MASTER Risk Model - Learning Resources - Abilities

Vision & Goal Setting

Write one sentence describing your start-up 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 traction or just ticking tasks?”

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

Share your primary start-up goal with a peer founder—saying it aloud builds clarity and accountability.

Reflect on what drives your venture vision—how does it tie to your values, market needs, or growth ambition?

Journal about a time you set a clear venture goal and reached it—what made it possible?

Explore how you define goals—do they push traction or just keep the business in a safe zone?

List three goals from last year—what advanced and what lost momentum? Why?

Write about how your vision has shifted since launch—what experiences shaped that evolution?

Think about a founder you admire—how do they share vision, and how could you model that?

Set one stretch traction goal this week with a clear milestone and deadline—share it publicly to reinforce focus.

Align one daily task with your bigger vision—state the link before you start to boost intention.

Block 30 minutes to refine your roadmap—adjust based on new signals or risks.

Facilitate a short session to align team goals with your start-up vision.

Create a mini-vision deck (3 slides) showing your next stage—share it with a mentor for input.

Take one action today that embodies your 1-year vision, even if it’s symbolic.

Ask a peer founder: “What do you think my core goals are right now?”—check for clarity in how you present them.

Share your start-up vision in a 1:1 and ask how others see their role contributing to it.

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

Ask your team to state the shared vision in one sentence—does it match yours?

Share your vision deck with a peer and ask: “What’s inspiring, unclear, or missing?”

Ask an advisor to review a key goal—where could it be sharper or more actionable?

Reframe “I don’t know the endgame” as “I’m clarifying the problem worth solving now.”

Change “This vision is too bold” to “This vision needs steps”—chunk it down to make it doable.

Recast a failed launch as part of your learning path toward product-market fit—what did it clarify?

Shift from “It’s taking too long” to “I’m building something that lasts”—value depth over speed.

Reframe ambition as service—how does your vision help customers or investors succeed?

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

Observe your weekly calendar—are tasks tied to growth goals or just urgent fires? Adjust one thing this week.

Watch how people react when you share your vision—do they light up, question it, or disengage?

Track how often you revisit your vision—does it guide daily work or sit unused in a deck?

Listen to how other founders describe their vision—do they anchor to it or chase trends?

Notice how you feel after achieving milestones—energized, drained, or flat? What does that reveal?

Observe when you’re most focused—what kinds of tasks trigger that flow?

Strategic Thinking

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

Block 15 minutes to map one decision’s ripple effects—who’s impacted short-term and long-term?

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 starting your next big push.

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

Read a recent industry article—extract one trend and ask how it could affect your venture in 12 months.

Reflect on a past strategic bet—what assumption failed, and how would you test it differently now?

Journal about your current role as founder—how does it connect to the larger market strategy?

Think of a time you connected unrelated insights—how did that spark impact your strategy?

List the external forces shaping your start-up—market, tech, or social—and how they affect your choices.

Reflect on how often you react versus plan ahead—what patterns should you shift this quarter?

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

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

Take one routine founder task 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 move—who must align for long-term success?

Facilitate a quick 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 or traction.

Ask an advisor: “What blind spots do you see in my strategic thinking?”

Share a strategic idea with an advisor—invite them to challenge your assumptions.

Ask a peer founder what long-term risks or opportunities they see in your venture—compare perspectives.

Invite an advisor to review your plan—what connections or dependencies are missing?

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

Share your decision process with a mentor—ask if you considered the long-term view effectively.

Reframe “What’s the fastest growth hack?” as “What’s the most sustainable growth path?”—prioritize durability.

Turn “We’ve always built this way” into “What has changed that demands a rethink?”

Shift from “What do we need today?” to “Where do we want to be, and what gets us there?”

Recast reactivity as opportunity blindness—what do you miss by chasing only urgency?

Reframe decisions as investments—“What return will this bring in 3, 12, or 24 months?”

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

Observe when strategic choices get made—are they driven by short-term traction or long-term positioning?

Watch how successful founders phrase strategic questions—what patterns of inquiry do they use?

Track your decision process this week—how much time do you spend zooming out vs. reacting fast?

Notice where you get stuck in details—what bigger view might unlock momentum?

Observe strategy meetings focused only on execution—what’s missing from long-term vision?

Note your own language—do you speak in metrics, forecasts, and risks, or just tasks?

Innovation Management

Identify one small customer pain point and brainstorm three new ways to solve it today.

Ask a fellow founder how they solved a similar problem—adapt one of their lessons to your context.

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

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

Use a random word generator—connect it to your current challenge and spark fresh angles.

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

Reflect on a time you sparked a product idea—what founder behaviors enabled innovation in that moment?

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

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

Think about a founder who inspires innovation—what actions help others share bold ideas?

Reflect on how you handle uncertainty—do you see it as threat or space for opportunity?

Explore where your current environment enables or blocks testing—what changes would reduce friction?

Test a new way of prototyping your product—change your tool, method, or flow and observe what happens.

Propose a pilot test with a short window and clear success metric—keep it lean and simple.

Ask your team to name the most outdated process—volunteer to redesign or test it leanly.

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

Share a bold product idea with an investor or peer—even if raw, bring it into the open.

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

Ask a peer which of your product ideas had promise—what stopped you from pursuing it?

Share your latest product idea with a peer—ask them to push back constructively.

Invite your team to vote on which process most needs rethinking—start there together.

Ask a customer-facing teammate: “What feature or idea do clients keep wishing for?”

Discuss with a founder from another sector how they experiment—what could you learn or borrow?

Ask your team: “What idea have we dropped too soon?”—consider testing it again.

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

Change “That’s not how start-ups work” to “What if that’s why we’re stuck?”

View every failed experiment as data—ask: “What did this teach us about users?”

Instead of “We need a big win,” say “We need a small, testable step that proves value.”

Reframe user pushback as a filter—what part of the idea could improve under pressure?

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

Notice who brings new product ideas and who doesn’t—what dynamics support or block creativity?

Track how long it takes an idea to move from brainstorm to user test—where does it stall?

Watch reactions to new features—do users show excitement, hesitation, or disinterest?

Observe which environments spark your best ideas—customer calls, whiteboards, or solo time?

During retros, listen for failure patterns—what untested assumptions keep showing up?

Monitor your response to new product ideas—do you build on them or dismiss too fast?

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