03 Zones most often diagnosed
Imagination Trap Strong vision, weak execution capability. Ideas outnumber finished work.
Fire Fighting Low vision, moderate execution. Energy is real; direction is absent.
Effort Trap Effort is high and outcomes are flat because priorities keep changing.
Scaling Risk High vision and moderate execution; growth outruns the system carrying it. 04 Sample assessment
A short indicative version of the scoring instrument. The full assessment uses 40 items across both axes, scored by three respondent groups.
01 Our five-year direction can be stated the same way by any three leaders, without notes.
Reads: Vision clarity
1 (never) – 5 (always)02 Priorities set at the start of a quarter survive to the end of it.
Reads: Execution discipline
1 – 503 Decisions of consequence can be made when the promoter is unavailable.
Reads: Decision system health
1 – 504 When a target is missed, the cause is examined before responsibility is assigned.
Reads: Accountability culture
1 – 505 New initiatives are stopped, not quietly abandoned.
Reads: Portfolio discipline
1 – 505 Sample report
Illustrative report — second-generation manufacturing group
34
Owner–management agreement
Findings — Placed in the Imagination Trap: direction is well articulated by the promoter and understood by almost no one below the top two roles.— Eleven active initiatives; four had no named owner and none had a stop criterion.— Management scored execution health 22 points lower than the owner group — the widest gap in the assessment.Recommended sequence Reduce to four initiatives with named owners and quarterly stop criteria. Install a monthly operating review with published decisions and owners. Delegate three defined decision categories away from the promoter within one quarter.Illustrative model output only. These figures are not client results, validated norms or performance claims.