7 Helpful Questions

The 7 Helpful Questions & Top 5 Core Issues are at the heart of helping you gain perspective about where your company is right now.  Our suggestion is to answer from the perspective or perspectives you know best, but always thinking of it from the perspective of what would be best for the company as a whole.

7 Helpful Questions

  1. What Is Right?  Identifies what is right and gives you perspective on what you may optimize in the future.
  2. What Is Wrong?  This question produces a list of things that might be corrected.  Keep in mind that this is a question intended to produce a list of what might be changed in the future.
  3. What Is Missing?  Where are the voids in your business?  The answer points toward what might need to be added.
  4. What Is Confusing?  Most companies have areas or issues where things are confusing or that they believe need to be prioritized, organized, refocused, or discerned more clearly.  The answer to this question gives you a chance to clarify what’s confusing and move forward.
  5. Where Are We Succeeding?  In the past year what did we overcome or succeed at beyond our expectations.  Opportunities to reinforce.
  6. Where Are We Failing?  In the past year what did we fail to address, complete, overcome, etc.  Opportunities to regroup.
  7. What Can We Leverage?  Resources, Opportunities, People, Strategic Relationships, New Product or Service Lines, etc.  Opportunities to multiply.

Tips

  • Focus on all areas of the the business (Leadership, Branding, Finance, Management, Delivery, Sales, Marketing, etc.)
  • Try and identify at least 2-3 items for each question.  Be as specific as possible.

Top 5 Core Issues

After working through all seven questions, review your work and identify 3-5 Core Issues or themes that run through the questions.  This will give you great insight into the most important current challenges your company and your team are currently facing.  These Core Issues will heavily inform your 1 Year Goals.