Steering organizations towards a modern operating model – The DIPOC Framework
How the DIPOC framework helps organizations align their digital strategy with daily operations
Every company has an operating model, whether designed intentionally or formed organically over time. It reflects how processes flow, decisions are made, capabilities are deployed, and technology supports operations. When new trends or technologies reshape the modern enterprise, these foundations must evolve accordingly.
Connecting strategy to daily operations
The operating model connects strategy with daily business operations. A digital strategy defines the where to play and how to win — but it is the operating model that determines whether that strategy reaches employees and materializes in practice. True digital transformation cannot be achieved just by hiring a CDO or adding an AI tool. It requires systematic adaptation of the underlying operating model across five interdependent elements.
The DIPOC Framework
Our methodology structures the digital operating model around Processes, Decision-making logic, Capabilities, Incentives, and Organization — DIPOC. These elements are ordered by logical dependency.
- Processes are the overarching element, capturing how the organization operates in the digital world — focusing first on the 3–4 processes crucial for digital impact.
- Decision-making logic defines which stakeholders are involved in which decisions, at which level and speed — increasingly important as AI enters the picture.
- Capabilities bring the model to life, requiring a realistic assessment of current gaps and a step-by-step plan to close them.
- Incentives are the primary mechanism through which culture is built in practice — through tangible, targeted ways to recognize and reward the right behaviors.
- Organization follows last: new roles and structures should reflect clarified processes and decisions, not precede them.
Implementation
A phased action plan is needed that guides the transformation over 2–3 years, following an agile build-measure-learn approach — backed by board-level sponsorship and clear ownership at each stage.
Conclusion
Successfully setting up a modern operating model requires the smart design of its elements in line with the digital and AI strategy — and needs stakeholders to make substantive changes to how they operate day-to-day. It must therefore be tackled with both rigor and a sufficient level of empathy.