Elements — the seven areas of the operating model
An Element is one of the seven core components of a healthy SME operating model. Each Element is a discrete, diagnosable area of the business. Different Elements can be at different Levels simultaneously — an engagement focuses on the three to five Elements with the highest impact for this business right now. Elements I–III are in the v1.0 pilot scope.
✓ Pilot
I
Purpose, Values & Identity
Why you exist. What you stand for.
Values specific enough to make a hiring decision or justify a termination. A purpose that resolves real strategic trade-offs. A market identity the outside world consistently recognises — built operationally, not as a poster on the wall.
L1 artefacts
Identity diagnostic pack
Gap report
L2 artefacts
Operating values doc
Hiring rubric
✓ Pilot
II
Strategic Clarity & Direction
Where you're going, and what you're not.
A defined destination across three time horizons. Genuine differentiation against well-resourced competitors. Explicit decisions about what the business is not pursuing — the discipline that makes the strategy real.
L1 artefacts
Strategic landscape pack
L2 artefacts
Single-page plan
Cascade
✓ Pilot
III
People Architecture
The right people in the right roles, accountable.
Every function has one named owner. Roles are defined by outcomes, not titles. Values alignment and role fit are assessed as two independent dimensions — someone can have perfect values and the wrong role, or perfect skills and be a cultural corrosive.
L1 artefacts
People diagnostic
Risk map
L2 artefacts
Accountability map
Role + band library
v1.1+
IV
Execution Processes, Cadence & Priorities
A rhythm. Commitments that get closed.
A small number of declared priorities each quarter — three to five, with named owners. Documented operating processes with accountable owners. A meeting cadence that drives commitments to closure rather than reopening them every Monday.
L1 artefacts
Process inventory
Rhythm baseline
L2 artefacts
Process maps
Priority + meeting kit
v1.1+
V
Performance & Measurement
A small set of numbers you trust.
Five to ten organisational indicators — with appropriate cascades — that the leadership team agrees genuinely reflect whether the business is on track. Leading and lagging in balance. Long indicator lists are a sign of unresolved disagreement about what matters.
L1 artefacts
Measurement diagnostic
L2 artefacts
Indicator set
Data dictionary
v1.1+
VI
Communication Rhythm
Information moves. Alignment is real.
A multi-frequency communication architecture — daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly — with deliberate decisions about which messages travel through which cadence. Two-way information flow. Strategy expressed consistently, top to bottom and back.
L1 artefacts
Comms diagnostic
Flow map
L2 artefacts
Comms architecture
Templates
v1.1+
VII
Financial Vitality & Cash
No financial blind spots.
Cash literacy across the leadership team — not just the finance lead. A rolling 13-week cash flow forecast, refreshed weekly. Active management of the cash conversion cycle, customer concentration, and the levers that move them.
L1 artefacts
Cash flow diagnostic
Concentration risk map
L2 artefacts
13-week cash forecast
Liquidity action plan
Levels — the four maturity stages within each Element
A Level describes how deeply a given Element has been developed and embedded in the business. Levels are sequential within an Element — you cannot Deploy (L3) what you have not yet Designed (L1) and Developed (L2). Different Elements can be at different Levels simultaneously. The v1.0 pilot covers Levels 1 and 2 only.
L1
Level 1 — Design
Diagnose. Read what the business already has. Map the gaps.
Read existing material (documents, data, contracts, accounts). Compile relevant external benchmarks. Diagnose the gap between current and desired state. The output is a clear-eyed picture of where this Element stands today and what good looks like for this specific business.
L2
Level 2 — Develop
Draft what good looks like. Build the framework, the rubric, the structure.
Draft the substantive operating-model component. Build the templates, rubrics, and instruments. Define ownership and accountabilities. The output is a usable document the business can act on — not a generic template, but something built specifically for this company.
L3
Level 3 — Deploy
Roll it into the working week. Embed it in meetings, hiring, decisions, dashboards.
Embed the developed component into the operating cadence. Train managers and team members. Generate live materials, agendas, and dashboards from operational data. The Element is no longer a document — it is live in how the business runs day to day.
L4
Level 4 — Operate
Run it continuously. Monitor drift. Surface deviation while it is still recoverable.
