.

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68. Effective Communication with Virtual Teams

The number of people working remotely has been increasing progressively across the globe. An employee benefits report narrates that around 60% companies in the US offer telecommuting opportunities. According to Upwork, freelancers and contractors have increased by 81% from 2014 to 2017.

Telecommuting not only benefits people but also presents several advantages for organizations. Research has attributed an increase in savings of around $2,000 per employee each year on real estate costs, enhanced productivity, and lower attrition rates to telecommuting. Employees have been found to focus better on work and take less days off while operating remotely.

However, some global enterprises have encountered problems with remote teams. Many of these issues derive from ineffective communication with the Virtual Teams. This framework discusses the 5 leading practices to communicate effectively with your Virtual Team:

  1. Select the Fitting Technology
  2. Be Clear
  3. Stay in Sync
  4. Be Responsive
  5. Be Inclusive

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69. Artificial Intelligence (AI): Machine Learning (ML)

Technological innovation has developed Artificial Intelligence’s ability to create intelligent machines that work and react like humans. Some machines have reached the performance levels of humans in performing certain specific tasks, so that artificial intelligence is now found in applications as diverse as medical diagnosis, robotics, search engines, and voice or handwriting recognition.

Competing in the Artificial Intelligence (AI) environment necessitates the leadership to make quick, informed decisions about how to employ AI in their organizations. It is critical for the organizations to develop a solid know-how of the fundamentals of AI to take prompt action.

This framework provides an introduction to Machine Learning (ML), the most prevalent form of AI currently. It discusses the 3 main forms of ML, including specific algorithms and examples:

  1. Supervised learning
  2. Unsupervised learning
  3. Reinforcement learning

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70. Performance Measurement

The “right” share price in the mind of the capital markets is determined by the market view of future earnings. Apart from the obvious issues of a low share price not pleasing shareholders, it clearly also reduces the company’s ability to finance acquisitions or invest in other major strategic initiatives.

The execution of a company’s strategy affects 2 aspects of its performance:

  1. Financial Performance; and
  2. Non-financial Performance.

Financial measures are historical based. However, performance in many non-financial areas often represents “leading” indicators as opposed to “lagging” ones. This implies that non-financial performance provides a context for assessing future earnings potential. Non-financial performance also contributes to the “brand image” of a company.

This framework provides an introduction to Performance Management. It also discussed a popular Performance & Strategic Management framework, the Balanced Scorecard (BSC).

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71. Six Building Blocks of a Customer-Centric Organization

More and more organizations are shifting a traditional Product-focused model to becoming a Customer-centric Organization. To do this without incurring debilitating costs from added process and organizational complexity, the organization must be build a true Customer-centric Organization by completely transforming its operating model and business model.

A true Customer-centric Organization possesses capabilities across the following 6 building blocks:

  1. Customer Lifecycle and Journey Views
  2. Solution Mindset
  3. Advice Bundling
  4. Frontline Customer Interface
  5. Fit-for-Purpose Business Processes
  6. Cross-functional Effort

Additional topics covered by this framework include McKinsey Decision Journey, Value Stream Mapping, Customer Value Proposition, Digital Transformation, and more.

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72. Creating Value Propositions

The concept of a Value Proposition is simple. As it names suggests, a Value Proposition is a statement of why a product or service is valued by customers.

However, getting a value proposition “right” is a complex, iterative process.

This framework provides an introduction creating Value Propositions. Topics include the Customer Value Proposition (CVP) creation process, value maps, and value drivers.

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73. HR Strategy: Job Leveling

Job Leveling is a disciplined approach to gauge the value of work for individual positions across the organization. It entails ascertaining the nature of work done by each position, authority levels, and the effect of each job on business results.

Jobs that are configured inadequately bread disputes, negative beliefs, inequality, and frustration; whereas structured jobs, appropriate distribution of work, justified authority levels, and correct estimation of value of individual jobs are the signs of effective Human Resource Management (HRM) function.

The HR Job Leveling Framework breaks downthe key phases to implement flexible job levels. The Job Leveling Framework facilitates in methodically benchmarking the value of all jobs, creating consistency across the HR, and develop distinct career growth paths for the employees.

