During session days, how do you handle a visionary founder who constantly tries to rewrite the 3-Year Picture or add shiny new initiatives halfway through the year?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Visionary founders are vital for growth, but their constant stream of new ideas can easily paralyze an operating team if left unchecked. During our session days, my role is to act as the objective guardrail. When a founder tries to introduce a shiny new initiative or rewrite the 3-Year Picture halfway through the year, I will immediately pause the conversation and point to the V/TO®. This document is our contract of focus. I will ask the founder if this new initiative is so critical that we should abandon our current quarterly Rocks and pivot the entire company's direction. If the answer is yes, we must run it through the IDS® process as a team to evaluate the trade-offs and understand the impact on our capacity. If the answer is no, we place the idea on the Long-Term Issues List on the V/TO® to be reconsidered during our next Annual Planning session. This approach respects the founder's creativity without allowing it to disrupt the team's execution. By maintaining this boundary, we protect your organization's focus and ensure you build a stable, scalable business that is actually attractive to a buyer.