INSIDE BUILDER-OF-LEADERS MENTORING
Name the Kill Date Before the Test
Three growth tests are running, all past their end date, and you are the only person who can call time on any of them. Ivanka Menken uses the Kill-Date Test inside Builder-of-Leaders Mentoring, a 6-month programme at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST, to write the question, the pass line and the kill date before a test starts, and to name the team leader who reports back. You leave with one test sheet per test and the call off your desk.
The Kill-Date Test is a tool inside the programme, not a separate product.
AN EXAMPLE SERVICES BUSINESS
Three tests past their end date. One person who could stop them.
- THE TESTSevery one past its original end date3 running
- THE KILL DATEthe pass line and the date, written first14 days
- WHO REPORTSreads the result on the date, not the founderTeam leader
THE RULE
“No test starts until the failed result, the kill date and the person who reports back are written on one page.”
Your tests and dates will be your own.
SOUND FAMILIAR?
Every test is still running
- 01Your growth tests run past their end date and nobody ends them.
- 02You are the only person who can call time on an experiment.
- 03Your weekly numbers meeting turns into status updates on the same tests.
THE TESTS, AS THEY STAND
- Growth tests running: 3
- Past their end date: all 3
- Result that counts as failure: never written
- Who can end one: the founder only
- Last test stopped on time: none
The data is not unclear. The stop was never agreed.
THE EXAMPLE CASE
The founder who was the only off switch
01
THE MOMENT
Three tests, a few weeks late each
It is the weekly numbers meeting. The new referral offer, the trial package and the second ad channel are all on the agenda again. Each one is a few weeks past the date it was meant to finish. Someone says the referral offer might need another month. Nobody disagrees, and nobody decides. You know it falls to you, and you put it off again.
02
WHAT THEY HAD TRIED
A weekly numbers meeting
In this case, the founder ran a $1.6m services business with 11 staff and two team leaders. Three growth tests were running at once. The obvious fix was a weekly numbers meeting to review them. It turned into status updates on the same three tests, made no decisions, and added an hour to everyone’s week.
03
WHAT IVANKA NOTICED
No test had a written failure
Ivanka noticed that no test had ever been written down with the result that would count as failure. So ending one always looked like a judgement call, and only the founder could make it. The two team leaders could read the numbers perfectly well. Nobody had told them what the numbers had to say, or by when.
THE DIAGNOSIS
An agreed stop, not clearer data
The tests were not failing slowly because the data was unclear. They were failing slowly because nobody had agreed in advance what stopped them. A test with no kill date is not a test. It is a slow cost.
The reframe: write the question, the pass line and the kill date before the test starts, and name who reports back on that date. Then ending a test is reading a line, not making a call, and a team leader can do it. A failed test ended on time is a result worth marking.
A test with no kill date is not a test. It is a slow cost.
THE COST OF STAYING STUCK
Every week a dead test keeps running, it takes budget, attention and a slot in the meeting from the next question worth asking.
THE TOOL
The Kill-Date Test, for one services business
The Kill-Date Test is how Builder-of-Leaders Mentoring takes the stop decision off the founder. Before a test starts, one page names the question, the pass line, the kill date and the team leader who reports back, so the end is agreed before anyone has a stake in it.
Tap a part. Your tests, pass lines and dates will be your own.
Kill-Date Test · a framework by Ivanka Menken
What it is
It is one page per test. The question the test answers. The pass line, a number written first. The kill date, usually about two weeks out. The team leader who reads the result on that date and reports pass or stop to the meeting. Under it, the next question waiting on the board.
What it replaces
It replaces tests with no end, a numbers meeting that only reports status, and a founder who is the only person allowed to say stop.
It sits inside Builder-of-Leaders Mentoring, next to the fortnightly release, because the kill date is a decision the founder releases to a team leader. There is no separate checkout.
THE TEST SHEET, AS WRITTEN
- 01The question: does the referral offer bring in new clients?
- 02The pass line: a number written before the start
- 03The kill date: 14 days from the start
- 04Who reports: one named team leader
- 05The outcome: pass and continue, or stop and mark it
- 06The next question: already on the board
HOW IVANKA WORKED WITH THEM
From three open tests to three sheets
In the session, Ivanka asked the founder to list every test running and the date each was meant to end. For each one, they wrote the question it was meant to answer and the result that would count as failure. Then the founder gave each test a kill date and a team leader to report back. The founder left with three test sheets and a rule: no new test starts without one.
THE TEST SHEET, AS WRITTEN
- The question
- What the test is meant to find out, in one line.
- The pass line
- The number that counts as working, written before the start.
- The kill date
- The day the result is read, about two weeks out.
- Who reports
- One team leader, who says pass or stop to the meeting.
