# Founder Toolkit

Practical tools for founder self-management and leadership development.

---

## 1. Weekly CEO Reflection Template

**15 minutes. Every Friday. No excuses.**

This is the most important meeting of the week. You with yourself.

```
DATE: _______________

## This Week

**1. What was my most important contribution this week?**
(Not the longest meeting or the hardest problem — the thing that will matter in 90 days.)

_______________________________________________

**2. Where did I add the least value? Why was I involved?**
(Be honest. Where were you in the room out of habit, not necessity?)

_______________________________________________

**3. What should I have delegated but didn't?**
(Name the specific task and the person you could have delegated it to.)

_______________________________________________

**4. What decision am I avoiding? Why?**
(Fear of being wrong? Not enough information? Conflict avoidance?)

_______________________________________________

**5. What would I do differently this week if I could do it over?**
(One thing. Make it specific.)

_______________________________________________

## Next Week

**My one most important outcome for next week:**
_______________________________________________

**What will I stop doing / not start / protect myself from?**
_______________________________________________
```

---

## 2. Energy Audit Template

Map your week by energy, not tasks. Do this for one full work week.

### Step 1: Time block mapping

For each 30-minute block in your week, record:
- What you did
- Energy level: 🟢 Energizing / 🟡 Neutral / 🔴 Draining

```
Monday:
08:00-08:30: __________________ [🟢/🟡/🔴]
08:30-09:00: __________________ [🟢/🟡/🔴]
09:00-09:30: __________________ [🟢/🟡/🔴]
... (continue through the day)
```

### Step 2: Pattern analysis

After one week, categorize activities:

| Activity type | Energy level | Total hours | % of week |
|--------------|-------------|-------------|-----------|
| Customer calls | | | |
| Investor meetings | | | |
| Team 1:1s | | | |
| Product decisions | | | |
| Strategy/planning | | | |
| Email/Slack | | | |
| Recruiting | | | |
| Financial review | | | |
| External talks/events | | | |
| Administrative tasks | | | |
| Deep work/building | | | |
| Recovery/breaks | | | |

### Step 3: Optimization plan

**Green activities to protect (min 40% of week):**
- _______________________________________________

**Red activities to eliminate or delegate (target: < 15% of week):**
- Activity: __________________ → Delegate to: __________________
- Activity: __________________ → Eliminate via: __________________

**Your personal energy peak hours:**
I do my best thinking: _______ to _______
Schedule this time as: Protected deep work (no meetings)

---

## 3. Delegation Matrix

For every task you regularly do, run it through this matrix.

### Assessment

| Task | Skill level needed | My will to keep it | Decision |
|------|-------------------|-------------------|----------|
| | High / Med / Low | High / Med / Low | Keep / Coach / Delegate / Kill |

### Delegation scoring

| My Skill | My Will | Decision |
|----------|---------|----------|
| High | High | Keep — this is your zone of genius |
| High | Low | Delegate — you can do it, but it drains you. Train someone. |
| Low | High | Develop — learn it or hire for it |
| Low | Low | Kill or outsource — why is this on your plate? |

### The 70% rule

If someone can do a task 70% as well as you, delegate it. Trying to get to 100% is a trap:
- Their 70% will grow to 90% with practice
- Your 30% extra effort costs more than the quality gap
- You free up time for things only you can do

---

## 4. 1:1 Template for Direct Reports

Weekly or biweekly. 30 minutes. Their agenda, not yours.

```
DATE: _______________
PERSON: _______________

## Their Section (first 20 min)

**What's on their mind? (open the meeting with this)**
(No agenda from you first — let them lead)

**What are they working on? Where are they stuck?**

**What do they need from me?**

**Anything they wanted to raise but haven't had the chance to?**

## Your Section (last 10 min)

**Context to share (strategy, changes, what they should know):**

**Direct feedback to give (if any):**
- Be specific: "In Tuesday's meeting, when you [did X], the impact was [Y]"
- Make it actionable: "Next time, I'd suggest [Z]"

**Career/growth check-in (monthly, not every meeting):**
- How are they feeling about their growth?
- What do they want to be doing more of?
- What are they interested in that they're not currently doing?

## Follow-ups

| Commitment | Owner | Due |
|------------|-------|-----|
| | | |
```

### Rules for effective 1:1s

- **Their agenda first.** If you dominate with your updates, they stop bringing theirs.
- **No status updates.** That's what tools are for. This time is for their thinking, blockers, and development.
- **Consistent time.** Rescheduled 1:1s signal that they're not a priority.
- **Take notes.** Review them before the next meeting. It signals that you listened.
- **Follow up on commitments.** If you say "I'll get you that answer by Thursday," get it by Thursday.

