Diagnostic · 12 questions · 3 minutes

Are you the firm's bottleneck?

Answer honestly. Your score doesn't leave this page (we don't store it). Built from 40+ engagements with tech middle-market firms.

1. 1. How many decisions per week require your sign-off?
   Pricing exceptions, team hires, customer escalations, vendor contracts, roadmap calls.
   20 or more — everything routes through me5–20 — the major calls still land on my deskFewer than 5 — the team decides within policy
2. 2. What % of your closed-won pipeline closes without you in the room?
   Discovery, demo, negotiation, or final close. The lower the %, the higher the bottleneck.
   Under 25% — I'm in nearly every deal25–75% — I join the big or late-stage onesOver 75% — the team closes without me
3. 3. When was the last full week you were unreachable?
   Real unreachable. Phone off, no Slack. Not 'on a flight.'
   Never — I can't remember oneOnce in the last few yearsWithin the last year — and the firm ran fine
4. 4. How many of your direct reports could run the firm for 30 days without you?
   Honestly. Not 'they could try.' Could they run it.
   None couldOne — with daily check-insTwo or more — no check-ins needed
5. 5. Do new hires get onboarded by you or by a documented system?
   If onboarding ROI tracks with your calendar availability, that's a system gap.
   By me — every new hire gets founder timeA mix — docs exist, but I fill the gapsA documented system the team owns
6. 6. Can your CFO close a month without your input on revenue recognition?
   Bonus points if there's an FP&A model the CFO actually owns.
   No — revenue recognition runs through meMostly — I still review the judgment callsYes — the CFO owns the close end to end
7. 7. Is your customer success leader empowered to issue credits and renegotiate terms?
   Without checking with you. Within a published policy.
   No — every credit crosses my deskSmall credits only — big ones come to meYes — within a published policy
8. 8. When something breaks in production at 2 AM, who is paged first?
   If it's the founder, that's a problem.
   Me — I'm first on the escalation pathOn-call first — but I usually get pulled inThe on-call rotation — I hear about it later
9. 9. Do you have a written succession plan reviewed in the last 12 months?
   PE buyers ask for this in week one of diligence.
   No written plan existsWritten — but stale, over a year oldYes — written and reviewed this year
10. 10. Have you taken 2+ consecutive weeks of vacation in the last 18 months?
    Real vacation. Out-of-office responder, no email.
    No — never more than a long weekendOnce — but I checked email dailyYes — fully offline, and the firm ran itself
11. 11. What % of your management team has equity vesting beyond the next 12 months?
    Retention math matters. Cliff dates don't lie.
    Under a quarter — or there's no equity planAbout halfMost of the team — vesting runs years out
12. 12. Could a buyer's diligence team interview your leadership without you in the room?
    If the answer is 'no, they'd get the wrong story,' that's the bottleneck.
    No — they'd get the wrong storyFor some functions — not all of themYes — any leader, any topic