MASTER Risk Model - Learning Resources - Abilities

Vision & Goal Setting

Write one sentence describing your venture vision—what future are you building, and why will it matter?

Break one long-term growth goal into three next steps—focus on progress, not perfection.

Replace a vague to-do with a specific milestone and clear deadline for your venture.

Set a weekly reminder: “Am I moving toward launch or just checking off small tasks?”

Write one launch goal on a sticky note and place it somewhere visible as a daily anchor.

Share your main venture goal with a peer founder—saying it aloud builds clarity and accountability.

Reflect on what drives your venture vision—how does it connect to your values, customers, or desired impact?

Journal about a time you set a clear venture goal and achieved it—what made it work effectively?

Explore how you usually define goals—do they stretch your venture or just keep you in the comfort zone?

List three venture goals from last year—what progressed and what lost momentum? Why did that happen?

Write about how your vision has shifted since you began—what experiences most influenced that change?

Think about a founder you respect—how do they express vision, and how could you model that approach?

Set one stretch venture goal this week with a clear outcome and timeline—share it with peers to reinforce commitment.

Align one daily task with your long-term vision—state the link aloud before you begin to boost intention.

Block 30 minutes to revise your roadmap—adjust plans to reflect new insights, risks, or customer signals.

Facilitate a short team session to clarify shared goals and how they align with your venture vision.

Create a mini-vision deck (3 slides) outlining your start-up’s future—share it with a mentor for feedback.

Take one symbolic action today that embodies your 1-year vision, no matter how small it seems.

Ask a peer founder: “What do you think my goals are right now?”—check if your venture vision is clear and aligned.

Share your venture vision in a 1:1 and ask how the other person sees themselves contributing to it.

Invite a mentor to review your goals—do they see ambition, focus, and feasibility in your plan?

Ask your team to state the shared vision in one sentence—does it align with what you see?

Share your personal venture vision with a peer—ask what’s inspiring, unclear, or missing.

Ask someone to review one of your goals and suggest how it could be clearer or more actionable.

Reframe “I don’t know where this venture is going” as “I’m clarifying the market and shaping what matters most.”

Change “This vision is too ambitious” to “This vision needs steps”—chunk it down into testable milestones.

Recast a failed pitch as part of your growth path—what did it clarify for your next step?

Shift from “It’s taking too long” to “I’m building something lasting”—focus on depth, not speed.

Reframe ambition as service—how does your venture vision help others succeed or solve problems?

Turn “I don’t have time” into “This isn’t a priority yet”—then decide if it should be.

Observe your daily tasks—do they build your venture vision or just react to urgency? Adjust one thing today.

Watch how people respond when you explain your idea—do they light up, get lost, or disengage?

Track how often you revisit your goals—are they active guides or just forgotten slides?

Listen to how founders describe vision—do they anchor to it, or drift without clarity?

Notice how you feel after progress—energized, relieved, or drained? What does that say about alignment?

Observe when you hit deep focus—what types of goals trigger that state?

Strategic Thinking

Choose one current task and ask: “What long-term market impact could this have?” Write one sentence to define it.

Block 15 minutes to map one decision’s ripple effects—who’s impacted and how, in the short and long run?

Before your next meeting, define the bigger picture—what’s truly at stake for your venture?

Ask yourself: “What does success look like in six months?” before you start your next big step.

Add a “so what?” column to your notes—force yourself to link each fact to real insight and action.

Read a recent industry article—spot one trend and ask how it could affect your start-up in 12 months.

Reflect on a past business assumption—what proved false, and how would you test it differently now?

Journal about your current start-up idea—how does it connect to the larger industry strategy?

Think of a time you linked two unrelated ideas—how did that spark shape your business concept?

List the main forces affecting your start-up—market, tech, or social—and how they shape your decisions.

Reflect on how often you react versus plan ahead—what patterns could you shift to grow faster?

Identify your default focus—product, people, or growth—how does it affect your ability to think strategically?

Lead a 10-minute founder huddle this week—ask: “Where are we headed, and why does it matter?”

Take one daily decision and redesign it with long-term consequences in mind—what’s the smarter path?

Draft a “What if…” list of three external shocks—think through how your start-up would respond.

Build a simple stakeholder map for your next decision—who must align for long-term success?

Facilitate a pre-mortem: “If this launch failed, what might have gone wrong?”—note insights for planning.

Revisit your venture’s KPIs and propose one strategic shift to improve alignment with your vision.

