One of the most common pieces of advice you get from founders is: “Only focus on things that move the needle.”
Using the “moving the needle” metaphor as a company guideline makes you become dishonest to yourself and your team.
The truth is, when building a company, much of what has to be done — such as paperwork, paying suppliers, updating investors, creating pension plans, etc. — has no direct connection to that famous needle.
When you live by the “moving the needle” mantra, you find yourself feeling guilty for doing these necessary activities.
The biggest problem is when you start pretending that bureaucracy is a form of “moving the needle,” just to settle the dissonance.
This is a slippery slope, because when you stretch the “moving the needle” basket, you are at risk of defocusing your company.
It’s easy to explain and justify to yourself how every single feature or color change is a needle-mover.
In conclusion, as founders, we should definitely focus on things that move the needle, but also embrace the fact that there are other things that need to be done to make sure there is a needle in the first place.