Meeting goal. Keep the room focused on one thing: turn the business from a broad collection of good things into a clear, usable business story with proof, boundaries, and next steps.
1. Frame the problem
Say this plainly: the business does not lack substance. It lacks compression. Today's job is to decide what leads, what supports, what needs proof, and what should stop getting top billing.
Critical conclusion:
☐ Leadership agrees the main issue is clarity and hierarchy, not inventing a new identity.
2. Decide the lead story
Core question: what is the company first?
List the plausible identities — most multi-line businesses have three to five — and discuss briefly.
Critical conclusion:
☐ Working lead-story hypothesis chosen.
Guardrail: do not let the answer become "all of the above." That is the current problem.
3. Sort the offer portfolio
Question: which offers should lead the business story, and which should support it?
| Offer line | Core | Growth | Supporting | Distracting / De-emphasize |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| List every offer line, one per row. | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ |
Critical conclusion:
☐ Top 3 business-story priorities selected.
4. Identify best-fit customers
Question: who values the company enough to understand it, pay for it, return, and talk about it?
Critical conclusion:
☐ Best-fit customer defined by behavior, not demographics:
Best-fit customers are people who:
5. Name the non-fit customer
Question: who creates confusion, margin pressure, reputation risk, or delivery pain? Common categories: commodity price shoppers; buyers expecting something the model doesn't deliver; customers asking for outcomes the company cannot safely promise; customers who don't value the mechanism that makes the company different.
Critical conclusion:
☐ Non-fit customer boundaries named:
The company should stop chasing:
6. Map the alternatives
Question: what do people choose instead? Include substitutes and "do nothing," not just direct competitors.
| Customer need | Alternative they weigh | Where the company can win |
|---|---|---|
Critical conclusion:
☐ Top 3 alternatives the company must beat.
7. Choose the three message pillars
No vague adjectives without mechanism and proof.
| Pillar | Promise | Mechanism | Proof needed | Boundary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Critical conclusion:
☐ Three pillars selected.
8. Claims discipline: what can we safely say?
Question: which recurring language should be approved, qualified, proven, or stopped? List every claim and phrase currently in use — especially the comfortable ones.
| Claim / phrase | Safe now | Needs proof | Needs softer language | Do not say |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Each recurring claim, one per row. | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ |
Critical conclusion:
☐ Claims-risk list created:
Safe to say now: Needs proof or qualification: Should stop saying:
9. Draft the working value proposition
Use this prompt:
The company helps [who] who want [desired outcome] by providing [offer/system] through [mechanism], supported by [proof].
Critical conclusion:
☐ Leadership agrees this is good enough to test in the full session. It is a hypothesis, not copy.
10. Confirm Day In The Room readiness
Required roles:
☐ Sponsor / Decider — name:
☐ Revenue Voice — name:
☐ Delivery Voice — name:
☐ Marketing / Admin Support — name:
Artifacts to gather:
☐ Website copy
☐ Brochures / collateral
☐ Offer descriptions
☐ Inquiry examples by offer line
☐ Reviews and testimonials
☐ Top customer questions
☐ Top objections
☐ Sales patterns by offer type
☐ Current claims that may need proof or legal caution
☐ Competitor / alternative examples
Critical conclusion:
☐ Owners assigned for pre-work.
11. Close with final decisions
Before ending, confirm out loud:
☐ We chose a working lead story.
☐ We sorted the offer portfolio.
☐ We named the best-fit customer.
☐ We named the non-fit customer.
☐ We identified key alternatives.
☐ We selected candidate message pillars.
☐ We started the claims-risk list.
☐ We drafted or framed the working value proposition.
☐ We confirmed session roles.
☐ We assigned artifact-gathering responsibilities.
Final question
What should the company stop leading with?
Answer: