Business Backbone Assessment

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

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

Client / market results are weaker than expected (sales not converting well, retention issues)

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

Other

Why are these 3 the most frustrating for you right now? (Optional. If you write the optional answers, it helps us provide more detailed feedback for you)

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 and leadership team share the same view of success 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 delegation between the CEO and senior leaders is mostly based on agreements about expected outcomes and consequences (rather than step-by-step instructions)?

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

Speed
How confident are you that your leadership team makes and implements key decisions fast enough to keep pace with the market?

Time use

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

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

What % goes into business performance analysis & development? (reviewing performance, root-cause analysis, customer/employee interviews, researching market & tech).

CEO visibility & bottlenecks

How confident are you that customers experience the CEO live often enough to be drawn in by his/her energy and message?

How confident are you that your whole team experiences the CEO live often enough, in ways that inspire and energize them?

How confident are you that direct reports get timely access to the CEO for advice and decisions, so execution doesn’t slow down?

Processes
How confident are you that you have a clear, up-to-date view of all company processes - incl. process owners & expected outcomes?

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 is clear on expected behaviors - what’s valued, what’s acceptable, what’s not tolerated?

Team

CEO’s connection
How much do you personally connect with and care about your company’s definition of success?

The team’s connection
What % of your leadership team do you believe deeply connects with and cares for your company’s definition of winning/success?

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

The team’s ability to execute
How confident are you that your team has the capabilities and mindset to successfully execute the strategy and reach your 2-3 year goals?

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

Business Backbone Assessment

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

Stage and Challenges

How would you describe the stage you’re in?

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

Why are these 3 the most frustrating for you right now? (Optional. If you write the optional answers, it helps us provide more detailed feedback for you)

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 and leadership team share the same view of success 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 delegation between the CEO and senior leaders is mostly based on agreements about expected outcomes and consequences (rather than step-by-step instructions)?

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

SpeedHow confident are you that your leadership team makes and implements key decisions fast enough to keep pace with the market?

Time use

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

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

What % goes into business performance analysis & development? (reviewing performance, root-cause analysis, customer/employee interviews, researching market & tech).

CEO visibility & bottlenecks

How confident are you that customers experience the CEO live often enough to be drawn in by his/her energy and message?

How confident are you that your whole team experiences the CEO live often enough, in ways that inspire and energize them?

How confident are you that direct reports get timely access to the CEO for advice and decisions, so execution doesn’t slow down?

ProcessesHow confident are you that you have a clear, up-to-date view of all company processes - incl. process owners & expected outcomes?

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

Execution culture How confident are you that your team is clear on expected behaviors - what’s valued, what’s acceptable, what’s not tolerated?

Team

CEO’s connectionHow much do you personally connect with and care about your company’s definition of success?

The team’s connectionWhat % of your leadership team do you believe deeply connects with and cares for your company’s definition of winning/success?

The leadership team’s ability to create strategyHow confident are you that your leadership team has the capabilities and mindset to co-create a winning strategy with you, given today’s market?

The team’s ability to executeHow confident are you that your team has the capabilities and mindset to successfully execute the strategy and reach your 2-3 year goals?

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

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

CollaborationHow 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?

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

Energy How confident are you that your current energy level is enough to perform at your best as the CEO?

Your question (optional)

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