Guide 08 · for owners and deal teams
The 100-day plan that exists on day one
Most hundred-day plans are written in the first thirty days after close. The best ones are finished before it.
By Cristian Paun · partner, Value Creation and Growth · Makers of New
The short answer
Diligence the business that has to deliver the thesis, as well as the market and the numbers. Rate each part of it, name the gaps, and price a fix for each in euros, capital and months, with the seat that will own it. Rank the fixes by euros per month of work. On the day of close that list is the hundred-day plan, and the first board meeting reviews progress instead of a draft.
Why it matters now
The first hundred days set the tone of the hold. A month spent writing the plan is a month in which nothing on it starts.
How to do it
- Read eight domains in diligence. The business model, the revenue engine, margin and cash, the operating model, technology and data, AI readiness, people and leadership, legal and regulatory.
- Rate each with its evidence. One to five, with the evidence beside it and how it is known.
- Name the gap against the thesis. One sentence per domain rated three or below.
- Price each fix. Euros it earns, capital it needs, months it takes.
- Give each fix a seat. The role that will own it after close, with what good looks like agreed in advance.
- Rank and cut. Euros per month of work, three fixes at a time.
- Load it on day one. Owners, dates and the first close already set.
What good looks like
SIMULATION, an invented target.
| Fix, in rank order | Euros per month of work | Owner | Starts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close discount exceptions | €100k | Commercial lead | Day 20 |
| One source of revenue truth | €30k | Finance lead | Day 10 |
| Automate the monthly pack | €10k | Operations lead | Day 30 |
Where it goes wrong
- The plan is inherited. An operator handed a plan without a hand in shaping it cannot challenge it.
- The fixes have no seat. Accountability without a named role drifts to whoever is loudest.
- The cost of the fixes is left out of the price. It was knowable before signing.
The instrument
The Diligence Read runs in about two weeks on deal timelines and ends with the costed fix list. On close it loads into the company's MakersOS room as the plan, and the first quarterly close measures it.