Continuous monitoring. Pre-meeting briefings prepared automatically from live data. Drift detection and alerting. At Level 4 the AI becomes an always-on co-pilot for that Element — spotting deviation, preparing the team, and flagging risk before it becomes a problem.
Modes — how the framework is delivered
A Mode is the delivery mechanism — the way Helix is being used at any given moment in an engagement. Modes are not exclusive: a single engagement typically uses M3 and M2 in sequence. Modes are independent of Service Tiers (commercial packaging) and independent of Levels (maturity stages). The v1.0 pilot uses M3 → AI Synthesis → M2.
M3
Mode 3 — Async Multi-Stakeholder Diagnostic
Individual leaders complete AI-led conversations asynchronously. AI surfaces what doesn't show up in group settings.
Each member of the leadership team completes an AI-led conversation individually, in their own time, via a personal session link. No facilitator needed. Helix then synthesises across all responses to identify alignment, hidden tensions, and the gaps that never surface when the team is in the room together. This is the first step in the pilot engagement sequence — individual views are captured before group dynamics can distort them.
M2
Mode 2 — Facilitated Group Session with AI Co-Pilot
Human facilitator runs the workshop. AI is the real-time back-channel — capturing, suggesting, and drafting in parallel.
A human facilitator (Stephen) runs a workshop with the leadership team — in person or on video. The AI synthesis from Mode 3 serves as the pre-read. During the session, Helix suggests follow-up questions, captures decisions as they're made, and drafts artefact sections in real time for the team to react to. The session validates, aligns, and finalises — it does not start from scratch.
M1
Mode 1 — Guided Conversational Assessment
Fully AI-led interview. No facilitator required. Most scalable.
A structured LLM-led interview (text or voice), 60–90 minutes, ending with a synthesised picture and an initial model draft. The closest Helix gets to self-serve. Designed for confident SME leaders who want to work through an Element independently without a human practitioner in the room.
M4
Mode 4 — Practitioner-Augmented Delivery
Human consultant uses Helix as infrastructure. For complex, high-touch engagements.
A human consultant manages the full client relationship and the change agenda, using Helix as the diagnostic framework, synthesis engine, and document generator. The AI is the infrastructure; the practitioner is the product. Used in Tier 4 (Bespoke) and transaction-preparation contexts where relationship depth is as important as framework rigour.
Service Tiers — the commercial packaging
A Service Tier is the commercial arrangement — what level of human support and platform access the client is paying for. Tiers are independent of Modes (delivery mechanisms) and independent of Levels (maturity stages). The v1.0 pilot operates at Tier 2. Tiers 1, 3, and 4 are deferred.
T1
Tier 1 — Self-Serve
Full platform access. AI-led facilitation. No human sessions.
For SMEs with a confident leader and limited budget. Full platform access for the leader, leadership team, and operators. AI-led facilitation (Mode 1). Library of templates, scans, and cadences. Quarterly email check-ins from a Helix coach. Designed to be highly scalable — minimal human time per client.
T2
Tier 2 — Facilitated ✓ Pilot
A named Helix facilitator running structured sessions. AI produces the deliverables.
For SMEs running a deliberate operating-model installation with a coach. A named Helix facilitator running 6–8 working sessions per quarter using Modes 2 and 3 in combination. In-session capture and synthesis tools. Post-session deliverables produced by the platform. The primary launch tier — the model P&G Paper Tubes is being run on.
T3
Tier 3 — Managed
Everything in Tier 2, plus the operating system runs between coaching touchpoints.
For SMEs that want the operating system run for them. Everything in Tier 2, plus automated weekly and monthly cadence rituals, KPI tracking, proactive nudges to leaders and owners of off-track items, and a quarterly portfolio review. The AI does the heavy lifting between human sessions — preparing, monitoring, alerting.
T4
Tier 4 — Bespoke
Everything in Tier 3, plus system integration, dedicated coach, board pack generation.
For larger SMEs or businesses preparing for a transaction. Everything in Tier 3, plus bespoke integration with the client's finance, CRM, and operations systems; a dedicated coach; quarterly board pack generation; and full activation of Element VII (Financial Vitality & Cash). The most hands-on commercial arrangement.