The 5 key phases of Job Leveling Implementation include:

  1. Ensure Readiness of Pre-Implementation Groundwork
  2. Engage Business Leaders in Implementation
  3. Set Up Clear Governance Structures
  4. Employ User-friendly Job Evaluation Management Tools
  5. Establish Clear Communication Mechanisms

Additional topics discussed in this framework include Issues Warranting Job Design and Job Leveling initiatives; 4 benefits of rolling out a Job Leveling Framework, and 5 major Job Measurement Methods.

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74. Team Turnaround Strategies

The Leadership (and extended) Team is vital to success, as executives transition to new C-suite roles. Executives are often faced with dysfunctional, non-performing, and poorly organized “team inheritances.”

Today, management is increasingly confronted with a volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) business environment. Being able to survive in this volatile time requires a dynamic team that collectively operates towards achieving a common purpose.

This framework provides executives the strategic understanding and approaches to better turn inherited teams into High-Performing Leadership Teams. The key concepts discussed are:

  1. The 3 Common Leadership Team Dysfunctions — the “Challenge”
  2. The 3 Dysfunctional Team Turnaround Strategies — the “Line of Attack”

Pursuing these HR Turnaround Strategies to address common Leadership Team dysfunctions creates High-Performing Leadership Teams, which can drive performance at its optimum level. Changing a dysfunctional team is not easy, but it can be achieved through a systematic approach.

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75. Post-merger Integration (PMI): Integration Checklist (Part 3)

Post-merger Integration (PMI) is a highly complex process. It requires swift action as well as running the core business activities simultaneously. There is no one-size fits all approach to a successful PMI Process. However, careful planning focusing on the strategic objectives of the deal and the identification and capturing of synergies will help maximize deal value.

Due to the complexity of the PMI process, it is of utmost importance that organizations — both the Buyer and the Target, the integration team, and integration manager — have a guide that will provide them the detailed requirements of the process. The Post-merger integration framework has a structured approach that can direct attention on important integration areas to maximize deal value. Inability to focus on priority areas can be a waste of resources, time, and investments.

This framework aims to provide organizations a detailed Integration Checklist to achieve PMI success. The PMI Integration Checklist is developed based on 12 priority integration areas. Undertaking the Integration Checklist will enable both Buyer and Target to reach the most strategic state necessary for the 12 Integration Areas.

This framework addresses 3 of the integration areas within the full checklist:

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76. Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument (TKI)

A major reason for employees leaving their workplaces is their bosses. To succeed in today’s fiercely competitive market, organizations need to invest in developing their leadership in such a way that they further develop their teams by training them on the desired competencies, create a sense of engagement in their people, and effectively manage conflict between them.

A big challenge for leaders is getting their employees to believe in the organizational vision. No two personalities have the same viewpoints and aspirations, thus conflict is bound to occur between individuals and team members while interacting.

The Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument (TKI) is an easy to use framework for managing and resolving conflicts. TKI provides a basis to measure a person’s behavior in conflict situations, where two people appear to be unable to get along. There are 5 predominant conflict handling styles (or modes) that we use while responding to conflict situations:

  1. Competing
  2. Accommodating
  3. Avoiding
  4. Collaborating
  5. Compromising

Human Resources (HR) and Organizational Development (OD) consultants often utilize the TKI tool to initiate discussions on differing topics and to facilitate conflict mediation.

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77. Developing Conclusions and Recommendations

In the final phase of the Management Consulting Problem Solving approach, we develop conclusions and make recommendations. This is a logical flow from the several weeks of data gathering, analysis, and insight formulation in performed in the previous phases.

This framework instructs us on how to go about reaching conclusions and making recommendations. It clearly defines “conclusions” and “recommendations,” drawing clear distinctions between the 2 terms.

It also explains how these terms are different from results, insights, and analysis. The end of this framework includes examples breaking down the approach and concepts of data, analysis, insights, conclusions, and recommendations.

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78. Impact of Robotic Process Automation (RPA)

In the past several years, organizations across all industries have begun embracing emerging technologies to drive Digital Transformation Programs. Of these technologies, among the most prevalent are Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and Artificial intelligence (AI).

Likewise, RPA and AI are taking up jobs which were in the past earmarked only for smart humans. Driverless cars, automated check-in kiosks at airports, and autopilots steering the aircrafts are just few examples of how automation is transforming our world.

