RACI defines who’s responsible. BAM defines how work connects. Learn how the Business Alignment Model turns accountability into measurable collaboration, why accountability isn’t the same as alignment, and how BAM helps teams close the gap.
The Problem with “Who’s Responsible?” For decades, RACI charts have been a go-to tool for defining accountability. They’re simple, structured, and clear: assigning who’s Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed. But ask anyone who’s built one: RACI tells you who owns the work, not how work actually gets done. It is not prescriptive enough to explain how teams exchange value, make trade-offs, or resolve the gray areas where ownership overlaps.
That’s where misalignment hides.
RACI Ensures Accountability. BAM Ensures Alignment. The Business Alignment Model (BAM) builds on the clarity RACI provides but extends it into the spaces between roles. Where RACI ends at responsibility, BAM begins, with shared value as the foundation.
Comparison Table: RACI vs BAM
BAM focuses on how roles give and get value, not just who performs which task. It pairs accountability with collaboration design, helping teams map what’s expected from one another and how those interactions create shared outcomes.
Inside BAM: The Value Exchange Matrix. At the heart of BAM is the Value Exchange Matrix (VEM): a simple but powerful structure that answers, “What can my function expect to give or get from another?”
For example, in a Sales ↔ Marketing relationship:
Marketing provides: ICP definition and qualified leads (inputs).
Sales provides: Customer insights and win/loss feedback (outputs).
Shared Value: Target market clarity and higher conversion efficiency.
It’s not just a workflow, it’s a living blueprint for how collaboration drives measurable outcomes.
Where RACI Stops, Rules of Engagement (ROE) Start. RACI doesn’t handle exceptions: what happens when two teams disagree on definitions, ownership, or thresholds? BAM’s Rules of Engagement (ROE) exist for those “2% scenarios” that don’t fit the model. They outline how to decide, who decides, and how to move forward without friction. The result: less finger-pointing, faster resolution, and stronger execution loops.
Using BAM with RACI. BAM doesn’t replace RACI—it makes it work better. Use RACI to define accountability, then use BAM to define alignment. Together, they turn ownership into outcomes and collaboration into measurable clarity.
Takeaway:
> RACI tells you who does the work.
> BAM clarifies how that work connects.
> When used together, they transform accountability into alignment—and alignment into performance.
In short, BAM complements RACI by turning accountability into alignment through shared value, measurable collaboration, and defined engagement rules.
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By Ashleigh DeSimone-Igari, creator of the Business Alignment Model (BAM), helping teams move from accountability to alignment.
BAM - In Action - Sales and Marketing.pdf