Ask a mentor: “What blind spots do you see in how I’m approaching strategy for my start-up?”

Share a strategic choice with a peer—invite them to challenge your assumptions or logic.

Ask a peer founder what long-term risks or opportunities they see in your current direction.

Invite a cross-functional peer to review your plan—what dependencies or links are you missing?

After a meeting, ask: “Was I thinking too narrowly, or did I zoom out enough?”

Share your reasoning on a recent decision—ask for feedback on whether you considered long-term effects.

Reframe “What’s the fastest way to scale?” as “What’s the most sustainable path long-term?”—prioritize durability over speed.

Turn “We’ve always done it this way” into “What’s changed in the market that calls for a rethink?”

Shift from “What do we need right now?” to “Where do we want to be—and what will get us there?”

Recast reactivity as opportunity blindness—what growth chances are missed by chasing only the urgent?

Reframe choices as investments—“What return will this give in 3 months, 1 year, and beyond?”

Change “How do we hit targets?” to “What future are we really shaping with this venture?”

Observe when you make decisions—are they driven by short-term survival or long-term positioning?

Watch how seasoned entrepreneurs frame questions—what patterns of inquiry stand out?

Track your decision-making this week—how much time goes to big-picture versus quick execution?

Notice where you get stuck in detail—what higher-level view might reveal instead?

Observe execution-heavy meetings—what’s missing from the long-term conversation?

Note your own language—do you speak in outcomes, risks, and forecasts, or only tasks and to-dos?

Innovation Management

Identify one small friction point for customers and brainstorm three new ways to solve it today.

Ask another founder how they solved a similar challenge—adapt one of their ideas to your own context.

Spend 10 minutes sketching a rough product concept—no polish, just capture the raw idea today.

Challenge yourself to ask: “What if we didn’t…?” once in your next planning session—see what appears.

Use a random word generator—connect the word to your business challenge and spark fresh angles.

Add a “Crazy Ideas We Haven’t Tried Yet” tab to your notes—fill it with five bold possibilities.

Reflect on a time you sparked an innovative idea—what founder behaviors encouraged creativity then?

Journal about when you resisted a customer insight—what drove your resistance, and what was the lost chance?

Write down your last three product ideas—what patterns or habits helped you generate them?

Think about a founder who encourages innovation—what actions make others feel safe to share bold ideas?

Reflect on how you handle uncertainty—do you treat it as a threat or a chance for discovery?

Explore where your current setting supports or blocks experimentation—what small changes could ease friction?

Test a new way of prototyping your idea—change the tool, method, or sequence and observe what you learn.

Propose a pilot test with a short timeline and clear success metric—keep it simple and practical.

Ask your team to name the most outdated process—redesign or test it as a lean experiment.

Give yourself 30 minutes to solve a challenge using only constraints—less time, fewer tools, fewer funds.

Share a bold idea with an investor or advisor—even if rough, bring it into conversation.

Run a 1-week mini-experiment with a peer—each of you tackles a known problem in a new way.

Ask a fellow founder which of your ideas they thought had strong potential—what stopped you from pursuing it?

Share your latest concept and ask a peer to test its flaws—embrace constructive friction.

Invite your small team to rate which part of your process most needs rethinking—start there together.

Ask a potential customer: “What feature or idea do you wish someone would finally build?”

Discuss with a founder in another industry how they test ideas—what can you learn or adapt?

Ask your team: “What’s one idea we dropped too quickly?”—explore if it’s worth testing again.

Reframe “That’s too risky” as “That’s untested”—design a safe, lean version to test quickly.

Change “That’s not how it’s done” to “What if that’s why the industry is stuck?”

Treat every failed test as market data—ask: “What did this teach us about the customer problem?”

Instead of “We need a big innovation,” say “We need a small, testable solution customers value.”

Reframe pushback as refinement—what part of your idea could improve from critique or doubt?

Shift from “I’m not innovative” to “I haven’t practiced experimentation enough”—testing is a skill.

Notice who shares bold ideas in founder talks and who holds back—what dynamics support or stifle innovation?

Track how long an idea takes to go from thought to test—where’s the bottleneck slowing progress?

Watch reactions to new product ideas—do you see excitement, silence, or resistance?

Observe which settings (time, place, energy) spark your best ideas—can you create more of them?

During product reviews, listen for patterns in failure—what untested assumptions keep surfacing?

Monitor how you respond to fresh ideas—do you build on them or dismiss too fast?

MASTER Risk Hub