The BEAM model
Culture is the hub of the wheel
BEAM℠ stands for Business Effectiveness through Alignment & Management. It’s the framework behind every TPS engagement. It starts from a simple belief: people join organizations wanting to do excellent work, and the organization often gets in their way.
Swipe sideways to see the whole model.
Select any part of the model to read about it.
The hub
Culture and shared values
Culture influences how every other part of the organization works. And how each part actually operates shapes the culture in return.
The hub
Culture and shared values
Culture influences how every other part of the organization works. And how each part actually operates shapes the culture in return.
An organization can describe its culture as open and collaborative. But if departments hold on to information, and people feel they belong to their department rather than the enterprise, that is the real culture, whatever the statement says.
That’s why a culture problem is rarely solved by working on culture alone. BEAM can work in either direction: use the six components to shape the culture you want, or start from the culture you want and design each component to reinforce it.
Inputs
What energizes and challenges the organization
Every organization runs on resources, and responds to pressures from outside.
- Human, financial, informational and material resources
- Forces and events
- Customer needs
- Business partners
- Market trends
- Government regulations
Outputs
What ensures performance and renewal
The wheel turns inputs into results at three levels.
- Productivity: products and services, information, communication
- Profitability: customer service and satisfaction, business partners, resources, stakeholders
- High performance: at the organization, team and individual level
What drives the wheel
Organization alignment
The six components can fall out of sync with one another. Like a rowing crew, they have to pull in the same direction and build on each other.
Alignment makes sure the essential building blocks are in place, link to the vision and strategy, make sense in relation to each other, and support the culture you want.
What drives the wheel
Transition management
Our term for change management. Organizations don’t just change; they go through transformations, and a transformation can be an upheaval.
Transition management makes sure you actually get from where you are to where you need to be, instead of rearranging the deck chairs while the ship goes down. It assesses and manages the risks to a successful change, so the right solution gets implemented.
The loop
Measurement for feedback and control
Results are measured and fed back into the system, so leaders can correct course and the organization can renew itself.
Component
Strategy, leadership and market alignment
Healthy organizations align their leadership around vision, mission and strategy.
- Vision, mission and strategic direction
- Critical success factors, with initiatives in place
- Clear value propositions and metrics
- Leadership commitment and sponsorship
- Customer and market focus
Component
Organization infrastructure
Healthy organizations create the structure, governance and management systems their strategy needs.
- Organization design
- Decision-making process
- Policies and business rules
- Management system
- Project and portfolio management
Component
Business processes
Healthy organizations design their processes, and coordinate the work between them, on purpose.
- Workflow and task ordering
- Mechanisms that coordinate work across groups
- Ad hoc teams formed around specific work
- Quality management and control
Component
Technology enablement
Healthy organizations install the right technology, and make sure people use it.
- Business requirements
- Conceptual and detailed design
- Hardware and software applications
- Deployment and management
- User satisfaction and business impact
Component
Communication and knowledge management
Healthy organizations make full use of both formal and informal communication.
- Communication strategy and plans
- Knowledge and content management
- Informal communication and emerging networks
- Employee and stakeholder information
Component
People strategy and support
Healthy organizations have a people strategy, and the systems to support it.
- Recruitment and retention
- Resource deployment
- Training and development
- Performance measurement
- Compensation and rewards
How the model works
From inputs to results, with alignment in the middle
BEAM treats an organization as a system. Resources and pressures come in, the wheel turns them into results, and measurement feeds back so leaders can adjust.
Inputs
What energizes and challenges the organization
Resources
Human, financial, informational and material.
External environment
- Forces and events
- Customer needs
- Business partners
- Market trends
- Government regulations
Throughput
The wheel, kept in alignment
BEAM’s added value is that it handles two things at once:
Organization alignment
Keeps the components pulling in the same direction, like a rowing crew: the essential building blocks are in place, link to the vision and strategy, make sense in relation to each other, and support the desired culture.
Transition management
Our term for change management. It assesses and manages the risks of a transformation, so the organization actually gets from where it is to where it needs to be.
Outputs
What ensures performance and renewal
Productivity
Products and services, information, communication.
Profitability
Customer service and satisfaction, business partners, resources, stakeholders.
High performance
At the organization, team and individual level.
Measurement for feedback and control. Results are measured and fed back into the system, so the organization can correct course and renew itself.
Guiding principles
How we apply BEAM
There is no single best arrangement of these components. The right one depends on your organization, so these principles guide every engagement.
Understand before prescribing
Learn each organization’s capabilities, constraints, history and culture, both current and desired.
Reduce disruption
Even positive change creates stress. Keep disruption low and build the organization’s resilience.
Leaders must sponsor it
Senior executives need to lead the change, and be seen leading it.
Involve employees
Build understanding, acceptance and everyone’s capacity to adapt.
Keep it practical and honest
Every recommendation must show its value. The process should be easy to grasp, with no hidden agendas.
Transfer knowledge
Working side by side with the client produces the best-fit solution, and gains that last after we leave.
We wanted to ensure alignment between product functions and geographies, and be confident that needed changes would be implemented smoothly. BEAM helped achieve both objectives.
We used the BEAM Business Effectiveness Framework to help us develop concrete actions to exploit storage solutions opportunities in Europe and the Middle East. Stu deftly guided us in the application of BEAM and helped us achieve our desired results.
Signature service
The Health Check: BEAM, applied to your organization
Our Baldrige-based Strategic Capabilities Audit looks at each part of the wheel and at how well the parts fit together. It rates the health of each area, shows where alignment is breaking down, and ranks what to address first.