Business Success Checklist

Move Beyond Gut Feel: Identify Critical Business System Gaps in 15 Minutes

Every business leader claims to know their organization’s strengths and weaknesses, but research shows that 76% of performance issues lurk in blind spots that executives can’t see from their vantage point. This Business Success Checklist cuts through subjective assessments to deliver an objective snapshot of your organizational health across 60+ critical business functions.

Unlike generic business assessments, this tool doesn’t waste your time with theoretical concepts. Each question targets a specific operational system that successful organizations consistently implement—from strategic planning and leadership development to financial management and customer feedback loops. The “Maybe” option acknowledges the reality that many organizations have partial implementations that need refinement.

How to Extract Maximum Value from This Assessment

This diagnostic tool serves three essential functions:

1. Gap Analysis: Quickly identifies which critical business systems are missing, incomplete, or underperforming in your organization
2. Priority Setting: The 1-100 rating scale allows you to rank the relative importance of each gap, creating a clear roadmap for improvement
3. Accountability Framework: Transforms vague “we should improve” discussions into specific “yes/no” evaluations of system implementation

What Makes This Assessment Different

• Action-Oriented: Each question is phrased to identify the presence of a specific system or practice, not abstract capabilities
• Leadership-Focused: Emphasizes the systems leaders must implement to enable organizational success
• Balanced View: Covers both strategic foundations (mission, vision, values) and operational execution (processes, accountability, talent management)
• Forward-Looking: Includes emerging business priorities like AI implementation and succession planning
• Implementation-Focused: Concentrates on what you’re actually doing, not what you aspire to do

Getting Started

1. Answer each question honestly—this assessment is for your benefit, not external evaluation
2. For any “No” or “Maybe” responses, assign a priority rating (1-100) based on how crucial this gap is to address
3. After completing the checklist, use the open-ended questions to interpret results and identify your top priorities
4. Share the assessment with your leadership team to compare perspectives and build consensus on improvement priorities

Don’t just check boxes—use this assessment as a launching point for real organizational transformation. The most valuable insights often come from the patterns of gaps revealed across related business functions.