Resources
To Learn More for your journey
When you’re ready for a deeper dive, here is a curated selection of resources for more information. Don’t feel like you need to read them all. Pick the resource that fits your biggest challenge, and come back later to find something for your next challenge. We’ll keep curating the list.
Part 1: Execution Constellation
METHOD 1: Your Mighty Mindset: Develop a mindset that propels you.
→ Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck
→ The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers by Ben Horowitz, Kevin Kenerly, et al.
→ Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek and his TED Talk
→ Presence: Bringing Your Boldest Self to Your Biggest Challenges by Amy Cuddy and her TED Talk
METHOD 2: Valuable vs. Vicious Voices: Identify your voices and put them to work for you.
METHOD 3: The Magic of Momentum: Recognize it’s all about taking the first step and keeping momentum going.
→ Startup Reading
→ Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear
→ The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg, Mike Chamberlain, et al.
→ The Miracle Morning: The Not-So-Obvious Secret Guaranteed to Transform Your Life (Before 8AM) by Hal Elrod
METHOD 4: Knowing Where You Want to Go: Establish your destination and align every person on your team’s goals to the overarching mission.
METHOD 5: The Right Things Right Now: Leverage key performance indicators (KPIs) to work on the right things.
→ Techstars Entrepreneur’s Toolkit
→ Startup Hacks by Alex Iskold
→ Levers: The Framework for Building Repeatability into Your Business by Amos Schwartzfarb and Trevor Boehm
→ Measure What Matters: OKRs: The Simple Idea that Drives 10x Growth by John Doerr
→ Do What Matters Most: Lead with a Vision, Manage with a Plan, Prioritize Your Time by Rob Shallenberger and Steve Shallenberger
→ Smarter Faster Better: The Secrets of Being Productive in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg, Mike Chamberlain, et al.
METHOD 6: What to Work on Today: Break larger goals into bite-size tasks along multiple paths so you can make the most progress.
METHOD 7: Accountability for You and Your Team: Have a system and discipline to get things done to increase your accountability.
→ Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business by Gino Wickman
→ Crucial Accountability, Second Edition: Tools for Resolving Violated Expectations, Broken Commitments, and Bad Behavior by Kerry Patterson
→ Profit First: Transform Your Business from a Cash-Eating Monster to a Money-Making Machine by Mike Michalowicz
METHOD 8: Accountability for Your Clients and Partners: Bring a set of golden rules to help you increase accountability.
METHOD 9: Urgency Builders: Create urgency so you don’t have the “in six months” problem.
METHOD 10: Empowered Decisions: Use your framework of what is important to make good, quick decisions.
Part 2: Support Constellation
METHOD 11: Managing Overwhelm: Give yourself a time audit and a three-step plan to manage your overwhelm.
→ Never Feel Fragile Again: The Mental Resilience Model That Builds Inner Strength Through Self-Connection by Monica Smith
→ Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle by Emily Nagoski and Amelia Nagoski
→ Emotional Intelligence by Barrett Whitener, Daniel Goleman, et al.
METHOD 12: Roller Coaster Survival: Use this checklist to help you put things into perspective.
→ The EOS Life by Gino Wickman, Steve Edwards, et al.
→ Never Feel Fragile Again: The Mental Resilience Model That Builds Inner Strength Through Self-Connection by Monica Smith
→ Monica Smith’s mental resilience website
→ 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do: Take Back Your Power, Embrace Change, Face Your Fears, and Train Your Brain for Happiness and Success by Amy Morin
METHOD 13: Your Rocket Ship: Think strategically about your team, common characteristics to share, and diversity of experience and skills.
METHOD 14: Founder or Co-founder: Decide your leadership structure, align expectations, and have a plan for how to work together.
METHOD 15: Clarity of Structure: Define who does what to improve accountability and team dynamics.
METHOD 16: Culture Cornerstone: Use the golden rule, treating people the way they want to be treated as a cornerstone of your culture.
→ Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts by Brené Brown and her podcast
→ Radical Candor: Fully Revised & Updated Edition: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity by Kim Scott, Teri Schnaubelt, et al.
→ The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups by Daniel Coyle
METHOD 17: The Way We Work: Define how you do things, so everyone is on the same page.
→ How to Write an Employee Handbook and What to Include in It
→ 7 Employee Handbook Examples You Should Steal From
→ The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable by Patrick Lencioni, Charles Stransky
→ Overcoming the Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Field Guide for Leaders, Managers, and Facilitators by Patrick Lencioni
METHOD 18: Hiring Basics: Recruit the best people you can.
METHOD 19: Your Board: Identify, set up, and run a board that propels your company.
METHOD 20: Friendshelp: Get by with a little help from your friends.
Part 3: Adaptability Constellation
METHOD 21: Monkey Mind: Tame your restless mind, reduce anxiety, and capture insights.
METHOD 22: Freeing your Feelings: Let your emotions help you rather than hinder you.
→ The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership: A New Paradigm for Sustainable Success by Jim Dethmer, Diana Chapman, et al.
→ Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience by Brené Brown
→ Twelve and a Half: Leveraging the Emotional Ingredients Necessary for Business Success by Gary Vaynerchuk
METHOD 23: Creativity Catchers: Get into the creative zone and capture your ideas.
METHOD 24: Listentuition: Look for the green lights for encouragement and the speed bumps for learning.
→ The Adaptation Advantage: Let Go, Learn Fast, and Thrive in the Future of Work by Heather E. McGowan and Chris Shipley
→ The Outward Mindset: Seeing Beyond Ourselves by The Arbinger Institute
→ Leadership and Self-Deception: Getting Out of the Box by The Arbinger Institute
→ The HBR IdeaCast podcast by the Harvard Business Review
METHOD 25: Rapid Discovery: Experiment to find answers quickly.
→ Levers: The Framework for Building Repeatability into Your Business by Amos Schwartzfarb and Trevor Boehm
→ The Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses by Eric Ries
→ Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future by Peter Thiel, Blake Masters, et al.
→ Paths to Product-Market Fit
→ 12 Things About Product-Market Fit
→ PickFu
→ Crossing the Chasm, 3rd Edition: Marketing and Selling Disruptive Products to Mainstream Customers by Geoffrey A. Moore
→ The Lean Product Playbook: How to Innovate with Minimum Viable Products and Rapid Customer Feedback by Dan Olsen, et al.
→ The Mom Test: How to Talk to Customers & Learn If Your Business Is a Good Idea When Everyone Is Lying to You by Rob Fitzpatrick
→Startup Roadmap: 9 Steps to Repeatable, Scalable and Profitable Growth
METHOD 26: Your Story: Tell your best story and adapt it to the right audience.
→ Building a StoryBrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen by Donald Miller
→ Unleash the Power of Storytelling: Win Hearts, Change Minds, Get Results by Rob Biesenbach
→ Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook: How to Tell Your Story in a Noisy Social World by Gary Vaynerchuk, John Hopkinson, et al.
→ Go Big or Go Home: 5 Ways to Create a Customer Experience That Will Close the Deal by Diana Kander and Tucker Trotter
METHOD 27: Negotiation Starter Pack: Practice negotiation skills so both parties feel good about moving forward.
→ Never Split the Difference: Negotiating as if Your Life Depended on It by Chris Voss
→ “Never Split the Difference” a TED Talk by Chris Voss
→ Chris Voss Masterclass
→ Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In by Roger Fisher, William L. Ury, et al.
→ You Can Negotiate Anything: How to Get What You Want by Herb Cohen
METHOD 28: The Right Structure at the Right Time: Work on the right things at the right time.
METHOD 29: Letting Someone Go: Be thoughtful in firing as it reflects on the type of leader you are and the company you have.
METHOD 30: Failing Up: Maximize the value of failing by learning from and moving on from it.
