The Toolkit
Face the facts together. Making decisions as a group is hard, and using the wrong tools makes it harder. In meeting after meeting, teams stay stuck on facts, assumptions, and solutions. Decisions are late or flawed, and teams collapse.
These standard 1-page tools with 1-page instructions are easy to learn and use. They generate decisions executives support with confidence.
How the tools work with The Index is also described in our book Atoms & Orchestras: The Case for Standards-Based Management
“I learned about Standards-Based Management as a hospital board member. The 1-page Goal Tree really got my attention. At Culver’s, it helped our team get and stay clear on the key issues. The Tree helped us make real progress.” – Phil Keiser, CEO, Culver Franchising System, Inc.
Browse Our Toolsets
1/4-Page Meeting Planner (free)
How many meetings get derailed because people don’t understand the terms in the same way? Good bosses make sure every in-person or remote participant knows what the meeting is for and what everyone is talking about. See term 5.4.2.1 Meeting Management for best practice ideas. The Planner is a simple, non-fillable form anyone can use.
- Turns meetings into collaborations, not competitions
- Radically cuts preparation time
- One good question can eliminate the need to meet again
Start at The Index 5.3.2.1 Meeting management. Instructions and file
Planning Toolset
Goal Tree (strategic plan)
Your Future on One Page. Traditional strategic planning uses 1950’s jargon: mission, strategy, tactic and objective. The result is often a thick “strategic plan” binder no one uses. The 1-page Goal Tree provides focus and maps out how everyone contributes to your organization’s deep purpose. It lets managers easily communicate easily.
- Links every goal and project to purpose and vision
- Keeps everyone, including the board, focused on the top issues
- Traces everyone’s paths of delegation and promotion
Start at The Index 1.5.1 Business planning. Instructions and sample
Trends Outline
In What 3 Ways Will Your World Change? The Trends Outline deals with opportunities and threats in a structured, sensible way (see the Competitor Grid for strengths and weaknesses). It takes courage to look squarely at the big forces, but it’s safer to get ahead of the trends.
- Helps the everyone, including the Board focus on the biggest issues
- Ensures your plan isn’t just reacting to today’s problems
- Shows everyone how they connect—and matter to—the world
Start at The Index 6.3 Budgeting and forecasting. Instructions and sample
Competitor Grid
Compete by Proving You’re Better. The Competitor Grid deals with competitive strengths and weaknesses. Being brutally honest about what sets you apart yields stronger and defensible differentiators. Your sales team will also be equipped to respond to objections.
- Helps the organization see where they stand—and stand out
- Stimulates everyone’s competitive spirit
- Shows how everyone contributes to creating and protecting differentiators
Start at The Index 1.2.3 Differentiators. Instructions and sample
5-Year Look
Avoid Circular Vision. Writing a “vision statement” doesn’t have to be a time-consuming and ineffective committee activity. The 5-Year Look provides a common-sense word picture of your future. It often complements the Goal Tree.
- Shows every team the great things they’ve already accomplished
- Ensures everyone has a balanced view and plan
- Frames a discussion of what really matters for success
Start with “6 Trend Types.” Instructions and sample
360 Risk Assessment
What Could Possibly Go Wrong? All risks have two factors: probability and consequence. Getting hit by a meteor has big consequences but tiny probabilities. You can mitigate a risk by accepting, sharing, insuring , or shedding it. The executives and board should assess risks annually.
- Puts new investments (risks) into their full context
- Helps managers appreciate the broadest executive perspective
- Clarifies the scope for insurance coverage and cost
Start at The Index 6.6 Risk assessment. Instructions and sample
Process Improvement Toolset
Management Self-Audit
Keeping Processes Up to Date. It’s easy to see problems and miss what’s working. The Management Self-Audit prioritizes which processes to optimize. It prepares for planning, manager development, assessing a vendor, or franchisee or dealer training. .
- Creates an opportunity for managers to shine in their area
- Provides the owners and board confidence nothing is overlooked
- Identifies outdated processes so everyone can remain efficient
Start at The Index 3.2 Work process. Instructions and sample
Workflow Scratch Sheet
Optimization is Everything. A workflow diagram shows how people depend on each other step by step. It also records and teaches a process. Processes should get updated as technologies evolve. Use the Scratch Sheet to maintain competitive in cost, speed, and quality.
- Spots opportunities to reduce direct time, cost, and Gross Margin
- Captures knowledge of experienced employees so it can be shared
- Prepares for changes in software and technologies
Start at The Index 3.2.1 Workflow analysis. Instructions and sample
Integration Checklist
Closing the Deal is the Easy Part. Use The Integration Checklist before an acquisition, merger, or consolidation to identify gaps and overlaps in systems and processes. Integrations don’t have to be chaotic time holes. The Checklist lets everyone help fulfill the promises of the new entity.
- Realizes the promised savings and opportunities of the integration
- Manages the additional workload during the integration
- Helps managers from the entities learn how each talk and think
Start at The Index 1.3.4 Mergers and acquisitions. Instructions and sample
Zero-Based Budget Worksheet
Don’t Let Others Spot a Gap. The Zero-Based Budget Worksheet ensures you’ve thought of everything. Who wants to end their budget year with no money or big variances? Using the Worksheet with The Index, budgeters can spot gaps and outdated assumptions. Good budgets let leaders delegate with confidence.
- Can be used in annual budgeting and for big projects
- Frames a valuable opportunity to budget cross-functionally
- Provides a record of assumptions to help in the next budgeting cycle
Start at term 6.3 Budgeting and forecasting. Instructions and sample
Project Oversight Toolset
Projects Summary
The Big Project Picture. Teams over-commit when they don’t see all their projects in one place. The Summary snaps time, money, status, and accountability into focus. Used with the 1-Page Project Planner, it helps people address issues before the review meetings. It lets executives make resource allocation decisions.
- Be able to report to the executives and Board easy and confidently
- Creates regular opportunities to recognize project teams
- Prevents unneeded discussions about projects that are on track
Start at The Index 5.1.4 Project management. Instructions and sample
Question Map
Project Plans Start with the Hard Questions. Most projects start without a clear or shared understanding of purpose. Asking CEO-level questions connect all the departments to a project or decision. It’s great to have a reputation as someone who always asks the key question at the project kick-off.
- Using questions prevents people staking out positions
- Good questions ensure everyone is sharing the right information.
- They build confidence that the goals are complete and important.
See “3 Good Questions” in each Index term. Instructions and sample
1-Page Project Planner
How Many Hours, Really? People resist planning; they want to “just get to work.” Planning is hard, but 4 hours of planning can save 400 hours of reinvention–and let everyone be on time, on budget, and have achieved something big. The discipline of planning on one page helps everyone to be clear and concise.
- Clarifies delegation and accountability
- Encourages prioritization and brevity
- Simplifies reporting to board, managers, and staff
Start at The Index 1.5.1.4 Project. Instructions and sample
ROI Worksheet
What Would the CFO Say? Anticipate the tough questions your CFO is going to ask. The ROI Worksheet will help you and others focus on the critical assumptions; it produces simple ROI and payback numbers. Like all analytical tools, it is meant to provide both rigor and objectivity.
- Helps quantitative and qualitative thinkers work together
- Provides a clear record of the decision
- Sets up a way to evaluate the investment after it’s started up
Start at The Index 6.2.1 Financial analysis. Instructions and sample
“The Center’s simple tools and careful facilitation got us moving. We’d been trying to do too much. Our first Projects Summary showed we’d overcommitted ourselves. Our new 1-page Goal Tree clarified priorities and unlocked energy to focus on the big picture.” – Bob Wahlin, President, Stoughton Trailers