The main question is how automation will impact our work in future. Should we anticipate benefits — e.g. efficiency gains, quality of life improvements — or dread further disruption of established business and job cuts?

This framework presents a detailed overview of the 4 key areas that will be most impacted by Robotic Process Automation:

  1. Workplace Activities
  2. (Re)definition of Work
  3. High-wage Jobs
  4. Creativity and Meaning

Adoption, pace of automation development, and readiness of organizational leadership in redefining processes & roles are critical factors to consider before investing in automation.

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79. Organizational Design: 10 Leadership Questions

Organizational Design can bring significant improvement in performance. It aligns our organization to its strategy and improves customer experiences and costs.

Not all Organizational Design Journeys are successful. Our company must follow the right approach — 3 simple steps to achieve a successful Organizational Design Journey.

  1. Decide
  2. Design
  3. Deliver

Business leaders must go through 10 critical questions to effectively guide our company through a more strategic process. Our company gets to focus our journey on our right purpose, our strategy or business model, our approach, and our capacity and commitment to deliver. By doing it right, Organizational Design can lead to our company’s successful restructuring.

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80. Enterprise Architecture for Digital Strategy

Enterprise Architecture (EA) is a well-defined framework for conducting enterprise analysis, design, planning, and implementation for the successful development and execution of strategy. Practitioners of EA, known as Enterprise Architects, are often called upon to draw conclusions from the information collected to address the goals of enterprise architecture: Effectiveness, Efficiency, Agility, and Durability.

As with any business strategy, the EA discipline is there to support the business transformation to success with a design strategy. The term “Enterprise” in Enterprise Architecture refers to the greater scope of the organization, which includes the customers, contacts, stakeholders in the wider market environment, which is addressed by the Digital Strategy. Enterprise Architecture should involve a holistic approach at all times.

EA helps organizations drive innovations and new business capabilities across their entire value chain and to better understand the digital environment where they will be operating.

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81. Key Account Management (KAM) in Healthcare and Pharma

Shrinking profits and market pressure to deliver greater value has necessitated the entire Healthcare landscape to transform. Some entities are more sophisticated than others, but the overall sector is building experience and new capabilities to improve economic performance and patient outcomes.

This framework discusses:

  1. Dig Deep to Unearth Customer Insights (CI)
  2. Focus on Joint Value Creation
  3. Forge Long-term Relationships through Partnerships
  4. Enable Internal Cross-functional Collaboration
  5. Foster an Entrepreneurial Mindset
  • Gearing up to Implement the Key Account Management Approach

Healthcare firms need to invest in improving capabilities, creating strategic partnerships, and promoting an entrepreneurial culture in teams to achieve their organizational goals.

Additional topics covered in the framework include the 3-S Approach to Customer Segmentation, role of partnerships in building lasting value, competencies required by KAMs, and roles and responsibilities of KAMs.

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82. Fit Transformation: Strong, Agile, Lean

Business Transformation has sparked attention across industries and their leadership for a long while now. Stifling competition, financial crises, innovation, attrition, disruption, and declining results are some of the common causes of organizations embarking on accepting this challenge with a rekindled resolve. Some companies initiate programs to trigger improvement in one or more function, while others try an incremental approach, but both often end up bringing unwarranted outcomes.

The scenario dictates an organized Business Transformation approach to manage the challenges of today’s business environment and to sustain in future. A “Fit” organization is one marked by Strength, Agility, and Leanness. It is a framework to assure practical short-term and sustainable results.

In this framework, we outline a 3-phase approach to Fit Transformation:

  1. Translate the Corporate Strategy
  2. Align the Operating Model
  3. Manage the Transformation

Fit Transformation — although complex — is highly manageable when performed by experienced practitioners. It undertakes a detailed understanding of industry dynamics and a company’s strategic challenges, ensuring that the transformation covers everything that is required. It requires a deep understanding of how the various departments of a company function, and devises a plan to reach the desired future state.

The framework makes the workforce an active participant in identifying the challenges, discussing the desired outcomes, and putting them into practice.

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83. Digital Maturity Model

Driven by 8 core emerging technologies, the role of technology in an organization is shifting from being a business enabler to a business driver. As companies transform “digitally,” they go through a process where their technological capabilities mature and evolve over time.

