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Commercial Friction Audit

Expose the Hidden Bottlenecks Costing Your Business Margin and Velocity

The Commercial Friction Audit is a 2-minute objective diagnostic tool designed to reveal where internal friction, defensive selling habits, and status-quo bias are quietly stalling your sales pipeline and eroding operating margins.

  • Identify Unseen Drag: Pinpoint exactly where deals are stalling in your sales funnel.

  • Respond with Speed: Shift your commercial team from defensive protection to proactive market execution.

  • Amplify Margin & Cash Flow: Equip leaders and revenue teams to protect pricing and drive predictable revenue.

Click the button below to start. There are 6 multiple choice questions that take approximately 2 minutes to complete.

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Question 1 of 6

Q1 (Key Person Dependency):  What percentage of your company's critical 12-month R&D, clinical, or commercial milestones depend primarily on 1 to 3 key leaders without functional redundancy or secondary backup?

 

Consider your top functional leads (VP R&D, VP Medical/Clinical, VP Commercial). If 1 or 2 key leaders were unavailable for 30 days, what portion of your strategic roadmap would stall?

 

A

Less than 15% (1 Pt - Fully distributed execution; strong leadership bench)

B

15% – 30% (2 Pts - Minor concentration; key functions have secondary coverage)

C

31% – 50% (3 Pts - Moderate risk; critical launches tied to specific individuals)

D

51% – 70% (4 Pts - High dependency; multi-role strain on functional VPs)

E

Over 70% (5 Pts - Severe vulnerability; single-point-of-failure across core initiatives)

Question 2 of 6

Q2 (Talent Flight Risk & Retention):

What percentage of your mission-critical leadership and technical talent are currently unhedged (lacking key retention incentives, clear career pathways, or succession depth) post-change?"  (recent acquisitions, restructurings, or rapid scaling)  

 

Focus specifically on high performers and subject-matter experts (R&D, Medical/Clinical, Commercial) whose departure directly impacts enterprise valuation or execution timeline.

A

Less than 10% (1 Pt - Key talent fully incentivized & aligned)

B

10% – 25% (2 Pts - Low risk; minor gaps in succession)

C

26% – 45% (3 Pts - Moderate risk; key managers unhedged)

D

46% – 60% (4 Pts - High risk; widespread vulnerability to recruiter poaching)

E

Over 60% (5 Pts - Severe vulnerability; critical talent actively unanchored)

Question 3 of 6

Q3 (Pipeline Velocity): Approximately what percentage of your active, high-value main street market pipeline stalls or ends in 'No Decision' after the initial value proposition or proof-of-concept phase (Stages 3–4) or extended buyer paralysis?

 

Think of your mid-to-late pipeline stages (Stage 3: Value Prop / Stage 4: Proof of Concept). Where are deals losing momentum?

A

1 – Negligible (< 10% loss rate due to paralysis)

B

2 – Low (10–20% stalled/lost to no decision)

C

3 – Moderate (21–35% stalled/lost to no decision)

D

4 – High (36–50% stalled/lost to no decision)

E

5 – Severe (> 50% stalled/lost to no decision)

Question 4 of 6

Q4 (Cross-Functional Drag):  What percentage of cross-functional initiatives (Commercial + Medical + Ops) suffer from decision delay, re-work, or executive intervention due to siloing or functional friction?

 

Observe how Commercial, Medical Affairs, and Ops interact: Are they pushing key decisions forward with radical candor, deferring them out of paralysis (Freeze/Avoidance), or fighting for territorial dominance?

A

Less than 10% (1 Pt - Smooth cross-functional execution)

B

10% – 20% (2 Pts - Minimal drag; rare friction)

C

21% – 35% (3 Pts - Moderate friction; frequent avoidance/artificial harmony)

D

36% – 50% (4 Pts - High friction; frequent decision paralysis/stagnation)

E

Over 50% (5 Pts - Severe friction; active political warfare or constant escalation)

Question 5 of 6

Q5 (Organizational Strain & Health Claims):  What percentage increase in stress-related absenteeism, executive medical leaves, or self-funded healthcare claims cost has your organization experienced over the past budget cycle?

 

Look at your recent board updates or HR dashboard: Are health benefits costs, employee engagement scores, or stress-related leaves trending in a way that threatens budget or team capacity?

A

Less than 5% increase (1 Pt - Well-managed energy & low health risk)

B

5% – 9% increase (2 Pts - Normal operational baseline)

C

10% – 15% increase (3 Pts - Moderate fatigue & noticeable claim growth)

D

16% – 25% increase (4 Pts - High strain; escalating healthcare tax & absenteeism)

E

Over 25% increase (5 Pts - Severe burnout tax; acute operational & benefits drain)

Question 6 of 6

Q6 (Execution Cadence & Milestone Slippage):  Over the past 4 quarters, what percentage of your board-approved strategic milestones, product releases, or core operational objectives and key results (OKRs) have slipped past their target quarter due to internal firefighting or reactive diversion?

 

Review your past 12 months of board decks: How often are strategic initiatives pushed into the next quarter because daily operational friction or urgent fires took over?

A

Less than 10% (1 Pt - Optimized Cadence; predictable execution)

B

10% – 20% (2 Pts - Minor Drift; occasional quarter-end compression)

C

30% – 40% (3 Pts - Moderate Drag; frequent milestone roll-overs)

D

41% – 50% (4 Pts - High Friction; chronic deadline slippage across teams)

E

Over 50% (5 Pts - Severe Breakdown; perpetual firefighting with minimal strategic delivery)

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