The time has come to reconsider the principles that guide operating model redesign. In some ways, these principles have seemed timeless. For decades, leaders have aimed to integrate people, structures, and processes as seamlessly as possible to deliver value and improve organizational health. But now these rules must evolve to address the current pace of change and disruption. These days, how to organize for value is an even trickier undertaking.
A decade ago, McKinsey examined organizational redesigns across industries and company sizes, focusing on the core rules that helped increase the odds of success. These rules applied to everything from identifying the right redesign blueprint and metrics to how to deploy talent and change mindsets.
Because of the seismic shifts in the business landscape over the past ten years—economic upheaval, a global pandemic that disrupted workplace norms, and the transformative advances of automation and AI, to name a few—we decided to take a fresh look at that research. We wanted to see which core redesign principles, dubbed the “nine golden rules,” still hold true, which have evolved, and which are no longer as relevant.
To understand whether the golden rules stand the test of time, we conducted a global survey of 2,000 executives across industries and tested more than 20 operating model redesign rules. The research found that the conditions for why organizations launch a redesign have changed, as have the actions and design choices that help propel success.
Our 2025 “refresh” reveals an updated set of nine rules that reflect what approaches are most effective in operating model redesigns now. These rules are underpinned by four broad themes linking redesign to value creation: alignment among leaders and decision-makers, deep investment in rewiring core processes, significant investment in people, and a sustained focus on a high-performing culture.
In “A new operating model for a new world,” we dug into how leaders can think about redesigning their operating model. In this article, we examine how the right combination of rules improves the odds of a successful redesign that organizes around value, boosts speed and simplicity, and spurs performance and health in today’s volatile environment.
The original nine golden rules: A journey
A decade ago, McKinsey realized that more and more executives were voicing frustration with the fact that repeated redesigns were wasting time and resources, sapping morale, and yielding disappointing results. To figure out why a successful outcome was so hard, we tested common approaches to redesign to find rules that would create the best conditions for success. And thus, the nine golden rules were born (Exhibit 1).
Back then, not using the golden rules spelled failure for operating model redesigns, McKinsey analysis showed. However, the more rules an organization used, the more successful the redesign was in terms of improved performance. Using more than six of the original rules led to a 73 percent success rate, for example. Today the original rules still have a positive effect on redesign efforts, but they are not as effective as they once were. Using more than six of the original rules drives only a 55 percent success rate (Exhibit 2).
Key insights from the new data
We set out to find a set of rules that are a better predictor of success. To understand the most important redesign factors that leaders should consider today, we surveyed 2,000 executives across 16 sectors, including advanced industries, banking, consumer and retail, energy, healthcare, the public sector, and technology.
We also tested 21 operating model redesign levers, including the nine original rules but adding others that ranged from the pace of decision-making and test-and-learn pilots to whether to consider geopolitical dynamics. We compared the relative impact of each lever to understand which were most highly correlated with a successful redesign (see sidebar, “Our methodology”).
Several insights emerged:
Redesigns are a regular rhythm, not a rare event
About two-thirds of leaders surveyed experienced operating model redesigns in just the past two years, and 50 percent anticipated undergoing one in the next two years. That redesigns are a regular part of the operating model—not a one-time fix—suggests that companies should build redesign readiness as a capability, not solely as a reaction to events.
The motivations for undertaking an operating model redesign have evolved
In the new survey, two reasons emerged as the primary drivers for why executives initiate a redesign: improving efficiency and refocusing on growth. These priorities highlight a dual focus on optimizing current operations while positioning the organization to seize future opportunities.
Other goals include enabling the execution of strategy and increasing organizational agility and speed. While these latter drivers are as important as a decade ago, their relevance today is amplified by the ever-changing business environment. Organizations are no longer simply looking to tweak their structures—they are seeking to build leaner, more adaptable systems that can thrive in the face of uncertainty and disruption.
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Redesigns are completed more often and they have higher success rates
Operating model redesigns are yielding better results than they did a decade ago. Our 2014 survey respondents said that 51 percent of redesigns were completed and implemented; in 2025, that number rises to 79 percent. Moreover, the findings show that redesigns have been increasingly successful over the past decade: nearly two-thirds, or 63 percent, have met most of their objectives and improved performance. That’s a big jump from ten years ago, when just 21 percent of redesigns led to improved performance.
This increase in completion and success rates over the past decade is likely because of the growing sophistication of redesign methodologies, leadership capabilities, and the widespread availability of data-driven tools that allow organizations to make more informed decisions. Additionally, leaders today are more likely to prioritize alignment between strategy, structure, and ways of working, which increases the likelihood of redesign success. The heightened urgency to adapt to rapid technological advancements, market disruptions, and shifting workforce expectations has also driven organizations to approach redesigns with greater focus, agility, and commitment to execution.