This is captured in our 7-phase Digital Maturity Model framework:

  1. Initiate
  2. Radiate
  3. Align
  4. Optimize
  5. Automate
  6. Transform
  7. Improve

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84. Theory of Constraints (TOC)

The Theory of Constraints (TOC), developed by Dr. Eliyahu Goldratt, is a methodology for identifying the most important limiting factor (i.e. constraint) that stands in the way of achieving a goal and then systematically improving that constraint until it is no longer the limiting factor.

There is always at least one constraint, and TOC uses a focusing process to identify the constraint and restructure the rest of the organization around it.

TOC adopts the common idiom “a chain is no stronger than its weakest link.” This means that processes, organizations, etc., are vulnerable because the weakest person or part can always damage or break them or at least adversely affect the outcome.

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85. Five Pillars of Agile Organizations

Traditional organizations are often static, siloed, and comprised of a bureaucratic rigid hierarchical structure where control and decisions flow top-down. Such structures are strong but lack agility.

Agile organizations, on the other hand, execute quickly, empower their teams to act nimbly, have quick decision cycles, based on a shared purpose to create value for shareholders.

This framework describes how traditional organizations can become agile by understanding and incorporating the 5 foundational pillars of Agile organizations:

  1. Strategy
  2. Structure
  3. Process
  4. People
  5. Technology

This framework also deliberates on the strategic mind shifts and core agile practices mandatory to bring about this Agile Transformation.

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86. Supply Chain Sustainability

In the modern age, organizations are striving to form a sustainable Supply Chain system to cope with the challenges that are arising. Such issues include emission of hazardous substances, excessive resource consumption, Supply Chain risks, and complex procedures.

Organizations around the globe are adopting strategies to become a sustainable organization. In fact, there is an increasing trend towards organizations adopting sustainable Supply Chain Management practices.

SCM evolves across 4 stages of maturity, from first abiding by legal and regulatory considerations, to eventually becoming sustainable. Likewise, Supply Chain Strategy also evolves through these 4 stages, each providing a foundation to the next:

  1. Legal Supply Chain Strategy
  2. Ethical Supply Chain Strategy
  3. Responsible Supply Chain Strategy
  4. Sustainable Supply Chain Strategy

The increasing challenges and complexities of the Supply Chain are serving as barriers to achieving sustainability.

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87. 5 Principles of Innovation Strategy

In the Digital Age marked by rapid technology change, virtually no company can ignore the imperative to innovate. Failing to do so is an invitation to lose business.

To learn how companies are responding to this mandate, a global consultancy conducted a major global study in 44 countries. The goal was to understand how leaders view Innovation and what is being done to reap its rewards. Findings showed that companies are struggling with aligning Innovation efforts with business strategy. Companies across a wide range of industries and technology are also enlisting technology as the driver for market change and Innovation and not just an enabler.

A great number of companies are also opening up the Innovation process earlier to a broader set of stakeholders both inside and outside the company. Customers are already brought in even while in the ideation phase. Today, Innovation is no longer the domain of a chosen few.

This framework discusses the 5 principles of Innovation Strategy, essential in guiding organizations to make breakthroughs in Innovation.

  1. Strategy-driven Innovation Spend
  2. Viable Business Models
  3. Open Innovation Models
  4. Human Experience
  5. Technology-driven Innovation

In an era of rapid technology and market change, it is now essential of companies to increase their capacity to innovate.

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88. Knowledge Management Primer

According to Peter Drucker, knowledge has power because it controls access to opportunity and advancement. The 21st century is undoubtedly the century of knowledge. The everyday usage of available advanced information and business technologies, and internet in business activities just show how rampant corporations are engaged in Information Exchange and Knowledge Management.

In the light of globalization, companies are now exposed to unpredictable and complex competitive environment. Pressures are put on companies to adapt quickly to survive in the competitive market. The vital strategic resource is Knowledge. Companies have started to realize the major value of intellectual resource. The central role of Knowledge Management in making quality decision has never been emphasized as much as today.

Intellectual resources and Knowledge are now contributing to revenue generation and increasing reputation. It has contributed to creating barriers to entry of potential competitors, increase customer loyalty, and create innovation. In today’s world, the success of the organization now depends largely on continual investment in learning and acquiring new Knowledge that creates new business and improve current performance.

