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Scaling Operations
Root Cause Analysis tool for low EBIT
High-performing niche environmental firms run at 20-25% EBIT. If yours is below that, this tree helps you trace the cause and see who owns fixing it.
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Executive / leadershipIs your EBIT below 25%?
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Executive / leadershipIs your GM below 55%?
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FinanceAt your target utilisation, is your GM below 55%?
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Charge rates too low Finance
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Billable targets too low Executive / leadership
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Salaries too high People & culture
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Operations / delivery
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Sales & marketing
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Sales & marketingWhat is your cost of customer acquisition?
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Value proposition incorrect Executive / leadership
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Value prop not effectively communicated to target market Sales & marketing
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Don't trust you to deliver on value proposition Sales & marketing
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Sales & marketingWhat is the lifetime value (LTV) of your clients?
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Value proposition not being deliveredOperations / deliveryWhat is your Net Promoter Score?
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PMs not driving repeat workOperations / deliveryWhat % of clients get a quarterly check-in from a PM?
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Operations / delivery
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Sales & marketingAre you converting less than 50% of proposals?
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Bidding on the wrong jobsSales & marketingDo you have a go/no-go process?
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Weaker price-to-value than competitors Sales & marketing
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Sales & marketing
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Technical staff not adequately consulted on scopeSales & marketingIf proposals are prepared by staff who are not responsible for delivery, have the delivery staff been adequately consulted?
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KPIs for sales incentivise revenue won (not forecast GM)Executive / leadershipIf you have a dedicated bid team, are their incentives based on top-line project value? That can produce perverse outcomes.
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Risk not priced or excluded at proposal phaseLegal & contractsDo you have a process for identifying and mitigating or pricing project risk?
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Variations not managed during delivery Operations / delivery
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Operations / delivery
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Novel project types Operations / delivery
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Lack of task experience or knowledge People & culture
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Missing or ineffective procedures / templates / tools Quality & systems
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Lack of accountability for productivity Operations / delivery
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Too many or wrong mix of operational staff (relative to sales) Executive / leadership
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Excessive overheads Finance
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