Nearly half of the golden rules have evolved
After testing the 21 potential rules for their impact on redesign success, we identified nine that were statistically significant, including five original rules that have stood the test of time and four updated rules. These four reflect how important top team alignment, leadership incentives, investment in upskilling people managers, and the redesign team’s talent and skills have become in the redesign process.
Today’s golden rules of redesign, and what they look like in practice
Taken together, the refreshed set of rules represent best practices that maximize operating model redesign success, spur performance in a modern organization, and create value (Exhibit 3).
Think outside the box—and the lines
1. Don’t just fix the pain points, enable the strategy. This rule is evergreen. Leaders must continue to look beyond rearranging organizational charts to ensure that redesign efforts are comprehensive and impactful—and that they align with long-term strategic goals. This is how organizations ensure that changes are not just fixes to current pain points but also proactive steps that create sustainable growth and competitive advantage. A holistic perspective transforms redesign efforts from short-term problem-solving to long-term value creation.
For instance, during a diagnostic on its operating model, a global insurance company discovered that while most employees understood its top-line strategy, employees in finance and risk were making decisions about implementation that diverged from the rest of the business. To address this misalignment, the company identified several metrics that mattered most for business performance and communicated them widely so that its entire workforce had more clarity on strategic goals.
2. Go beyond “boxes and lines” to rewire the business inside and out. This rule is also evergreen. Successful redesigns are not just about improving a company’s reporting structure. They address how work gets done and who has decision rights, how teams collaborate through cross-cutting processes, and how technology streamlines operations. In many modern organizations, people talk about work charts, not org charts. With technology significantly changing workflows, capturing full value must start from the perspective of how work gets done, including thinking about digital and human interaction.
A global financial institution knew that adjusting boxes and lines would not solve its slow and ineffective decision-making. By conducting a root-cause analysis, it discovered that it first had to clarify ownership of key processes, build capabilities around new decision-making frameworks, and focus on necessary cultural changes. Only then could it tackle reporting structure.
3. Use a rigorous process for talent selection. This rule, which asserts that new or altered roles should be designed around business needs and not individual employees, is also evergreen. Starting with a structured approach to defining roles ensures that the right people are placed in the right roles in a transparent and fair manner. Each role can be crafted to meet strategic objectives, rather than being shaped by the skills or preferences of an incumbent or an obvious candidate. This method of moving people into positions that reflect the redesign’s strategy also promotes a more dynamic and adaptable workforce, capable of responding to changing business demands and driving the organization forward.
A global media and technology company followed this rule when it began a redesign focused on customer segments. It redefined roles for all senior business leaders based on its new strategy and moved the right leaders into the appropriate reshaped roles. By reshuffling people to lead segments that were quite different from their original roles, the organization was able to harness specific skills and experience where they were needed most.
Bring leaders along from the start
4. Align the senior team through a shared vision and clear design principles. This rule represents the evolution of two existing golden rules—surveying the scene and selecting the right blueprint. This broader new rule focuses on getting the senior team to define success and set expectations. Enlisting the full leadership team in the redesign early on is crucial, especially since a smaller team often shapes the initial blueprint.
Grounding the work in a clear set of design principles helps to create the outcomes that the redesign is intended to achieve. Then, socializing those principles and the redesign’s blueprint with the leadership team before moving into greater detail bolsters senior leader alignment and commitment. It also sets up expectations for role modeling: When senior team members have a strong sense of ownership and accountability, they can better navigate the implementation process and work toward the same goal.
Focusing on getting buy-in early also increases trust. At one global company undergoing an operating model redesign, the leadership team made a shared commitment to “radical transparency,” even in difficult moments, spurring honest conversations about each stage of the transformation.
5. Stack the redesign team with top talent and expertise. This evolved rule focuses on leadership and on managing transitional risks (see rule 9). It calls on organizations to place skilled, high-impact employees in key redesign roles.
Carefully selecting the right team to lead the operating model redesign sets the stage for sustained success. Organizations can empower these top performers to take on new challenges, solve complex problems, and deliver meaningful results. This approach can also boost employee engagement, since motivated individuals may feel even more motivated when entrusted with high-impact roles.
6. Equip people leaders with the skills to drive change. This rule evolved from the golden rule “make sure business leaders communicate.” Business leaders don’t just manage the transition; they must participate in a culture of continuous improvement. Organizations can provide targeted training and development programs to give leaders the skills and knowledge they need to guide their teams effectively through the operating model redesign.
In one industrial organization looking to establish a foundation for breakout growth, early conversations with the broader leadership team were not about lines and boxes; rather, they were immersive sessions focused on accountability, empowerment, and modeling new ways of working. In this organization’s context, those were the most important skills required for leaders to drive the operating model change.
