Implementing Without Burning the Founder

Most implementation problems are calendar problems. The founder said yes to too many kickoffs in the same two weeks, and now everyone is angry.

Three rules that have kept me out of trouble across 20+ implementations:

One: never start kickoff until the data agreement is signed. The day you waive this is the day the project slips a month.

Two: write the exit criteria before the first call. If you can't describe what 'done' looks like in one paragraph, the client can't either.

Three: protect the founder's first 30 minutes of every day. Implementation rarely needs them in the morning. Sales does.