Under the introduction of the elements of the Value Driver Model© we mention that an effect of giving BPM the prominent role in the model was that the Business Spheres “Corporate Governance” and “Capacity Management” were driven apart. In the Value Driver Model© the value driver field Balancing is instead providing an alternative tactical “bridge” connecting the strategic and the operational level. The difference may not seem obvious to everyone but the difference is very important, as “Balancing” is not an organisational bridge but a “value bridge”.

A value perspective is very different from an organisational perspective. The value-based approach means that the Balancing field is functioning through value chains, and thus through business processes. Her the crucial understanding is, that we are talking business processes with a value starting point, and not an organisational or a production specific. This means cross-functional business processes, the very essential idea of BPM.

However, the value driver field “Balancing” is not just the top-down bridge; it is also, as illustrated by the shared area between the business spheres “Core Business” and “Business Process Management”, the representation of all shared value chains in the company wall to wall. Yet again, we are talking about a shared value driver field, not identical business spheres. “Core Business” represents the reign of true production. BPM is not running the business but balancing the business. 

Often it is stressed, and with reason, that functional “silos” pose a problem in a company. However, this is also a conclusion that needs moderation, as it is a message that puts the core business here (represented by the business sphere “Core Business”) in a defensive position when BPM is under discussion. The functionally specialized business units (silos) should be recognized as the professional pillars of the company and the related professional and social identity is only a quality. The message of BPM should therefore not simply be to break down silos – but to “handle imbalances” within the company.