This primer on Knowledge Management examines and discusses the purpose and nature of the key components of Knowledge Management (KM). This framework demystifies the KM field by explaining in a precise manner the key concepts of KM tools, strategies, and techniques, and their benefits to organizations.

The shift to Knowledge Economy and the New Information Age has made intangible resources, such as information, a decisive factor to success.

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89. The Innovation Process

Throughout the last century, captains of industry learnt to master the process of production to such extent that it now no longer functions as a significant competitive advantage. The new challenge is to master the process of Innovation. This includes harnessing change and creating new competitive advantages by offering better products, using better processes, delivering better services, or even offering new solution.

However, we have not yet learned to master the Innovation Process. A great number of our companies have only a rudimentary understanding of what it requires to master Innovation and what Innovation really is. In today’s global economy, the ability to innovate is vital to ensure growth and competitiveness in the coming decades.

This framework provides an in-depth discussion of the essential elements of the Innovation Process companies must know and master in today’s competitive world. It explains a 5-phase process to Innovation:

  1. Ideation
  2. Idea Selection and Conceptualization
  3. Prototyping
  4. Business Planning
  5. Implementation and Launch

Gaining mastery of the Innovation Process and Model will enable companies to better manage Innovation. Innovation Management can deliver results and competitive advantages.

Additional topics discussed include the Fundamentals of Innovation, Barriers to Innovation, the Innovation Machine, and Leading Practices.

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90. Lean Change Management

Due to recession and poor performance of the economy, companies have been pressured to change their way of conducting business. We observe small companies are facing market pressures, may be forced to downsize, whereas large companies may have resources, but lack the expertise to streamline their processes.

In this context, companies require planning and a carefully designed transformative plan which makes use of their resources in an effective and efficient manner. For this purpose, Lean Change Management proves most beneficial. Applying Lean Management techniques to managing change can reduce waste, increase efficiency, and ensure that momentum is maintained towards successful Transformation.

This framework captures how Lean principles can be leveraged for Change Management. We also introduce the concept of the Lean Change Management Playbook. Lean Change Management is the implementation of this playbook through a 5-step process:

  1. Program Initiation
  2. Strategy Definition
  3. Detailed Planning
  4. Deployment Preparation
  5. Execution

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91. Customer Experience Models

Emerging technology trends are driving businesses to Digital Transformation across industries. At the core of most Digital Transformation projects is the evolution of the Customer Experience, from a traditional linear process (with few touch points) to a continuous, circular process (with constant touch points).

This new approach to Customer Experience has been captured by many top-tier management consulting firms. In fact, this is a set of 2 such frameworks:

  • McKinsey’s Customer Decision Journey
  • Accenture’s Nonstop Customer Experience Model

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92. Virtual Teams: Challenges & Benefits

To quote, Richard Branson, a British business and philanthropist, “One day, offices will be a thing of the past.”

While organizations still need to travel to reach their physical offices, the rapid changes in the world is requiring businesses to form Virtual Teams. A Virtual Team refers to a group of individuals who work together from different geographic locations and rely on communication technology such as email, voice conferencing services, fax, etc.

Virtual Teams work well for an organization and is effective even from a communication perspective. Studies from previous years have shown that well-managed, widely spread, Virtual Teams have been outperforming those that share office space. In fact, it has shown that using Virtual Teams can improve employee productivity by 45%.

In today’s highly competitive global economy, to be able to work smarter, organizations must be able to leverage the manifold benefits of a remote workforce. Likewise, organizations must also be able to manage challenges that comes with working with Virtual Teams.

This framework provides organizations a good perspective of working with a remote workforce, along with its challenges and benefits. There are 4 core challenges organizations must prepare itself to be able to lead remotely.

  1. Virtual Communication
  2. Virtual Project Management
  3. Talent Development & Management
  4. Technology Support

Having a good grasp of the core challenges will enable organizations to better manage their remote workforce and maximize its benefits.

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93. People Capability Maturity Model (P-CMM)

Following the success of Capability Maturity Model for Software, Carnegie Mellon University developed the People Capability Maturity Model (People CMM or P-CMM). The People CMM is based on best practices — in areas such as human resources, knowledge management, and organizational development — for managing and developing an organization’s workforce.

