Business Diagnostic Template: What to Write Down, and Where It Stops
A business diagnostic template is a useful first step because it forces a vague worry into a few plain sentences. It is also easy to overtrust. This page gives the six lines worth writing, shows a filled-in example, and explains where a template stops and a comparison with real peers has to begin. It pairs with the 90 day business plan, which starts once the cause is named.
Is there a free business diagnostic template I can use?
Yes, and a simple one is enough for a first pass. Write six lines: the symptom, the number that shows it, the stage it sits in, the decision upstream of it, what changed and when, and what you already tried. A template organises your thinking. It cannot test whether your thinking is right.
What should a business diagnostic template include?
Six fields, one sentence each: the symptom, the evidence number, the stage of the customer journey affected, the upstream decision, the date things changed, and fixes already tried. End with one line naming the single cause you would bet on. If a field needs a paragraph, you are describing the problem, not diagnosing it.
What does a filled-in business diagnostic template look like?
Consider a founder of a small furniture workshop. Symptom: orders flat. Evidence: fewer quotes become orders. Stage: quote to order. Upstream decision: every job priced from scratch. Tried: discounts. Bet: slow, unanchored quotes. This is an illustration, not a real case. Note the bet is a hypothesis to test, not a conclusion.
What is the difference between a template and a business diagnostic?
A template gives structure, and you supply every answer. A diagnostic compares those answers with matched peers and ranks what is capping growth. Templates fail quietly because they are completed from the founder's own view, which is usually the part that is wrong. The loudest symptom fills the form and confirms what you already believed.
How do I find out which problem to put in my template?
Run a structured diagnostic first, then use the template to plan the fix. Vee Group's diagnostic compares your answers with patterns from businesses that scaled, stalled or failed, and returns one ranked constraint. It is free right now: founding members, the first 100, get 3 months free and can use it as much as they want.
To find the constraint in your own business, run our free business diagnostic tool. It compares you with businesses that scaled, stalled or failed and gives you a ranked 30, 60 and 90 day plan.