Guide · 6 min

Operating Model Guide

How to read the 6 × 5 Grid, what each cell means and how it is scored.

The Operating Grid looks at a business through six functions and five operating layers. Each of the 30 cells asks one question about how one part of the business operates.

Six functions: what the business does

Function	Question
Market	How do customers find you?
Customer	How do you win and keep them?
Delivery	How does the work get done?
Money	How does cash move and get counted?
People	Who decides and who does?
Intelligence	How do you know what is happening?

Five layers: how each function operates

Layer	Question
Ownership	Who is accountable?
Process	How does the work flow?
Rules	What decides how the work happens?
Technology	What enables the work?
Management Rhythm	How is the business reviewed?

Where common topics sit

Topic	Where it sits on the Grid
Suppliers and procurement	Delivery (inputs to the work) and Money (payables)
Compliance, risk, data, security	Cross-cutting control disciplines applied to every function
Board and investor reporting	Intelligence × Management Rhythm, with Governance
Intelligence vs Management Rhythm	Intelligence produces the information; the Rhythm layer is how each function reviews it

How each cell is scored

Score	Level	Meaning
0	Absent	Nobody owns it and nothing is defined
1	Person-dependent	It works because a specific person holds it
2	Defined	It is written down and people know what to do
3	Systemised	It runs through tools, with records
4	Measured	It is reviewed on a rhythm and improved from the numbers

The Grid score is the total of 30 cells out of 120. KEI&S scores it before and after each engagement. The detailed criteria behind each score are applied by trained KEI&S consultants.

Want to see how your business scores across all 30 cells?

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