Great summary here, thank you for sharing. On the topic of prioritization, i fully agree, but I would also suggest those priorities may shift over time. A constant 'revisit' based on changing business conditions is needed to keep everything directionally aligned and sharp. In my experience, the prioritization is usually never a 'one and done' exercise. Thanks for the opportunity to share as well.
Very well articulated, completely relate to it as a founder.
My take is that not having clarity (whats the core pain you're solving, who the user is ...) is the root cause. And finding out the unknowns is the most important prioritization problem for founders, and can mean the difference between life and sudden death, smooth execution vs constant firefighting.
My first stint was a lot of firefighting (fake it until you make it), kept pushing for more and more numbers every week with short term tactics. A cannon pointed in the wrong direction.
Thankfully at some point the realization dawned on me that I need to critically evaluate the offering and fix the direction its headed.
Prioritization is indeed a superpower. So too is the need for free/thinking time, so that needs to be prioritized in a leader's diary too. It's easy to find ourselves doing too much 'doing' and not enough 'thinking' about what we should be doing! Good prioritization is a function of having had the time to think through what to prioritize.
Hi Nikhil, as a VC operating in Africa, one of the most challenging is to assess the Founding team. I know this is even more important than the idea; and also difficult to do as we rely on intuition . Is there a psychometric tool that can guide this process?
great question, Deven. i don't think this is challenging just in Africa... it's challenging everywhere to truly get to know and analyze a founding team, especially in a compressed period of time given today's fundraising environment.
a few questions/exercises I've found helpful in determining how strong i feel the team is at prioritization:
-diving into the hiring plan
-explaining the why behind critical elements in the product
-going through the product roadmap
-brainstorming what the act ii and act iii of the company will be
I also like to do a mock board meeting, where we chat through the one or two key priorities for the next several months, or key challenge areas the founders would like feedback on. Important step to gauge how well they prioritize, and also whether there's founder-investor fit.
I very much agree, and the most effective leaders I've worked with have stunned me in how much they are able to get done without feeling in a rush thanks to their keeping their eyes on the prize and continually adjusting direction when appropriate. A key aspect of this, I think, is discerning the nature of various obstacles: I tend to get intimidated and discouraged by bureaucratic obstacles, but effective leaders I've worked with find all sorts of ways to make little bits of progress that eventually allow for a breakthrough. But of course some obstacles really are instrumental and require a dramatic change of tack, and I've seen some organizations where understanding that and actually doing it take months or years, and others where it can happen in the space of a day.
thanks for sharing, Ben! agree that discerning the nature of obstacles - whether one can run through them or around them - is a key element of this superpower.
i have much work to do! one thing i do is to keep testing myself to help me prioritize better. for example, i ask myself questions like "is this the single most important priority for me to work on with a portfolio company?" what's the one new potential investment i'm most excited about? (and therefore which are the ones i should be saying no to quickly)
Nikhil, good article. I also like the fact that amongst the three, you have identified Talent as one of them. As a Talent Acquisition practitioner, I cannot emphasize enough, as to how important hiring top class talent and A players can make or break the organization. On your note on prioritization, I also assume Time Management is a part of it.
Last year I launched a perfect tool exactly for prioritization / item selection from any list.
For example, you can choose your most necessary goals using SMART++ criteria (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time-phased, Ethical, Environmentally sound, Positively stated, etc.).
Or you can prioritize weekly tasks, evaluating them by your criteria of choice (Urgency, Importance, Unavoidability, Manageability, Impact, Ethical, social, and ecological responsibility, Financial return, etc.)
As an investor, you could get help choosing a founding team for funding, evaluating them by the criteria you mentioned: hungry, humble, knowledgeable, and attractive for talent.
Great summary here, thank you for sharing. On the topic of prioritization, i fully agree, but I would also suggest those priorities may shift over time. A constant 'revisit' based on changing business conditions is needed to keep everything directionally aligned and sharp. In my experience, the prioritization is usually never a 'one and done' exercise. Thanks for the opportunity to share as well.
agreed, Mark!
