Planning Library · Founder scope
The founder's job.
The planning library is organized around Highland's seven core CEO responsibilities. This page is the map — what each responsibility means, where it lives, and which two are thinnest right now.
Groundworks is solo-founder, pre-open. That means Standards and You need the most attention: nobody else names them yet.
Builder vs. Scaler.
A CEO at scale spends 80%+ of the week working on the business — systems, strategy, culture — not in it. That's the direction of travel, not the starting point.
Builder
Works in the business.
- ·Ships features, fixes things personally.
- ·Asks: "How can I solve this?"
- ·Measures the day by what they finished.
Scaler
Works on the business.
- ·Designs systems, org, and culture.
- ·Asks: "Who owns this — and what prevents it next time?"
- ·Measures the week by what happened without them.
Target % Scaler time by phase
Solo founder, pre-open — mostly Builder time is correct for Phase A. The trap is staying there past opening.
The map.
| Responsibility | What it means | Where it lives | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clarity | Mission, values, vision, strategy, annual goals, health metrics — the Northstar. | Live | |
| Rhythm | Predictable monthly / quarterly / annual cycles that create momentum. | Live | |
| Standards | What 'great' looks like — the observable behaviors behind the values. | §below | Partial |
| Team | Right people, right roles, high-performance conditions. | Staged | |
| Cash | Fund the business, model the model, keep the doors open. | Live | |
| Stakeholders | Board, funders, donors, community — kept informed on cadence. | Live | |
| You | The founder's own posture, energy, non-negotiables, and personal goals. | §below · /dashboard/individual | Partial |
What "great" looks like at Groundworks.
Values state what we believe. Standards translate them into observable behavior — the "you'd know it if you saw it" version.
| Value | Observable standard |
|---|---|
| Farmer-first | We pay Salinas & Pajaro Valley farmers above wholesale. Full stop. |
| Accessible | CalFresh / EBT accepted from day one. No 'later phase.' |
| Programmed with intent | Every event has a stated purpose and a follow-up email within 48 hours. |
| Operator-serious | Books close within one week of month-end. Dashboards refresh every Friday. |
| In public | Planning library stays open and shareable. Concepts are for stealing. |
| Real hospitality | Counter staff know two things about every repeat customer within a month. |
| Honest numbers | Forecast vs. actual is graded honestly. Misses are named, not spun. |
See also: /standards — the full Marketplace / Brand / Performance breakout (Northstar OS Part 2).
The founder's operating stance.
Groundworks lives or dies on the founder's clarity, energy, and reliability during the pre-open years. This is the personal operating layer under everything else.
Non-negotiables
- ·Monthly board-chair 1:1 — 30 min, always.
- ·One full day/week off. No email, no site.
- ·No board seat sold for money before Phase 2.
- ·Weekly dashboard refresh — every Friday.
- ·Quarterly QBR published, even solo.
Energy management · Phase A
- ·Community meetings and site walks beat desk time. Fundraising happens in person.
- ·Deep-work mornings, meetings after noon. Protect the model, the deck, and the grant work.
- ·One relationship-building coffee a week with a farmer, funder, or peer operator.
- ·Personal WhyGos tracked at /dashboard/individual.
Related founder-posture note lives on /governance (Phase-C staff rhythm) — this page is the pre-hire version.