Ask the question, don't check the box
Frameworks aren't steps to complete. Each one was built to answer a specific question, usually about the outcome, the customer, or whether anyone will act. Ask the question, don't check the box.
A wall of checked boxes, discovery done, MVP done, deck done, and still stuck. That's because a framework isn't a box; it's a question. Discovery asks "am I wrong about what people want?" The MVP asks "what's the cheapest test of my riskiest belief?" You don't finish a question. You answer it, or you skip it.
A founder showed me her plan. Every box was checked. Discovery: done. MVP: done. Landing page: done. Pitch deck: done.
A wall of green checkmarks. And she was as stuck as someone who'd done none of it.
"I did everything," she said. She had. That was the strange, painful part.
She'd treated each framework as a box. But a framework isn't a box; it's a question. Discovery asks "am I wrong about what people want?" The MVP asks "what's the cheapest test of my riskiest belief?" You don't finish a question. You answer it, or you don't.
She'd performed the rituals and skipped the questions. So she had a wall of green and no judgment.
She re-titled her plan. Not "things to do." "Questions I haven't answered yet." Nothing else changed, and everything did.
Ask the question, don't check the box. You don't finish a question. You answer it, or you skip it.