• Identify & Track your Organisational Debt

    Know where your organisation is exposed. Monitor your progress toward resolution.

  • Overview

    Most organisations carry debt they don't talk about. Not financial debt, but organisational debt: shortcuts taken, decisions deferred, capabilities that never got built, processes that never got documented.

    The Organisational Debt Diagnostic is a two-part resource designed to help you identify which types of debt your organisation is carrying—and then track your progress over time.

    What You'll Get

    1. The Diagnostic (One-page assessment)
    A printed or digital worksheet that takes 5–10 minutes to complete. You'll rate your organisation on eight types of debt:

    • Technical Debt
    • Data Debt
    • Innovation Debt
    • Regulatory Debt
    • Cultural Debt
    • Strategy Debt
    • Operational Debt
    • Capability/Talent Debt

    Each type has recognition markers to help you identify it, and a 1–5 severity scale so you can see where you're most exposed.

    2. The Tracker (Excel template)
    A spreadsheet for recording your assessments over time. Track your baseline, see which debts are improving, which are getting worse, and where you need to focus next. Built-in instructions guide you through each debt type.

  • How to Use it

    Starting Point: One-off Assessment

    Print the diagnostic, complete it individually or with your leadership team, and get an immediate picture of where your organisation is carrying debt. Use it to spark a conversation about priorities and next steps.

    Ongoing: Progress Tracking

    1. Record your first assessment in the tracker (date + scores for each debt type + notes)
    2. Every quarter, six months, or year - complete the diagnostic again
    3. Enter the new scores into the tracker
    4. Watch the patterns: Which debts are improving? Which need more attention?
    5. Use the data to make decisions about where to invest in operations, culture, or capability building

    In Leadership Conversations

    Use the diagnostic in your next strategy session or operations review. Have your leadership team complete it separately, then discuss. You'll often spot where leaders see different risks — and that difference itself is valuable information.

  • Who is This For?

    Founders and leaders of 1–100 person organisations


    Non-technical executives who need to understand where operational risk lives

    Strategic decision-makers looking for a simple baseline to measure progress against

    Next Steps

    Start by reading Organisational Debt - Primer.

    It explains what organisational debt is, why it compounds, and why it matters.

    Then download the diagnostic and tracker below, and take your first assessment.

    You'll have a clearer picture of where your organisation is in 10 minutes.

  • FAQs

  • Related

    Primer

    Read the full framework and learn how to prioritise: Organisational Debt - Primer

    Explore specific types of debt in depth:

    Coming soon:

    • Cultural Debt and Why It Compounds
    • Strategy Debt Is Killing Your Growth
    • Technical Debt: Not Just a Developer Problem
    • The Operational Debt Your Business Is Silently Accumulating
    • The Knowledge That Walks Out the Door

  • Explore what’s getting in the way

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