The SMASH System™ Self-Assessment
A Self-Assessment for Experienced Independent Professionals
Discover What's Helping You Move Forward—and What's Getting in Your Way
Why Independent Leaders Get Stuck
When you leave corporate, you gain independence.
You also lose something important:
The room where decisions get made.
The colleagues who challenged your thinking.
The built-in support system that helped you evaluate opportunities, solve problems, and stay focused on what matters most.
Over time, the absence of those structures can make it harder to maintain clarity, make decisions, and sustain momentum.
The challenge isn't a lack of intelligence, experience, or effort.
It's navigating important decisions without the perspective and support you once had.
The SMASH System™ was created to help experienced independent professionals create clarity, make better decisions, and maintain momentum.
This self-assessment will help you better understand how you're currently approaching important business decisions and identify opportunities to strengthen your SMASH System™.
The Assessment
For each statement, rate yourself using the following scale:
1 = Rarely True
2 = Sometimes True
3 = Usually True
4 = Consistently True
Write your rating in the space provided.
After completing each section, add the three ratings together and record your Section Rating.
The goal isn't to achieve a perfect score.
The goal is to understand how well your current SMASH System™ is supporting your progress.
S — Stir Up Your Dreams
Reconnect with what matters most.
| Statement | Rating |
|---|---|
| I have a clear sense of what matters most to me right now. | _____ |
| My current priorities align with my long-term goals. | _____ |
| I regularly make decisions based on what is important rather than what feels urgent. | _____ |
Add your three ratings together.
Section Rating: _______
M — Map Your Future
Create a clear picture of where you're going.
| Statement | Rating |
|---|---|
| I have a clear picture of the future I'm working toward. | _____ |
| I know what success would look like over the next 90 days. | _____ |
| I can explain why my current objectives matter. | _____ |
Add your three ratings together.
Section Rating: _______
A — Act With Purpose
Turn priorities into meaningful action.
| Statement | Rating |
|---|---|
| I know which actions matter most right now. | _____ |
| I can distinguish between activity and progress. | _____ |
| I focus my energy on actions that support my objectives. | _____ |
Add your three ratings together.
Section Rating: _______
S — Stick With It
Learn from action and maintain momentum.
| Statement | Rating |
|---|---|
| I have a process for reviewing my progress. | _____ |
| I learn from results rather than simply reacting to them. | _____ |
| I make adjustments without abandoning my goals. | _____ |
Add your three ratings together.
Section Rating: _______
H — Hold Yourself Accountable
Improve your outcomes through perspective and support.
| Statement | Rating |
|---|---|
| I have trusted people who challenge my thinking. | _____ |
| I regularly seek outside perspective. | _____ |
| I have support that helps me maintain momentum. | _____ |
Add your three ratings together.
Section Rating: _______
| Step | Rating |
|---|---|
| Stir Up Your Dreams | ______ |
| Map Your Future | ______ |
| Act With Purpose | ______ |
| Stick With It | ______ |
| Hold Yourself Accountable | ______ |
| Total Rating | ______ |
What Did You Learn?
Record Your Section Ratings
Your Total Rating gives you a snapshot of how strong your current SMASH System™ is.
The purpose is not to judge yourself.
The purpose is to see where deeper reflection, clearer structure, and better support could improve your progress.
A higher rating suggests that you have more of the clarity, structure, and support needed to move forward consistently.
A lower rating suggests that there may be opportunities to strengthen the way you clarify priorities, define objectives, take action, learn from results, and seek outside perspective.
Reflection
What does your Total Rating suggest about the way you are currently approaching important business decisions?
Where do you feel least clear right now?
Where would deeper self-analysis help you understand what is missing and why?
How often do you make important business decisions entirely on your own?
Where would trusted outside perspective improve your thinking and your outcomes?
What business outcome might improve if you had people who regularly challenged your assumptions and helped you see what you can't see on your own?
Would you:
Make decisions faster?
Feel more confident about your priorities?
Stay focused longer?
Generate better results?
What might be possible?
Many independent professionals discover that their biggest opportunities for improvement are not related to effort or expertise.
They are related to clarity, structure, perspective, and support.
When you understand what is missing and why, you can make better decisions.
When you make better decisions, you take better action.
And better action leads to better outcomes.
What's Your Next Step?
Understanding your Total Rating is useful.
Improving it is where progress begins.
That improvement starts with a deeper dive into each part of the SMASH System™ so you can understand what is missing, why it matters, and what to do next.
That is what SMASH+™ is designed to help you do.
SMASH+™
SMASH+™ guides you through a deeper self-analysis of the five steps of the SMASH System™ and helps you apply what you learn to a real business challenge.
Inside SMASH+™, you'll:
Clarify what matters most
Define a meaningful objective
Create a practical action plan
Learn through reflection and iteration
Prepare to get more value from SMASH Lab™
By doing this work first, you'll arrive at SMASH Lab™ with greater clarity, stronger preparation, and a real challenge that is ready to benefit from trusted outside perspective.
In SMASH Lab™, you'll work with thinking partners to:
Clarify what matters most
Identify your most important objective
Test assumptions and blind spots
Develop a practical path forward
Learn from the experiences of other independent leaders
About Smashing the Plateau
Smashing the Plateau helps experienced independent professionals make better decisions through a combination of structured reflection, collective intelligence, and ongoing practice.