The Anti-List
I was reminded recently of how useful Anti-Lists are.
Put simply, Anti-Lists are things you won't do under any circumstance. They exist to help you move faster and save mental bandwidth. They’re particularly useful for entrepreneurs because we tend to be able to convince ourselves that anything could be an opportunity. This is a disaster.
Here’s an example:
Maybe you started working on your idea specifically because you didn’t want to work with corporations any longer. Put “I don’t work with corporations” on your Anti-List. It doesn’t matter if it’s an objectively right or wrong strategy — maybe you could make more money faster and build a bigger business working with corporates. What matters is that you don’t want to.
Adding it to the list frees you from the inner dialogue where you say, “Maybe I'll start with corporates to make a little money, and then...” When a friend says, “Hey, I think they actually have a program similar to your idea at my company — want to pitch it to our CRO?” You say, “No, thank you.” Because it’s on your Anti List.
Again, it might “objectively” be a good opportunity, but that’s the problem with talented, driven people. You’ll get way more objectively good opportunities than you can pursue. And to make any sort of dent, you’ll need to say “no” to most of them. You probably won't have many items on you Anti-List to start, and that’s good. As your company grows and you make mistakes, add to the list to ensure you won’t make them again.
Your eventual strategy will be defined more by what you won’t do than what you will. Like how Michelangelo said he took a block of marble and removed everything that wasn’t the David. Here are some examples from startups we’ve had in Tacklebox — again, these aren’t “right” and you shouldn’t adopt them. An Anti-List is very much about the business you want to build.
Anti-List
I don’t work with customers who won’t pay up-front
I don’t work with customers who aren’t already scuba-certified
I don’t work with beginners
I won't miss bath time with my daughter
I won’t leave my job before my business is making 5k/month in revenue
I won’t build something that I don’t think can scale to a billion dollar business
I won’t work with universities
I won’t ever have more than five customers at a time
For the record, I have a few items on my life Anti-List that help me with decision fatigue, too. Some of my favorites:
I don’t take the elevator for less than 4 flights of stairs
I don’t eat sugar on weekdays
I don’t have coffee after 11:30am
Take ten minutes and write out your Anti-List. Start with the obvious ones — the reasons you’re building this business in the first place or want to be an entrepreneur. Then add a few that you’ve learned the hard way. What mistakes have you made?
The power of an Anti-List isn't in having the “right” items — it's in having the clarity to make faster decisions.