Performance Fix Sprint

Remove the one distortion blocking flow — without creating the next cash crisis.

This is a focused sprint for underperforming businesses where the “usual fixes” are backfiring, and the owner/director needs a safe path to improved cash generation.

We work one constraint at a time. Every change is tested against cash impact before it proceeds.

Not a turnaround. Not a program. Not a list of initiatives.

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Entry only after determination — no advice, no pitch.
Focused work sprint
The problem

When you’re busy, but the business doesn’t get better

Underperformance is rarely caused by a lack of ideas. More often, the business is distorted by one constraint: a bottleneck, a policy, a pricing/mix problem, a sales conversion leak, a production choke point, or a working capital trap.

Common symptoms
  • you push harder and cash tightens
  • teams work more, but output doesn’t translate into cash
  • you have multiple problems, but no clear “first fix”
  • initiatives pile up, but nothing changes the trajectory

The Sprint exists to make cause and effect visible — and to correct the one thing that changes the system.

Operations review
Constraint focus
What this is

A disciplined correction of the business’s “shape”

We treat the business like a cash machine. If the machine is distorted, effort won’t convert to cash. The Sprint finds the distortion and corrects it — with tight scope and clear measures.

We do not attempt to fix everything. We pick the one correction that improves flow first.

One constraint. One correction. Measured cash impact.
You get a tighter business, not a thicker plan.

If the safest outcome is “pause” or “stop”, you will already know from the Viability Determination.

Entry conditions

This only starts when it’s safe to fix

Required
  • Viability Determination: Proceed / Proceed with Conditions
  • Cash Reality Determination (where timing risk is material)
  • agreement on a single “primary constraint” to attack first
Not suitable if
  • –continuation is not defensible under current conditions
  • –the outcome has already been decided and evidence is unwelcome
  • –the business requires formal insolvency advice or appointment processes
The doctrine
No correction proceeds unless it protects or improves cash runway.
How it works

A tight sprint with clear ownership

Phase 1
Pinpoint the constraint

Confirm where flow is really getting stuck: bottleneck, policy, conversion leak, pricing/mix distortion, or working capital trap.

Phase 2
Design the smallest correction

Build the minimum change that improves throughput and cash — with clear measures, owners, and timing.

Phase 3
Execute and re-check cash

Implement with weekly measures tied to the constraint and cash. Re-check the Cash Reality model before scaling the change.

What makes this different
Coaches sell effort. Accountants report history. Advisors propose initiatives. We correct the constraint and test cash impact before change proceeds.
What you receive

A short plan you can actually run

Sprint outputs
  • one-page constraint diagnosis and “why now” rationale
  • weekly measures tied to the constraint and cash runway
  • owner-by-owner actions (who does what, by when)
  • cash-safe boundaries and stop conditions
  • re-check points using the 13-week / 3-way lens
What we avoid

The Sprint is designed to prevent initiative overload — and to stop “optimisation theatre”.

  • –no broad transformation program
  • –no 40-slide strategy deck
  • –no scattered “to-do list”
  • –no vague KPIs disconnected from cash
Fit

Who this is for

  • owners/directors ready to focus on one constraint first
  • businesses where “more effort” is producing less
  • situations where cash safety must be preserved while improving performance
  • teams that can assign ownership and run weekly measures

Who this is not for

  • –those wanting an outsourced “fix it for me” without management ownership
  • –those unwilling to stop initiatives that don’t affect the constraint
  • –situations where continuation is not supported by evidence
Team execution
FAQ

Common questions

A turnaround program often tries to fix many things. This Sprint is deliberately narrow: we correct the primary constraint first and test cash impact before widening scope.

If the constraint is demand (conversion, churn, lead flow), yes — we apply customer analysis and 80/20 logic. The standard remains the same: one constraint first, with cash-safe testing.

A completed determination, basic operational data around the suspected constraint, and agreement on weekly ownership. If manufacturing is complex, we may run a short simulation to locate the true constraint before changing anything.
Contact

Request a Fit Check

A short fit check to confirm whether a Performance Fix Sprint is appropriate. No advice. No pitch.

Typical starting point
If your Viability Determination is “Proceed” (or “Proceed with Conditions”), the Sprint is the next step to restore flow.
Serving NZ and AU. Fixed-fee options available. Non-contingent.
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