Frame
Reframe the real problem, objective, constraints and accountability boundary.
DECISION METHODS & TASK MAPS / METHODS
Separate how a decision moves from the dimensions used to analyse it
The five-stage lifecycle describes process; the five-dimensional framework describes analytical lenses; task maps apply both to M&A, disposal, funding and integration. They connect, but are not interchangeable.
DECISION LIFECYCLE / FIVE STAGES
Frame—Expand—Compete—Choose—Calibrate
Expand
Expand facts, evidence, assumptions, variables, specialist views and uncertainty.
Compete
Make competing explanations, options and dissenting views confront the same facts.
Choose
Form a decision and action with explicit trade-offs, authority and accountability.
Calibrate
Use action results and long-run outcomes to revise judgments, methods and stop conditions.
FIVE DIMENSIONS + OUTCOME / ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK
Five analytical dimensions, continuously recalibrated by outcomes
Strategy
Investment
Financial reality
Funding
Risk & governance
Outcome is not a sixth analytical step; it is the reality axis that continuously recalibrates all five dimensions.
TASK MAPS / APPLIED MAPS
Task maps apply process and dimensions to real work; they are not a third abstract method
01
Running M&A for the first time
Begin with the strategic problem and move through diligence, valuation, structure, decision, closing and integration.
STAGE 01
Define
- QUESTION
- Why must M&A solve this problem?
- OUTPUT
- Objectives, constraints, alternatives and stop conditions
- PARTICIPANTS
- Business, strategy, finance, decision owner
- COMMON BREAK
- The target opportunity defines the strategy
STAGE 02
Judge
- QUESTION
- Do value, risk and capability fit?
- OUTPUT
- Diligence view, value range and risk map
- PARTICIPANTS
- Business, finance, legal, tax, valuation
- COMMON BREAK
- Specialist views remain unintegrated
STAGE 03
Design
- QUESTION
- How should risk and incentives enter the structure?
- OUTPUT
- Price, payment, funding, conditions and governance
- PARTICIPANTS
- Deal team, funders, board
- COMMON BREAK
- Price is negotiated without execution conditions
STAGE 04
Close & integrate
- QUESTION
- Who turns commitments into outcomes, and when?
- OUTPUT
- Closing list, owners, information and integration plan
- PARTICIPANTS
- Operations, finance, HR, governance
- COMMON BREAK
- Accountability and data break after signing
02
Running an asset disposal
Start with purpose and value boundaries, then handle valuation, route, procedure, cash and outcomes.
STAGE 01
Purpose
- QUESTION
- Is the disposal solving cash, risk, strategy or governance?
- OUTPUT
- Priority, floor and timing constraints
- PARTICIPANTS
- Business, finance, strategy, decision owner
- COMMON BREAK
- Speed becomes the only objective
STAGE 02
Value
- QUESTION
- How do assets, debt, cash flow and buyers shape price?
- OUTPUT
- Value bridge, scenarios and buyer map
- PARTICIPANTS
- Business, finance, valuation, market team
- COMMON BREAK
- Book value or one valuation dominates
STAGE 03
Route
- QUESTION
- Which equity, asset, debt or combined route is executable?
- OUTPUT
- Route comparison, procedure and conditions
- PARTICIPANTS
- Legal, tax, audit, regulatory interface
- COMMON BREAK
- Structure and approvals diverge
STAGE 04
Exit
- QUESTION
- Are closing, cash, release and residual risk complete?
- OUTPUT
- Closing and collection plan, responsibilities, outcome
- PARTICIPANTS
- Finance, legal, operations, handover team
- COMMON BREAK
- Signing occurs without real transfer of value and risk
03
Funding & capital structure
Define the funding problem before comparing tenor, cost, flexibility, control and downside scenarios.
STAGE 01
Need
- QUESTION
- Is the gap cash, tenor, credit or risk capacity?
- OUTPUT
- Use of funds, tenor, constraints and priority
- PARTICIPANTS
- Business, finance, treasury, decision owner
- COMMON BREAK
- Receiving funds is mistaken for solving the problem
STAGE 02
Capacity
- QUESTION
- What structure can fundamentals and cash support?
- OUTPUT
- Debt capacity, stress scenarios and boundary
- PARTICIPANTS
- Finance, operations, risk, rating interface
- COMMON BREAK
- Only current interest cost is considered
STAGE 03
Instrument
- QUESTION
- How should debt, equity, converts or a mix be compared?
- OUTPUT
- Instrument comparison and switching conditions
- PARTICIPANTS
- Funders, shareholders, legal, market team
- COMMON BREAK
- An instrument is treated as a fixed label
STAGE 04
Monitor
- QUESTION
- When should fundamentals, markets or terms trigger a switch?
- OUTPUT
- Indicators, triggers and refinancing plan
- PARTICIPANTS
- Finance, treasury, board
- COMMON BREAK
- Capital structure stops being managed after funding
04
Post-merger integration
Do not treat a 100-day plan as the answer; design governance, information and capability backwards from value.
STAGE 01
Freeze promises
- QUESTION
- What value did the deal actually promise?
- OUTPUT
- Synergy hypotheses, owners and validation metrics
- PARTICIPANTS
- Deal team, business owner, finance
- COMMON BREAK
- The acquisition logic is reinvented after closing
STAGE 02
Control interface
- QUESTION
- Which information, authority and risk must be visible now?
- OUTPUT
- Governance, authority, reporting and risk interface
- PARTICIPANTS
- Board, finance, legal, control
- COMMON BREAK
- Meetings and policies exist without reliable information
STAGE 03
Execute
- QUESTION
- Who can actually move the business and organisation?
- OUTPUT
- Responsibility map, key roles and phased plan
- PARTICIPANTS
- Business, HR, integration lead
- COMMON BREAK
- The plan is complete but execution capacity is absent
STAGE 04
Review outcomes
- QUESTION
- Was a shortfall caused by judgment, execution or external change?
- OUTPUT
- Attribution, revision and stop conditions
- PARTICIPANTS
- Management, finance, investment, governance
- COMMON BREAK
- Results are read without diagnosing their source