The Turning Point Diagnostic

Progress in business isn’t linear; it consists of periods of steady development, punctuated by turning points.

The turning point is the point at which the things you used to do, and the ways you used to do them, don’t work as they did.

Handle this moment badly, and you are left with the frustrating sense of being stuck on a plateau, working harder and harder to achieve the same or less, slowly deteriorating while a more exciting future remains permanently within sight but out of reach. Or, in the worst case, it is the prelude to a rapid collapse a la Nokia or Kodak.

Handle this moment well, on the other hand, and it is the start of reinvention and rejuvenation. Maybe even the discovery of the secret of eternal life (corporately speaking, that is).

Is your business at, or near, a turning point? Answer the questions below to find out.

Compared to, say, two years ago, how easy is it for you find new customers or clients?

 Easier – we seem to be gaining traction

 Much the same

 Harder

 Much harder

Compared to, say, two years ago, how do you find the relationship between effort and results?

 Easier. We seem to be gaining traction, have learned some useful things

 Much the same

 Harder. The things we did don’t seem to produce the same results as they used to

 Much harder. We are beginning to wonder whether our current model is sustainable, or will get us to where we want to go

Are you putting substantial effort into raising efficiency or reducing costs, but finding difficult to achieve gains, or that greater efficiency and lower costs does not improve profits?

 No

 Yes

 Yes – working very hard in this area, but profitability declining

Compared to, say, two years ago, which of the following best describes your experience with new developments?

 We have plenty, with acceptable risk profiles and a good rate of success

 It’s getting harder to find new ideas with acceptable risks, or the success rate seems to be falling

 We need to develop the business, but it is a real struggle to come up with convincing proposals – new ideas either seem too risky, or too unlikely to succeed

Compared to, say, two years ago, how easy is it for you to recruit good quality people?

 Easier – we are becoming very well regarded in the jobs market

 About the same

 Hard – difficult to find suitable people, or hard to persuade them to join, or they often don’t perform as expected

 Next to impossible – inability to attract good people is a major constraint

Which of the following best describes your level of agreement on the future direction of the business?

 We are all more or less in agreement, and it seems to be working

 We agree that something needs to change, but can’t agree on what that something is

 There is a real conflict between those who feel strongly that something needs to change, and those who feel equally strongly that things should remain as they are

How satisfied are you with the performance of your staff, generally?

 On the whole, very

 Not as good as it was

 A source of real frustration; they just don’t get it, they resists, they just don’t seem able to do what is needed

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