Choose one priority for the session

Six Degrees Academy · Preparation guide 3 of 3

Choose a useful starting point

Return to the future you described and the baseline you've recorded. Which current constraint most deserves attention? You may want more customers, better prices, reliable delivery, clearer records and more cash at the same time. One session needs a practical starting point. Choose a question small enough to understand, work through and act on.

Find where the cycle breaks

Trace the business cycle you actually use. Find a customer, agree the order, deliver, collect payment, and resolve problems. Your steps may differ. Ask where the cycle regularly breaks, what evidence you have, and what happens next. A specific recurring problem gives the conversation something practical to examine.

Measure the current problem

Let's return to fictional Maua Laundry. Nine of its last thirty orders arrived late. Keep both counts: nine late orders out of thirty total orders. Nine divided by thirty is zero point three, or thirty percent. That is the baseline in this case. It describes a problem. It doesn't yet tell us the cause.

Keep the target separate

Maua proposes a target of three late orders out of the next thirty. Three divided by thirty is ten percent. Compared with the thirty-percent baseline, that is a twenty percentage-point reduction. It's a proposed target, not an achieved improvement. Put it beside the baseline with a clear label. We still need to test what happens.

Treat the cause as a question

The team might suspect incomplete dispatch checks, an overloaded route, or late cleaning. Keep those explanations separate until there's evidence. Maua proposes a dispatch-checklist trial. Before a route leaves, a named team member checks the labelled bags and route details. This is a proposed action to discuss. We haven't proved that the checklist will fix late delivery.

Make the action reviewable

Name an owner who has agreed to carry out the action. Confirm the money, people and time it needs, and keep it within available resources. Choose a start date and review date. Define what counts as late. Record late orders out of all orders during the test. Note changes in promised times, route workload or customer mix so the comparison stays fair.

Measure activity and outcome

An activity measure tells you whether the checklist was used. An outcome measure tells you whether delivery changed. Ticking thirty checklists doesn't prove that late orders fell. Look at the delivery record as well. Even an improved rate wouldn't prove that the checklist caused the whole change. A small sample, a quieter route or another change could affect the result.

Write one action to discuss

Now sketch your version. Choose one problem, a baseline if you have one, a small action, the owner, a review date and a measure. If records are missing, your first action can be establishing a reliable baseline. Don't invent a number to fill the box. Pause and write one question you want to work through.

Learn, then decide what comes next

When a test ends, record the actual result even if it disappoints you. Decide whether to continue, revise or stop. Your question might concern pricing, cash timing, customers or records rather than delivery. Bring one small example and share only what's needed. The session starts with your context and focuses on one priority. Save a new copy of your Value Creation Plan. Keep returning to it as you learn.