About our CDR
- Grades along 5 critical dimensions: Sales ▪ Marketing ▪ Strategy ▪ Finance ▪ Operations
- Recognizes more than 100 areas across the different dimensions.
- Targets initiatives to improve company performance.
- Uncovers surprises, both positive and negative to improve company performance.
CEOs and investors often ask, “How is my company doing?” A simple question, but one with all sorts of depths and complexities.
Just like a medical opinion, we believe that the answer must be given in the context of a comprehensive physical and careful consideration of the strategic objectives (“doing well enough to achieve what?”). This is our Corporate Diagnostic Review (“CDR”).
What is a CDR?
CDR is a rapid analytical process that grades the company along seven critical dimensions (see inset box) taking into account more than 125 “areas” across the different dimensions (e.g., lead generation is an area within the dimension of Marketing). This is necessary because a problem in any one of these areas can cause a company to underperform. The CDR also considers the effectiveness of the linkages between each of the dimensions.
In addition, the CDR grade is stage-specific: i.e., it considers what is appropriate for the enterprise at its stage of evolution (one would not want to run a $25 million company like IBM, and one would not want to run a $150 million company like a $25 million company). Lastly, both the current and desired rate of growth is factored in (the needs of a slow growth company are quite different from a rapid growth company confronting a transition point).
Delivering value in a short time frame
A CDR project is usually managed by one or two partners or principals of Stanton Associates. Our highly experienced professionals, each of whom has executive experience, have the judgment to move quickly through masses of data and identify key items needed to assign the grade.
The Output
An integrated report on business operations, products and services, customer relations, sales and marketing effectiveness, and competitive position.
Typically our diagnostic reviews take approximately 2 days, depending on the size of the company—a small investment to gain valuable insight into the health of the company and future pitfalls to be avoided.
In our report, the CDR grades are presented for each dimension. Recommendations are made for courses of action to improve the grade in those dimensions where necessary. The CDR may sound an alarm for fast and bold action to ensure survival, or may indicate what it will take to continue to grow rapidly with positive cash flow.
It is possible that the CDR assessment confirms that all is on track, and that would be a good thing. But it can also identify a problem in time to save the company. And the CDR will show what needs to be done to move forward with growth and profitability.