ARCH Lab · Free assessment

Organizational Life Cycle Diagnostic

Find out which stage your company is really in and what that stage demands of you.

⏱ About 4 minutes20 questionsInstant results · works on your phone

Stage 1: ExistenceSmall, informal, founder-centered; the goal is finding customers and staying alive.
Stage 2: SurvivalGrowing with some structure forming; the goal is steady revenue and basic systems.
Stage 3: SuccessFormal structure, departments and procedures; the goal is efficiency and stability.
Stage 4: RenewalMature but re-energized; teams, collaboration and innovation drive growth.
Stage 5: DeclinePolitics and control have replaced customer focus; the goal has become self-protection.

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Organizational Life Cycle Diagnostic: questions

Rate each statement from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree).

Nearly every important decision in the company runs through one person.
We have few written procedures; people figure things out as they go.
Most of our energy goes into landing the next job or customer.
We track results mostly by gut feel and bank balance rather than reports.
We have a small group of key people, but the owner still has the final say on most things.
We have started writing down how work should be done, but it is not consistent yet.
Our main goal right now is steady revenue and getting cash flow under control.
We look at a few basic numbers regularly but do not have full management reports.
We have clear departments or functions with managers who run them.
Most of our work follows documented procedures and standards.
Our focus is on running efficiently and protecting what we have built.
We use regular financial and operational reports to make decisions.
Decisions are often made by cross-functional teams rather than one boss.
We actively look for new markets, services or ways of working.
People at many levels are expected to solve problems without waiting for approval.
We use detailed data to spot trends and plan ahead, not just to review the past.
Internal politics and turf battles take up a lot of leadership attention.
We have lost customers or market share over the past few years and have not reversed it.
Leaders seem more focused on protecting their positions than on serving customers.
Information is kept close by a few people rather than shared openly.