Tools to get stuff done

Y Combinator are probably the most prolific early stage investor on the planet. When asked what differentiates a top founders — its the focus on execution that counts. Its hard to do what you say you will do, but it matters more than almost everything else. What tools can help?

1. Say “yes” to less and “no” to more. Manage the scope of your to do list. Think of your day like a sprint, and be conscious about what is out of scope.

2. Focus on “Rocks” first. Stephen Covey’s book “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” popularised the idea of putting your time into a small number of specific projects before letting other people’s priorities distract you.

3. Be clear about the 1–3 SMART Objectives you and the team need to achieve in the next month/quarter/year. Keep other objectives out of scope for now.

4. Be diligent about action management, and use 1 tool — I use ToDoIst — and follow a process every day. David Allen’s Book “Getting Things Done” and Graham Allcott’s book “Productivity Ninja” are awesome.

5. Have an org chart for your top team, which shows who is accountable for what. Change it every month if you need to.

6. Make sure everyone has a small number of weekly KPIs they are focussing on, and agree what the overarching weekly KPI is for the company — for early stage businesses its probably user growth or revenue growth.

7. Delegate don’t abdicate. Set clear expectations, communicate them and follow up.

8. Have a monthly, weekly & daily cycle of meetings with your team. “Traction” by Gino Wickman sets out some really good standing agendas.