claude-skills-reference/c-level-advisor/founder-coach/references/founder-toolkit.md

Founder Toolkit

Practical tools for founder self-management and leadership development.

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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?**
_______________________________________________

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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)

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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

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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.

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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

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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.

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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.