The Owner-Dependency Diagnostic.

If you took four weeks off starting tomorrow, with no calls and no email, what would the business look like when you returned?

• 0. It would not survive the first week without escalations to me
• 1. It would survive but business development would stop entirely
• 2. It would run normally but key client relationships would weaken
• 3. It would run normally including business development and client relationships

How many operational decisions in a typical week require your personal sign-off?

• 0. Most of them. I am in every meeting
• 1. Many. My team escalates anything above a small threshold
• 2. Some. Defined by a delegation framework but informal
• 3. Few. Documented decision rights, escalations are rare and exceptional

If your top operations person left tomorrow, could a competent replacement perform the role within 30 days using documented processes alone?

• 0. No. The knowledge lives in the person, undocumented
• 1. Partially. Some processes exist but most are tribal
• 2. Mostly. Core processes documented, edges still in heads
• 3. Yes. Documented end-to-end with a current onboarding pathway

What percentage of revenue comes from your single largest customer?

• 0. More than 40%
• 1. 25–40%
• 2. 10–25%
• 3. Less than 10%

If you stepped back to a strategic role tomorrow, who runs the operations?

• 0. No one. The structure does not exist
• 1. A family member, but they need my guidance daily
• 2. A capable second-tier, but they have not been formally given authority
• 3. A general manager with documented authority who runs the business now

How long would it take to produce three years of clean, separated, audit-ready financials?

• 0. Six months or more. Significant clean-up of related-party transactions, personal expenses, and inventory
• 1. Three to six months. Moderate clean-up
• 2. One to three months. Minor adjustments
• 3. Already in place. We run with monthly management accounts and annual audits

Is there a regular operating rhythm of weekly operations meetings, monthly performance reviews, and quarterly planning that runs whether you are present or not?

• 0. No formal cadence. Meetings happen when needed
• 1. Some cadence exists, but I drive every meeting
• 2. Cadence exists and is owned by my team, but I attend most
• 3. Full operating rhythm runs autonomously. I review outputs, not run meetings