Take The CVO Assessment Measure Your Organization’s CVO Strategic Value Score The First Step in Maximizing Strategic Value and Creating a “Gotta Have” Company CVO Strategic Value Creation Checklist™ Take the first step in maximizing your Strategic Value and creating a "Gotta Have" company by completing the CVO Strategic Value Creation Checklist. Once you have completed and submitted the assessment, we will email your CVO Score and an explanation of your score. Along with that you will also receive recommendations, based on your score, for the next steps in your Strategic Value Acceleration process. There is no cost or obligation to take the assessment. Within each of the four categories there are a number of questions - For each question, choose the answer that best matches your company today. Date - Month - Day Year Date Name * First Name Last Name Phone Number * Please enter a valid phone number. Email * example@example.com Company Name * Finance Pillar Sales/Profits/Margin/EBITDA/Health Company sales revenue over the past 5 years Decreased significantly Decreased slightly Stayed the same Increased slightly Increased steadily Gross and net profit over the past 5 years Decreased significantly Decreased slightly Stayed the same Increased slightly Increased steadily Projected sales trends over the next 3 years Expected to decreased significantly Expected to decreased slightly Expected to stayed the same Expected to increased slightly Expected to increased steadily Pricing flexibility Strong downward price pressure No flexibilty - product is a commodity Some flexibility to increase prices when customize A good deal of flexibility due to differentiation of product Prices are adjusted upward regularly Cashflow We are normally short of cash and must extend our payables We are short of cash on a somewhat regular basis and suppliers are not happy We have some seasonal cash shortages but have been able to manage We seldom experience cash shortages We are never short of cash and have a nice "war chest" put aside Health/Resilience We don’t have accurate information to gauge our strength We could be in real trouble in a downturn due to debt and lack of cash We are attempting to clean up our balance sheet but still have a way to go Our balance sheet is relatively strong but still dealing with too much debt Our balance sheet is very strong and we have little debt Financial Tracking and Reporting Financial results Are not regularly reported Are reported quarterly Are completed monthly and reported in 30 or more days Are completed monthly and reported in 15 or more days Are completed monthly and reported in 7 days or less Annual financial reports Are prepared internally without outside CPA involvement Are compiled by a CPA firm Are reviewed by a CPA firm Are audited by a local CPA firm Are audited by a national CPA firm Controls and Measures Company performance metrics Are not utilized as a regular part of running the business Are utilized in select areas of the business Are core to managing the business Are core and are reported regularly Are core, reported regularly, and drive daily behavior "Take Action" processes when metrics are off No metrics so no processes Metrics but no set processes Metrics with informal action processes Formal metric leadership take action processes Formal metric all company take action processes Resources Internal financial resources a question Little resources invested into finance and accounting Accounting resources best suited for a smaller company Experienced accounting team and manager in place Experienced accounting team and controller in place Experienced accounting team and CFO in place Relationships with outside advisors - Attorney CPA Bank/Banker Financial Advisor Business Advisor Investment Banker Strong relationship with only 1 or 2 Strong relationship with 3 Strong relationship with 4 Strong relationship with 5 Strong relationship with all 6 Strategic Pillar Brand The market's perception of your product/service Known as a me too product with little differentiation Known for its low price not its quality and value Known for its good quality and value Known for being the quality and value leader Customers believe there are no alternatives Product/service differentiators No true differentiators between yours and the competition Product/service is different than most competitors Differentiators were created based on customer input Customers want the differences and will pay more for them Statement above plus competition cannot easily duplicate Brand and reputation Is seen as old and outdated Is seen as more modern but not leading Is seen as leading but not enough to make a difference Is seen as leading and the most innovative in the market Statement above plus the competition cannot easily catch "You Own It" Intellectual property We have no product or process that others don’t have We have some unprotected product or process that is unique to us We have some protected product or process that is unique to us Statement above plus provides market differentiation Statement above plus provides exclusivity Agreements/contracts We have no exclusive sales agreements or contracts Renewable exclusive agreements or contracts amount to Renewable exclusive agreements or contracts amount to 10-20% of revenue Renewable exclusive agreements or contracts amount to 20-30% of revenue Renewable exclusive agreements or contracts amount to >30% of revenue Product/Services/Customers Longevity/lifecycle for products/services Products have long lives limiting the need for replacement Customers typically repeat buy only after 5 years or more Customers typically repeat buy only after 3 years or more Customers typically repeat buy only after 1 year Customers typically buy multiple times a year Scalability of products/services We cannot sell more products or services to an existing customer There may be opportunities to sell more to an existing