Assessment before direction.
WHY IT COMES FIRST
Plans built on a wrong picture of the present fail predictably.
WHAT TO ESTABLISH ABOUT PERFORMANCE
Revenue and its trend Margin, by product and customer Which customers are profitable Which are growing and which are leaving Cash position and cycle
WHAT TO ESTABLISH ABOUT CUSTOMERS
Who they actually are Why they buy What they would do if you closed Which segments are growing
WHY THAT THIRD QUESTION
The answer reveals whether you are genuinely valuable or merely convenient.
WHAT TO ESTABLISH ABOUT COMPETITION
Who else serves these customers What they do well Where they are weak What is changing
WHAT TO ESTABLISH ABOUT YOURSELF
What you do better than alternatives What you do worse What depends entirely on you What you cannot currently do
WHY THAT THIRD POINT
It defines the ceiling on growth.
WHAT TO BE HONEST ABOUT
Weaknesses.
WHY
Strategy built around imagined strengths fails.
HOW TO GET AN HONEST VIEW
Ask customers, staff and people who did not buy.
WHAT TO ASK PEOPLE WHO DID NOT BUY
Why not.
WHY THAT QUESTION
It is the most useful information available and almost nobody collects it.
WHAT TO WRITE DOWN
The picture, plainly, including the uncomfortable parts.
