My bulletproof system for managing leaders

This is the Unbreakable Business newsletter - created just for founders and operators who want to build a software company that won’t fall apart.

I get asked quite a bit from founders that I coach about how I manage people - specifically, how I manage leaders who have their own teams.

So, as usual, I’m gonna give you everything I do so you can steal whatever works and implement it immediately in your own company.

Hope this one serves 🙏 cause it’s gone through a number of iterations over the years.

Also, a quick ask: if you can lend me two minutes, please reply to this email and tell me how I can be the most helpful with the newsletter.

What type of content are you looking for? Any specific systems you need help with? Something you’d love to see?

That would mean the world to me.

MV

👊 Nothing Hits Harder Than The Truth

“I need more out of you as my boss - you’re slowing me down.”

I’ve never been an MMA fighter, but hearing that made me feel like I got my ass kicked while locked in an octagon-shaped cage.

I'd spent the past year focused on hiring great people and increasing the talent density of our team. Yet here I was...holding up progress like a stuck cork in a wine bottle.

Turns out, one of my direct reports (a Director in our company) had asked me to review two of his projects.

These were projects that I had asked him to do.

He'd completed them and asked for my feedback TWO WEEKS prior.

And not only had I not reviewed them...I hadn't even replied to him when he asked.

My only thought:

"This is the shit that makes good people quit..."

Then my internal monologue chirped up:

"I have so much going on - how can I possibly keep it all straight?"

"Doesn't he know how busy I am?"

"Why didn't he give me a deadline for the feedback?"

But that was nothing but my own feeble attempt to justify letting him down. And that's not the caliber of leader that I strive to be.

So two things needed to happen:

1. I needed to take ownership and apologize.

2. I needed to build a system to make sure this stopped happening.

🖥️ Everything Is An API

(alright tech nerds, rally around...this is your moment)

An API is a way for two unrelated computer programs to communicate with each other.

The simplest way to think about APIs is that there is an expected input, then the code does code-y stuff, and there is an expected output.

Example: I could write some code to hit Zillow's API - the input is an address, and the output is information about the listing (such as the price).

I digress...

APIs are the tech nerd version of how ANY system should work.

The system receives an input. It has an expected way that the input gets processed. And it provides an output in return. That's it.

So when I sat down to think about how to solve this problem, that's how I approached it.

I needed inputs from my Directors about what they were up to and what they needed out of me.

I needed to process that information the same way every week.

And I needed to give them an output in return so they knew what I was doing with the information they gave me.

Sounds simple...like everything does at first 😆

But if it's cool with you, I'll skip all the trial-and-error parts and just give you the best version of this “API” that I’ve ever implemented.

Here goes…

🗓️ The Input: Weekly Update Reports

The first part was getting the inputs. In our company, we do a lot of things on a weekly cadence. Our team calls are weekly, our leadership calls are weekly, and we measure our metrics weekly, too.

So it made sense to me to capture my inputs at the end of a week and use that information to plan the following week.

Here's the template that everyone on my team completes and sends to me on Fridays:

Honestly, I was nervous when I rolled this out. I felt like I was handing out administrative work to people who were already super busy.

But here's what I learned: many of my reports appreciated the forcing function to reflect on their week.

Writing things down creates clarity of thought. Especially when you have to send it to someone for feedback.

Even cooler than that: these updates have actually replaced a few meetings (what a win).

But getting the inputs doesn't actually change anything without ACTION. In the next section, I'll give you my system for processing this stuff - it's deep.

🏆️ The Output: My “Win The Week” Plan

Every Monday starts off the same way for me: with a two-hour block of time that's called "Win The Week" in my calendar.

And here's exactly what happens in those two hours:

Team Update Review

I read every Weekly Update that my Directors sent me from the Friday prior. I usually give them a quick scan on Fridays when they come in as well, but on Mondays, I study them. I pull out every action item that might need time from me and add it to a quick list.

And I reply to every one of them.

When I first started these, I'd let this slip - and I quickly learned that reading them and not replying feels the same as being ignored.

So ya gotta reply - even if it's just a quick "thank you".

Personal OKR Review

I review the OKRs that I own for the quarter and gauge my own progress. If I need to put some time in to work on one of my projects, I make note of that as well.

Tasks & Deliverables Review

I keep a few running lists. One of them is a list of tasks (things I need to do). Another one is a list of deliverables (things other people have committed to doing).

I review them both on Monday mornings - so I can catch up on anything I'm behind on, and get squared away on action items that will be coming my way.

Calendar Review

The last stop on the "inputs" train - my calendar.

I take a pass through my week coming up and make note of any high-priority meetings (especially if I have to do things to prepare for them).

The “Weekly Big 3”

At this point, I've gathered all the inputs. Team updates, my own OKRs, open tasks, deliverables, and calendar commitments - I've put eyes on all of them.

With this context, I boil it all down to three big goals for the week.

Not six. Not five. Not four.

Three.

Time Allocation

All this prep work is useless if the important stuff doesn't get into the calendar w/ time to move it forward.

So my calendar and I have a spirited negotiation - we say yes to some stuff, we say no to some stuff...and it's all good. The important thing here is that it's a CHOICE. And I know on Monday morning what I'm prioritizing, what I'm deferring, and what I'm outright refusing.

If I need to renegotiate a deadline, I can do it. It stops me from being a people pleaser. It stops me from burning out. And it stops me from letting my team down with broken commitments.

The Last Step: A Quick Reflection

After I do all that prep work, I answer a quick set of questions to make sure I haven't missed anything. Here's what they are:

Some of these (particularly #6 - #8) are specific to me, but I didn't want to water it down - feel free to tweak it however you want 🙏

Here's the important part: answering these questions keeps me honest.

For instance, I frequently find that I put something in my answer to #2 that I hadn't considered anywhere else. The brain is a weird place sometimes.

🤔 WTF...This Is A Lot...

Yep. It feels a lot like work. Good management and leadership takes work and takes time. It's the cost of doing a good job.

And if I'm being real with you...I've strayed from this process a few times. But I always realize the same thing: that I actually get a TON more accomplished week over week when I make this time investment.

So I always come back to it. And it always seems to work.

As usual - I hope this serves you well, and that you can snag some (or all) of it and use it to lead your team effectively.

I'm on a mission to share everything I know about building a company - period, full stop, holding nothing back.

So until next week - go lead your team to greatness ❤️

✌️ MV

📽️ This Week On The SaaS Academy Pod

Our last episode was SO MUCH FUN - because we had an incredible guest who was spitting 🔥🔥🔥

JP and I got to spend 90 minutes with Clate Mask, the CEO of Keap (formerly Infusionsoft). We had a great conversation about the ups and downs of their journey, the rebrand and what was behind it, and the hard lessons he’s learned as he scaled his company beyond 9 figures.

This one is WELL worth the time - get outside, go for a walk, throw some headphones in, and soak up all of Clate’s wisdom…cause there’s a lot to go around.