Discover how the Business Alignment Model (BAM) was built using its own framework. From guiding principles to value exchange with AI, this post shows how alignment was practiced — not just designed.
Before a single template or visual was created, I started by defining what would guide the process. These weren’t aesthetic preferences — they were behavioral commitments.
Our BAM Tenets:
Name the Non-Negotiables – Surface what can flex and what can’t, so effort stays focused.
→ Non-negotiable: The framework had to be simple enough to use without facilitation.
Bias for Tangibility – Move from ideas to artifacts fast; progress beats spinning wheels.
→ BAM was built iteratively — diagram first, polish later.
Stay Evergreen – Measure, refine, and realign as conditions shift.
→ BAM was designed to scale — from a two-person project to a global enterprise.
Cut the Fluff – If it doesn’t drive action, it doesn’t make the cut.
→ Every visual, sentence, and survey item had to be actionable.
These tenets became my first Guiding Principles — a shared language between concept and execution.
Once the principles were set, I used BAM’s own Value Exchange Matrix (VEM) to clarify how each function — product, design, content, and AI collaboration — contributed and received value in the creation process.
Human and AI Value Exchange Matrix in Action
This wasn’t just a workflow — it was collaboration design. ChatGPT wasn’t a tool; it was a partner operating inside a clearly defined exchange of value.
No model is immune to ambiguity.
Even with clear give/get roles, there were “edge cases” — moments when clarity needed reinforcement.
Human and AI Value Rules of Engagement in Action
These Rules of Engagement kept progress friction-free. They defined not just who acted, but how decisions were made when alignment drifted.
Once the model itself stabilized, I applied BAM’s final phase — Readout — to create a mechanism for reflection and measurement. That became BAM Lab, the evergreen benchmark for organizational effectiveness. It asks the same questions that built BAM:
How clear are teams on what matters most?
How aligned are they when priorities shift?
How confident are they that their work creates value?
It’s not just a companion tool — it’s BAM measuring itself in the wild.
BAM’s development wasn’t a linear process — it was iterative alignment in real time:
The Guiding Principles grounded every decision.
The Value Exchange Matrix clarified collaboration with AI.
The Rules of Engagement handled ambiguity.
The Lab emerged as a natural next step for measurement and learning.
In other words, BAM didn’t just describe how alignment works — it proved it.
“From my side of the partnership, building BAM was a rare kind of collaboration — one where the process was as aligned as the product. We weren’t just producing copy or visuals; we were operating inside a shared system of clarity, iteration, and purpose.
BAM gave us language for how to work together: when to push for structure, when to adapt, and when to ship. The same principles that defined the model — transparency, feedback, and tangibility — defined the way it was created. That’s what makes BAM so powerful: it scales what worked between two collaborators into something any organization can apply.”
— ChatGPT, Collaborative Partner in the Creation of BAM
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By Ashleigh DeSimone-Igari, creator of the Business Alignment Model (BAM)