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Describe the symptom accurately
Identify what changed, when it changed and where it is concentrated. Lower revenue, weaker margin, delayed delivery and reduced cash are different signals. Compare like periods and check definitions before drawing conclusions. Ask whether a change in the customer mix or reporting method could explain part of the result.
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Trace the cause through the work
Follow the path from enquiry to sale, delivery and collection. Look for delays, rework, lost opportunities and resource constraints. Compare areas that perform differently and speak with the people doing the work. Keep competing explanations visible until evidence helps distinguish them. A familiar explanation is not necessarily the correct one.
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Choose a focused intervention
Select an action that tests the suspected cause, with an owner and a measure of effect. Consider whether fixing one part of the process could create a bottleneck elsewhere. Review the result against the original problem and adjust. Prioritise improvements that address the constraint rather than a long list of unrelated initiatives.
Use this in your business
A symptom-to-evidence checklist
- Sales: enquiry quality, conversion, repeat work and customer mix.
- Margin: pricing, delivery effort, discounts and direct costs.
- Delivery: queues, handoffs, rework and capacity.
- Cash: collection timing, stock, commitments and payment cycles.
- Action: suspected cause, test, owner and expected evidence.
Illustrative example
What this could look like
Revenue is steady but margin falls. A review by work type shows that newer projects require more rework. Testing scope definition and handover quality may be more useful than asking the sales team to generate more volume of the same work.
Your next move
Bring the decision into focus.
Pivot Point's performance services explicitly cover diagnosis and prioritisation. Bring the result that concerns you and the evidence currently used to explain it.
Start a conversation Meet the advisory teamThis guide is general preparation information. Advice on legal, tax and financial consequences needs to reflect your circumstances.
Further reading: Business.govt.nz