Very well articulated, completely relate to it as a founder.
My take is that not having clarity (whats the core pain you're solving, who the user is ...) is the root cause. And finding out the unknowns is the most important prioritization problem for founders, and can mean the difference between life and sudden death, smooth execution vs constant firefighting.
My first stint was a lot of firefighting (fake it until you make it), kept pushing for more and more numbers every week with short term tactics. A cannon pointed in the wrong direction.
Thankfully at some point the realization dawned on me that I need to critically evaluate the offering and fix the direction its headed.
thanks for sharing, Gagandeep - clarity on the direction is so important.
Succinct post, Nikhil.
Just to let you know that I included it in my leadership newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/ce685677af58/tfol-navigating-complex-environments-intuition-chatter-the-voices-in-our-head
Prioritization is indeed a superpower. So too is the need for free/thinking time, so that needs to be prioritized in a leader's diary too. It's easy to find ourselves doing too much 'doing' and not enough 'thinking' about what we should be doing! Good prioritization is a function of having had the time to think through what to prioritize.
cheers Richard, thanks for the inclusion, and very much agree re: importance of free time
Thanks for the insight. As a founder, your article hit me.
Glad to hear that, Huijo!
Hi Nikhil, as a VC operating in Africa, one of the most challenging is to assess the Founding team. I know this is even more important than the idea; and also difficult to do as we rely on intuition . Is there a psychometric tool that can guide this process?
great question, Deven. i don't think this is challenging just in Africa... it's challenging everywhere to truly get to know and analyze a founding team, especially in a compressed period of time given today's fundraising environment.
a few questions/exercises I've found helpful in determining how strong i feel the team is at prioritization:
-diving into the hiring plan
-explaining the why behind critical elements in the product
-going through the product roadmap
-brainstorming what the act ii and act iii of the company will be
I also like to do a mock board meeting, where we chat through the one or two key priorities for the next several months, or key challenge areas the founders would like feedback on. Important step to gauge how well they prioritize, and also whether there's founder-investor fit.
I very much agree, and the most effective leaders I've worked with have stunned me in how much they are able to get done without feeling in a rush thanks to their keeping their eyes on the prize and continually adjusting direction when appropriate. A key aspect of this, I think, is discerning the nature of various obstacles: I tend to get intimidated and discouraged by bureaucratic obstacles, but effective leaders I've worked with find all sorts of ways to make little bits of progress that eventually allow for a breakthrough. But of course some obstacles really are instrumental and require a dramatic change of tack, and I've seen some organizations where understanding that and actually doing it take months or years, and others where it can happen in the space of a day.
thanks for sharing, Ben! agree that discerning the nature of obstacles - whether one can run through them or around them - is a key element of this superpower.
great post. Prioritization is a hard skill to learn but can change your direction and trajectory quickly and in dramatic ways.
How do you prioritize? any rules of thumb that has served you well?
i have much work to do! one thing i do is to keep testing myself to help me prioritize better. for example, i ask myself questions like "is this the single most important priority for me to work on with a portfolio company?" what's the one new potential investment i'm most excited about? (and therefore which are the ones i should be saying no to quickly)
Nikhil, good article. I also like the fact that amongst the three, you have identified Talent as one of them. As a Talent Acquisition practitioner, I cannot emphasize enough, as to how important hiring top class talent and A players can make or break the organization. On your note on prioritization, I also assume Time Management is a part of it.
time management very much a critical piece to the puzzle!
Last year I launched a perfect tool exactly for prioritization / item selection from any list.
For example, you can choose your most necessary goals using SMART++ criteria (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time-phased, Ethical, Environmentally sound, Positively stated, etc.).
Or you can prioritize weekly tasks, evaluating them by your criteria of choice (Urgency, Importance, Unavoidability, Manageability, Impact, Ethical, social, and ecological responsibility, Financial return, etc.)
As an investor, you could get help choosing a founding team for funding, evaluating them by the criteria you mentioned: hungry, humble, knowledgeable, and attractive for talent.
Here is the link:
https://www.1st-things-1st.com