The People CMM helps organizations characterize the maturity of their workforce practices, establish a program of continuous workforce development, set priorities for improvement actions, integrate workforce development with process improvement, and establish a culture of excellence. Utilizing the P-CMM framework, an organization can avoid introducing workforce practices that its employees are unprepared to implement effectively.

Similar to the CMM and CMMI, the P-CMM entails five evolutionary levels of maturity (or stages) corresponding to the way organizations manage their human resource. The five maturity levels establish successive foundations for continuously improving individual competencies, developing effective teams, motivating improved performance, and shaping the workforce an organization needs to accomplish its business plans.

Additional topics discussed in this framework include, P-CMM Overview, 10 Principles of People CMM, 5 Stages of People Capability Maturity Model, a detailed synopsis of each of the 5 maturity stages, and more.

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94. Six Sigma Maturity Model

As organizations adopt and deploy Six Sigma, they go through 5 stages of maturity, outlined in the Six Sigma Maturity Model. The intent of the model is to help Six Sigma practitioners, deployment leaders, and executives:

  • Benchmark where their companies stand in relation to broader patterns experienced by other organizations.
  • Assess the areas of strength and performance gaps in their deployments.
  • Pinpoint specific steps they might take to close gaps and graduate to the next stage of their Six Sigma journey.
  • Communicate progress to their Six Sigma teams and to the broader community within their companies to garner support for their continuous improvement efforts.

This framework provides a high level overview to the Six Sigma Maturity Model. This model is designed as a general guideline, not a prescriptive roadmap for Six Sigma implementation.

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95. Employee Value Proposition (EVP)

High Employee Engagement ties directly to financial benefits for a company and companies with high Employee Engagement typically have distinctive and compelling Employee Value Propositions (EVP). We can define an EVP as what we offer our employees in exchange for their effort and commitment.

This framework provides an overview to an EVP model, as developed by Sibson Consulting. The Sibson EVP model can be used to diagnose the effectiveness, develop, and improve our own EVP. The Sibson EVP model is a result of over a decade’s worth of research through Sibson’s Rewards of Work surveys of a national workforce sample.

This framework captures those factors that most contribute to Employee Engagement, categorized into 5 elements:

  1. Affiliation
  2. Work Content
  3. Career
  4. Benefits (i.e. indirection compensation)
  5. (Direct) Compensation

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96. FAST Method to Goal Setting

To execute strategy, leaders must set ambitious targets. This must be translated into specific metrics and milestones. It must be made transparent throughout the organization and progress are discussed frequently. This is the FAST Method to Goal Setting.

Goal Setting used to be done in a conventional way. Managers hold one-on-one meetings with their subordinates to set goals. Performances are reviewed against objectives and these are linked to promotion and bonus decisions. The same managers aspire their goals to be SMART — Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-bound.

But this conventional wisdom of goal setting rarely asks the fundamental question — does it work? The traditional approach to goals cannot ensure successful strategy execution. An alternative is necessary.

This framework explores the new alternative to goal setting that will effectively ensure successful strategy execution: The FAST Method to Goal Setting. The FAST Method embodies 4 core principles underpinning Effective Goal Systems:

  1. Frequently Discussed
  2. Ambitious
  3. Specific
  4. Transparent

Effectively mastering the FAST Method will enable organizations to drive strategy execution effectively and successfully.

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97. Digital Transformation: Operating Model Transformation

Lean Management plays a significant role in putting in place processes, capabilities, and tools to improve how businesses operate. But the Digital Age has increased both the opportunities for businesses who know how to react and the difficulty of getting it right.

Tasks performed by humans are now more complex — be it accessing information in multiple formats from multiple sources or responding to changing market and customer dynamics at ever-increasing speed. As increasing number of tasks become automated or taken over by cognitive-intelligence capabilities, organizations need to learn from Lean Management. Like a sprinter who needs all her muscles to be finely tunes and working in concert to reach top speeds, fast moving institutions must have a system to continually synchronize strategies, activities, performance, and health.

Many organizations understand the need to change how they work and have embarked on numerous initiatives, yet few have been able to get beyond isolated success cases or marginal benefits. In fact, most companies recognize the need for a Next-gen Operating Model to drive their business forward in the Digital Age, but how well they develop it makes the big difference.

