The Proactive Manager

Going from a firefighter to being in control.

Your startup is running a marathon, and it's your job as a leader to clear the road ahead so your team can keep running.

But how often do you find yourself so deep in the trenches, working on current projects and reacting to problems, that by the time you finally catch a breather, you have no idea what to focus on... until the next fire erupts?

Being a proactive manager means spending an appropriate amount of time up front to minimize the number of fires you'll need to put out later.

On the far end of the spectrum of mastery, we have people like Jeff Bezos, who claims he's always working two or three years into the future.

Replace years with months, and you have a good target to aim for as a startup founder.

Here are a few things you can do to get there:

• Start sketching and writing down a detailed plan of what you'd like to see happen at your company over the next 3-6 months.

• Think about upcoming work and identify any potential issues. Remember, it's your job to clear the road. Your team will feel more supported and less likely to burn out.

• Draft wireframes and scope out projects for 1-2 iterations ahead.

• Set up logistics. Something as trivial as not booking a venue or scheduling work with your external partner up front may delay the schedule.

• Align the appropriate people to be ready when work comes their way.

• Know everyone's holiday schedules.

• Be ready to pivot when new information, opportunities or challenges arise.

• Deeply understand each ongoing project and the issues they're running into. Ivory tower mode is for corporate types making a career at EnterpriseGlobal.

Look, unexpected stuff will always pop up - that's startup life. But by carving out time to think beyond the current fires, you're giving yourself a fighting chance.

Sketch out that new feature. Prototype that crazy idea. Or even just close your eyes and imagine where you want to be in six months.

You'll see how things will flow from there.

The future you will be a lot less stressed — and a lot more excited about what's next.