Redesigning an operating model that made collaboration irrational

The situation

A major professional-services firm wanted to grow in the federal market by bringing together expertise from its commercial practices. The strategy made sense.

The problem

The operating model made cooperation a bad deal. Federal business development, contracts, administration, and program management sat together, but delivery depended on specialists in the commercial practices.

Those leaders faced lower payment, rigid staffing rules, extra overhead, and arguments over who got credit for the revenue.

What I found

Leadership could ask everyone to collaborate harder. That would not change the economics. The issue was incentives and ownership, not effort or software.

The decision

I redesigned the model. The commercial practice owned the client relationship. Federal became the enabling layer: opportunity identification, contracting expertise, administrative tools, guidance, and program support where needed.

Then we clarified client ownership, delivery responsibility, decision rights, shared costs, and support.

The result

The executive team approved the model and its potential use across related businesses.

If you want people to collaborate differently, change what makes their current behavior rational.