→ You Are Awesome: 9 Secrets to Getting Stronger & Living an Intentional Life by Neil Pasricha
→ Failing Forward: Turning Mistakes into Stepping Stones for Success by John C. Maxwell
→ “Embrace the Shake,” a TED Talk by Phil Hansen
→ “The Unexpected Benefits of Celebrating Failure,” a TED Talk by Astro Teller
Part 4: Perseverance Constellation
METHOD 31: Shit Happens: Have a plan so you and your team can recover faster.
METHOD 32: Opportunity Knocks: Find ways to increase the potential for opportunity to come your way.
METHOD 33: Getting in Doors: Perfect the first step in selling your product, service, idea, or company.
→ Sell More Faster: The Ultimate Sales Playbook for Start-Ups by Amos Schwartzfarb, Sean Pratt, et al.
→ To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth about Moving Others by Daniel H. Pink
→ The New Model of Selling: Selling to an Unsellable Generation by Jerry Acuff and Jeremy Miner
→ How to Win Client Business When You Don’t Know Where to Start by Doug Fletcher
→ Coffee Lunch Coffee: A Practical Field Guide for Master Networking by Alana Muller, Joann Bittel, et al.
→ Obviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning so Customers Get It, Buy It, Love It by April Dunford
→ The 1-Page Marketing Plan: Get New Customers, Make More Money, and Stand Out from the Crowd by Allan Dib
→ The Psychology of Selling: Increase Your Sales Faster and Easier Than You Ever Thought Possible by Brian Tracy
→ Secrets of a Master Closer: A Simpler, Easier, and Faster Way to Sell Anything to Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere by Mike Kaplan
METHOD 34: Funding: Consider revenue, grants, angel funding, and venture capital when finding what funding fits you best.
→ Venture Deals, 4th Edition: Be Smarter than Your Lawyer and Venture Capitalist by Brad Feld, Jason Mendelson, et al.
→ Raise Money with David Cohen
→ Startup Hacks by Alex Iskold, particularly the 30 Questions Investors Ask During Fundraising
→ AngelList
→ Y Combinator Safe Financing Documents
→ Jenny Fielding’s Keep Your Funding Flowing
→ Angel Investing: The Gust Guide to Making Money and Having Fun Investing in Startups by David S. Rose and Gildan Media, LLC
→ Secrets of Sand Hill Road: Venture Capital and How to Get It by Scott Kupor, Eric Ries, et al.
→ Omnicalculator
→ Visible
→ Invest Like the Best with Patrick O’Shaughnessy podcast
METHOD 35: Get Unstuck: Take action and learn quickly, and the market will tell you the way to go.
METHOD 36: Avoid the Stress of Not Getting Things Done: Avoid the dangers of putting too much on your list with strategies for preventing overload.
→ Boundaries Updated and Expanded Edition: When to Say Yes, How to Say No To Take Control of Your Life by Henry Cloud and John Townsend
→ Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen and James Fallows
→ Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport, Jeff Bottoms, et al.
METHOD 37: What Fills You Up: Do more of what gives you energy and less of what drains you.
METHOD 38: The “Long in the Tooth” Syndrome: Keep your business from getting old where you are continually asking yourself, Is this worth it?
METHOD 39: Your Next Wind: Find renewed energy by hitting the reset button; making adjustments to your routines, habits, and environment; or making a change.
→ Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike by Phil Knight, Norbert Leo Butz, et al.
→ Find Your Why: A Practical Guide for Discovering Purpose for You and Your Team by Simon Sinek, David Mead, et al.
→ Adversity Quotient: Turning Obstacles into Opportunities by Paul G. Stoltz
→ Thriving in the Storm: 9 Principles to Help You Overcome Any Adversity by Bill Murphy
METHOD 40: Lean on Others: Embrace your tribe to provide and receive inspiration, support, and ideas.
“Make Opportunity Happen is an entrepreneurial compass filled with personal experiences, mindset exercises, and tactical templates for getting things done.”
– Lee Kuczewski
Founder & CEOFounder & CEO, Merging Futures
