G98i Graduation (14)

#1 (Accountability) 

Plan to keep yourself and your business accountable to your Graduation Plan and Growth Goals after the FI sessions have ended. Set up a weekly accountability call for at least the next three months with one person, who may be an Advisor, a coach or a fellow Founder. Think about other external accountability pressures, such as commitments to your Advisory Board members or monthly dinners with your FI cohort graduates. In addition, think about internal pressures, such as your commitment to succeed with the business, your code of ethics, and staying accountable with your Graduation Plan and Growth Goals. Write one paragraph about the overall strategy that you will use to stay accountable, and provide a bulleted list of both the external pressures and the internal pressures that you will use. Also list the name of the person that you have scheduled your weekly accountability call with, and write a few bullet points on why you chose them. (2 Hours)

#2 (Leadership Follow-up) 

Analyze how you have embodied the previous work on your persona as a leader. Write one paragraph on the positive accomplishments that you have achieved toward becoming a leader, and write down how you will celebrate these accomplishments. Write a second paragraph on the challenges that you have faced and the setbacks that have prevented you from leading the way that you want. Write down how you can try to potentially get better results. Write a final paragraph on how you see yourself transitioning from working “in the business,” where you do many activities in building the company, to working “on the business,” where you lead a group of people that do the work. (2 Hours)

#3 (Vision)

Review your original Vision for the business. For much of the Founder Institute program, you have been working on the details and execution of your business, sometimes referred to as “the what.” Write one paragraph on “the why,” explaining why you are excited to be working on the business, why you are uniquely qualified to be building this solution and why you are passionate about pursuing the Vision. (1 Hour)

#4 (Dedication)

Develop a system to survive the struggle. Over the next eighteen months, there will be numerous occasions when you will want to give up and quit, which is a common phenomenon in the rollercoaster ride of a startup. You may also experience intense loneliness, as you will have responsibilities and concerns that your Team does not share. Develop a system to press forward, to stay focused to deliver value, and to build a personal support group to help you in the dark times. Write a few sentences on how you will identify and be conscious of these dark times. List at least three people who you will be comfortable turning to for emotional support when your natural instinct is to withdraw and be on your own. Then, write a few sentences about your system that ensure that you will reach out for support from others, and press forward through the dark times. Set up monthly reminders for yourself in your Business Calendar to check in on your emotional health and look for the necessary support as part of this system. (1 Hour)

#5 (Prioritization)

Develop a system to prioritize complex projects in equally complex situations. Over the next eighteen months, you will be presented with many opportunities and challenges. As a leader, it is important to say “no” to things that may distract you, and it is equally important to focus on hard tasks that will drive the business forward. Develop a weekly routine to review the various initiatives of the business, to outline the related tasks or actions, and to prioritize the initiatives. Write one paragraph on the solution that you plan to use to accomplish this, and provide a bulleted list of any tools. (2 Hours)

#6 (FI Grad)

Email [email protected] your Facebook associated email address to be added to the private FI Facebook community. Review your Stakeholder Mailings in your Business Schedule, moving your Local Leaders to a Monthly Update email. Include [email protected] on this Monthly Update. Add a monthly reminder to your Business Calendar to send your Monthly Update, and update the Asks under the ‘What does your company need help with?’ section on your FI.co profile. Create a quarterly reminder in your Business Calendar to review and to update your profile on FI.co and to review and update your one minute and longer pitches. Make sure that you follow FI on LinkedIn, and are part of all the global and local FI grad groups on Facebook, Yammer, Slack, WhatsApp or whatever other platforms your city may use. Find out about the next FI Grad event in your city and plan to attend. If you don’t have one coming up, consider organizing one and inviting grads from previous cohorts. (2 Hours)

#7 (Market Your Graduation)

Get marketing benefits from your graduation from the Founder Institute. You should always look for marketing benefits from landmark events for your company. Graduation from the FI program is an important personal milestone, and as such can be used as a non-intrusive way to announce your business launch or growth to your friends, family and acquaintances who do not normally hear your business news. Announce your graduation on your personal social media, with short personal content, and include a link to your business. Update your LinkedIn profile. Discuss with your Advisors if graduation may also be seen as an important business milestone in your city. Determine what steps should be taken to benefit from the announcement value of graduation, including posts on your corporate blog or potentially contacting journalists for broader press. Write one paragraph on the steps you are taking to get a marketing benefit from graduation. (2 Hours)

#8 (Celebration)

Plan a group celebration with your peers. As a leader, it is important to celebrate milestones and successes. Work with your President and Vice President to plan a group celebration to mark the program completion, and invite any relevant Advisors or Team Members. The President and Vice President should continue this tradition, helping to organize future celebrations as you and your peers hit key business milestones. (1 Hour)

(Optional – Customer Reviews)

Consider sharing your experience in the Founder Institute publicly, to help future Founders that are evaluating how to launch or grow their business. You may want to write content that includes any memorable moments, vital lessons and feedback on your experience. Making your content personal will make it more useful for other Founders. Post the content to any platforms you feel are appropriate, such as Facebook, Quora, Medium, and your personal or company blog. (2 Hours)(Optional – Curriculum Review) Review the Founder Institute curriculum as a whole. Which parts were valuable for your business, which were less valuable, what was missing, and what could be improved? Fill in this three question survey with your feedback https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NFWC39X. (1 Hour)

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