This framework provide a deep understanding of Next-gen Operating Model Transformation and the set of building blocks in putting it in place.

  1. Autonomous, Cross-functional Teams
  2. Flexible, Modular Platform
  3. Connected Management System
  4. Agile, Customer-centric Culture

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98. Multichannel Contact Center Strategy

In the increasingly competitive business scenario, the end-to-end customer experience and delight has become a new area, which no one can afford to neglect. It is of paramount importance to deliver superior services with differentiated experience, while aligning with the ever-changing customer preferences and needs.

Likewise, technology has changed the way organizations manage relationships with customers. While companies may argue this new reality, we cannot refute the fact that consumers are increasingly in a position of power. Comparison shopping on a wider scale has become the norm.

A strong relationship with the customer is of utmost importance, and the modern contact center can facilitate this. A right balance between customer experience and contact center operation may be maintained. This is when Multichannel Strategy comes into play. Multichannel Contact Centers are increasingly taking form with streamlined workflows, rather than a collection of stand-alone systems.

This framework extensively discusses the Multichannel Contact Center Strategy, its decision parameters, key benefits, KPIs, and approaches. It also details a framework for Service Channel Mix Optimization:

  1. Analysis of Existing Channels
  2. Optimization of Existing Channels
  3. Development of Channel Strategy
  4. Implementation of Channel Strategy

Implemented in 2 stages, each stage is geared towards leading our company to generating greater customer value.

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99. Innovation Culture

Every organization aspires to nurture a Culture of Innovation where employees are motivated to take initiatives that result in the creation of innovative products. However, the actual execution of this aspiration and developing such a Culture perplexes many senior executives, and eventually inhibits the Innovation projects from being successful.

Senior executives often rely on the bigger perspective — concentrating entirely on how to set up an innovative Culture. In doing so, they overlook on paying attention to planning and executing initiatives required to develop an Innovation-focused Culture. Culture is the outcome of collective behaviors, which necessitates the employees to embrace innovative behaviors at the outset. The Culture automatically becomes Innovation-centric when people become more creative.

To instill a Culture of Innovation, organizations need to converge their emphasis on shifting key behaviors. This framework talks about the 5 critical behaviors that should be adopted by the entire organization to create an Innovation Culture:

  1. Ecosystem-wide Collaboration
  2. Support for Intrapreneurs
  3. Speed and Agility
  4. A Venture Capitalist Mindset
  5. Operational Excellence (OpEx) Coupled with Innovation

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100. Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) Strategy

Companies in asset-intensive industries have long sought to manage huge investments in assets more effectively. Yet, after significant investment of time and money in formal Asset Management programs, this often fall short of delivering the promised benefits of more reliable assets, lower costs, and improved safety. Too often, executives are not sure why the benefits have not materialized.

Companies often concentrate its efforts on technology upgrading without addressing underlying problems. The latest technology solution will never enable companies to manage assets effectively. A successful Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) Program must begin with the right strategy for managing assets and then focus on the people, processes, and technology to carry it out.

This framework provides a defining perspective and exploration of Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) and the 3 core components of a successful EAM Program.

  1. Asset Management
  2. Maintenance Management
  3. Workforce Planning

A well-structured EAM Program incorporates these 3 disciplines that are tightly integrated. However, companies often fail in the implementation due to failure to develop an effective EAM strategy.

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101. Social Media Management

Social networks, blogs, web forums, and the like have influenced and disrupted almost every facet of life around the world. Smartphones and tablets have made it easy and cheap for users to create new content and share it with their contacts, as well as to review and comment on contributions.

Social Media is the collection of digital media and technologies that supports users to exchange information and individually or jointly design media content. Essentially, two types of social platforms are notable for companies:

  1. “Internal Social Media” facilitates communication as well as knowledge- and experience-sharing between staff and strengthens solidarity within the company.
  2. “External Social Media” comprises third-party platforms that companies use as a mouthpiece and feedback channel to reach their partners, and especially their customers.

Technology has enabled organizations to evaluate their Social Media activities through sophisticated tools.

The framework also entails information about Social Media in companies, measurement of Social Media activities, and a guideline for implementing KPI-based Social Media Management.

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Mark Bridges

I blog about various management frameworks, from Strategic Planning to Digital Transformation to Change Management. https://flevy.com