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The only way I retain stuff is to write it down.
As I read work-related books I log interesting and relevant things as I go. In reviewing my list from The Lean Start-up, I thought others might find it useful, and save them the trouble of reading it themselves… ;-). It was written for my eyes only originally so I don’t think the Booker prize is pending…
As it happens the list came to 100. Some quotes, some questions, some tips…
1. All processes should be geared to accelerate the feedback loop
2. Build > measure > learn loop (BML)
3. Pivot or persevere – the perennial question
4. Start-ups are about execution
5. How do we know if we’re making progress? What do we measure?
6. Customers don’t know what they want. Don’t ask, just release & measure
7. It’s about the quality of the questions you ask of customers/partners
8. Think about what we will learn as a result of this activity. It’s ALL that matters.
9. Find a synthesis between the vision and what customers want
- if none exists, change your vision and/or your customers
10. Progress is not measured by card points but by learnings/usage
11. Validated learning, what experiments will test strategy hypotheses
12. Success is not delivering a feature, its solving the customer’s problem
13. A start up is a catalyst that transforms ideas into products
14. Products are experiments - get the feedback (both quant & qual)
15. Key is to minimise total time through the BML loop
16. Leap of faith assumptions are: value hypothesis, growth hypothesis
17. Steve Blank - ‘get out of the building and start learning’
18. Genchi gembutsu > go and see for yourself
19. The goal of MVP is to begin the process of learning it (not end it)
20. When in doubt simplify (MVP)
21. Make video of how the experience is meant to be - Dropbox as great e.g.
22. ‘Concierge MVP’ = development customers
23. Scale something that works vs invent something that might work in the future
24. Build only what is needed
25. ‘Wizard of Oz’ testing :-)
26. Customers only care if it serves their needs
27. They don’t care about design as much as we do
28. Remove anything that doesn’t contribute to the learning you seek
29. The only way to win is to learn faster than anyone else (stealth sucks)
30. A commitment to iteration
31. MVP is first step on journey of learning
32. Innovation accounting
33. Devise experiments to learn how to move the real numbers
34. Innovation accounting
> MVP to establish real data on current status
> Tune the engine towards the ideal
> Persevere or Pivot
35. Smoke test > opportunity to pre-order
36. A good design is one that changes customer behavior for the better
37. If not moving the drivers of your business, you’re not making progress
38. What are the drivers of the business? CPA, LTV, attrition
39. Cohort vs cumulative measures (vanity metrics).
40. Actionable vs vanity metrics
41. The grand bargain of agile dev is: ‘Engineers agree to adapt the product to the businesses constantly changing requirements but are not responsible for the quality of those decisions’
42. User stories not considered complete until they lead to validated learning
43. Validation is knowing whether the story was a good idea in the first place
44. Validation from split testing
45. Stories are at 1 of 4 stages: backlog, being built, done, being validated
46. Kanban > ‘n’ stories per bucket
47. Forced validation through Kanban
48. Solid process > healthy culture > ideas evaluated by merit not by job title
49. Productivity measured by validated learning not in # of features
50. Lazy registration is a useful tool
51. 3 A’s of metrics > actionable, accessible, auditable
52. Only 5% is the big idea, 95% is the gritty work…
53. Pivot > a structured course correction to test new hypothesis
54. Failure is a prerequisite to learning
55. Zoom in pivot
56. Customer segment pivot
57. A start-ups runway is the number of pivots it can still make
58. Developing MVP features beyond requirements of early adopters is waste
59. Pivot = exhortation to change
60. Which activities create value and which are a form of waste
61. Who is going to buy? Which ‘customers’ should we ignore?
62. Just in time scalability
63. ‘single piece flow’
64. Small batch approach
65. Continuous deployment…build>measure>learn feedback loop
66. Ability to learn faster is the essential competitive adv for Start-ups
67. Eliminate options/markets through testing. Ask the right questions…
68. The start-up way: people > culture > process > accountability
69. Start-ups drown not starve – ideas & opportunities vs ruthless focus
70. Should focus on the big experiments that lead to validated learning
71. Is acquisition or retention the issue, make sure you measure the right metrics
72. 5 whys – get to the root
73. 5 whys and small batches foundation for company to respond quickly
74. Most mistakes are caused by flawed systems not bad people
75. Be tolerant of mistakes 1st time but never allow same mistake twice
76. Five whys vs Five blames
77. Two outputs, learning and doing
78. Avoid achieving failure ‘successfully executing a flawed plan’
79. ’organisations have muscle memory’ - tough to change
80. Lean mgmt means treating work as a system
81. Pursuing operational excellence AND disruptive innovation
82. Rapid iteration > data-driven decision making, early customer involvement
83. Split testing, continuous deployment, customer testing
84. How do we know that a problem is special case or systemic? Dilemma
85. It’s not how fast build/measure, it’s how fast through the entire loop
86. Management is human systems engineering
87. Our future prosperity depends on the quality of our collective imaginations
88. Most waste in innovation preventable once causes are understood
89. The goal of innovation is to learn what is currently unknown
90. Not setting quant goals but fixing the method by which they are attained
91. Entrepreneurial virtues
> primacy of vision
> willingness to take hold risks
> courage in the face of over whelming odds
92. Beware vanity metrics - measure what REALLY matters, not gross #’s
93. If stopped wasting people’s time (with mtgs), what would they do with it?
94. How are we testing our assumptions, what are we learning?
95. What have we learnt this week > change the language.
96. Innovation accounting involves a clear financial model and engine of growth
97. Assumptions tested rigorously > genuine desire to discover ‘the truth’
98. Speed & quality are allies in pursuit of the customers long term benefit
99. Respond to failures with honesty & learning - ‘what is this going to tell us’
100. Reading is good, action is better
Am I supposed to be impressed??? Not bad I s’pose… (who says man can’t fly)
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