Glossary — key terms used throughout the platform
Common terms you'll encounter in the Facilitator Console, in sessions, and in delivered artefacts.
Engagement
A single client relationship managed through the platform. One engagement = one company, one facilitator, one set of Elements and Levels in scope. Everything — sessions, documents, synthesis runs, and artefacts — lives under the engagement record.
Pre-Engagement Session
The AI-guided conversation the General Manager completes before the formal engagement begins. Takes approximately 40 minutes. Covers all seven Elements at a high level. The output is used by Helix to recommend which Elements to focus on and at what depth — the Engagement Scoping Recommendation. No preparation required from the GM; it is a structured conversation, not a survey.
Engagement Scoping Recommendation
The AI-generated recommendation produced after the GM completes the pre-engagement session. Identifies the highest-impact Elements for this business, suggests the appropriate Level for each, and provides a plain-English rationale. The facilitator reviews this and either accepts it as-is or adjusts before confirming the engagement scope.
Element Instance
The record of a specific Element at a specific Level within an engagement — e.g., Element I at Level 1, or Element II at Level 2. An Element Instance tracks the full lifecycle: from pending, through sessions, synthesis, artefact generation, and final approval. An engagement typically has three to eight active Element Instances.
Artefact
A structured document generated by Helix at the end of a Mode 2 session for a specific Element Instance. Artefacts are Word (.docx) documents, built from the session output and all prior intelligence — internal synthesis, external scan, and leader responses. They are usable immediately: the business can act on them without further editing, though the facilitator reviews and approves before delivery.
Synthesis
An AI step (Opus model) that processes one or more inputs — leader session transcripts, internal documents, external scan — and produces a structured analytical output. Synthesis is a consultant-only step: the output is visible to the facilitator, not to respondents. The synthesis becomes the foundation for the Mode 2 facilitated session.
Facilitator
The human practitioner who manages the engagement — typically Stephen. The facilitator sets up the engagement, reviews AI outputs, runs Mode 2 sessions, and approves artefacts before delivery. The platform is designed around the facilitator's workflow: the AI does the analytical work; the facilitator applies judgement and manages the relationship.
General Manager (GM)
The senior leader of the client business — the primary human contact for the engagement on the client side. The GM completes the pre-engagement scoping session, reviews and approves the internal synthesis and external scan, and is the ultimate decision-maker on the engagement scope and delivered artefacts.
Internal Scan / Internal Synthesis
An AI-generated structured summary of the client's own business, produced by reading and synthesising the documents the client uploads (financials, SKU/product lists, org chart, sales data, strategy papers). The internal synthesis is cross-referenced against the GM scoping conversation to give context to the numbers. The GM reviews and approves the synthesis before it is used in the external scan.
External Scan
An AI-generated analysis of the client's market environment — competitive landscape, industry trends, technology disruption, and regulatory context. There are two passes: a first-pass scan (run by the facilitator before the GM meeting, based on sector and company size) and a deeper scan (run after the internal synthesis is approved, informed by what the internal documents reveal about this specific business's strategic position).
Document Intelligence Pipeline
The sequence of steps between scope sign-off and the start of leader sessions: internal document checklist generation → client uploads documents → internal synthesis → client approval → external scan scoping frame → deeper external scan → client approval. This pipeline builds the intelligence base that makes every subsequent step — Mode 3 prompts, Mode 2 facilitation, artefact generation — specific to this business rather than generic.
Facilitator Console
The web interface used by the facilitator to manage engagements. Provides access to: engagement setup and scope management, the document intelligence pipeline, Mode 3 session links for respondents, synthesis reviews, Mode 2 session running, artefact generation and approval, and the cost telemetry dashboard.
Working Document
A running scratchpad maintained by the facilitator during a Mode 2 session. Auto-saved continuously. AI-generated draft content can be appended to it in real time. The working document is fed into the post-session synthesis (Opus), providing additional context alongside the captured session transcript. Survives session close and reopen.
Banned Terms
A list of proprietary terms from competing frameworks (e.g., Traction/EOS, Scaling Up, and others) that must never appear in Helix-generated content. The banned-terms scanner runs automatically on every AI output and on every commit. Any high-severity finding blocks delivery of the output. This protects the Helix brand and avoids IP exposure.