The 6 Pillars method
Every business stands on 6 Pillars; when growth stalls, usually one of them has weakened and is pressing on the rest. 6 Pillars reviews each pillar one by one with numbers, so we first see where the real problem is — and then decide what to do, in what order.
This method is for you if…
- You want the root cause, not the symptom treated.
- You have acted before and the problem surfaced somewhere else each time.
- Big decisions are made on intuition and you want numbers.
- You want to know which part is capping your growth.
- You do not want a thirty-page report; you want one clear priority.
The six pillars and what is measured
| How it is calculated | Warning threshold | |
|---|---|---|
| Position & direction | Target market, a provable difference, focus and a numerical goal. | An unclear difference means competing on price. |
| Product, price & value | Margin per service, price structure and the customer's choice path. | A high-demand service with thin margin only consumes time. |
| Market & demand | Demand size, competitors and substitutes, access channels. | Dependency on one channel above 60% is a risk. |
| Marketing & sales | The staged funnel, acquisition cost, repeat customers and referrals. | A drop at one stage means that stage is the bottleneck. |
| Finance & profitability | Margin, break-even, cash and revenue concentration. | More than 40% concentration on one client or line is hidden risk. |
| Organisation, team & execution | Process, capacity, owner dependency and data discipline. | Above 30% owner dependency, your personal capacity is the ceiling. |
Pillar scores: which one is weakest?
Score each pillar from 0 to 5; the weakest pillar is your ceiling.
How we work
-
Discovery and interviews Duration: Half a day
The owner's and staff's stories are heard and the problem statement is sharpened with the five whys.
-
Reviewing the six pillars Duration: One to two weeks
Each pillar is measured with its own metric and tools, and scored.
-
Determining the bottleneck Duration: 90 minutes
The single bottleneck — the one with the greatest financial impact — is chosen with reasoning and numbers.
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The 90-day roadmap Duration: One week
Actions are written with owners, metrics and time windows.
What we need from you
- Monthly sales split by service or product
- Price list and actual selling prices
- Fixed and variable costs
- Lead counts and conversion per stage
- Team list and service capacity
- Customer list for the last three months
Intellectual honesty
Where 6 Pillars comes from
- The term bottleneck comes from the Theory of Constraints (TOC) by Eliyahu Goldratt; I claim no invention of that concept.
- The rule that a business works at the level of its weakest pillar has the same root.
- What belongs to this method: the combination of the six pillars, the scoring form, and the way we move from an observed symptom to a single bottleneck.
The method claims no invention; it claims to work. Whatever comes from elsewhere is named, and whatever belongs to it is proven with numbers.
Want to know which pillar is your weakest?
Book a consultation; if the method does not fit your situation, I will say so plainly right there.
Four misreadings of 6 Pillars
- "It means six projects": 6 Pillars is one review, not six separate jobs; the aim is one bottleneck.
- "All pillars must be strong": investing in a strong pillar pays nothing back; the bottleneck comes first.
- "It is only for big business": smaller businesses run a lighter version, because data and time are scarcer.
- "Numbers are optional": without numbers each pillar is scored by taste and the diagnosis loses credibility.
What running 6 Pillars delivers
- A complete picture of the six pillars, with a score each.
- The single bottleneck, with estimated financial impact.
- Two growth levers in execution order.
- A 90-day roadmap with actions, owners and metrics.
- Two numbers for continuous tracking: revenue trend and conversion rate.
Tools per pillar
- Position & direction: perceptual map and the law of focus
- Product, price & value: growth-share matrix and value-based pricing
- Market & demand: Porter's five forces and substitute analysis
- Marketing & sales: staged funnel, unit economics and referral score
- Finance & profitability: break-even analysis and the cash cycle
Organisation, team & execution: McKinsey 7S, founder mindset and a KPI dashboard
The reasoning behind the method
All six pillars receive a numerical score; the diagnosis rests on the size of the gap, dependency and financial impact, not on the lowest score alone.
We reach the diagnosis by walking the chain of cause backwards: from the observed symptom to the decision that must be taken.
Frequently asked questions
How is this different from ordinary consulting?
Ordinary consulting starts from the problem you declare; here the six pillars are measured first, to see whether the declared problem really is the bottleneck.
How long does it take?
A two to three week review, then execution of the 90-day roadmap.
What size of business is it for?
From a few-person business to a multi-branch company; only the depth of review and the amount of data differ.
What if I have no data?
We start with what exists and the gap becomes a finding in the report; the initial checkup gives the first picture of where you stand.
Is the outcome guaranteed?
No numerical guarantee; the guarantee is method and transparency. If data is insufficient I say so before starting.
Where do I start?
Use the free initial checkup, then a short call to decide whether this method fits you.