From Chaos to Clarity: Begin Mastering Your MOS

Part 1 of Our Comprehensive 6-Part Series! Your organization’s blueprint for success.

The MOS is vital to an organization’s success since it links the execution of work, continuous improvement initiatives, and the establishment of a knowledge base, all aligned to the implementation of the overall business strategy.

Increase Profit and Make Your Job Easier

All organizations operate with a Management Operating System (MOS), which varies widely—some are highly prescriptive, while others offer more flexibility. Although an MOS is crucial for executing business strategy, many organizations neglect to adapt their systems to meet evolving business demands.

Increasing reliance on various software applications tends to compartmentalize thinking about the MOS, focusing on details at the expense of the bigger picture. This oversight can significantly reduce the amount of productive time each employee spends on getting work done, or worse yet, doing work that overlaps with the work of others.

There is a real need to systematically evaluate your organization’s MOS on a regular basis. Over hundreds of projects, the vast majority of organizations have been found to only be operating at 50-65% of their potential. That means, on average, they are losing the work of more than three people from every ten-person team.

Why Your MOS Needs An Upgrade

Our MOS implementations are a more bespoke, in-depth alternative to the well-known cookie cut process of the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS). 

EOS provides the basics to get a micro-business off the ground and running smoothly.

However, for those looking to steer more complex, larger-scale operations, EOS may appear as a 'one-size-fits-all' model that doesn't quite fit. It's in these scenarios where a robust, customized MOS is highly impactful.

In fact, profit improvements of 20-30% have been shown realized by eliminating unnecessary tasks, and optimizing workflows. With time saved and processes refined, the MOS allows your employees to focus on what truly matters, driving greater profitability and sustainable improvements. In addition, our MOS implementations are tailored for project-based businesses in the engineering and construction related industries.

A McKinsey & Company article published in 2022 highlights findings from a productivity survey among North American executives in service-based businesses, indicating that modifying the operating model and organizational structure is considered the top strategic lever for fostering profound and enduring organizational change.

The MOS integrates as a ‘plug-in’ to your existing organizational framework. For example, it does not alter your basic company structure and governance but rather enhances it. By connecting with the existing structure, aligning with organizational culture, and utilizing available resources, the MOS systematically minimizes the gap between strategy and execution. Improvements are made without disrupting the core functions of your business.

The Power of Our Plug-In MOS Framework

Our Plug-In MOS is structured around three core functions, with Work Execution being the cornerstone. This encompasses the full spectrum of the project lifecycle or departmental functions, emphasizing clearly defined tasks and their outcomes, which we refer to as deliverables. To maintain optimal performance, the framework prescribes a steady work cadence, weekly adjustment meetings using a specific format, and continuous assessments against relevant metrics.

Our MOS requires that teams systematically record their continuous improvement endeavors—categorized into short, medium, and long-term objectives—utilizing the Plan-Do-Check-Act method. This iterative approach not only fosters ongoing enhancement but often dovetails with critical activities like standardizing work processes, refining operational methods, and conducting targeted training for individuals or groups. Such a structured approach ensures that improvement efforts are not sporadic but part of a deliberate, sustained effort to improve performance.

To ensure the organization doesn't repeatedly face old problems, it's crucial to capture and institutionalize the knowledge from successful improvement initiatives. This process of knowledge capture doesn't always necessitate an enterprise-wide system. Often, it's the teams themselves that acquire valuable insights, which can then be shared across the entire organization.

Our primary focus lies in the quality and accessibility of this knowledge, rather than the specifics of the system used to store and distribute it. By prioritizing the dissemination of high-quality knowledge, we empower all levels of the organization to benefit from proven solutions.

The Benefits of Adopting a Systematic MOS Approach

A systematic approach is crucial for gaining the confidence of key stakeholders in your organization, and it achieves this without the need to expand your team; instead, we optimize the use of existing resources. The MOS's systematic framework ensures predictable outcomes and provides the scalability essential for growing businesses.

This approach not only aligns with business goals but also enhances decision-making by measuring and analyzing pertinent data. It helps accumulate institutional knowledge, preventing recurrent issues from hindering progress. Additionally, it fosters a holistic view that breaks down silos between teams and departments, enhancing overall organizational cohesion.

The MOS Maturity Model - At What Stage Is Your Organization?

There are four distinct stages in the maturity model of a Management Operating System (MOS).

In the absence of an MOS, teams grapple with reactive management, working on the immediate crises rather than fixing the underlying problems. This Reactive Response stage, or Fire-Fighting stage is defined by high activity but low strategic direction, which leads to a sense of helplessness and employees become disenchanted. Organizations in this stage are ill-equipped to improve their performance until they invest in establishing an MOS. Quite frequently, employees become heroes by rescuing the day and this culture permeates the organization. Heroes hoard their knowledge, and the organization continues to suffer. Good people leave, and the organization is habitually operating poorly.

The next stage is called the Stabilization stage, where teams begin to address challenges with some consistency. Processes exist but improvement is stagnant. Growth is halted and this is commonly referred to as the Treading Water stage.

The Progressive Enhancement stage reflects a turn toward small, incremental improvements. Teams establish processes and pursue goals with greater intent, though they must guard against becoming complacent and halting further improvement.

Finally, organizations ascend to Transformational Performance, a stage where exceptional and consistent improvements are the norm. Here, teams challenge the status quo, continuously innovate, and set new benchmarks, fully owning their roles in driving organizational performance. The top ten percent of organizations are at this stage.

Understanding these stages enables organizations to identify where they stand and determine their next moves toward Transformational Performance. Each stage is a step on the ladder to peak performance, and recognizing one’s current rung is the first step towards making improvements in your organization by implementing our MOS methodologies.

The next edition will focus on how organizations define core work buckets, necessary tasks, and deliverables for key positions in their organization. This serves as a foundation for subsequent development of the MOS.