Does Your Startup Feel Chaotic? Good.

Tactical ways to reduce unnecessary chaos

If you’re an individual contributor, you can reduce unnecessary chaos by communicating effectively, which might mean regular updates to team members regarding progress. Resist the urge to hide in a hole if your work starts to slip. Ask for help so that others are not caught off guard when they find out your... See more

Unnecessary versus necessary chaos

In my 13 years working at startups, I’ve witnessed many examples of unnecessary chaos—here are a few.

A major release has been planned for months, but launch communications—new positioning, website copy, customer email, blog post—are reviewed at the last minute.

A manager reschedules 1:1s every week because of ongoi... See more

Necessary chaos embraces the uncertainty inherent to startups. Here are a few examples:

As growth accelerates and larger teams are needed, people stretch into new roles, teams scale and split, and new processes are formed.

After a promising call with a potential new customer, the product roadmap is re-prioritized to incorporate features that will hel... See more