——— CatalystOS™ Value Architecture Diagnostic
Has your business got bigger, but not easier?
Take the Value Architecture Diagnostic to understand why your business is harder to run than it should be, where it's silently exposed, and what's required to fix both.
Twenty-four questions, about 8 minutes. You get a personalised 22-page report scoring you across the three outcomes that determine if you can step back, scale, or sell – and what closing the gaps would specifically involve.
Is this you?
This is for you if the business is working - but still taking too much out of you
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Still too involved
Decisions, problems, approvals or customer issues still come back to you more often than they should.
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Growth feels tougher
More people, more customers and more revenue have added complexity rather than freedom.
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Profitable, but not valuable
The business may perform well day-to-day, but you’re not sure it would grow and adapt if you stepped back.
the real issue
The problem may not be effort, ambition or good people
Most established owner-managed businesses do not become harder to run because the owner has stopped caring, or because the team is useless.
They become harder to run because the business has outgrown the way it is led, managed, sold and structured.
What once worked – the owner’s judgement, relationships, standards and problem-solving – can quietly become the thing the business depends on most and makes it harder to scale, sell or step back.
The diagnostic shows where that dependence, drag and exposure are sitting in your business.
what it measures
The three things that decide whether your business becomes easier to own - or harder
Pillar 1
Self-Driving Teams
Can the business keep moving and make sensible decisions without you stepping in?
Measures owner dependence, decision-making, accountability, escalation and hidden owner effort.
Pillar 2
Evangelical Ambassadors
Do clients actively seek you out and choose you – or does growth depend on constant chasing?
Measures positioning, pricing power, quality of demand, repeat revenue and sales effort.
Pillar 3
Solid Foundations
How exposed is the business if conditions stop cooperating?
Measures client concentration, key-person risk, cash visibility, process dependence and early-warning capability.
what you receive
A personalised report showing:
- What your business scores across the three Value Architecture pillars
- Whether the business is self-driving, dependent, effort-driven, fragile, exposed, or structurally strong
- What your score pattern means
- How your business is likely to behave under growth, pressure, owner absence or buyer scrutiny
- What needs attention first
Who it is for
- Owners, CEOs and MDs of established owner-managed businesses.
- Typically £3m–£15m turnover.
- Manufacturing, engineering, industrial services, technical B2B or complex service businesses.
- Profitable businesses, but still too dependent on the owner or a few key people.
- Owners who want to scale, step back, strengthen the business, prepare for succession, or increase value.
Who it is not for
- Early-stage startups.
- Micro-businesses with no real management team.
- Businesses looking for quick marketing tactics, funding advice or generic leadership training.
- Owners who only want a motivational scorecard.
how it works
Three steps. Ten minutes. A clearer picture.
Step 1
Answer 24 questions
About how the business actually operates today.
Step 2
Receive your report
With your scores across the three Value Architecture pillars, it's impact on value, and what needs to change.
Step 3
Decide what to do next
Use the report yourself, or book a conversation with Richard to understand what the results mean.
Who’s behind this
Built from real owner-managed business experience
Richard McMullan has spent more than 35 years building, leading, advising and owning businesses. His work focuses on helping owners re-engineer their business so that it not only runs without them day-to-day, but grows, adapts, and becomes something they can happily own forever because it no longer consumes them, or easily sell tomorrow because the buyer can see the value will still be there when they're not.
Former MD of a business rebuilt to £20m |
Advisor to 135+ owner-managed businesses |
Creator of CatalystOS™ |
Author of The Business Exit Blueprint |
Owner / Chair / NED experience |
take the diagnostic
Find out what is really making the business harder than it should be.
Take the Value Architecture Diagnostic and get a clearer picture of where your business is still dependent, exposed, or losing value.