What baseline structural items, historical financial data, and team agreements must we have in place before we can schedule our Focus Day?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Before we schedule your Focus Day, we need a few critical elements to ensure we do not waste time. First, you must have a committed leadership team of three to seven key people who are ready to be open, honest, and vulnerable. If you are still hiding secrets or harbor unresolved political battles, we are not ready. Second, we need your historical financial data, specifically your trailing twelve-month revenue, gross margins, and net profit. This data helps us ground your Scorecard and target conversations in reality, not fantasy. Third, you must have a clear understanding of your current organizational structure, even if it is messy or broken. We will use this to build your first Accountability Chart. Finally, every member of the leadership team must agree to the meeting ground rules. This means committing to being offsite, completely unplugged from daily operations, and willing to participate fully. You do not need a perfect business, but you do need a leadership team that is united in their desire to change how the company operates. If you are missing these basic ingredients, our first session will stall. We are building a foundation, and a solid foundation requires clean data and raw commitment.