"My job is to put myself out of a job" encouraged me to actively coach engineers so I could be free to work on non-engineering problems. ​ One thing that helped us execute well without brutal hours was articulating clear goals at multiple granularities. After our Series A, we made a mock deck for our next fundraise. What story would our future investors want to hear? With that as a goal for the round, we would set “episode” goals for the ~6 weeks between board meetings. And using those, we’d set goals for the week - what did we need to get done to stay on track? ​ I learned the hard way that it’s in our nature to wait too long to do the hard, but obvious thing, especially when it affects other people. ​ The benefits of faster decisions compound over time, whether the decision is to let someone go or to trust someone with more, so make the decision, and take action sooner. ​ We learned that having this quiet space to think, talk, and dream together was critical.