Business Backbone Assessment

Uncover your biggest opportunities for growth - by answering this 10-15 minute self-assessment.

Skip the questions that are not relevant for your company / stage.

1. You’ll spot blind spots immediately - most CEOs get insights already while filling it in. 2. If your company is above €250k ARR: you can get personalized written feedback.

3. If your company is above €500k ARR: you can also get a free 40-minute mentor session.

Want to learn more? Read about the Business Backbone Assessment here.

Stage and Challenges

How would you describe the stage you’re in?

Things are going well - we’re scaling steadily

Things are mostly fine - but some challenges need attention

Growth feels stuck - current way of working won’t get us to goals

It’s a demanding period - many challenges drain focus and energy

We’re in survival mode - the future of the business feels at risk

Other

Challenges - which of these do you experience right now? Select up to 3 that create the biggest headaches or stress for you:

Rapid market/tech shifts are creating unpredictability - and already affecting revenue

Revenue or profit behind targets or even falling

Runway dangerously short

Shareholder expectations are too high

Some key people aren’t delivering at the level we need - slowing progress

Difficulty attracting and retaining the right talent

Leadership team’s misalignment or conflicts drag down company progress

We lose opportunities because decisions and execution are too slow

My own energy is inconsistent - I can’t sustain high-level performance

Other

Now, let’s review the 3 areas affecting business performance - Strategy, Execution, and Team.

Strategy

Alignment on the “WHAT” (Success definition) How confident are you that your leadership team (CEO + direct reports) is aligned on what success looks like for your company in the next 2-3 years?

Shareholder alignment
How confident are you that your shareholders/board share the same definition of success as your leadership team for the next 2–3 years?

Alignment on the “HOW” How confident are you that your leadership team is clear and aligned on HOW TO reach your defined success in the next 2–3 years?

Quality & timeliness of the plan How confident are you that your plan for reaching this success is well thought-through, up to date, and grounded in current market reality?

Tracking progress How confident are you that your scorecard shows both progress toward success and what’s holding it back?

Execution

Delegation How confident are you that the CEO delegates based on outcomes and accountability rather than detailed instructions?

Decision-making How confident are you that your leadership team can make timely, high-quality decisions independently, without relying on the CEO?

Time use

What % of your time goes into activities you love doing?

What % goes into ad-hoc problem-solving (vs. planned work)?

What % goes into analyzing and improving business performance? (metrics, root causes, interviews, market/tech research)

CEO visibility & bottlenecks

How confident are you that customers experience the CEO's presence often enough to be inspired by his/her energy and message?

How confident are you that your team sees and interacts with the CEO enough to stay inspired and energized?

How confident are you that direct reports can access the CEO quickly enough for decisions and advice without slowing down execution?

Processes
How confident are you that there's a current, accessible overview of all processes - who owns them and what results they should deliver?

Progress reviews
How regularly does your leadership team review progress together? (select all that apply)

Progress reviews How regularly does your leadership team review progress together? (select all that apply)

Weekly

Monthly

Quarterly

Semi-annually

Annually

Irregularly / Ad-hoc

Never

Execution culture
How confident are you that your team clearly understands expected behaviors - what's valued, what's acceptable, and what's not tolerated?

Team

Personal resonance
How personally connected are you to your company's definition of success - does it truly matter to you and energize you?

Team’s resonance
What % of your leadership team do you believe truly cares about and is energized by the company's definition of success?

The leadership team’s ability
How confident are you that your leadership team has the capabilities and mindset to both co-create winning strategy with you AND execute it successfully, given today's market?

Hiring and retention
How confident are you that you can hire and retain the right key people needed to reach your 2–3 year goals?

Openness
How confident are you that your team feels safe to speak up, challenge ideas, and admit mistakes without fear of negative consequences?

Collaboration
How confident are you that all team members contribute positively to the team’s collaboration and relationships?

Cofounders
If you have cofounders, how confident are you in the quality of the relationship and collaboration among all cofounders?

Which 1-3 points best describe you - what do you love and are great at doing most of the time?

Shaping and communicating the vision and big picture

Engaging with customers, partners, and investors

Spotting market shifts and new opportunities

Innovating - creating new things and improving existing ones

Leading and inspiring the team

Running day-to-day operations and execution with the team

Control - ensuring execution and results follow the plan

Designing order, systems, and processes

Analyzing numbers, KPIs, and financials to guide decisions

Shaping and evolving products and great customer experience

Building and improving technology and engineering systems

Applying digital tools and AI across the company to boost performance

Coaching, mentoring, and developing people

Our leadership team (CEO and direct reports) is missing people who love and are great at… (select all that apply)

Shaping and communicating the vision and big picture

Engaging with customers, partners, and investors

Spotting market shifts and new opportunities

Innovating - creating new things and improving existing ones

Leading and inspiring the team

Running day-to-day operations and execution with the team

Control - ensuring execution and results follow the plan

Designing order, systems, and processes

Analyzing numbers, KPIs, and financials to guide decisions

Shaping and evolving products and great customer experience

Building and improving technology and engineering systems

Applying digital tools and AI across the company to boost performance

Coaching, mentoring, and developing people

Energy
How confident are you that you have the energy to consistently perform at your best in your role?

Feedback for you

If your company is eligible and you'd like to receive our written feedback, please, fill in all the fields below.

What’s one question you’d love our team to answer for you - something that would be most useful right now?

Snapshot

Describe your industry/sector in 1 sentence:

Annual revenue, eur

Team size, full-time employees

Number of people directly reporting to you:

Your full name

Your role

Your business e-mail address

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Here's what happens after you click "Submit"

1. You’ll get a copy of your answers by email.

2. If your revenue is above €250k, and you filled in the Snapshot information, you’ll receive tailored written feedback with practical growth recommendations within 3 business days.

3. If your revenue is above €500k, and you filled in the Snapshot information, you’ll also get a free 40-minute consulting session with a Cocoon mentor. Together, we’ll review your results in depth and map tailored next steps. The scheduling link will be sent along with your written recommendations.