Apprenticeship Plan

0: We don't currently have this. Managers work in isolation from other team members. New team members learn how to execute their responsibilities on their own by trial and error. No apprenticeship culture exists in the business and everyone fends for themselves.

4: Every manager is actively coaching subordinate team members on how to execute their responsibilities. New team members are systematically apprenticed by managers and a strong apprenticeship culture exists in the business.

Operations & Training Manual

0: We don't currently have this. An Operations and Training manual is non-existent or hopelessly out of date. Team members do not consult with written documentation for information on how to execute their responsibilities.

4: The Operations and Training manual is current and revised on a quarterly basis at minimum. Team members refer to the manual regularly for information on how to execute their responsibilities.

Time Management Plan

0: We don't currently have this. Shareholders and managers operate on a reactive, fire-fighting basis each day, focusing on completing urgently important tasks firsts and working on high importance items whenever they can fit them in.

4: Every shareholder and manager operates according to a default calendar and prioritizes their activities based on high importance items first and urgently important items second.

Comprehensive Exit Strategy

0: We don't currently have this. Shareholders have no objective, market-based valuation of the business and managers are not measuring and managing the company based on shareholder value. Business is not being marketed to qualified industry buyers.

4: Shareholders are monitoring the value of the business on a quarterly basis at minimum, hold managers accountable for increasing shareholder value, and are entertaining offers from qualified industry buyers to purchase the business.

Employee Acquisition Plan

0: We don't currently have this. No one is proactively managing multiple recruitment strategies. The flow of qualified candidates applying for open positions is sporadic at best and the candidates generated are usually under qualified.

4: A specific manager is managing and constantly improving the effectiveness of at least 10 recruiting strategies. The recruiting pipeline always has more then enough qualified candidates for open positions.

Hiring Process

0: We don't currently have this. Candidates are not screened using either a psychometric profiling system or other data-based and skills-based, test-drive process. Post-hire performance data is not measured and used to monitor the effectiveness of the hiring model and the mis-hire rate is very high.

4: All candidates are screened using a psychometric profiling system or other data-based and skills-based, test-drive process to screen out low performers before they join the team. Post-hire performance data is collected and used to refine the hiring model.

Key Performance Indicator System

0: We don't currently have this. You have not identified key performance indicators and no metrics are being measured, reported, or managed with any regularity other than those deriving from basic financial statements. Team members have only a general sense for how their individual performance is making or breaking the business.

4: You have identified the 5 to 10 key numbers indicating the performance of the business and are systematically measuring and reporting them on a daily or weekly basis. Every team member knows which numbers are being used to measure their individual performance.

Lean Program

0: We don't currently have this. Team members have no commitment to eliminating wasted time, movement, and materials to compete more effectively. Efficiency is not measure, managed, or rewarded.

4: All team members are rallied around a commitment to eliminate wasted time, movement, and materials to continually improve efficiency, cut production costs, and compete more effectively.

Performance Incentive Plan

0: We don't currently have this. Employees leave their passion, motivation, and creativity at home each day and contribute the minimum required effort to keep their jobs. Employees and managers expect base pay and benefits with nothing at-risk and no incentive to care.

4: Every team members has an incentive package that motivates them to work as hard as shareholders and managers. A blend of base and at-risk pay is used to incentivize commitment, and creativity and team members care about the business as if it was their own.

Strategic Plan

0: We don't currently have this. A written strategic plan has not been developed, so the vision, mission, values, and objectives of the team are poorly defined and constantly changing. Strategic direction and decisions are made by the shareholders without input from the rest of the team.

4: A written strategic plan clarifying the vision, mission, and values of the team, annual and quarterly financial targets, and strategic objectives is monitored weekly by managers and updated with input from all team members on a minimum of a quarterly basis.

Leadership Development Plan

0: We don't currently have this. No plan exists to identify and intentionally develop emerging managers and leaders as high value human capital. Long-term commitment is actually disincentivized by a turf-protecting culture and a win-lose approach to compensation.

4: A plan to identify and intentionally develop emerging managers and leaders is carefully monitored by the shareholders and executives. All key stakeholders are incentivized for long-term commitment with a profit-sharing plan and a plan for leadership succession is clearly defined.

