If you’re like most owners, your gut might say, “We’re doing fine.” But when it comes to selling, scaling, or succession, fine often isn’t good enough.
The reality is that business readiness isn’t about gut feeling — it’s about proof.
And one of the most effective ways to measure that proof is through a simple yet powerful tool called Common Sense Scoring.
Common Sense Scoring is a practical assessment framework introduced by Christopher Snider in Walking to Destiny and taught in the CEPA program.
It’s based on the Value Acceleration Methodology™, helping owners evaluate how prepared their businesses are for transition by scoring six critical value factors across the 4Cs of Value — Human, Structural, Customer, and Social Capital.
The beauty of the system is in its simplicity:
You can’t improve what you don’t measure — and you can’t measure what you don’t define.
Each value factor is scored on a scale from 1 to 6:
Your readiness score provides a snapshot of both risk and potential.
For example:
By identifying your weakest areas, you can target value acceleration efforts where they’ll have the biggest financial impact.
Common Sense Scoring isn’t just about exit readiness — it’s about growth readiness.
Every point you gain in readiness translates into measurable enterprise value.
Here’s why:
Here’s how to get started:
Many CEPA-trained advisors use this framework as a dashboard, revisiting it every 90 days to track improvement over time.
When you use Common Sense Scoring, you shift your perspective from “How am I doing?” to “How do I prove it?”
This clarity turns uncertainty into action and emotion into measurable progress.
As Walking to Destiny reminds us:
“What you can measure, you can manage. What you can manage, you can grow.”
Whether your goal is to sell, scale, or simply gain freedom, knowing your readiness score is the first step.
Once you can see where your business stands, you can take deliberate, measurable steps toward higher value — and a more significant company.
