BUSINESS ACCELERATION CHECKLIST
INSTRUCTIONS
Review each statement on the checklist and check all habits that you feel have been implemented at your company. In some
cases, you may feel the company does not use the exact same language as the statement but meets the spirit of what the
habit is trying to accomplish. If that is the case, please check the box. If you believe your team has not applied any of the
habits in an area, please select “None of these apply.”
PRIORITY ALIGNMENT
F There are no more than 5 company annual priorities that have been aligned to our strategic priorities.
F There are no more than 5 company key initiatives ranked for the current quarter and aligned to annual priorities.
F We have identied the most critical key performance indicator, and our quarterly initiatives will drive progress towards it.
F Each Leader/Division/Function has no more than 5 quarterly priorities that align with those of the company.
F Everyone in the company is aware of our priorities, which are posted clearly, and knows how they contribute.
F We are using a theme to help align everyone to a critical priority, issue, value, or initiative.
F None of these apply.
MEETINGS
F All employees are in a daily huddle that lasts less than 15 minutes.
F Our huddles help our company pulse faster and communicate better.
F All employees participate in a weekly meeting.
F Our weekly meetings keep us focused on our top priorities, result in solving our problems and challenges, and are productive.
F We conduct a monthly meeting to keep focus on our priorities, review progress, resolve big issues, and stimulate learning.
F Quarterly and annually, the top management team meets to rene our strategy, establish goals for the quarter, and review progress.
F None of these apply.
CORE VALUES AND PURPOSE ARE “ALIVE” IN THE ORGANIZATION.
F We have clearly articulated our Core Values.
F We have clearly articulated our Core Purpose.
F Core Values and Purpose are clearly known by all employees.
F All leaders and managers refer to the Core Values and Purpose when giving praise or reprimands.
F HR processes and activities integrate with the Core Values and Purpose (hiring, orientation, appraisal, recognition, etc.).
F None of these apply.
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BUSINESS ACCELERATION CHECKLIST
ACCOUNTABILITY
F 1 or 2 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are reported on weekly for each role/person.
F Standards have been set for each KPI to evaluate positive and negative performance.
F Appropriate attention is given and action is taken when a KPI indicates negative performance.
F Financial statements have a person assigned to each line item.
F We have established budgets, monitor such, and take appropriate action when there are deviations.
F One person has been assigned accountability to each key process in the organization.
F Each quarter we identify one process for improvement and establish the KPI for improvement that will occur.
F Every week we monitor that sucient progress is being made toward accomplishing our key priorities.
F None of these apply.
VOICE OF EMPLOYEES
F There is an established framework for collecting employee feedback that produces useful information on a weekly basis.
F The leadership team discusses employee feedback as part of our weekly meeting.
F We have a system for reviewing employee feedback weekly and taking appropriate and timely action.
F Someone is accountable and does a good job in closing the loop with employees after they give feedback.
F We have a nimble change management process that empowers employees to make and implement new ideas in the business.
F None of these apply.
VOICE OF CUSTOMERS AND MARKET INTELLIGENCE
F There is an established framework for collecting customer feedback that produces useful information on a weekly basis.
F There is an established framework for collecting competitive and market intelligence that produces useful information, monthly.
F The insights from customer feedback are shared in a useful manner at the weekly and monthly executive team meetings.
F The insights from competitive and market intelligence are presented in a useful manner and reviewed in monthly and quarterly executive
team meetings.
F None of these apply.
VISION CLARITY
F All employees understand our one-sentence strategy and its importance.
F All employees understand “the job to be done.”
F Customer Segmentation – All employees understand our key customer segmentation, and all marketing, branding, and sales language
are in alignment.
F Elevator Pitch – Any employee we approach will define what we do using the same pitch, and this aligns with key differentiation factors.
F Differentiation We have isolated the key activities that we will excel at and those we will be substandard at and are aligned to the “job
to be done.”
F Measuring Differentiation KPIs having the most attention are aligned to delivering the key activities that we must excel at to prove we
have delivered the “job to be done” at a higher standard than the competition.
F Leadership actions are consistent with our vision.
F None of these apply.
www.howardmshore.com ● (786) 565-7330 ● © 2019 HowardMShore, LLC. All rights reserved.
BUSINESS ACCELERATION CHECKLIST
TRANSPARENCY
F Core Values, Purpose, and Priorities are posted throughout the company.
F Scoreboards are up everywhere displaying current progress on Priorities, KPIs, and Critical Numbers.
F There is a system in place for tracking and managing Priorities and KPIs.
F Every person in the company knows their numbers.
F None of these apply.
TALENT MANAGEMENT
F We have a robust onboarding process for new employees.
F All employees receive feedback as to their performance and discuss their development with a supervisor once per quarter.
F All managers responsible to select people in the interviewing process have been properly trained on eective interview techniques.
F All employees have a coach (or peer coach) holding them accountable to behavior changes.
F All employees complete at least 1 hour of continuing education every quarter.
F We have put a Talent review in place, and we update it quarterly.
F All employees who are not consistently living any core value have been given a performance plan.
F All employees who are consistently failing to achieve the productivity standards have been given a performance plan.
F All leadership team members have been trained to understand each other’s dierences, priorities, and styles.
F None of these apply.
STRATEGY CLARITY
F Targets – 3-year aggressive targets are established, at least doubling the company’s revenue and prots.
F 3-Year Focus – Key pillars to elevating the company, achieving our 3-year goals, and making signicant progress towards our
Audacious Goal are identied.
F Expansion – Geographic growth and segment growth have been claried to ensure that we achieve our targets.
F Sales Channels – We know our top 3 selling channels and how we will increase success.
F Innovation – We have identied new revenue streams, products and services, and business to achieve targets.
F Audacious Goal – We are tracking and working towards our “Mount Everest.”
F None of these apply.
www.howardmshore.com ● (786) 565-7330 ● © 2019 HowardMShore, LLC. All rights reserved.