customer We are considering new offerings to sell more to existing customers We offer numerous opportunites for customers to buy more offerings We offer customer requested complementary offerings to our core product Customer/market concentration One customer accounts for >35% of total sales One customer accounts for 20-35% of total sales One industry accounts for >35% of total sales One industry accounts for 20-35% of total sales No customer accounts for more than 10% of total sales Recurring revenue We have no products or services that produce recurring revenue Recurring revenue amounts for Recurring revenue amounts for 20-50% of total revenue Recurring revenue amounts for >50% of total revenue Statement above plus funds are automatically deposited into our account Operational Pillar "Real" Company Practices Shared vision There is no vision for the future - we take each day as it comes There are competing visions for the future by internal stakeholders There is a "foggy" vision for the future but it is rarely discussed All internal stakeholders have and understand a common vision Statement above plus it is utilized in all actions and planning decisions Planning processes We have no formal annual or strategic planning process in place We know we need to do it but have not made the time for it We do it but it is not a robust process and it needs some work We have an annual process for creating a one year and 3 year strategic plan Statement above plus we review the plan quarterly and adjust as needed Operational competencies We have no operational competencies that others cannot easily duplicate We have operational competencies but they are not exceptionally strong We have stronger operational competencies in a few areas We have some operational competencies that enable us to stand out We are known in the industry for having competencies that differentiate us Operating processes are not documented and rely on personnel experience Some operating processes are documented but not enforced Most operating processes are documented but still some heavy personal reliance Most operating processes are documented and enforced We hold ISO or other process certifications Management Management/leadership team We are far from having the team we need to move us forward We are struggling to identify the management team we need for the future We are in the process of creating the management team we need With the exception of one or two positions we have a strong team in place We have a strong management team focused on the company goal Single point dependency We have a number of critical tasks that only one person is capable of performing We often have issues when certain employees take vacation We want to eliminate single point dependencies but we are struggling with it We have a plan in place to eventually eliminate all single point dependencies The business is not negatively affected when anyone including the CEO is out Business development and sales process The owner/CEO is responsible for bringing in most customers The owner/CEO is closely connected to most customers We have some sales and customer contact by a sales team We have a full sales team responsible for all business development and sales The statement above plus owner/CEO has little contact with our customers Outside advisors/advisory board Other than accounting and legal we have no outside advisors We have some unofficial advisors who we may ask for opinions The CEO/owner belongs to a CEO roundtable that provides some opinions We have an advisory board but its effectiveness is not strong We have a well organized and effective advisory board to provide guidance Ownership's Role Ownership roles The owner/CEO is involved in most decisions made in daily operations The owner/CEO is attempting to change but having little success The owner/CEO is involved in key decisions but seldom in daily operations The owner/CEO knows what their role should be and practices it The statement above plus a culture has been established that supports it Ownership "what if" plan Neither the owner or the team knows the plan if the owner was gone The owner has not thought about a scenario if the owner was gone The team consistently asks if there is a plan if the owner was gone There is a documented plan to follow if something happened to the owner The statement above plus it is well known to the family and the team Industry Visibility Company's visibility in the market The company has little if any visibilty outside its customer base The company does not appear in most searches for similar products/services The company name is often recognized within the industry Everyone connected with the industry would recognize the company name The statement above plus they would know what they make/do Company's position in the industry The company has a poor reputation in the industry The company would get a 2 rating for reputation The company is not considered near the top in the industry The company is an industry leader The company is the industry leader Timing Industry attractiveness The industry is not at all attractive at this time The industry has a poor connotation at this time Buyers/investors are ok with the industry at this time Buyers/investors like the industry at this time Buyers/investors are anxious to get into the industry at this time Business risk The company has both strong economic and business risk The potential for a replacement product/service affecting sales is real A down economy would negatively affect the business The business and industry carries a normal business risk The business and industry is relatively risk free Market timing It is a poor time to consider a business transition There is some activity in the market Interest rates are low The statement above plus there is cash waiting to be invested The statements above plus there is strong interest in the company's industry Submit Should be Empty:
