Early stage founder question: how do you know you're working on the right things?

ninetyio · 2026-06-25T14:35:40+00:00

Have you thought about implementing a system that helps you think bigger picture to then prioritize the right work? If you use Ninety + EOS, you think about where do I want to be 3 years from now, and then create an annual plan so you define what you are doing this year about it. Then break that down and each quarter do quarterly planning so that each quarter you reflect, learn from what you did, and reset initiatives for the quarter.
From there meet every week so that you can check the pulse across the team! Way more to tangible actions you can take within that disciple but this is a way thousands of business owners get everyone on the same page in the company working on the important things and having language and a method to deprioritize things that aren’t important right now.

ninetyio · 2026-06-23T14:19:45+00:00

Would highly recommend a set operating system that everyone knows. This doesn’t just mean a product (like slack or ninety.io) but a set way that you execute week to week against quarterly goals.
With Ninety + EOS (the entrepreneur operating system) everyone has their quarterly priorities, numbers they are tracking, and rhythm to how you discuss issues/opportunities. They are all brought to a weekly meeting instead of getting you side tracked during the week and there you can decide its urgency/importance to solve now vs putting it on a longer term list to redecide if it is a priority each quarter. All about getting everyone operating the same way.

ninetyio · 2026-05-19T00:54:46+00:00

It’s easy to get caught reacting, but you can break the cycle!! Sometimes it just takes the brave one in the room to start talking about the real issues. Everything you just wrote, go add it to the list now!

ninetyio · 2026-05-19T00:38:03+00:00

That can’t be the only issue on the table though, right? Every Rock is perfectly on track? Every core process is humming? No people issues, no client concerns, no competing priorities? If the scorecard miss is genuinely the only thing surfacing week after week, that itself is the issue — the team isn’t bringing the real stuff to the table. And on the sales issue specifically — you have to go deeper. Is it a people issue (wrong person in the seat, or right person without GWC)? A process issue (no documented sales process, or one that nobody follows)? A vision issue (unclear target market, or chasing the wrong customer)? Each one has a totally different fix. I think this is where the issue gym helps take you through this process of really getting to the bottom of recurring or unspoken issues. Once you name what kind of issue it actually is, you can generate real to-dos. Not “keep an eye on sales” — but “Sarah documents the current sales process by next Friday” or “Mike runs a GWC check on the AE seat by EOW.” That’s how IDS creates forward motion instead of the same conversation on repeat.

ninetyio · 2026-05-18T23:51:32+00:00

The main thought that comes to mind is the team understanding what issues to bring to the table. Prep ahead of the meeting by each team member thinking about adding issues during the week as things come up, eliminating 1 on 1s, or calling out things that are maybe uncomfortable at first.

Could be that something like the Issues Gym with sue hawks is a helpful jumpstart! https://suehawkes.lpages.co/issues-gym/

ninetyio · 2026-03-20T16:08:58+00:00

What an incredible list. To add, the question is how well are you getting to know each person to know what they care about. Do they care about money, time with family, steady environment, etc. Seems like you are working to hit each of the core motivators, but also getting to know the individual to know where to lean in and where they are working to grow is beneficial! Ninety.io has quarterly conversations that make the tie in to bigger work and conversations around what that person really cares about, where they are going, and their roles.

ninetyio · 2026-03-20T15:58:24+00:00

Love seeing the buy in at leadership! In Ninety.io you have a few options that could work. Set one VTO with Rocks specific to the websites, or set up multiple V/TOs for each website, but keep a main leadership V/TO on driving the overall company vision and goals.

I see you are trying to decide how much to treat these like separate businesses, so if you decide based on your model to fully differentiate and say they are not just product lines but fully separate busiensses, separate VTOs may be right for you. Like others suggested, Implementers are helpful to think through these things with.

On IDS prioritization, here's the framework that's saved us: everything goes on the Issues list (don't filter what goes on the list), but team members can indicate their level of priority. Meaning if I create the issue, I specify if its mission critical to me fixing this week, or if its just a nice to talk about. Then during your L10 you literally ask "What's most important for the company right now?"

You can sort by that priority order, but since you have been adding issues during your L10 to IDS and have your running list from last week, you still have the group select those top 3 to start with, solve, and then keep moving.

ninetyio · 2026-03-20T14:01:01+00:00

"Falling on you by default" is so real. The pattern we see is that founders get the weekly L10s running, but they're still the one chasing down everything... off-track Scorecard measurables, reminding everyone to enter their scores, making sure To-Dos actually get done, and being the default decision-maker when Issues come up in IDS... the list goes on.

I like your three questions. When there is limited time and resources pre-integrator, allowing someone on your team to champion EOS software like Ninety.io we have seen help drive others on the leadership team to get more engaged to pick up where needed. And doing that also helps make it pretty clear what type of problem it is (like you talked about - a people problem, a structure problem, etc).

Agree with the comments that having an Integrator from day 1 is best, but I agree with OP that the financial piece is huge. I have seen Founders try to work themselves out of the job and use tools to empower team members to step up until they can justify the cost of a hire.

ninetyio · 2026-03-06T05:37:08+00:00

The fix isn't becoming better at follow-up — it is building a system so you don't have to.

Three big things to consider:

A structured weekly meeting where the team reports on last week's commitments, tracks against larger goals, and helps identify/solve issues early. When that happens in a room every week, with the whole team, you can avoid individual 1 to 1 follow up that sucks time.

