Assessment Definitions
In today's complex business landscape, even the most experienced CEOs and owners can miss hidden opportunities or potential roadblocks. Use the below descriptions to further expand on the items from the assessment.
CEO/Board Level Governance
Alignment of Company Goals Top Down/Accountability
Each employee in the company knows the company's strategic direction and understands how their department and individual goals are aligned.
Board Governance Practices, if Applicable
The Board understands its various roles in protecting ownerships' interest and manages its responsibilities.
Organizational Structure / Strength of Team
The right people are in the right spots and there are no significant gaps or weaknesses that could impede goal achievement or create meaningful risks.
Scorecards / KPIs / Performance Measurement
Ownership and Leadership has a passion for setting targets and actively managing performance. All team members are regularlly updated and know where the company stands toward achieving its goals.
Execution
The company has and uses the tools necessary to execut its goals and initiatives. It holds people accoutable for shortfalls. Customer deliveries are timely. Projects are completed on time and are within budget.
Viability - Sufficient Liquidity
Does the company have sufficient liquidity to operate or is there a frequent need to modify plans due to cash timing?
Strategic Focus
Mission/Vision/Values
Does the company have published values? Does the company walk the talk? Does the company have a published inspirational mission statement? Are team members knowledgeable about the company's long term vision?
Strategic Plan/Business Plan - Multi-Year
Does everyone in the company know the goals for the next several years? Are these goals regularly reviewed/updated as appropriate?
Operating Plan - 1 Year (Goals/Initiatives)
Is there alignment between the company's operating plan initiatives and the business plan goals? Is there alignment between day-to-day activities and achievement of the operating plan goals?
Benchmarking vs. Industry
Does the company know how its performance stands against the industry? Does leadership know what percentile it is in - against both financial and non-financial metrics? Are improvement plans in place, to address weaknesses?
New Products/Services Strategies
Do the company's growth strategies fully-leverage new product [and/or new service] strategies? Has the company been successful in launching new products/services and gaining meaningful market share?
New Market Strategies
Do the company's growth strategies fully-leverage taking its current products/services into new markets (e.g. industry, geographic)? Has the company been successful in gaining meaningful market share in new markets?
Finance
Working Capital Management / Financial Leverage
Does the company effectively manage its working capital? Are receivables and payables at optimal levels? Are cash and debt at appropriate levels? Does inventory turn efficiently, or are there weak spots unnecessarily tying up investment?
Customer Pricing Management
Some companies do not update pricing regularly. Do you more than recover material and labor increases every year (or relevant period)? Does the company actively manage its price positions vs. competitors? Has the company recently completed a comprehensive review of its pricing and pricing processes?
Customer/Distribution Channel Profitability
Does the company know which customers are profitable which are not ?
Product/Service Line Profitability
Does the company know which product lines and/or service lines are profitable and which are not?
Financial Reporting/Forecasting w/Accuracy
Are the company's financial reports accurate and on-time? Does it take more than 5 business days to close the books? Does the MD&A offer insightful explanations for variances that drive the business results.
Scenario Planning
Does the company understand the risks and opportunities that might arise from the market or other factors? Especially downturn scenarios... Are contingency plans in place?
Risk Management
Does the company have risk management plans in place? Examples: product liability, catastrophic insurance coverage, cybersecurity, disaster planning, safety practices/training, currency fluctuations, etc.
Human Resources
Culture/Morale
Is there a regular morale survey? Are the results published? If appropriate, are improvement plans in place and communicated?
Effective 360 Communication
Does leadership hold regular company-wide meetings? Is communication open and transparent? Do the leaders trust the employees (and vis versa)? Are rumors/water cooler talk very rare?
Performance Reviews
Does everyone receive regular, formal, feedback about their performance? Is there an active process/system to track it? Do people feel the process is sufficient, frequent enough and fair?
Staff Experience/Skill (Critical Gaps)
Does the team currently have all the experience and skills necessary to achieve its goals?
Compensation Models
Is the team competitively compensated?
Health Care Cost Management
Are health care costs managed well? Is the company's cost in-line with relevant competitive benchmarks?
Information Technology
CyberSecurity
Are team members who use the company email and/or online systems trained in Cybersecurity? Has the company recently hired a qualified 3rd party cyber-risk expert to assess/address risks?
Level of IT Investment/Automation
Does the company have effective systems for Financial Reporting, ERP/MRP, Quality Management, CRM, Logistics, Pricing, Internet Data Scraping, EDI Billing, Payroll, HR and other systems?
Understanding of AI and impact on business
Has the company researched recent advances in Artificial Intelligence and evaluated potential applications and/or risks for the business?
Sales/Marketing
Sales/Marketing Org Structure
Is the sales team effectively organized and does each member understand their role(s) and have the skills to achieve the targets that have been set?
Sales Pipeline Mgt. and Conversion Rate
Does the company have an effective process to maintain, monitor and convert its sales pipelines?
Active CRM/Customer Management
Does the company properly leverage customer relationship management capabilities?
Sales Team Compensation Model
Is the sales team's compensation model aligned with growth targets? Are team members properly incentivised to hit their respective goals?
Marketing Effectiveness (Digital, Trade Shows, etc.)
Is the company's marketing plan effective? Does management know if there is a return on the dollars spent in these areas?
Operations
Operational Efficiency/Lean Practices
Are the company's processes (including business processes) lean?
Safety/Workers’ Compensation
Does the company minimize risk of injury to its employees?
Inventory Optimization
Does the company have too much inventory? Does it measure inventory turns? Are there frequent stock-outs of certain products/skus?
Quality Control
How do the company's customers rate the company? Are issues corrected quickly and permanently? Have there been any quality, service, or delivery issues recently?