Treat execution like a series of sprints
7. Identify and embrace new behaviors and mindsets. This evergreen rule asserts that leaders must understand how work gets done today and how it needs to evolve. Typically, this is not about tweaking just a few problems. It’s about making bold shifts that keep the organization at the cutting edge of efficiency, effectiveness, speed, innovation—or whatever is core to the organization’s strategy (see rule 1). It often means adopting new technologies, redefining roles, and reimagining the mechanics of collaboration. A successful redesign requires identifying not just behavior shifts but also the underlying mindset shifts that drive sustained change.
8. Link leadership incentives to the success of the redesign. This rule has evolved from the golden rule “establish metrics that measure short- and long-term success” by emphasizing the power of tying executive incentives to the success of the new operating model. Akin to rule 4, this alignment creates a sense of shared responsibility and encourages leaders to focus on achieving the desired outcomes.
For example, if the redesign includes a shift in business units or profit-and-loss structure, ensuring that leaders are aligned with the new structure early on creates change faster than if back-end reporting and metrics come later. A global healthcare company followed this rule by reconfiguring performance management and compensation practices for its senior team. By doing so, it provided incentives for the team to leave their silos to work on behalf of the whole organization.
9. Proactively manage transition risks. This rule remains evergreen. Redesigning an organization is a major undertaking that affects potentially thousands of people and requires significant time and effort to get right. To navigate this complexity, it is crucial to anticipate, identify, and manage risks early in the process. Our research indicates that only a small percentage of respondents take a proactive approach to risk management, yet those who do are twice as likely to succeed.
A global consumer company identified risks related to business continuity, talent, and communications, putting in place a detailed set of options based on scenario planning. The company also ran “premortems” on all its major decisions to identify risks and potential blind spots.
The refreshed rules: Success by the numbers
When we analyze the impact of this evolved set of rules, redesign success jumps from 55 percent when using more than six original golden rules to 95 percent when using more than six of the refreshed set, and from 59 percent when using all nine original rules to 97 percent when using all nine in the refreshed set (Exhibit 4).
The refreshed rules: Golden again
What do leaders need to start putting the refreshed golden rules into practice? When analyzed comprehensively, they reflect four broad redesign themes that leaders can pursue to increase value.
First, create alignment among leaders and decision-makers, grounded in strategy
This approach ensures that the redesign supports the business’s value creation priorities, aligning resources and accountabilities directly to strategic objectives. By tying structure to strategic vision and shifting resources to areas that drive disproportionate impact, companies can achieve their long-term goals and respond effectively to market changes.
Organizations must be rigorous about selecting leaders for roles based on business needs, not individual employee needs, and building a shared definition of success grounded in clear design principles. Focusing on leadership alignment from the beginning of the redesign creates a strong foundation for success. In some cases, we have seen executive teams write a “letter of intent” coalescing around the design aspiration and formally committing as a team.
Second, invest deeply in rewiring workflows
Fast, tech-enabled, and frictionless workflows eliminate inefficiencies and bottlenecks to allow the organization to operate at its full potential. By focusing on clear handoffs, simplified decision-making, and optimized collaboration across teams, frictionless workflows keep unnecessary delays to a minimum.
Targeted tech enablement (that is, leveraging advanced technology and tooling) can be layered onto this foundation, along with an evolved set of skills and capabilities in key roles. This approach prioritizes transparency, agility, and speed, allowing the organization to respond quickly to challenges and opportunities. The result is a more efficient and productive organization where teams can focus on delivering value rather than navigating obstacles.
Third, make significant investments in people
Building the right capabilities means equipping the organization (and its broader ecosystem) with the skills to achieve strategic goals. The focus is on addressing capability and skill gaps and fostering leadership excellence. Organizations that do this best invest in upskilling their leadership throughout the operating model redesign and make sure that incentives align with the new model before it goes live.
When people feel invested in and supported, they are more likely to embrace change, contribute meaningfully, and sustain the behaviors that drive long-term impact. This human-centered approach not only builds trust but also strengthens the organization’s ability to adapt and thrive in the future.
Finally, create a performance-oriented culture for durable impact
Healthy organizations prioritize building a performance culture, ensuring that employees feel valued, supported, and motivated. This includes aligning incentives with the new operating model and fostering behaviors that sustain impact. A human-centered approach empowers employees to embrace change. By embedding a performance-oriented culture, leaders position their organizations to adapt and thrive.
Operating model redesigns are an opportunity for organizations to realign their strategy, structure, talent, and culture to support new ways of working. Our research shows that some rules of redesign are evergreen, while others have evolved to reflect the demands of today’s dynamic business environment. These updated golden rules, which reflect leader alignment and deep investment in people and core processes, help organizations increase the odds of better performance and long-term success.
