31. Company as Product

Once a company can be described as a system, another implication appears.

If the operating model is sufficiently structured, it can become a product.

This led to Company as Product.

A company operating model can be:

• packaged,
• versioned,
• licensed,
• deployed,
• adapted,
• audited,
• maintained,
• improved.

This is similar to franchising, consulting productization and SaaS — but deeper.

The product is not only a tool.

It is a structured operating model.

It may include:

• source of truth,
• workflows,
• roles,
• human skills,
• AI skills,
• agents,
• governance,
• security,
• cockpit,
• support model,
• maintenance model,
• fallback,
• compliance.

But a warning was necessary:

Productize the operating model. Do not productize away responsibility.

The product can be licensed.

The responsibility must still be owned by a human or community.

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