What I Do

Where I work

The distance between what an organisation is trying to do and what it's actually able to do is almost always structural.

The signs of an organisation under strain are familiar:

Initiatives stall
Cross-functional work takes twice as long as it should
Teams can't answer basic questions about who decides what, or why targets aren't translating into results

The instinct is to add more process, more oversight, more resource. But the problem is rarely any of those things. It's that the underlying execution infrastructure wasn't designed for the complexity the organisation is now operating in.

Operating Model Diagnosis, Design, and Transformation

I work with scaling companies and multinational enterprises where growth or complexity has outpaced the organisation's ability to execute. The problems I address typically don't sit inside a single function. They sit at the seams: between strategy and delivery, between functions that should be coordinating but aren't, between the organisation as it was designed and the organisation as it actually operates.

My guiding principles

Diagnostic Principles:

Diagnose at the seams, not within the boxes
Follow the system, not the symptoms
Structure shapes behaviour, behaviour shapes outcomes

Operating Model Design Principles:

Design holistically, execute through the organisation
Someone must own the operating model, including the seams
Establish a shared taxonomy and language
Aim for both effective and efficient
There is no one-size-fits-all operating model
Substance over fashion

When Complexity Outpaces Execution

The Core Work

My work includes three phases, though clients can engage at any stage depending on where they are and what they need.

Diagnostic

Before designing anything, I need a precise understanding of how the operating model is actually performing and where the gaps are. This is a structured investigation into execution infrastructure: what it's producing, what it isn't, and why. The diagnostic produces a clear picture of the three to five patterns with the greatest impact on execution, with evidence and an assessment of what needs to change.

For organisations considering or already investing in AI, the diagnostic serves two purposes. It surfaces the operating model conditions that will determine whether AI investment delivers value: AI does not fix broken infrastructure, it exposes it. And it identifies where AI is genuinely positioned to solve execution gaps more effectively than traditional approaches, if the programme is designed to do so deliberately.

Diagnostic Phase Information (pdf)

Design

Based on diagnostic findings, I work with the client team to design the execution infrastructure the organisation actually needs. The scope of the design phase is defined by the diagnostic findings. We address the specific structural failures and gaps the evidence identified, not the operating model in its entirety. For most engagements, this means a targeted subset of dimensions rather than a wholesale redesign. This covers decision rights, governance structures, planning rhythms, coordination mechanisms, and information flows. The output is a design framework built for the organisation's specific complexity, not a best-practice template. It includes both the operational elements for an effective organisation and the operational infrastructure required to efficiently execute.

For organisations with significant technology or AI investment in scope, the design phase is where infrastructure readiness gets built in, not bolted on.

Design Phase Information (pdf)

Transformation

After the design work, clients choose how to proceed. Because I've led the diagnostic and built the operating model, I can provide transformation leadership that maintains the integrity of the design through implementation.

Options include:

Fractional transformation leadership as senior owner of the transformation, not programme management or delivery coordination
Transformation advisory, supporting an internal or existing lead
Transformation coaching for leaders or teams to build internal capability
A design handoff with on-call access as needed

Specialist implementation, including technology delivery and discipline-specific execution, is managed by internal teams and specialist partners.

Transformation Phase Information (pdf)

For Organisations That Need Something More, or Something Different

Additional Services

Flexible senior leadership and advisory for complex transformation challenges

Senior operational leadership, without a permanent hire

Fractional COO

For organisations that need an experienced COO-level presence but aren't ready, or aren't able, to commit to a full-time appointment. I work as an embedded senior leader, typically two to three days per week, providing the operational leadership and infrastructure the business needs to function and grow.

Leading complex change without adding headcount

Fractional Transformation Leadership

Available as a standalone engagement for organisations that didn't begin with a diagnostic phase.

For organisations with a transformation already underway, or about to begin, that need senior leadership to drive it. I step in as the transformation lead: setting direction, managing complexity, holding the architecture of the change together, and ensuring it lands rather than stalls.

For the leader who is running the transformation themselves

Transformation Coaching

Sometimes the person leading the change needs a thinking partner: someone who has navigated the same territory and can help them see around corners. I work directly with transformation leads and senior executives to pressure-test their approach, work through specific challenges, and build confidence in the decisions they're making. This is not a coaching programme. It's a standing conversation with someone who understands how transformation actually works.

Before you invest, make sure you're solving the right problem

Transformation Plan Review

You have a plan. You're confident in the direction. But the investment is significant and the cost of getting it wrong is higher. A transformation plan review is a structured, independent assessment of your current approach: whether the diagnosis is sound, whether the design addresses the actual constraints, and whether the implementation path is realistic. You get a frank, experienced perspective before you commit, not after things start to go wrong.

Who I Work With

My clients fall into two broad groups: organisations where complexity or growth has outpaced execution capability, and organisations preparing for significant transformation investment, including AI, who want to ensure the infrastructure is in place before they commit. Clients I work with are typically £20M+ and past the initial start up stages where product market fit is still being validated.

Link to The Operating Model Dispatch Newsletter