Readiness scorecard | BlueTop Strategy Partners

Part 1 of 4

How much runs through you

Change adds decisions. These two questions show whether the work can move without waiting on you.

01 / 10If you were unreachable for 30 days starting tomorrow, which of these would still happen well without you?

Check all that apply.

A non-standard price or quote gets approvedAn unhappy top-10 customer is handled and keptA hire or a firing is decidedA spending decision over $20,000 is madeLast month's numbers are reviewed and someone acts on themA disagreement between two departments is settledNone of these would happen without me

02 / 10Who, other than you, could lead a 12-month change across the company, and how have they shown it?

No one. Big projects end up on my desk.Our leaders run their own departments well, but none has led work across departments.One leader probably could, but hasn't been tested on something this size.At least one leader has taken a cross-department project from start to finish in the last two years.

Part 2 of 4

How clearly you see the business

Targets are only as good as the numbers under them, and the habit of acting when they miss.

03 / 10How soon after a month closes can you see gross margin by product line and by your 20 largest customers?

We can't split margin that way.Only at year-end, when the accountant finishes.Within a month, by product line but not by customer.Within 10 business days, both ways.

04 / 10Ask two people to pull last quarter's sales to your largest customer. Would they get the same number?

Probably not, and it would take each of them days.Close, after some back and forth about which report is right.Yes, but only one person knows how to pull it.Yes, in minutes, from the same system.

05 / 10When a key number misses its target two months in a row, what happens next?

We don't set monthly targets for most numbers.We usually notice at quarter-end or year-end.It gets discussed, but follow-up depends on who remembers.It comes up in a standing review, someone owns the fix, and the fix has a due date.

Part 3 of 4

Room to change

Most change fails for lack of time or money, not for lack of ideas.

06 / 10If a major initiative started next month, where would the hours come from?

There's no room; we're already stretched.Nights and weekends, mostly mine.Leaders could free up about a tenth of their week by stopping some current work.We already set aside people or budget for improvement work.

07 / 10Could you fund a 12-month change effort (outside help, software, a key hire) without putting payroll at risk?

No.Only by taking on new debt or delaying other investment.Yes, if savings from early changes help pay for it.Yes, from cash flow, and we've set money aside for it.

Part 4 of 4

Something to build on

A market for something new, a track record with change and a reason to start.

08 / 10What have your best customers asked for, more than once, that you don't sell yet?

I'm not sure; we rarely talk with customers beyond orders and service.We hear ideas now and then, but nobody keeps track.We have a list of repeat requests but haven't acted on it.We've already tested a new offer with current customers in the last two years.

09 / 10Think of the last major change you tried: a new system, a new product or a reorganization. How did it end?

We haven't tried one in the last three years.It stalled or was rolled back partway.It finished, but late or over budget, and we're not sure it paid off.It finished close to plan, and we measured what it delivered.

10 / 10Why make a major change in the next 12 months, rather than later?

No pressing reason; things are fine.A general sense that we're falling behind.A clear reason, but we haven't put a number or a date on it.A specific reason with a number and a date, such as margin down four points in two years, a sale planned within three years, or a key customer at risk.

How ready is your business for what comes next?

How much runs through you

How clearly you see the business

Room to change

Something to build on

Result

Blockers

By area

Your two weakest answers

Email me my results