Free Tools: Almost every new venture founder gets to a point of near overwhelm, or thinks, ‘I don’t know what to do’. I have found that there are three ways to confront the situation:

1. try describing the situation in a different way—easy to say though hard to do;
2. put yourself in a different circumstance—so you can avoid your present conviction;
3. think about what information can help you decide—be really critical of yourself.

In the image on the right, what do you see—the young or the old woman?

There is help at hand. There are many simple management tools for founders that you can use to facilitate both understanding and decision making—on setting strategy and monitoring performance. I suggest you take a look at them all to get an overview. Then when you face something tricky you will probably remember one of them that you can put to use.

The reasons for using these tools are many but include:

• uncertainty about what to do next, or what priorities to set;
• you want buy-in from the team;
• you want to tap into the knowledge, skills or experience of others;
• if the issue is complex and you need to put some shape into thinking or data.

You will probably find, as I have done over the years, that you will use more than one tool to deal with a single issue. Don’t be afraid to mix and match.

Some of the many management tools for founders in the list below are in the public domain and others I have created myself, based on long and painful experience.

Click below on the Tool category you want to visit

PLANNING

ANALYZING

DECIDING

IMPLEMENTING

Planning

Analyzing

Deciding

Implementing