[author: Jodi Lasky]

As a former founder, Jodi Lasky knows how challenging it is to harness one's strengths and build a successful and fulfilling business. Through her work in new product development, Jodi realized that many of the principles applied in developing software products quickly and efficiently were equally applicable to building a successful business. Jodi shares how the framework she developed – Agile Business Development – can help entrepreneurs develop the skills and mindset necessary to get their business off the ground and thriving.

There is nothing new under the sun.

Whether you consider yourself an entrepreneur or a creative, anything new you make is based on something or somethings that came before. You repurpose existing approaches, or combine elements differently, or build on existing technology or techniques, and the result is something different, more than the sum of its parts.

There are few things I love more than that moment of ingenuity where disparate ideas come together and solidify into that "something different."

I had one of those moments last winter.

For my day job, I had to learn about managing large IT programs using Agile frameworks. Agile prioritizes value, and one day I realized that I wrote and said this word so many times, it lost all meaning. What is value? How do we provide value?

I am pretty sure I dreamed about value in my sleep because I woke up the next morning with new questions: What would it look like if I applied Agile, with its focus on "working product," to building a business? Could I build value faster and, in less time, the way it works with software? Could it work for other people, too?

The answer, it turns out, is "yes"—with a few tweaks to account for working mostly on my own.

Thus, the Agile Business Development (ABD) framework was born.

Agile Business Development (ABD) Framework Language

Before I explain how ABD will help you build your business faster, allow me to define a few key terms and practices. If you are familiar with "Scrum" – the most common Agile framework, which uses team-based development and short, time-based sprints – these terms will be familiar.

• Sprint: A period of time to work on a determined amount of work. In the ABD framework, this is one week, from Sunday to Saturday.
• Product Backlog: Detailed, running list of everything you need to do, with each item broken down into the smallest workable piece, relative size (based on how long the project will take: extra-small, small, medium, large, and extra-large), and priority. Think of it as a detailed to-do list.
• Sprint Backlog: The items you commit to completing during the current Sprint.

Agile Business Development Framework Practices

Practices are the activities you complete as part of the framework. There are six of them, taking about three hours per week. Once you integrate them with your life, you will see how much time they actually save you.

• Sprint Planning: The process of choosing the items from the Product Backlog to work on for the coming Sprint. On Sunday, take 30 minutes (or fewer) to look at your schedule for the week and determine how much time you have for focused work. Block that time on your schedule and select items from your Product Backlog that have the highest priority and fit them into the time you realistically have. Decide which ones you will do on Monday. Over time, you will get better at estimating the amount of time things take. In your first weeks, you probably will not estimate well. And that is okay!
• Evening Debrief: A 15-minute writing session at the end of the workday. Review what you accomplished that day; obstacles you faced; any issues you need to think about; and, on Monday through Thursday, your schedule and tasks for the next day. Do this at a set time each day and stop working after you do. Reclaim your time!
• Morning Start: A 5-minute session at the start of your workday to review your schedule and tasks for the day. Thank your past self for making your day easier. Instead of figuring out where to start, you can jump in.
• Sprint Review: After your Friday Evening Debrief, spend 10 minutes reviewing the week's accomplishments. Focus on what you got done, not on what you did not. Anything you did not finish will wait. I promise!
• Sprint Retrospective: After the Sprint Review, spend 10 minutes considering what you could do better next week. Consider how well you protected your working time, kept your daily schedule, and estimated the time tasks required. Be as kind to yourself as you would be to your best friend.
• Backlog Pruning: On Saturday, take about 30 minutes to update your Product Backlog by adding anything new that came up during the week and anything you did not finish from the current Sprint and removing items that are no longer necessary. Adjust priorities and sizing where appropriate. Break things down and remember to identify what you need to do to gain value now. For example, if you need a website, do you need a big site with 100 pages? Or will a landing page suffice for now, while you build out the rest of the content?

Interested in Trying This? How to Start Implementing the ABD Framework

The beauty of the ABD framework is how scalable it is. It works for companies of any size. It also does not require you to start everything at once. You can start small. Choose a notebook and, at the end of your workday, write your priorities for the next day, being mindful of the meetings and other activities on your calendar. If you can only do one or two small things, then only give yourself one or two small things. Block time on your calendar for them.

The next morning, review your priorities and schedule for the day. That's it.

When you're ready, add the rest of the Evening Debrief elements. Move your "to do" list to a Product Backlog. Add Sprint Planning, the Sprint Review, and the Sprint Retrospective, in any order you want.

Sure, you can absolutely go all-in at once:

• Block time on your calendar for at least a month for each practice and for focused work.
• Choose a tool to track your backlogs and set them up. (I use Excel. Others prefer a project management tool.)
• Set up your Product Backlog.
• Choose a week's worth of priorities.
• Do it.

The point is: you do not have to. You do.

Why bother?

After setting up the Product Backlog, these activities take about three hours a week.

Three hours you probably feel like you do not have.

I get it.

Using the ABD Framework, I have, in fact, made more progress in less time than I would have. But that is only one benefit I achieved. I also:

• Reduced my mental load and decision fatigue. I start each day knowing my priorities for the day. I save time figuring out where to start, because "past Jodi" decided that for me.
• Gave myself time. I stop work at 6 each day. Evenings and weekends are my own. I sleep more, have time to exercise, and have a life outside of work, writing, and building my business.
• Stopped beating myself up. Do I get everything done? No. But I am better at estimating how long things will take and scheduling accordingly. Since I focus on high-priority items, the things I do are important and drive value.

At first, the process can feel overwhelming. Laying the foundation and creating the habits around these elements take time. After the first few weeks, though, that feeling of overwhelm disappears, and you reap the rewards: easier starts, shorter days, and more progress.

Is it worth it? You tell me. What is it worth to you to know you are working on the important parts of your business while having more time?

Will it work for you? If you work it, and give it a chance, it absolutely can.

Learn more: Download the Agile Business Development framework.

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