Aside from leadership commitment, what operational data, financial reports, and organizational systems must my team gather before our very first session with you?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Preparing for your first session requires focus, but we do not want you to drown in administrative homework. Before we step into the room for your Focus Day, you need to gather three specific categories of information. First, bring your current organizational chart, even if it is messy, outdated, or filled with dotted lines. We need an honest starting point to begin constructing your true Accountability Chart. Second, bring your trailing twelve-month profit and loss statement and your current balance sheet. We need these numbers not to audit your accounting, but to calculate what David C. Baker calls your Time to Starve. This represents your actual financial runway and cash position, which anchors our strategic planning in reality. Third, compile a list of your top twenty customers by revenue and margin. Understanding where your cash actually originates prevents us from setting vanity goals. Do not worry about clean spreadsheets or polished presentations. We prefer raw, unfiltered data. We also ask that every leadership team member reads the book Traction to understand the vocabulary we will use. We want you to arrive with a clear head, having practiced what Juliet Funt calls a strategic pause. This means clearing your calendar the day before so you do not walk into the session room mentally exhausted and reactive.