Business Maturity Index™
Discover Your Business Maturity Index™
The sole purpose of the The Business Maturity Index™ is to provide a scale for determining where a business maturity lies relative to most any other business regardless of their industry, products or services.
The Business Maturity Index™ is an innovation conceived and developed by Manuel Palachuk while writing his book Getting to the Next Level: A Blueprint for Taking You and Your Business to the Top. The sole purpose of the BMI™ is to provide a scale for determining where a business maturity lies relative to most any other business regardless of their industry, products or services.
The framework of the BMI™ is based on the Capability Maturity Model originally developed at Carnegie Mellon University. The Capability Maturity Model seeks to gauge the maturity of processes or discrete systems whereas the Business Maturity Index™ is designed to gauge the maturity of five very specific Success Elements for each of ten very specific Value Aspects of your business. Think of it as applying the Capability Maturity Model to these select five elements that are common to the ten most critical business aspects for pretty much any business.
To get the most out of the BMI™ Calculator, you should read Manuel’s blog: The Business Maturity Index™ - Gauging Your Success. It describes in greater detail the ten Value Aspects of a business and the five Success Elements common to each. Regardless, excerpts from the blog are found on the right column below to help you determine your maturity for each element as you work through each of the ten Value Aspects of your business.
It must be stated, and it shouldn’t be hard to imagine, that the majority of businesses in the world are going to fall between 1.0 (We’re in business - Yea!) and 3.0 (We’ve got a solid company and we could be big one day!). There are countless millions of 1.0 businesses out there but likely only a few dozen 5.0’s.
Instructions for use: Click the drop-down for each Value Aspect of your business and move the sliders to the appropriate number representing what you believe your maturity is for that Success Element of that business Value Aspect. Move through each of the ten business Value Aspects and do not skip any. Your BMI™ will be auto-calculated at the bottom of the list of Value Aspects, and you can even get a copy emailed to you.
If you no not understand how a given Value Aspect is relevant to your particular business or do not believe it is a significant factor, please reach out to Manuel for some clarification. There is a very low likelihood that there is a business out there that does not have to be concerned about each of these ten Value Aspects. It’s also true that some businesses may need adjustments to the Success Elements of the ten most important Value Aspects. Again, this initial iteration of the Business Maturity Index™ was devised for the masses.
Please Note: All Concepts and Material found here are Copyright Manuel Palachuk International and are derived from Manuel’s Getting To The Next Level coaching program, Book and Resources.
Business Value Aspect and Success Elements
Leadership and Staffing
This Success Element addresses the concept of, “First who then what,” as introduced by Jim Collins in the book Good to Great, coupled with the concepts of Autonomy, Mastery, and Purpose introduced by Daniel Pink in his book Drive. This element strongly determines how well the organization’s mission, vision, culture, and compass are adopted from the top down.
The maturity of our leadership and staff also strongly affects our ability to successfully cultivate talent from within. If we do not have a mature team (leaders and followers), we will not get the desired results of our grand plans. e.g. Selling the organization roadmap and strategy to our own people, let alone being able to execute on them.
We strive for Leadership and Staff that possess emotional intelligence and are mature in their understanding and mastery of each of the business Value Aspects as these are the true determinants of our ability to leverage knowledge and actualize operational philosophies.
Level 1 = Chaotic - Yeah, we’re very mature. We’re all adults here! Level 2 = Aware - We recognize the importance of having the right people Level 3 = Enabled - We recognize the significance of Autonomy, Mastery, and Purpose Level 4 = Managed - We actively invest in the cultivation of our leadership and talent Level 5 = Optimized - We have a robust people process and we create our own success
Knowledge Management
This Success Element addresses the creation, maintenance, and dissemination of Explicit and Tacit knowledge within the organization and when necessary, outside the organization. Although KM should be a core competency of any organization, it is often significantly segmented across business Value Aspects. What’s commonly found is that the KM maturity of one business Value Aspect may be significantly disproportionate to the KM maturity of most other business Value Aspects.
This Element includes, but is not restricted to: Processes (Internal & External), Policies, Standards, Procedures, Best Practices, Documentation, Training, and Learning.
Level 1 = Chaotic - Yeah we have some notes on this somewhere! Level 2 = Aware - We’ve got a place to put everything and everybody’s on board Level 3 = Defined - Documentation is what we do! Level 4 = Managed - Knowledge is power and we’re getting stronger every day Level 5 = Optimized - We leverage our retained knowledge for competitive advantage
Roadmap and Strategy
This Success Element addresses the future plans, goals, metrics, and cross function alignment for a given business Value Aspect. Although there should always be a top-level master Business Roadmap and Strategy, we must ask: Are the components relative to this business Value Aspect mature and future-looking to the extent possible for 6 months out, 1 year, 3 years, 5 years? Are the goals and metrics set out for this business Value Aspect (think Balanced Scorecard) in realistic alignment with each of the other correlated business Value Aspects to create success, growth, and value?
Level 1 = Chaotic - Who needs a map? Level 2 = Aware - We see the forest for the trees Level 3 = Defined - We know where we are Level 4 = Managed - We know where we’re going Level 5 = Optimized - We know how we’ll get there
Continuous Improvement (Six Sigma)
This Success Element addresses the continuous improvement of every relevant process through statistical process control. There are many incarnations of statistical process control, but Six Sigma is called out here because it is the predominant model used in the majority of Fortune 500 companies today.
Six Sigma uses measurement and metrics to refine a process with the ultimate goal of driving out defects and variability and reducing cycle times. The end result product or service provides evidence of the improvement through increased value and/or a higher margin. Six Sigma requires an adoption of its principles and methods as company-wide culture embedded as habit and demonstrated as discipline.
Level 1 = Initial - Six Sig-Wuh? Level 2 = Aware - We’ve done the math and Six Sigma is the answer! Level 3 = Defined - We’re actively adopting the concepts Level 4 = Managed - We have Color Belts and we know how to use them Level 5 = Optimized - We have Black Belts and Six Sigma is what we do
Continuous Refinement (Lean)
This Success Element addresses the relentless pursuit of creating the highest value products and services by focusing on the reduction or elimination of waste in all aspects of the business. There are many incarnations of production waste management that consider the expenditure of resources in any way other than the direct creation of value of the end product or service to be wasteful.
The modern version of Lean is called out here because it is the predominant model used in the majority of Fortune 500 companies today. The Lean philosophy is to either stop or to not start anything that does not directly add value to what the customer is willing to pay for. It requires an adoption of the Lean principle and methods as company-wide culture, embedded as habit and demonstrated as discipline.
Level 1 = Initial - We like our steak lean! Level 2 = Aware - Lean methods would be very good for our health! Level 3 = Defined - We’re building out our Lean toolbox Level 4 = Managed - We have a toolbox and we know how to use it Level 5 = Optimized - We think Lean, we are Lean
For more details and a better understanding of the Business Maturity Index™, Business Aspects, and the Elements of each business Aspect, please read the blog, “The Business Maturity Index - Gauging Your Success“ by Manuel Palachuk.
Also, check out Manuel’s book, “Getting To The Next Level: A Blueprint for Taking You and Your Business to the Top“
