Rethinking Operating Models: Designing People and Technology Powered Organizations

by Kent McMillan (Editor), Amy Kates (Editor), Greg Kesler (Editor)

Overview

Despite the economic expansion driven by technological advances and AI, businesses today are facing mounting challenges.

Providing practical frameworks and tools to design organizations that meet ambitious growth, profitability and sustainability goals, Rethinking Operating Models is a must-read for senior business leaders and organization design and development professionals who are looking to adapt their operating model to meet the most persistent and pressing business questions. It allows practitioners to design models that will fuel growth and innovation, can transform through the changing pace of data and technology developments and achieve agility at scale. This book also provides essential coverage of how to execute mergers, acquisitions and divestments, how to manage complexity and cost as well as how to embed responsibility and sustainability into the organization.

Written by a team of experts and supported by proven methodologies and real-world examples, this book provides readers with the ability to tailor solutions to their own unique contexts.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781398617971
Publisher:	Kogan Page, Ltd.
Publication date:	03/03/2025
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	256
File size:	5 MB

About the Author

Kent McMillan is an organization designer based in London, United Kingdom. He is a consultant, innovator and educator who has held global practice leadership roles at Accenture and holds two US patents in organization analytics and design.

Greg Kesler is an organization designer based in Connecticut, United States. He was formerly the lead of Accenture's Operating Model&Organization Design practice and is the co-author of Networked, Scaled, and Agile, also published by Kogan Page.

Amy Kates is an organization designer based in New York, United States. She was formerly a senior leader in Accenture's Operating Model&Organization Design practice. She is the co-author of Networked, Scaled, and Agile, also published by Kogan Page.

Kent McMillan is a thought leader, innovator, consultant, and a regular speaker in the area of operating model and organization design and implementation. A trusted advisor to CEOs and executive teams, he has helped many of the world's most recognized brands to achieve enterprise-wide operating model transformations - solving for their most complex challenges including new business strategies, cost optimization, mergers, enterprise agility, and digital transformation. He has an extensive track record of delivering on clients' ambitious growth, profitability, and sustainability objectives.

As a managing director at Accenture, he has built a world-class team and developed market-leading methodologies and tools, holding two US patents for Accenture's organization analytics and design platform.

Kent recently authored the book 'Rethinking Operating Models' and has written and contributed to numerous research papers and thought leadership publications throughout his career. With over two decades at the intersection of people and technology, he continues to shape future-ready organizations capable of thriving in an ever-evolving landscape.

Amy Kates is Managing Director at Kates Kesler Organization Consulting, which is part of Accenture, and is based in New York, New York. She works with senior executives to assess organizational issues, reshape structures and processes, and build depth of management capability. In addition to her consulting work, she teaches organization design in the Executive MBA program at the DTU School of Business in Denmark and through Cornell University. She is a Resource Partner to the Center for Effective Organizations at the Marshall School of Business at USC and is a member of the i4cp Thought Leadership Consortium. She is an advisory board member for the Organization Design Forum and a board member of the Organization Design Community. She has also been appointed a Visiting Fellow to the government of Singapore for the 2018 - 2020. In 2018, she joined the board of Educate!, a non-profit focused on secondary school curriculum reform in east Africa.
Greg Kesler is Managing Director at Kates Kesler Organization Consulting, which is part of Accenture, and resides in Trumbull, Connecticut. He consults with CEOs and other senior leaders on global organization design and activation, including the development of global executive talent. He has led whole company, global redesign projects for many leading multi-national companies in the consumer-packaged goods, food and beverage, capital equipment, oil and gas, and healthcare sectors. He has developed and implemented succession-planning and executive assessment practices at numerous major companies, partnering with CEOs to assess executive talent. He specializes in designing and implementing global operating models and governance practices in large multi-national organizations.

Table of Contents

• • Chapter - 00: Introduction
  • Chapter - 01: Fuel Innovation-led Growth;
  • Chapter - 02: Manage Cost&Complexity;
  • Chapter - 03: Execute Mergers, Acquisitions,&Divestments;
  • Chapter - 04: Reinvent with Data and Technology;
  • Chapter - 05: Achieve Enterprise Agility;
  • Chapter - 06: Close the Sustainability Execution Gap;
  • Chapter - 07: The Reinventor Organization

Editorial Reviews

"This book is an important guide for organizations looking to effectively integrate sustainability into their core operations. With practical advice on implementation, strategies to mobilize teams and insights on the highest-value areas to focus, it empowers leaders to go beyond incremental changes."

Head of Global Sustainability & ESG of Hershey Whitney Mayer

"A profound read for both current and aspiring leaders, this book delves into the delicate balance between reflection and action necessary to adapt organizations in the digital age. It provides a powerful yet simple blueprint for transforming them into 'reinventor organization'. It also underscores the importance of customer focus, continuous learning and collaboration to foster innovation and agility."

André Santos

"Written by a series of practitioners with decades of hard-won experience, this book will teach you how to leverage organization design as a pillar of strategy execution while simultaneously addressing the most typical set of challenges CEOs face today. Thought provoking, tangible and enjoyable to read for CEOs, management teams and all those involved in making organizations more effective."

Rupert Morrison

"The book provides a practical set of frameworks and techniques to work through common challenges many executives face, brought to life with examples from many real-world projects, organizations and industries. With an eye on the future in this period of significant organizational change, it's a very helpful addition to the toolbox."

Ben Gaunt

"Never have we see the level of disruption we are facing today. This book takes a pragmatic approach to operating model design in light of the rapid advances in data, technology and ways of working. Providing frameworks for the big operating model challenges, but also inspiration on what the next generation of organization will look like. Sneak preview, it will require a new human and machine relationship."

Dimitra Manis

"In a world where organizations are constantly evolving, this book is a must-read for business leaders and HR practitioners. It outlines structures and operating models that leverage technology, enhance agility, accelerate growth and address the challenges of today's complex business environment. The authors provide practical strategies to navigate global disruptions and drive transformative growth."

SVP and Chief Human Resources Officer of Honeywell Karen Mattimore

"Rethinking Operating Models offers an up-to-date roadmap for navigating today's complex business landscape. Tackling how to organize for innovation, cost, M&A and closing the gap on environmental sustainability, this is a must-read for those aiming to thrive in a rapidly changing world of data, technology and work."

Jean-Marc Duvoisin

"For leaders tackling growth, agility and transformation, this book offers a structured approach to designing operating models fit for today's challenges. Practical and relevant across industries."

Stan Zurkiewicz

"Enterprise reinvention includes a thoughtful strategy for talent and organization. This book provokes us to rethink operating models for the future, highlighting the importance of a proactive approach and multiple iterations in order to unleash extraordinary growth opportunities and achieve even higher levels of performance."

CHRO of Nubank Suzana Kubric

"The authors take a thoughtful and holistic approach to the perennial challenge of managing cost and complexity whilst enabling innovation-led growth. Going beyond simple top-down cost levers, they explore the balance of strategic operating model choices and operational tuning, and how data and technology are shifting the dials, combined with a continuous focus on unlocking productivity through aligned ways of working."

Andy Banfield