Every business I walk into sits somewhere on the same ladder for each of the six conditions. Nothing exists. It exists in the owner's head. It is written down. It is written and running on a cadence with someone checking. It is running and measured against the numbers.
That is the whole model. It is not research; it is a way of saying "written, used, checked, measured" that an owner can score against in ten minutes and that I can verify on site in a day. The research is in what moves a business up it.
The same ladder on every condition. A condition sits at the highest level where every line is true.
Two rules. No half levels and no averages: the number that matters is the lowest condition, not the mean. And level 4 cannot be self-scored, because it needs someone to verify the numbers. The self-score on this site runs levels 0 to 3. Level 4 is what I do.
What I would see at each level. Read your row honestly.
| Condition | 0 Absent | 1 Informal | 2 Written | 3 Running | 4 Measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 Direction | No written goals. | The owner can name them. The team would guess. Four-minute test under 40%. | 5 or 6 goals with a number and a date, posted. Test 40 to 60%. | Recited at every monthly debrief. Every role knows which goal its number moves. Test 60 to 80%. | Test over 80%, reported quarterly against baseline. |
| 02 Structure | No job descriptions. Everything comes to the owner. | The owner could draw it. Nothing written. Spend limits vary by the day. | Role Plans and a decision-rights table written. | Reviewed monthly. The owner can name 3 decisions made without them last week. No unit above 7. | Owner's hours on others' decisions tracked and falling. |
| 03 Safety and voice | Problems arrive from customers. Nobody recalls disagreeing with the owner. | Leads raise problems privately. Disagreement is rare. | A written way to raise a problem. The data policy signed. | Roadblocks raised weekly in writing and visibly actioned. Someone disagreed this month and something changed. | Pulse green two quarters. Roadblock close rate over 80%. |
| 04 Loops that close | No debriefs, no one-to-ones, no reviews. | A debrief when it went badly. A review from memory, some years. | The debrief protocol and review cycle written. Dates in the calendar. | Monthly structured debrief written up. Weekly one-to-ones. Quarterly reviews on weekly-log evidence. | Each debrief's one change tracked to closure. Results against baseline. |
| 05 Fit and capability | Hire on a feeling. Start Monday and figure it out. | References checked. Someone shows them around. | Hiring scorecard, onboarding checklist and skills list written. | Work sample before every interview. Day 1, 30, 60, 90 checkpoints. A real decision at day 90. | 90-day retention and mis-hire count reported. Roles reshaped around skills. |
| 06 Aligned consequences | Discretionary annual raises, if any. Good work unremarked. | A bonus with a fuzzy formula. Thanks when noticed. | A written formula: base, individual, team. Published. | Paid monthly or quarterly as published. Recognition specific, within days, tracked. | Comp is arithmetic at review. Rule of three checked yearly. Pay disputes: zero. |
The fix order is fixed: direction, structure, then the rest.
| From | To | What it takes | Which piece of work |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 1 | A conversation with the owner. Usually free. | The analysis |
| 1 | 2 | Writing it down. Half a day per condition, with the team. | The Gameplan and Role Plans |
| 2 | 3 | A cadence and a checker. This is where most businesses stall. | The cycle: weekly log, monthly debrief, quarterly pulse and review |
| 3 | 4 | Baselines, targets and a quarter of numbers. | The scoreboard and the quarterly report |
Nothing is worked above level 3 until every condition is at level 2. A business with brilliant hiring and no written goals is not mature; it is lucky. Team design controls 37 to 42% of performance variance.A Structured monthly debriefs are worth 20 to 25%.A Task clarity before relationship work.C
