Scaling Up Assessment
Show a leadership team exactly where their growth is on track, and where it is fragile.
For coaches and advisors working with growth-stage leadership teams, the Scaling Up Assessment is the flagship diagnostic from Verne Harnish, author of Scaling Up and Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. It benchmarks a company against the four decisions every scaling business has to get right: People, Strategy, Execution and Cash. Deployed through Esperto, you get a structured scorecard that turns a vague sense of "we are stuck" into a clear, prioritized picture of what is working and what is holding the business back. You stay the strategist, leading the team through what the results mean and what to do next.
Coaches, advisors and facilitators working with growth-stage leadership teams
The four decisions of scaling: People · Strategy · Execution · Cash
[EDIT: confirm - e.g. ~15 min per leader, company scorecard same day]
Company scorecard across the four decisions + leadership-team gap view + coach-led debrief
English, German, French, Dutch, Spanish, Italian
Not required - deploy directly through Esperto
What the Scaling Up Assessment measures
The Scaling Up Assessment is built on the framework Verne Harnish set out in Scaling Up (Rockefeller Habits 2.0): companies that scale successfully get four decisions right at the same time. People, Strategy, Execution and Cash. Get one wrong and growth stalls, gets painful, or runs out of money. The assessment turns that framework into a structured diagnostic. Each member of the leadership team rates the business across the four decisions, and you get a single company scorecard that shows where the team agrees, where they do not, and which decision is quietly capping growth. It is the same methodology taught in CEO bootcamps and used by tens of thousands of growth companies worldwide.
The four decisions it measures
People
Whether the right people are in the right seats with real accountability, and whether leaders would enthusiastically rehire everyone on the team.
Strategy
Whether the company has a clear, differentiated strategy that drives sustainable, profitable growth, and whether everyone can articulate it the same way.
Execution
Whether priorities, data and meeting rhythm are tight enough that the business executes without drama, friction or wasted effort.
Cash
Whether the business has the cash and cash-flow discipline to fund its own growth, rather than running out of oxygen as it scales.
Typical use cases for coaches and advisors
- Open a growth engagement with a baseline that shows a leadership team where they actually stand on People, Strategy, Execution and Cash.
- Build consensus fast: turn "everyone has a different opinion on what is broken" into one shared, prioritized scorecard.
- Prepare a leadership team for an annual or quarterly planning session with hard data instead of opinions.
- Spot the one or two decisions that are quietly capping a client's growth, and focus the engagement there.
- Track progress quarter over quarter by re-running the assessment and showing the team measurable movement.
How it works
From kickoff to a leadership-team scorecard in about [EDIT: confirm turnaround] days. No subscriptions, no platform commitments, no surprise costs along the way.
You position it with your client
You stay the strategist; the Scaling Up Assessment is the instrument you bring to the leadership team. You set it up and send it through Esperto, no platform to manage.
The leadership team completes it
Each leader rates the business across the four decisions online, in about [EDIT: confirm respondent time]. Their individual views roll up into one company picture.
Esperto delivers the scorecard, you run the conversation
You get a clear company scorecard and a gap view showing where the team aligns and where it splits. You turn that into priorities with the team.
Hear it from the source
Verne Harnish on the four decisions every scaling business has to get right, and why most growth stalls come down to getting just one of them wrong.
Inside the Scaling Up scorecard
A single, leadership-team scorecard that benchmarks the company across the four decisions and shows where the team agrees and where it does not. Six glimpses of what lands in front of you and the team during the debrief.
← Scroll or swipe to see all slides
Verne Harnish
Verne Harnish is one of the most influential voices in the world of business growth. He is the founder of the Entrepreneurs' Organization (EO) and the founder and CEO of Scaling Up, the methodology and global coaching network that has helped tens of thousands of companies grow. He is the author of Scaling Up (Rockefeller Habits 2.0) and Mastering the Rockefeller Habits, both standard works for leadership teams serious about growth. The Scaling Up Assessment puts his Four Decisions framework into a structured diagnostic you can run with your own clients.
Author - Scaling Up and Mastering the Rockefeller Habits
Founder - Entrepreneurs' Organization (EO)
Founder and CEO - Scaling Up
Creator of the Four Decisions framework taught in CEO bootcamps worldwide
Trusted by advisors and leadership teams serious about growth
A few words from the coaches and leaders who use the Scaling Up Assessment in their work. Aim for at least one coach/advisor voice alongside any leadership-team voices.
