Free tools
Tools for running a growing company
Templates and guides I’ve made for the problems that come up as a startup grows: agreeing where you’re going, setting goals people use, and running the quarter and the week. Free to use, and to change to fit your company.
Agree where you’re going
Strategy
1-2-4-All: a brainstorming method where everyone is heard
A simple way to brainstorm with a group of up to 20, so the quiet voices get heard and the best ideas come out. About fifteen minutes.
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Strategy
The One Page Strategy
A free one-page strategy template: four parts, half a page, and a way to write it with your whole leadership team.
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Working Backwards
How Amazon decides what to build: Working Backwards and the PR/FAQ
How Amazon decides what to build: the press release and FAQ come first. What a PR/FAQ is, a full example, and a template.
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Set goals people use
OKRs
How to run a company on OKRs: the OKR Operating System (free book)
A free 85-page book on running a company or team with OKRs: how to write them, and five habits that turn them into results. No email needed.
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OKRs
How to set OKRs with your team in a week
A day-by-day process for setting OKRs with your team: strategy on Monday, final OKRs on Friday.
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OKRs
The OKR Cheat Sheet
OKRs have four parts. How to write them, fix weak Key Results and avoid the usual mistakes, with a one-page cheat sheet to download.
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Run the quarter and the week
Operations
How to run a weekly business review
How to run a weekly business review: pick the numbers, build a simple sheet, get the right people in the room and decide. Free template.
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Execution
The One Page Plan: your team’s quarter on one page
How to write a short plan for your quarter, review it with the people it affects, and keep it alive until the work is done.
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When it all comes back to you
Execution
Why has your startup slowed down? A 5-minute Scaling Checkup
A free 5-minute checkup for startup leadership teams: which of four scaling problems is slowing you down, and what to try this week. No email.
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Strategy
Why am I still the bottleneck, even though I delegate?
Every scaling founder hears 'delegate more'. It doesn't fix the founder bottleneck. A shared strategy does. Here's a test to run with your leadership team.
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When it’s bigger than a template
The tools work on their own. When the whole leadership team needs to agree something, or someone is growing into a bigger job, that’s where I help.
