Weekly scoreboard — one board for the whole arc
One Friday sheet. I check a chapter box. I do not keep two trackers and then forget the north-star column.
If this sheet is empty three weeks running, I’m hoping. I’m not searching.
Confidential employer details stay offline.
Daily quota by chapter
Chapter 1 · War room (days 0–30) — 6–10 high-signal actions, in this order:
- Active loop follow-ups
- Rehearse: pitch once + multi-tenant once (alt days if interview-heavy)
- New apps: Sr Staff AI Platform / agentic / Founding / Principal
- Warm intros / referrals
- North-star warmth (Anthropic / OpenAI / FAANG / peer Principal) — do not starve this because (1)–(3) are loud
I don’t count: LinkedIn scrolling, polishing secondary demos, new repos.
Chapter 2 · Close (days 31–60) — 4–8 actions:
- Finals / offer / recruiter threads
- Negotiation + rubric (numbers offline)
- Spine warm-up if a live panel is scheduled
- Max 2–3 north-star warmth actions — do not restart spray
- Pitch / multi-tenant only if a panel is <48h away
Chapter 3 · Bridge (months 3–6):
| Action | Target |
|---|---|
| Charter / delivery | 60–70% of real time |
| Warm intros (homework done) | 2 / week |
| Pitch + multi-tenant + 1 STAR | weekly |
| Signal artifact | one, not five |
Chapter 4 · Peer seat (months 6–9):
| Action | Target |
|---|---|
| Warm intros + loop follow-ups | 2 intros / week + daily on finals |
| Full mock panel | ≥1 / week |
| Bridge job | still protected |
Unemployed / still searching: invert toward conversion + signal. Still no new product brands.
Quality check on intros: mutual signal, specific team/role, one clear ask. Otherwise it doesn’t count — it’s spam I sent myself.
Friday scoreboard (copy a new section each week)
Week of ________ · Chapter: [ ] 1 war room [ ] 2 close [ ] 3 bridge [ ] 4 peer seat
| Metric | Count / Notes |
|---|---|
| Screens (close + north-star) | |
| HM / hiring manager | |
| Onsites / panels | |
| Offers / verbal | |
| Rejects / ghosted | |
| Pitch rehearsed aloud? | Y/N |
| Multi-tenant rehearsed (threat model cold)? | Y/N |
| Eval / false-confidence drill? | Y/N |
| Spine failures on live calls | (target 0) |
| Apps submitted | |
| Warm intros requested (with homework) | |
| Warm intros / advice calls completed | |
| Referrals submitted on my behalf | |
| North-star threads still warm | (never zero on purpose) |
| Charter milestones hit (ch. 3–4) | |
| Signal artifact status | not started / drafting / shipped / revised |
| Recommendations asked / landed | |
| Hours protected for the seat (ch. 3–4) | gut check |
| Next week’s scheduled calls |
Wins (specific — “progressed loops” is not a win)
Gaps to fix next week (one primary)
Emotional / energy note (private)
Burnout and ego after rejects drive bad builds. I name it here so I don’t open a new Forge repo on Saturday.
Active loops
| Company / role | Stage | Next action | Due | North-star? | Referral? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Kill list (this week)
Targets I will stop feeding. Serial hope is not a pipeline.
How I read my own board
| Pattern | Diagnosis | Move |
|---|---|---|
| Lots of apps, no screens | Referral / positioning | Stop cold spray; fix blurb + intros |
| Screens, die at HM | Story / isolation / leveling | Mock HM; deepen two systems |
| Onsite rejects, same note twice | Skill gap, not luck | One counter only (artifact or drill) |
| Strong loops, charter red | Burning the bridge | Cut search load for two weeks |
| Artifact “almost done” for a month | Avoidance | Ship ugly docs-first this week |
| North-star column blank for 14 days | I starved the parallel track | One thoughtful intro this week, homework done |
Chapter gates (honest)
Day 30 — leave war room
- ≥1 strong verbal or written offer or ≥2 processes in final rounds
- Pitch + multi-tenant fluent without notes
- Zero unexplained demo failures
- North-star threads still exist (not “I’ll start those after I sign”)
- → Finish close
Day 60 — leave close
- Signed offer or clear decision on remaining finals
- Rubric filled for every offer (scores offline)
- 2–3 north-star apps still warm
- No new repos during close
- → Stabilize and aim up
Leave bridge
- 90-day charter mid-point passed (manager would repeat the outcomes)
- ≥1 AI-flavored recommendation visible or committed
- Signal artifact linkable in one sentence
- ≥3 threads past screen or ≥5 warm intros with real replies outstanding
- AegisAI + Enterprise RAG <8 min each, including limitations, without notes
- Mock rubric average ≥3.5 (peer seat wants ≥4)
- → Close or upgrade
Leave peer-seat chapter
- Signed north-star / peer Principal or bridge upgrade with dated leveling or
- Postmortems + 90-day correction plan written
- No new product brands during the arc
- Competing-offer leverage used only with real written packages
Sunday, 60 seconds aloud
This week I [charter or loop win]. I moved [N] north-star threads. My weakest panel muscle is [isolation / evals / leveling / coding]. Next week’s one fix is [single action]. I’m not building a new platform. I did not starve the parallel track.
If I can’t say it without laughing at myself, the board is lying.