04 / Finance and growth

Compare the next use of capital.

Take one investment proposal and place it beside a credible alternative. Make the next commitment visible before debating the total opportunity.

Use before An investment committee, budget allocation or staged funding decision.

Define the alternatives.
Set out the preferred investment, a smaller or later version, and a credible competing use of the same capital. Include the consequences of waiting.
Separate past spending from the next choice.
Identify remaining commitments, cancellation or exit costs, and the funds still available to allocate. Record obligations already created separately from expenditure that can be avoided.
Test the shared constraint.
Which option competes for the same cash, people, capacity or management attention? Check that the combined plans do not depend on using the same resource twice.
State what would change the judgement.
Record the decisive assumption and the evidence that would justify expanding, pausing or reducing the commitment. Distinguish a change in conditions from a change in the original estimate.
Specify the release decision.
Agree the next amount or resource to commit, the accountable decision-maker, the evidence required and the review point. Make the consequence of an unmet condition explicit.

Leave withA comparable set of choices and a specific next commitment, with clear conditions for proceeding or changing course.

04 / Working record

Use concise statements. Mark what is known, what is assumed and what remains unresolved.

Issue / organisation ___________________Prepared by / date ___________________

Decision and credible alternatives

Remaining commitments and exit costs

Shared resource constraint

Critical assumption and contrary evidence

Next release and approval authority

Review point and conditions for changing course

Close the discussion with an agreed owner and review point. Keep the supporting evidence with this record.

Define the alternatives.