Team Meeting Rhythm

0: We don't currently have this. There is no rhythm of regularly scheduled team meetings and the communication from shareholders and managers is inconsistent and inefficient. Off-site planning meetings are rare and decisions are communicated haphazardly throughout the organization.

4: A rhythm of regularly scheduled team meetings for goal-setting, reporting, and accountability take place on a annual, quarterly, weekly, and daily basis. Decisions made by shareholders' and upper management cascade through the organization quickly and efficiently.

Organizational Plan

0: We don't currently have this. Little thought is given to the system of work flow in the organization. No formal organizational charts or job descriptions exist. Role confusion among the team creates wasted and duplicated effort. Authority has not be clearly delineated or delegated, so work moves inefficiently through the business.

4: Managers carefully monitor the system of work flow in the organization. Organizational charts and job descriptions are regularly updated to prevent waste and duplicated effort. Everyone on the team knows their role and sphere of authority and work moves smoothly through the business.

Team Building System

0: We don't currently have this. You pay little to no attention to strengths when assigning roles. Your team is plagued by lack of trust, unhealthy conflict, low commitment, and poor execution, yielding unacceptable business results.

4: You are using a reliable system for placing your team members in roles best suited to their strengths and building them into a powerfully cohesive and committed team that delivers business results.

Current Business Plan

0: We don't currently have this. Managers have no business plan to forecast cash-flow, determine working capital requirements, and calculate the company's ability to pay back debt and make a profit. Planning is done only in reaction to the immediate needs of the business.

4: Managers monitor and update the business plan on a quarterly basis to forecast cash-flow, determine working capital requirements, and calculate the company's ability to pay back debt and make a profit for shareholders and investors.

Break-Even Plan

0: We don't currently have this. Managers have allowed fixed costs to bloat and sales to decline to the point where revenue is below break-even, essential costs are not being covered, and debt is increasing continuously.

4: The managers have implemented a plan to cut fixed costs enough to stop the bleeding and quickly spike sales to above break-even so owner drawings and fixed costs are covered, and debt is being repaid.

Cash Gap Plan

0: We don't currently have this. Managers have allowed receivables to grow unchecked, vendors have tightened their terms, and price pressures and inefficiencies have cut gross margins. Cash flow problems are increasing indebtedness and investments are being postponed.

4: Managers carefully monitor their plan to improve collections, lengthen terms with vendors, increase prices as aggressively as possible, and eliminate operational inefficiencies. Cash is being used to invest in growth and repay high interest debt.

USP & Guarantee

0: We don't currently have this. No Unique Selling Proposition and a Guarantee exists in the minds of shareholders, managers, team members, clients/customers, and prospects. The only point of differentiation is price so the business has no significant value proposition. An unclear and confusing message is communicated by the team.

4: Shareholders and managers have identified and persuasively articulated a Unique Selling Proposition and a Guarantee to compel ideal clients/customers to pay a higher price instead of dong business with competitors. The entire team is aggressively communicating this message to the targeted market.

Sales Management System

0: We don't currently have this. Those involved in sales have no formal or tested sales process and their activity is not coordinated, measured or managed on a regular basis. There is a large gap between high and low performers. Sales force compensation is structured around salaries with little emphasis on delivering results.

4: The sales force has a well tested, carefully scripted sales process and their activity is coordinated with an appropriate customer relationship management software solution which measures and reports conversion rates and results on a weekly basis. Sales force compensation is based on actual sales results.

Tactical Marketing Plan

0: We don't currently have this. No marketing plan exists to produce a predictable number of leads, improve conversion rates, increase the average revenue per transaction, and increase the transactions per customer. The results of spending on marketing and advertising is unmeasured and unmanaged. Managers are doing virtually nothing to proactively drive revenue growth.

4: Managers have developed an aggressive, measurable marketing plan to produce a predictable number of leads, improve conversion rates, increase the average revenue per transaction, and increase the transactions per customer so profits increase exponentially. Results of the marketing plan are being measure and improved on a weekly basis.

Revenue and Profit Budget

0: We don't currently have this. The managers have no month by month budget to forecast revenue and expenses and deliver desired earnings and owner drawings. Management and financial decisions are made based on bank account balances and sales estimates.

4: The managers have developed a month by month budget to forecast the amount of revenue required to deliver desire EBITDA net of owner drawings. Management and financial decisions are made in consultation with weekly budget versus actual reports.

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