Framework · August 18, 2026

The operating review a new investor actually wants

The structure of a first-hundred-days operating review: how revenue is actually produced, where the constraints bind, what the evidence is, and the three things worth funding first.

By Marsden Advisory· Updated September 17, 2026
Two colleagues reviewing printed performance charts at a table
Two colleagues reviewing printed performance charts at a table

We write these as operating partners rather than advisers, which means the document has to be something a management team can work from on Monday.

## Describe how money is actually made

Volume, price, mix and cost to serve, by segment, from the accounting system rather than the CRM. Most businesses we review discover at this stage that one segment is subsidising another, and nobody had ever seen the two side by side.

## Name the binding constraints

Identify the three constraints that actually limit output this year — capacity, cash conversion, a single dependency, a hiring pipeline — with the evidence for each. A list of ten priorities is the same as no priorities, and it is how these reviews get ignored.

Where this applies

  • Consulting

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