You’re leading a startup development team. How can you ensure your strategic thinking is on point?

Ensuring strategic thinking remains sharp within a startup development team is pivotal for success. One approach involves fostering an environment where open dialogue and diverse perspectives are encouraged. By regularly reviewing goals, market trends, and potential obstacles, team members can collectively refine strategies to adapt to changing circumstances. Embracing a culture of continuous learning and experimentation also empowers individuals to innovate and contribute fresh insights. Ultimately, it's about cultivating a dynamic atmosphere that values strategic agility and fosters collaborative problem-solving.

Like Simon Sink says, Start with WHY - Define your North Star - Select your North Star Metric - Select 3-5 Objectives - For each objective define 3-5 Key results

Validate. Validate. Validate. Validate the problem, and then validate the solution. It’s easy to fall into building a solution that solves *your* problem and assumes others will feel the same way. Is this problem something people are aware of? Do they even care to solve it or prefer complaining about it? Good enough free solutions? If people agree with the problem, how many? Worth how much? And how can you reach them? Avoid building a solution that requires you to spend money and time convincing others of the problem, and then convincing them of your solution. For a startup, the odds of you having enough money to do both are slim.

have a super clear understanding of what you and your startup is doing, what problem does your startup solve, how it is beneficial to your potential customers. It all starts with 'WHY'. If you define the clear-cut answer about why, you're halfway done!

Alright, let's start by getting crystal clear on why you're doing what you're doing. Understanding the purpose behind your startup's mission is like having a north star to guide you through the murky waters of strategic decision-making. It's about tapping into that deep-rooted sense of passion and conviction that fuels your drive to succeed. So take a moment to reflect on what inspired you to embark on this journey in the first place, and let that sense of purpose be your guiding light as you navigate the complexities of startup development.

I think little differently in this 'Define your objectives' types of questions. Take a sheet of paper and write top 10 goals you need to achieve this year. Now suppose you have a genie which can fulfill any one wish write on the paper. What wish would you choose? The wish you choose is now become your core objective you need to achieve in the end of this year. And that's how I define my objective.

Start. At. The. End. What is the big picture of where you want to go? What do you need to do or change? What do you need to learn? Where can you learn it? There are many tools you can use to define objectives that fit different personality types and various preferences. Get clear on where you are going and make a defined plan that includes money, resources, and specific time requirements. What are your biggest constraints? What can you do in parallel vs sequence? Most important is that what you're measuring actually shows you're succeeding not just looks like it. Hitting sales goals, great. ...but is it driving up costs to where you're running out of money? Growth can kill you. Make sure your goals work for *you*.

Now that we've got our purpose locked in, it's time to get down to brass tacks and define some concrete objectives. Think of these as your roadmap to success – they're the specific, measurable goals that will keep you focused and on track as you work towards building something great. Whether it's hitting a certain revenue target, acquiring a certain number of users, or launching a new product feature, your objectives should be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. By clearly defining what success looks like for your startup, you'll be better equipped to make strategic decisions that move you closer to your goals.

Alright, now that we know where we're headed, it's time to figure out how we're gonna get there. This is where the rubber meets the road – it's all about translating those lofty objectives into actionable steps that you can take to drive your startup forward. Start by breaking down your objectives into smaller, bite-sized tasks, and then create a detailed plan outlining who's responsible for what, when it needs to get done, and how you'll measure success along the way.

Beyond the adoption of visual planning tools like roadmaps, Gantt charts, Kanban, or Scrum boards, ensuring strategic thinking within a startup development team requires fostering a culture of open communication and continuous feedback. Encouraging team members to actively share insights and challenges promotes a collaborative environment, vital for refining strategies and making timely adjustments.

The only positive feedback that matters involves a transaction. They sign up. They buy. They refer. They invest. The most valuable information you can find is negative feedback, but it can be very hard to get and hard to hear. People don't want to hurt your feelings, especially when talking about your business. Make it EASY for them to share how they feel. If your product isn't selling or customers are churning, first accept that something isn't working. Ask a third party to do an interview, call yourself out for not being where you want to be, or share other feedback you've heard and are grateful for to start the convo. Read "The Mom Test" before you start and spend the time to find the deeper truth. All of it. Then listen to it.

Creativity might be the game changing moment for your startup in the initial stage. Your creativity is your ability to generate new and original ideas that add value to your startup. Try to brainstorm as much creative idea as possible, no matter you think it's silly. Just do it! Eventually you get some great creative idea and change the whole scenario of the startup! Signing off!

After fixing many default businesses, the most important thing I've learned is to let go of your initial dream. I've never heard of a business getting it right without any pivots or changes. Most of the largest companies once started as something completely different. Allow your dream to evolve and change as you learn and gain more perspective. Success doesn’t mean having your original plan work out the way you'd hoped, it's about getting what you really want in the end. If it's not working, then take a step back, look at where your real value is, and be open to something entirely new. It's not worth forcing it when there is always a better way.

The best advice I can give as a startup founder myself is to build in public, make a social presence, do personal branding. It'll really help you in a future for sure! Signing off!