Smb Monday Brief

Monday Brief

When to use

Use this at the start of the week to give the owner a fast, consistent read on where things stand and what to focus on — a repeatable Monday ritual that keeps cash, sales, and pipeline in one view.

Not for: deep monthly close (use smb-month-end-prep); a 30-day cash forecast (use smb-month-heads-up); anything that actually contacts customers or moves money — this brief only recommends.

Method

1. Set the frame. State the week-starting date and the prior week you're comparing against.
2. Cash line. Cash on hand, change vs last week, known outflows due this week (payroll, rent, bills), and runway.
3. Sales line. Last week's revenue vs target and vs prior week, plus deals closed.
4. Pipeline line. Deals expected to close this week with value, and any that slipped. Decision point: if a deal slipped twice, flag it as at-risk rather than "still expected."
5. Risks and dates. Overdue invoices, deadlines, and anything time-sensitive this week.
6. Pick the top 3 to-dos. Convert the above into the three highest-impact actions, each with a one-line why. Decision point: if cash runway is under one payroll cycle, one to-do must address it. Keep it to one page; any outreach or spend it suggests is for the owner to approve.

Example

Week of Mar 4 (vs Feb 26). Cash $18,400, down $2,100; rent $3,000 due Fri; runway ~6 weeks. Sales last week $9,200 vs $11,000 target (-16%), 3 deals closed. Pipeline: 2 deals ~$7,500 expected to close; the Acme deal slipped a second week — flag at-risk. Risks: Invoice #217 ($4,300) is 22 days overdue. Top 3: (1) Chase #217 today — biggest fast cash lever. (2) Confirm or drop Acme — stop forecasting a ghost. (3) Book two demos to refill a thin pipeline.

Pitfalls

• Turning it into a data dump; the value is three decisions, not thirty numbers.
• Reporting revenue with no target or prior-week anchor — a number alone says nothing.
• Carrying a perpetually "expected" deal week after week without flagging the slip.
• Writing vague to-dos ("improve sales"); each must be a concrete action someone can do this week.

Output format

• Week of / vs prior week.
• Cash: on hand | change | outflows due this week | runway.
• Sales: last week vs target/prior | deals closed.
• Pipeline: closing this week (value) | slipped/at-risk deals.
• This week's risks & key dates.
• Top 3 to-dos: action + why (owner approves any outreach or spend).

Reference

The five lines — what each must contain

1. Cash line. Cash on hand, ± vs last week, outflows due this week (payroll, rent, loan, taxes, big supplier bills), and runway = cash on hand ÷ average weekly burn. Express runway in weeks and in payroll cycles — the payroll cycle is the number that triggers action.
2. Sales line. Last week's revenue vs target and vs prior week (both anchors — a number with neither is meaningless), deals closed, and any streak/trend.
3. Pipeline line. Deals expected to close this week with value and probability; total weighted pipeline; and any deal that slipped.
4. Risks & dates line. Overdue invoices (with age), deadlines, renewals, commitments, and anything time-sensitive.
5. Top 3 to-dos. The three highest-leverage actions distilled from the above, each with a one-line "why it matters this week."

Runway and cash triggers

• Runway = cash ÷ weekly burn. Under 1 payroll cycle → a to-do must address cash this week (accelerate collections, delay non-critical spend, or line up a buffer). Under 6 weeks → cash is the standing top priority. Over ~13 weeks (a quarter) → healthy; focus can shift to growth.
• Always net known outflows due this week against inflows you can actually count on (not hopeful invoices) before reporting comfort.

Pipeline hygiene — the slip rule

Track each open deal's expected-close date week over week. Slipped once = note it. Slipped twice = reclassify from "expected" to at-risk and stop counting its value in this-week forecasts until re-qualified. A perpetually "expected" deal is a forecasting ghost that hides a thin pipeline. Use weighted pipeline = Σ(deal value × close probability) so the number reflects reality, not optimism.

Weighted-pipeline probability guide (adjust to your close rates)

Prioritizing the top 3 (impact × urgency)

Score candidate actions on impact (cash/revenue at stake) and urgency (must-happen-this-week). Pick the three with the highest combined pull. Guardrails: never more than three (the brief's value is focus, not a task dump); each must be a concrete action a specific person can complete this week ("Chase invoice #217 today," not "improve cash"); and if a cash trigger fired, one slot is spoken for.

To-do quality test

Each to-do passes only if it is: (a) specific and verb-first, (b) assignable to one owner, (c) completable within the week, and (d) tied to a number or outcome. "Book two demos to refill a thin pipeline" passes; "focus on sales" fails.

Common failure modes to avoid

• The data dump. Thirty numbers with no decision. The brief exists to produce three actions, not to mirror a dashboard.
• Unanchored figures. "$9,200 in sales" tells the owner nothing without a target and a prior-week comparison beside it.
• The zombie deal. Carrying a deal as "expected to close" for the fourth straight week instead of flagging the slip and re-qualifying.
• Vague to-dos. "Improve marketing" isn't a Monday action; "post the two testimonial ads by Wednesday" is.
• Ignoring the cash trigger. Reporting a thin runway without making one to-do address it.

Cadence and boundaries

Run first thing Monday against last week's actuals; keep it to one page. This brief recommends only — every suggested outreach, payment, or spend is presented for the owner to approve, and nothing contacts a customer or moves money without that explicit yes.