Proof 3 of 8

The Team

Why a buyer cares

A buyer is purchasing the people who do the work. A team that can show its goals and results earns a higher multiple.

How this proof is scored

Each piece of evidence below gets a score. The score for The Team is the lowest of its four evidence items. A buyer looks for the weak spot, so the weak spot sets the score.

0. Not proven: You believe it, but cannot show it.
1. Partly: Evidence exists but is incomplete, late, or needs you to explain it.
2. Proven: A third party could verify it from documents alone.
3. Proven and tested: Verified and stress-tested: an outsider reviewed it, or it held up when it mattered.

The four pieces of evidence

Each piece starts with the question a buyer will ask. Then it shows what a good answer looks like, and what makes it hold up under pressure.

Evidence 1

Role Map and decision rights

A buyer asks this to find out whether the numbers and claims hold up without you in the room.

The buyer's question

Who decides what when you are not here?

What Proven looks like

A third party could verify it from documents alone.

A current Role Map with written decision rights for each leadership role.

What Proven and tested adds

Verified and stress-tested: an outsider reviewed it, or it held up when it mattered.

Leaders made those decisions without you for a full quarter, and it is documented.

Evidence 2

Written goals and results

A buyer asks this to find out whether the numbers and claims hold up without you in the room.

The buyer's question

Show me each leader's goals and whether they hit them.

What Proven looks like

A third party could verify it from documents alone.

Every leader has written goals and recorded results for the last four quarters.

What Proven and tested adds

Verified and stress-tested: an outsider reviewed it, or it held up when it mattered.

Most goals were met, and each miss has a written cause and correction.

Evidence 3

Scorecard and Weekly Sync

A buyer asks this to find out whether the numbers and claims hold up without you in the room.

The buyer's question

How does the team know each week if it is winning?

What Proven looks like

A third party could verify it from documents alone.

A weekly Scorecard with at least 12 weeks of history, and a Weekly Sync held with notes.

What Proven and tested adds

Verified and stress-tested: an outsider reviewed it, or it held up when it mattered.

A full year of history, and the meeting runs without you in the chair.

Evidence 4

Depth and retention

A buyer asks this to find out whether the numbers and claims hold up without you in the room.

The buyer's question

Who is your second in command, and will your key people stay?

What Proven looks like

A third party could verify it from documents alone.

A named successor for each key role and a written retention plan.

What Proven and tested adds

Verified and stress-tested: an outsider reviewed it, or it held up when it mattered.

Key people have signed retention or stay agreements, and your second in command has run the business.

Readiness documents

These are the documents that back up this proof. Keep each one current. A document that is a year out of date tells a buyer the business only gets organised when someone asks.

Document	What it is and why	Refresh
Role Map with decision rights	Who is responsible for what, and what each can decide alone.	Quarterly
Leader goals and results	Written goals for each leader and the outcome each quarter.	Quarterly
Scorecard history	Week-by-week numbers. A year of history is strong evidence.	Weekly
Weekly Sync notes	Problems raised, decisions made, who owns each action.	Weekly
Resolved-constraint log	Each Focus Constraint worked, with the before and after number.	Quarterly
Succession and retention plan	Named successor for each key role; how key people are kept through a transition.	Annually
Organization chart, compensation and tenure summary	Who works here, in what role, for how long, and at what cost.	Annually

Score The Team

Be honest. Score what you could show a buyer this week, not what you plan to fix.

Score this proof in the Scorecard

The Margin The Month