Decision Rights Before Boxes and Lines

01

Start where friction is visible

Operating-model redesign is often triggered by slow decisions, duplicated work, inconsistent services, or unclear accountability. These symptoms cross organizational boundaries, even when the proposed solution focuses only on structure.

A useful diagnostic traces a small number of priority decisions and workflows from end to end. It reveals where information stops, authority overlaps, and interfaces depend on individual relationships rather than an institutional mechanism.

02

Agree the logic before the structure

Design principles make trade-offs explicit. They may define what must remain enterprise-wide, where authority should sit close to users, which capabilities should be shared, and how assurance should remain independent.

Without these principles, organization design becomes a negotiation between existing units. With them, leaders can test options against a coherent strategic logic.

• Closeness to the outcome
• Clarity of accountability
• Economies of scale
• Quality and control
• Adaptability over time

03

Make decisions visible

For each critical decision, the model should specify who recommends, who provides input, who decides, and who executes. The aim is not to document every routine choice. It is to remove ambiguity from the decisions that repeatedly create delay or conflict.

Decision rights must align with information, expertise, risk, and consequences. Authority without the necessary insight is not empowerment; it is exposure.

04

Design the seams

Most performance problems sit between units. Cross-functional forums, service agreements, product ownership, integrated planning, and shared measures are therefore core operating-model components—not supplementary processes.

The transition plan should give these lateral mechanisms owners, routines, and measures from the beginning. Otherwise, the new structure inherits the old friction.