Founder Coach

# 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 the