- Review
- On the kill date, at the team meeting
Your tests and team leaders will be your own.
THE FOUR-STEP LOOP
- 1The one thingTests with no agreed end.
- 2The numbersThree tests, one pass line each, a 14-day kill date.
- 3The storyWhy a weekly numbers meeting made no decisions.
- 4The commitmentThree sheets written, and the reports released to the team leaders.
THE QUESTIONS
- Which tests are running right now?
- What question is each one answering?
- What result would count as failure?
- On what date will you read it?
- Which team leader reports back?
Before the next session, the two team leaders read their tests on the kill date and reported pass or stop to the meeting, and the founder only listened.
WHAT CHANGED
Tests that end when they said they would
By month 6, every test starts with a sheet, team leaders read and report the result on the kill date, failed tests end on time and are marked, and the founder only decides which question comes next.
BEFORE
- Tests past their end date.
- A numbers meeting of status updates.
- No result written as failure.
- The founder as the only off switch.
BY MONTH 6
- A sheet before every test.
- A meeting that hears pass or stop.
- The pass line written first.
- Team leaders reading their own tests.
THE 12 FORTNIGHTS
- 1Call
- 2Call
- 3Call
- 4Call
- 5Call
- 6Month 3
- 7Call
- 8Call
- 9Call
- 10Call
- 11Call
- 12Month 6
The programme is the container: 12 fortnightly 60-minute sessions, one release each fortnight, and reviews at month 3 and month 6.
ILLUSTRATIVE RESULT
In this case, each test got a pass line and a kill date on one page. The first was ended inside the window, the team marked it as a result rather than a failure, and the next question went up on the board.
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOU
Write the stop before you start
Ivanka Menken built Builder-of-Leaders Mentoring for founders of $500K to $3M businesses who build leaders and still do it all. A test only the founder can stop is one more decision that never leaves your desk.
This fits if you have team leaders, you run growth tests and they keep running past their date. It does not fit if you want someone to design your marketing tests for you. The decision in front of you is one page. Write the pass line and the date, and hand the report to a team leader.
“Helps founders lead with clarity and integrity by modelling vulnerability, emotional intelligence, and grounded decision-making. Creates an environment where leaders can openly explore challenges and grow without fear of judgement.”
R.W., founder
WHO IT IS FOR
It fits
- You run growth tests, offers or channels on trial.
- Your tests run past their end date.
- You have team leaders who could read the result.
- You will write the failure line before the start.
It does not fit
- You want someone to run the tests for you.
- You have no team to hand the report to.
- You want a marketing agency.
- You want every test to succeed.
THE INVESTMENT
AUD $1,500
per month ex GST
6 months · 12 fortnightly sessions
The Kill-Date Test is part of Builder-of-Leaders Mentoring, a 6-month 1:1 programme at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST. It is not sold separately.
- 12 fortnightly 60-minute sessions
- One release each fortnight
- A monthly scorecard with release commitments kept
- Reviews at month 3 and month 6
Three founding places in total, shared across all 1:1 mentoring, are available at AUD $1,000/month ex GST, in return for honest monthly feedback and a testimonial, which can be anonymous. Claim a founding place.
The Kill-Date Test is part of the programme. It is not sold separately.
FREQUENTLY ASKED
Questions about ending tests on time
How long should a business growth test run?
Long enough to read one clear number, and no longer. In this case, about two weeks was enough to know whether each test was working. The point is to set the date before the start. Ivanka Menken writes that kill date with you inside Builder-of-Leaders Mentoring, 6 months at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST, with a team leader named to read it.
How do I decide when to stop a test that is not working?
Decide before it starts. Write the result that counts as failure and the date you will read it, then the decision on that date is reading a line, not a judgement. Ivanka Menken builds that one-page test sheet with you inside Builder-of-Leaders Mentoring, 6 months at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST, so stopping is agreed in advance.
Who should report on a test, the founder or the team?
A team leader, once the pass line and kill date are written. They read the result on the date and report pass or stop, and the founder decides only which question comes next. Ivanka Menken releases that report to your team leaders inside Builder-of-Leaders Mentoring, 6 months at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST, one release each fortnight.
Is ending a failed test a waste of the money spent on it?
No. A failed test ended on time is a clear answer for a known cost. The waste is the weeks it keeps running after the answer is in. In this case, the team marked the first test it ended. Ivanka Menken sets that habit inside Builder-of-Leaders Mentoring, 6 months at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST.
Write the kill date first
If your tests keep running past their date and you are the only one who can stop them, start with Builder-of-Leaders Mentoring. The Kill-Date Test is inside it, and the 20-minute intro call is where you can see whether the programme fits.
Not a marketing agency or a done-for-you testing service.