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[EDIT: quote from a coach or advisor who uses the Scaling Up Assessment with their clients. 2 to 4 sentences. A concrete outcome beats generic praise.]
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[EDIT: Role, Company]
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[EDIT: quote from a CEO or leadership-team member whose company ran the assessment. Ideal: a specific decision the scorecard surfaced.]
[EDIT: Full name]
[EDIT: Role, Company]
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[EDIT: decision-moment quote: why they chose the Scaling Up Assessment to open or focus an engagement, and what made it stick.]
[EDIT: Full name]
[EDIT: Role, Company]
Built so you can run the Scaling Up Assessment inside your own practice and earn your margin.
The Scaling Up Assessment is priced on a pay-as-you-go basis. You pay a partner rate per assessment you deploy. No subscriptions, no minimums, no annual platform fees, and no certification required. Your margin lives in the difference between the partner rate and what you charge your client for the growth engagement around it.
Partner rate
Contact us / per assessment
Pay-as-you-go. No subscriptions, no minimums. Final number depends on leadership-team size and volume, confirmed on a discovery call.
- Company scorecard across People, Strategy, Execution and Cash
- Leadership-team gap view: where the team aligns and where it splits
- Prioritized read of which decision is capping growth
- Available in English, German, French, Dutch, Spanish and Italian
- Coach view of the results, ready to debrief with the team
Volume. Running the Scaling Up Assessment regularly across your client base? Ask about a partner volume rate.
Enterprise and in-house. Advisory firms or in-house teams deploying across multiple companies or business units, contact us for a tailored package.
No certification required. You can deploy the Scaling Up Assessment with your clients directly through Esperto. No certification or onboarding gate to clear first.
Frequently asked questions
Who is the Scaling Up Assessment for?
Coaches, advisors and facilitators working with growth-stage leadership teams, and the companies they serve. It is built for engagements where a leadership team needs one shared, honest picture of how the business is really doing on People, Strategy, Execution and Cash, rather than a collection of individual opinions.
How long does the engagement take?
Each leader spends about [EDIT: confirm respondent time] completing the assessment online. The company scorecard is available [EDIT: confirm turnaround], so you can move quickly from assessment to a debrief and planning conversation you design.
In which languages is it available?
The Scaling Up Assessment is available in English, German, French, Dutch, Spanish and Italian. If you need a language not listed, ask. Additions can usually be arranged.
What does my client receive as a deliverable?
A company scorecard that benchmarks the business across the four decisions (People, Strategy, Execution, Cash), plus a leadership-team gap view showing where the team agrees and where it splits. You receive a coach view of the same results, ready to debrief and turn into priorities with the team.
How is privacy handled?
Responses are collected and hosted under Esperto's data protections. [EDIT: confirm specifics: hosting region, GDPR status, retention policy, and whether individual leader responses are anonymized within the team rollup.]
Do I need to be certified to deploy this with my clients?
No. You can deploy the Scaling Up Assessment with your clients directly through Esperto, with no certification or onboarding gate to clear first. A short platform walkthrough is all you need to get started.
How does pricing work, and what is my margin?
You buy at a partner rate per assessment and set your own rate with your client, so the margin is yours. Pay-as-you-go, with no subscriptions, no minimums and no platform fees. Volume pricing is available if you run it regularly across your client base. Contact us for the current rate card.
Can I combine this with other Esperto assessments?
Yes. The Scaling Up Assessment is the flagship of the Scaling Up suite and pairs naturally with the Rockefeller Habits Checklist (operating discipline), the Leadership Vision Alignment Assessment (shared vision), and the Quarterly Session Preparation Assessment (planning rhythm). It also works well alongside Esperto's people and culture assessments when a client needs the human picture next to the business one.
Let's talk about how the Scaling Up Assessment fits your practice.
A short discovery call is the fastest way to know whether the Scaling Up Assessment belongs in your practice. We'll ask how you work with growth-stage leadership teams and where a four-decisions diagnostic fits in your engagements. Then we'll be honest about whether this is the right match, or whether another tool in the Esperto toolkit fits better.