Strategy says what you want to win; the operating model is how the organization is set up to deliver it. This canvas puts the six load-bearing choices on one page: the value you deliver and to whom, the work that delivers it, the team structure around that work, the systems and data underneath, the governance that steers it, and the capacity and partners it runs on. Fill it for today's reality first, then for the target, and the gap between the two pages becomes your transformation agenda.
Operating Model Canvas
Operating Model Canvas
- Organization / unit: ____________________
- Version: current state / target state
- Fill current state first, then target; the gap between the two is the transformation agenda
- Six sections: value, work, structure, systems, governance, capacity
1
Value & customers
- Who we serve: ____________________
- What they get from us: ____________________
- What winning looks like for them: ____________________
2
Work & processes
| Value chain step | What happens | Handoff to |
|---|
| Demand | Marketing generates qualified pipeline | Sales |
| Win | Sales converts to closed contracts | Delivery |
| Deliver | | Support |
| | |
3
Structure & teams
| Team | Owns which step | Headcount |
|---|
| Growth | Demand | 8 |
| | |
| | |
4
Systems & data
| Step | System of record | Key data |
|---|
| Demand | Marketing automation | Pipeline, CAC |
| | |
| | |
5
Governance & cadence
| Decision type | Who decides | In which review |
|---|
| Budget shifts over EUR 25k | COO | Monthly business review |
| | |
| | |
6
Capacity & partners
| Where the hours go | Share | Key partners |
|---|
| Run the business | 60% | |
| Change the business | 40% | |
| | |
Check
From model to reality
- The canvas is the designed model; where effort actually goes is the operating reality
- Compare the capacity section against strategic priorities each quarter
- Sections that drifted since the last review: ____________________
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How to use this template
- Fill the canvas for the current state before the target state. A target operating model designed without an honest current-state page inherits every assumption you meant to fix.
- Draw the value chain in the work section first, then map teams onto it. Structure follows work; when it is drawn the other way around, the org chart becomes the strategy.
- In governance, write down who decides, not who is consulted. A canvas full of committees and empty of deciders predicts slow execution.
- Compare the capacity section against the strategy's priorities. The gap between where hours go and where the strategy points is the finding that makes the exercise worth the afternoon.
- Revisit quarterly. Operating models drift as teams reorganize and tools change, and a dated canvas quietly becomes fiction.
Frequently asked questions
What is an operating model?
The design of how an organization delivers its strategy: the core work and processes, the team structure around them, the systems and data underneath, the governance that makes decisions, and the capacity it all runs on. Business model says how you make money; operating model says how you run.
What is a target operating model?
The future-state version of the canvas: how the organization needs to run to deliver the strategy, described in the same dimensions as today's model. The distance between current and target model, taken section by section, is the transformation roadmap.
How is an operating model different from an org chart?
The org chart shows reporting lines; the operating model shows how work, structure, systems, governance, and capacity fit together to deliver value. Reorganizing the chart without changing the work or the governance changes the model far less than expected.
