.svg)
.png)
If you’re a founder scaling your business beyond £5M, and you don’t know what a TOM is—you’re flying blind.
TOM stands for Target Operating Model. And while it sounds like something you’d find in a corporate handbook, it’s actually the one thing standing between you and real, sustainable growth.
🤔 So What Is a TOM?
Your TOM is the way your business is meant to run—at scale.
It defines how:
• Strategy becomes execution
• Teams align
• Decisions get made
• Resources are managed
• Culture is reinforced
• And most importantly… how you get out of the day-to-day chaos
In other words: it’s the engine room of your business. And most founders never build it.
🚨 The Reality: Most Founders Are Operating Blind
You’ve got a vision. Maybe even a strategy.
But if you’re:
• Making most of the decisions
• Managing people reactively
• Constantly fixing problems yourself
• Drowning in Slack, email, and duct-taped systems…
…then you’re running on founder energy, not an operating model.
That’s fine until you hit scale. Then it’s fatal.
🧠 My TOM Structure (Built for Real Businesses)
The traditional TOM is bloated and filled with jargon. Mine is built to get founders out of the weeds and into clarity.
Here’s the structure I use inside IBWJ and all my ventures:
1. Vision → Strategy → Execution → Governance
This is your north star hierarchy—the flow from “why we exist” to “how we run day-to-day.”
2. People & Roles
• Who owns what?
• Is there any duplication?
• Is the org chart designed around outcomes—not egos?
3. Systems & Tools
• Are your tools serving the business, or creating noise?
• Are automations and integrations actually in place?
4. Processes & Cadence
• SOPs people actually follow
• Weekly, monthly, quarterly rhythms
• Meeting hygiene and performance rituals
5. Values in Motion
Your culture is only real if it shows up in decisions, behaviours, and hiring/firing.
💡 Why It Matters
A strong TOM gives you:
• Clarity → Who’s doing what, and why
• Efficiency → Less waste, more flow
• Accountability → No more vague ownership
• Scalability → You can grow without chaos
• Freedom → Because you didn’t start a business to be its employee
🧩 This Is Where I Start With Every Client
Whether I’m running a 90-day sprint or acting as a Fractional CEO, the first thing I look at is the TOM.
Because if that’s broken—everything else is reactive.
If it’s solid, you’ve got a business that can scale without burning out the founder, the team, or the cash.
👉 Want a Quick TOM Health Check?
→ [Download the TOM Audit Checklist]
→ Or [Book a Fit Call] to rebuild the foundation together