---

## 5. Personal OKRs for the Founder

Most founders hold their team accountable to goals but have none themselves. Fix that.

### Template: Quarterly Personal OKRs

```
Q[X] YYYY | FOUNDER OKRs

## My One Priority This Quarter
(The single most important thing I personally must accomplish)
_______________________________________________

## Objective 1: [Leadership Development]
What I'm trying to achieve: _______________________________________________

KR 1.1: [Measurable outcome by EoQ]
KR 1.2: [Measurable outcome by EoQ]
KR 1.3: [Measurable outcome by EoQ]

Progress check (mid-quarter): _______________________________________________

## Objective 2: [Delegation / Team Building]
What I'm trying to achieve: _______________________________________________

KR 2.1: [Measurable outcome by EoQ]
KR 2.2: [Measurable outcome by EoQ]

## Objective 3: [External Impact — Investors / Customers / Market]
What I'm trying to achieve: _______________________________________________

KR 3.1: [Measurable outcome by EoQ]
KR 3.2: [Measurable outcome by EoQ]

## The "Stop Doing" List (equally important)
Things I'm committing to stop doing this quarter:
- Stop: _______________________________________________
- Stop: _______________________________________________
- Stop: _______________________________________________
```

### Personal OKR examples

**Objective: Become a better coach, not just a decision-maker**
- KR: 90% of my direct reports can make their top 3 recurring decisions without me by EoQ
- KR: In 1:1 reviews, 80% of team rates me as "helps me think through problems" vs "tells me what to do"
- KR: Conduct quarterly 360 feedback session with all direct reports

**Objective: Build investor trust before I need it**
- KR: Monthly investor updates sent within 5 days of month-end, every month this quarter
- KR: 1:1 calls with each board member, once per quarter, outside of board meetings
- KR: Create and share 3-year financial model with board by EoQ

**Objective: Protect my energy and performance**
- KR: 3+ hours of protected deep work time per day, 4+ days per week
- KR: Complete weekly CEO reflection every Friday (track: 0/13 weeks → 13/13)
- KR: Zero email after 8pm, zero weekends unless explicit crisis

---

## 6. The "Stop Doing" List

The hardest list to make and the most valuable to keep.

Most founders have clear to-do lists. Few have stop-doing lists. The asymmetry is the problem.

### The stop-doing audit

**Things to stop doing immediately (decision you can make today):**
- Attending meetings you don't add value to
- Being the default person for decisions that should be made by others
- Redoing work that your team completed
- Checking email/Slack during deep work blocks
- Starting tasks you know you'll delegate partway through

**Things to stop doing by delegating (need to train someone):**
- _______________________________________________
- _______________________________________________
- _______________________________________________

**Things to stop doing by building systems:**
- Recurring manual tasks → automate
- Recurring decisions → write decision criteria so others can decide
- Recurring explanations → document once, reference always

### The decision filter

Before accepting new responsibilities, run through:
1. Does this require something only I can do?
2. Is this the highest and best use of my time?
3. If I say yes to this, what am I saying no to?

If the answers are no, no, and something important — say no.

---

## 7. Evidence File

For when imposter syndrome hits. Keep a running file of:

**Wins** (monthly minimum)
- Company milestones you led
- Decisions that worked out well
- Feedback you received that was genuinely positive

**Quotes** (capture as they happen)
- Direct quotes from team members, customers, investors about your impact
- Emails or messages that reflect trust or appreciation

**The hard calls that paid off**
- Decisions you were scared to make that turned out well
- Times you said no to something that would have hurt the company

**When to read it:** When you're doubting yourself before a board meeting, a hard conversation, a big pitch. The feeling isn't fact. The evidence file is.
