by Dr. Stephanie F. West, author of “S.O.A.P. for Success, A Simple Method to Manage Your Business and Revitalize Your Mission“
You started leading or managing your business because you had a vision to make the world a better place. Your business was created to take on the mission of making that vision a reality.
Yet day-to-day reality has a way of pulling you off course. Urgent emails, staffing issues, system glitches, and decisions that only you can make quickly crowd out strategic thinking. When everything feels important, it’s hard to know what actually deserves your attention.
Here’s a practical skill you can use to cut through the noise, make smarter decisions faster, and get back to doing the work that matters most.
The S.O.A.P. Method
The S.O.A.P. method is a problem-oriented framework borrowed from medicine, where professionals must rapidly assess and analyze a patient for diagnosis and treatment. You can use the same approach to diagnose your business, identify root causes of complex situations, and prioritize the best course of action.
S.O.A.P. stands for Subjective, Objective, Assessment, and Plan.
Step 1: Subjective; The Human Side.
Start with perceptions, feelings, and experiences from the human side of your business. These issues can be hard to quantify, but they are often the source of the most stress for leaders.
Begin with yourself and any partners or shareholders. Are there concerns about direction, workload, or alignment? Then look at your team. Are there morale issues, communication breakdowns, or signs of burnout? Finally, consider your customers. Review feedback, online reviews, Net Promoter Scores, or recent conversations to identify potential concerns.
Capture all these issues in a problem list. The more problems you capture, the more effective this exercise will be.
Step 2: Objective; The Measurable Facts.
Next, document all problems or issues that you can measure. You may already have a list of these objective factors, since they can include key performance indicators and other commonly known data points for review.
Review financial statements for red flags. Examine operations, systems, technology, inventory, facilities, and workflows. This is not the time to gloss over the “little” items of concern. If something isn’t working the way it should, add it to the problem list.
This step isn’t about judgment or quick fixes. It’s about capturing the full picture.
Step 3: Assessment; Finding Patterns.
Now step back and look at your problem list for patterns and connections.
Multiple problems may stem from a single root cause. For example, slow internet, dropped calls, and a crashing website might all point to inadequate IT support. Addressing the underlying issue could solve several problems at once.
The same applies to personnel issues. If dissatisfaction is concentrated in one department, the issue may be with the leadership rather than individual employees, and management training may be the most effective step to improve employee morale.
This is where clarity emerges, so give this step focused time and attention.
Step 4: Plan; Prioritize and Act.
Even after identifying root causes, you can’t fix everything at once. This is where prioritization matters.
Borrowing again from medicine, think in terms of triage. Rank issues based on impact on your mission first, and urgency second. Ask yourself: If this isn’t addressed, what fails? Once an issue is identified as important to your mission, ask: How fast does this need to be handled?
Every problem is important to someone. Some problems are inconvenient, but others risk the business itself. Your job is to know the difference and rank them accordingly into your action plan.
The Bottom Line
The S.O.A.P. method gives you a repeatable, scalable way to analyze your business and move from overwhelm to action. It works whether you’re a solopreneur or leading a large organization.
The world needs what you’re building. With the right tools to assess, prioritize, and execute, you can spend less time reacting — and more time making the impact you set out to make.
Dr. Stephanie F. West is a consultant and speaker, and author of “S.O.A.P. for Success, A Simple Method to Manage Your Business and Revitalize Your Mission“. She has over 30 years of experience in veterinary medicine and executive leadership.