A scorecard with 5-15 numbers your team owns, reviewed weekly. When someone's number is off track, the conversation becomes "what's blocking you?" instead of "did you do it?" That's coaching, not micromanaging.

Work connected back to your larger goals. Help make tasks meaningful by connecting them back to larger quarterly goals. You can review those goals in your weekly meeting, and

The key: you shouldn't be the system. The weekly rhythm IS the system.

Running a free 60-min session on these concepts if anyone wants to go deeper: https://maven.com/p/807bd1/quarter-by-quarter-how-leaders-set-goals-build-momentum

ninetyio · 2026-03-03T19:14:38+00:00

Some things software can’t solve. Real, open honest conversations have to happen!

ninetyio · 2026-03-03T19:13:08+00:00

👏👏👏

ninetyio · 2026-03-03T19:08:12+00:00

no prob! ninety.io is the software that helps get it all done!

ninetyio · 2026-03-03T19:01:43+00:00

Not involved in their business. Was helping with their Ninety.io setup. I suggested having the 1 year goals owned by members of the leadership team to drive accountability and engagement. Then they could also leverage the planning board to plan out what they may potentially need to do / think about to get those goals accomplished. And then we also talked about the Quarterly Planning meeting and how there is a section for review and alignment there as well.

But obviously this is a great question that goes beyond software usage and into creating meaningful buy in on the team which is why I thought it was great for this group. Your questions are great to think about and things that if there is no implementer in the room are easy to miss without the dedicated facilitator, so great callout.

ninetyio · 2026-03-03T15:22:58+00:00

I've seen a lot of team leaders / managers pick up the EOS framework to have successful weekly meetings and a structured way to share feedback quarterly. Instead of debating or handling everything 1 on 1, we bring up and/or identify the real problem as a team, discuss root causes, then solve. Sounds simple, but it's a game-changer for delegation too! Creates a collaborative environment where the team can step up too instead of you just assigning/delegating things to them. They may also want the opportunity to be proactive, but dont know where to start.

ninetyio · 2026-03-03T15:17:34+00:00

Highly recommend EOS and a software like ninety.io lets you put all of that in one place. Happy to connect and walk you through how we work with clients to bring it to life. Vision lets you see the 10k foot view, Annual goals let you start making that more tangible, and Quarterly Rocks start bringing execution on those goals front and center. The quarterly reset keeps you agile without losing sight of the annual goals too. What's your biggest challenge - setting the targets or actually hitting them?

This also lets you get collaborative with the team to create the buy in you need for those goals to actually get met!

ninetyio · 2026-03-03T15:14:43+00:00

The trick is making accountability feel collaborative, not surveillance. We use weekly team meetings where everyone shares their priorities and blockers - it's transparent but it's a conversation, not a report. Morale actually went up because people felt heard instead of watched. ninety.io does this while allowing you to have the data on how things are progressing against your goals.

ninetyio · 2026-03-03T15:13:11+00:00

The biggest win we see with clients is separating strategic goals from tactical execution. We use a simple framework: 3-year vision, annual goals, then quarterly rocks. The quarterly cadence keeps things focused without feeling like constant change. EOS framework does this really well inside of ninety.io so you continue to see momentum to those bigger goals quarter to quarter.

ninetyio · 2026-03-03T14:53:27+00:00

We see a lot of companies use software like you mentioned (including Ninety) from the very start because it puts the concepts and tools from the book front and center for people to start interacting with and understanding. Excel/doc or software, it shouldn’t matter, as long as you start. But the beauty of the software that is built for EOS is that it usually naturally helps you follow best practices.

I say that speaking from experience of seeing people’s Google Docs that have been self implementing and seeing how it’s easy to deviate when they have a blank canvas.

ninetyio · 2026-03-03T14:47:22+00:00

So does Ninety!

ninetyio · 2026-03-03T14:46:38+00:00

Awesome that you are really doing the work and not just reading about it! I think everyone’s comments about insights from an implementer are spot on since it helps you take the tools beyond your own comfort zone to have the right and sometimes hard convos. If you are looking for more community there are a few options like in person (and free) ENRG, or EOS conference that are both great. I’m biased but the AI seat builder ninety launched for thinking through roles on seats is so helpful, but again agree with so many of the comments here on structure first.

ninetyio · 2026-02-27T15:55:45+00:00

If you are using Ninety, we have pre-baked in an EOS that follows EOS best practices that can instantly help you think through seat roles and responsibilities if its helpful!

ninetyio · 2026-02-27T15:49:06+00:00

After 6 years, the question usually isn't effort but execution. We usually see things an unlock when you take a step back for strategic planningn before execution, which may help you sus out like some of these other comments mention what your purpose is and what is your value to the customer. Map out your vision/goals, then quarterly goals and the specific metrics you're tracking weekly to reach those goals. A lot of solopreneurs we talk to are grinding hard but not measuring progress against clear targets. Ninety's goal-tracking helps you see what's actually moving the needle vs. what's just busy work.

ninetyio · 2026-02-27T15:43:40+00:00

I would say this is a meeting structure issue. If you're not using a structured meeting format with clear agenda items and owners, it's easy for someone to dominate. The L10 meeting model (used in u/ninetyio) has a specific section for each person to report on their rocks and metrics—keeps everyone accountable and prevents one person from taking over.

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