Kev Bland is an experienced transformation specialist with significant experience across numerous sectors, including local government, healthcare, facilities management, service, manufacturing, engineering, and defence.

Kev is passionate about operational excellence, Lean, strategy, operating model design, change management, and people development. Kev is known for his ability to solve problems and build trusted relationships throughout organisations.

Business change is complex (put bluntly, any type of change has the potential to be complex – business or otherwise!). The old cliché of ‘there’s lots of moving parts’ is very much the case with change. It’s expected, and to be embraced. I may be in the minority, but it’s one of the reasons I enjoy solving problems – you need to think on your feet, and always have an eye on the road ahead.

Embracing the complexity of change becomes significantly easier to stomach, and dare I say, exciting, by making sure your operating model is designed correctly.

Embrace the complexity!

Operating models provide the ‘blueprint’ for change – they bridge the gap between strategy and how work is delivered. They define the capabilities needed to deliver your strategy. Sounds straightforward, right? A colleague asked me recently what I had learned about designing operating models – here are three things that came to mind:

#1 Focus on the right things

“If I were given one hour to solve a problem, I would spend 59 minutes defining the problem and one minute resolving it,” Albert Einstein.

A quote that has always stuck with me, and one I often refer to.

How does this relate to operating model design? When designing operating models, problem definition is critical because it supports the ‘why’ behind the change of direction.

The mechanics of how you define your problem are many and varied. I would always start with the voice of the customer and compare this to the voice of the process – in other words, what are your customer’s needs, and what capability does the process offer. You can then build from here.

#2: Engagement matters more than you think… 

Engagement in business can mean many things to many people.  I like to think of engagement as the sum of two characteristics coming together: motivation and excitement. 

So how do you get colleagues motivated and excited about operating model design?  It’s not easy – lots of things must align, including the right behaviours, right values, right vision, right strategy, and right approach to communications. 

But I’m a big believer in celebrating the small wins (the little victories that happen every day).  Not just because it sounds good, but because experience has taught me that recognising individual and collective efforts when solving problems makes colleagues feel more valued and encourages them to keep going. Obviously, it’s not as simple as this in practice, but recognising the link between motivation and excitement can help improve engagement for business change.

#3: Data, data and, you guessed it, data… 

Was today a successful day? How do you know? These are two questions that I was asked at my very first job interview (a little over 25 years ago!). 

I always remember the questions because I drew a blank. It was the first time I had ever been asked to quantify success, and I froze.  For those interested, I didn’t get the job, but did learn a valuable lesson.

When managing change, and specifically designing operating models, it’s important to validate decisions with knowledge and insight. To do this, we need data. Be curious and seek out data to support your arguments – the absence of data, is still data, and you may need to pause and capture data to support decisions. 

Remember the Einstein quote from earlier in this article? It’s perfectly acceptable (in fact, necessary), to define what you need to ensure the operating model design reflects requirements. Pausing and reflecting is a strength. 

So, what does all this mean?

From my experience, these three things are hugely important when designing operating models.  

If you had a top three list, would you agree with my list?  If not, what is missing and why?

Read more about how 31ten can support your Target Operating Model design here: https://www.31tenconsulting.co.uk/our-expertise/target-operating-models/