Tokio Method
The Tokio Method is how Tokio Business works. It divides a company into six gears, measures how well they mesh and focuses effort on the one that is holding growth back the most. It turns the way our partners have worked with companies for more than two decades into a system.
The principle
When a small company stops growing, it is rarely because one area has failed on its own. Marketing generates leads that sales does not convert. Sales closes deals the team cannot deliver on time. Revenue goes up, but the cash does not arrive when it is needed.
We call that mismatch friction. It never appears as a line of its own in the profit and loss account, but you pay for it in lost sales, delays and margin. The Tokio Method starts from a simple idea: before you accelerate, measure where the company is grinding.
The six gears
Knowing where the company is heading, and why.
What we measure
Clarity of goals, quarterly priorities and how decisions are made.
Warning sign
Everything is urgent and nothing moves as fast as planned.
What we do when it fails
We set one goal for the next 90 days, no more than three priorities and a way of deciding that does not depend on the urgency of the day.
What you're worth, clearly told and properly priced.
What we measure
Value proposition, ideal client and pricing policy.
Warning sign
You compete on price, or struggle to explain why clients should choose you.
What we do when it fails
We review who you sell to, what you promise and how you set prices, until your proposition fits in one sentence and you charge what it is worth.
Sales that repeat, not sales you have to chase.
What we measure
Lead generation, conversion and client retention.
Warning sign
Income depends on a handful of clients or on the founder's diary.
What we do when it fails
We organise the sales process end to end: where clients come from, how they convert and what brings them back.
Promising and delivering, even as you grow.
What we measure
Processes, automation and team capacity.
Warning sign
Every new client brings delays or mistakes.
What we do when it fails
We document the processes that repeat most, automate what does not need a person and match team capacity to what is being sold.
Growing with margin, not in spite of it.
What we measure
Margin by service, payment terms and cash-flow forecasting.
Warning sign
Sales go up, but the bank balance doesn't.
What we do when it fails
We work out the real margin of each service or product, review payment terms and build a 13-week cash-flow forecast.
Related service: Business turnaround
New markets, new partners, new capital.
What we measure
Internationalisation, alliances and investment readiness.
Warning sign
There's ambition to grow abroad, but no plan and no one in charge.
What we do when it fails
We assess whether the company is ready for new markets, partners or investment, and what it needs to resolve before trying.
Related service: International expansion · Investment readiness
How it is measured
The Tokio Index scores each gear from 0 to 100 using 30 questions on how it runs, five per gear. The average of all six is your company’s overall Index.
The most useful insight is not each gear’s score but the friction between gears. Two gears grind when their scores are far apart, or when both are low. That is why the report does not stop at a score: it identifies the three frictions costing you the most.
The Index is a self-assessment and reflects the view of the person answering. It is a starting point, not a verdict. In the Tokio Diagnosis we test it against interviews and the company’s own data.
30
scored questions
0–100
score per gear
3
priority frictions
How we work
The full Tokio Index, completed by management and key members of the team, plus interviews to understand the numbers.
We choose the gear that slows you down most and set a concrete 90-day goal, with an owner inside the company.
A weekly plan, a scoreboard of three to five indicators and support from our team on each gear.
The Index is repeated at the end of the cycle. Progress shows in the numbers and sets the focus of the next cycle.
Rules
We start with the part that holds the whole company back, not with everything at once.
Each company has its own scoreboard with three to five weekly indicators.
Every cycle has a target, an owner and a results review.
Startups, founders and SMEs that are already selling and want to grow in an orderly way. We work remotely with companies in any country, in English and Spanish. When a project requires it, we travel.
If your company does not have clients yet, the method will be less useful: it needs sales data to measure friction.
It measures the company as a system rather than department by department, and works in short 90-day cycles with a weekly scoreboard. The report is not the end of the work but the start.
In an Acceleration cycle, between 2 and 4 hours a week from the management team, depending on the plan.
Yes. We work remotely with companies in any country, in English and Spanish.
We work on margin, collections and cash-flow forecasting. Funding and investment decisions are made with your financial advisers and authorised professionals.
You can start with the Tokio Index, which is free, and the Diagnosis includes a 90-day plan you can implement with or without us.
Ten minutes to find out your company’s Tokio Index. Then, if you wish, we will discuss it in a 30-minute session.