Enterprise Anatomy: It Always Existed, We Just Had to Observe It
- Sunil Dutt Jha
- Feb 11
- 4 min read
For centuries, human anatomy always existed—every person had a singular, interconnected system of organs and functions. But until someone observed enough human bodies, dissected them, and documented the structure, there was no formal understanding of how the body functions as a whole.
In 1820, the world's population ard 1.04 billion people.
and medical practitioners thought and operated as if their were 1.04 different version of human anatomies
Imagine a doctor trained in 1820. Despite his rigorous education, he learned only about
nerves and intestines. Confident and certified, he started treating patients, approaching every illness and every surgery using only his limited knowledge.
Every patient, every disease, was addressed solely through the lens of nerves and intestines.
As you might guess, diseases rarely got cured, problems persisted, and health didn't significantly improve.
Back then, each doctor operated under the flawed assumption that every individual had their own unique anatomy, interpreted differently depending on who was treating the patient.
There was no consensus—organs differed, functions varied, confusion reigned. No standardization meant no real progress.
Life expectancy in the U.S. in 1904 was around 47 years, reflecting this lack of standardized anatomical understanding.
Then came 1858—Henry Gray published 'Gray’s Anatomy,' a groundbreaking work proving something profoundly simple yet revolutionary: every human being, no matter their age, geography, or background, shares one unified anatomy.
A single interconnected system, universally applicable, fully integrated, leaving nothing ignored or misunderstood. This discovery standardized medicine, treatments improved dramatically, and average lifespans increased significantly.
Fast forward to 2025. The world’s population will reach approximately 8.2 billion. Guess what? There’s still just one human anatomy. Nobody debates this now—it's obvious.
But consider enterprises. By 2025, there might be over 100 million businesses worldwide, each assuming they have their unique structure, requiring individualized, disconnected frameworks. Isn’t that just like medicine in 1820?
The truth is, just as humans share one anatomy, enterprises too have one universal anatomy. A single, integrated, interconnected system—one enterprise anatomy—valid today, and equally true 100 years from now.
One Enterprise. One Anatomy.
Just as human anatomy has always existed—yet most people live unaware of its intricate details and complex interconnectedness—every enterprise inherently possesses its own anatomy, but most remain unaware of its existence, intricacies, and vital interconnections.
This analogy clearly emphasizes that:
1.Enterprise Anatomy isn't something you invent—it's always existed.
2.Most companies don't even realize their anatomy exists, let alone its details.
3.Ignoring anatomy doesn't mean it's absent—just like human anatomy, it continues operating in the background, influencing every outcome.
The same is true for Enterprise Anatomy.
Every enterprise has one and only one anatomy—it has always existed.
But like early medicine, Enterprise Architecture has long been misunderstood because most practitioners:
Focus on external symptoms (IT systems, tools, and governance) rather than underlying enterprise structure.
See organizations as a collection of independent functions rather than an interconnected system.
Mistake execution challenges as implementation gaps rather than structural design flaws.
ICMG’s discovery of Enterprise Anatomy did not happen overnight.
It took:
Years of deep observation across industries—examining how enterprises function, fail, and evolve.
Analyzing thousands of real-world enterprises—not just theoretical models, but operational structures.
Finding consistent, repeatable patterns across all industries—just as doctors did when formalizing human anatomy.
The Discovery: One and Only One Enterprise Anatomy
Enterprise Organ Systems (departments / functions)
Every enterprise, no matter the industry, operates with the same fundamental structure—just like every human body has the same organ systems.
There are 15 key enterprise functions
(the organ systems of an enterprise).
Enterprise Elements to Enterprise Anatomy
Each function operates across six interconnected layers:
Strategy of15 key enterprise functions – What is the enterprise trying to achieve?
Processes of 15 key enterprise functions – How does the enterprise execute its strategy?
Systems of15 key enterprise functions – What logical structures support execution?
Components of15 key enterprise functions – What specifications define the system’s structure?
Implementation of15 key enterprise functions– How are these components configured and deployed?
Operations of15 key enterprise functions – How does everything function together in real time?
These layers (perspective) are interconnected and persistently define execution.
What this means:
1. If strategy is missing, the enterprise lacks direction.
2. If process is missing, execution is inefficient.
3. If systems and components are misaligned, strategy execution fails.
When all six layers (perspectives) are interlinked across all 15 enterprise functions, execution is structured, scalable, and adaptable.
The Problem: Most Organizations Haven’t “Dissected” Their Own Enterprise
Just as early medicine misunderstood how the body worked, most enterprises misunderstand their own structure.
They:
-See only IT tools, governance, and projects—but not the full Enterprise Anatomy.
-Look at execution as something that is constantly changing—rather than something that must be architected persistently.
-Operate functions independently rather than as an interconnected enterprise system.
Enterprise Anatomy is NOT a theory—it is an observation-based reality that governs how every enterprise functions.
Are You Observing or Assuming?
Have you defined your enterprise at all six layers (perspectives), across all 15 functions?
Are you structuring execution based on persistent fundamentals—or reacting to market shifts?
Have you observed enough enterprises to confirm that Enterprise Anatomy applies universally?
Just like human anatomy had to be discovered, Enterprise Anatomy is the reality that every enterprise must now recognize.
