The four parts
- This week's goals, hit or missed. Copy your goals from last Friday's report and mark each one as hit or missed. If you only partly met a goal, count it as missed and write down how far you got (for example, "2 of 3 booked"). Every goal needs evidence, such as a link, a photo, a count, or a name. If you can't show it, count it as missed.
- What you made this week. List what exists now that didn't on Monday, such as a landing page, five customer conversations, a prototype, a price list, or a signed partner. A conversation among your team doesn't count on its own.
- Next week's SMART goals. Set up to three goals, and give each one an owner and a day and time. Check each goal against the five SMART boxes before you write it down.
- Blockers. Describe what's in your way and what would help you get past it, and bring it up on Wednesday so the group can help.
SMART, the CES version
| Letter | Means | Looks like |
|---|---|---|
| S | Specific: one action, one target | "Talk to 5 students who bought a fraternity shirt last year," not "do customer research" |
| M | Measurable: a number you hit or miss | "Get 15 survey responses" |
| A | Achievable: in one week, with classes | If you aimed for 50 users and reached 10, set next week's goal at 20. |
| R | Relevant: moves the venture | Work that moves the venture forward, rather than busywork |
| T | Time-bound: a day and a time | "Done by Thu 5pm" |
Six fixes from Report 2
I saw these problems in most of the September 25 reports. Please fix them before you submit Report 3.
- Goals with no number. Goals like "build website" and "make more content" can't be hit or missed, so give every goal a count.
- Blank owner, deadline, and SMART boxes. When a three-person team leaves every goal unassigned, nobody owns it. Put one name on each goal, along with a day and time.
- Hit or missed left blank. Mark every goal one way or the other.
- Empty evidence column. Every goal needs a link, a photo, a count, or a name.
- Missed goals copied forward unchanged. Size each goal so it can be done in one week. If you missed a goal, scale it down before carrying it over.
- "Time" listed as the blocker. Name something the group can help you with. If time really is the problem, tell me what you're going to drop to make room.
If you're a solo founder, you still write goals, and one or two strong goals are better than three weak ones. Please use the report number from the Canvas assignment rather than your own count.
The ten reports
| # | Due | # | Due |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fri Sep 18 | 6 | Fri Oct 30 |
| 2 | Fri Sep 25 | 7 | Fri Nov 6 |
| 3 | Fri Oct 2 | 8 | Fri Nov 13 |
| 4 | Fri Oct 16 | 9 | Fri Nov 20 |
| 5 | Fri Oct 23 | 10 | Fri Dec 4 |
There's no report on September 11, October 9 (reading days), or November 27 (Thanksgiving).