#validated learning

I just finished reading The Lean Startup by Eric Ries. In true naptime entrepreneur fashion, I polished it off in the front seat of my car while allowing my very obstinate toddler to catch an extra 40-80 winks.

To say that I enjoyed the book would be an exaggeration; it is never really enjoyable to get a wake up call is it?  It was also, at times, something of a hard slog.  You see, Ries is many of the things I am not and, in an entrepreneurial context at least, all the things I wish I could be.  Analytical, detail oriented, scientific and ruthless.  His Lean Startup theories and practices put both business and business owner on the scale and then on the treadmill.

Trim the fat is the principle lesson I will take away from the book...although it may not have been the lesson Ries intended, I ask him to bear with me if he is reading (Hi Eric!).  One particular line that resonated for me was that startups infrequently starve for ideas...they are more apt to drown in them.

This could not be more true for me.  Since starting the business, my strategies, my plans, my scenarios of growth, customer development, product launch have come fast and furious.  The key in integrating the Lean Startup method is not to gorge yourself on these ideas but rather to be a more discerning consumer of them.  

The Lean Start Up is well known for it's promotion of the Minimum Viable Product idea (MVP).  While Ries himself cautions of the complexity of the technique, it is one that has greatly informed my thinking.  It has started already to guide the rate and scale of the introduction of new product to my business, and the metrics by which I measure success or validate my learning (principle 5 of the method...see page 9).

Speaking of metrics and data, Ries is a much bigger fan and a greater advocate of them than I can ever be for the simple fact that he gets them, I don't.  I am convinced of their importance but as of yet have no whiz-kid analyst to employ to crunch up my data and feed it to me in idiot-proof little morsels.

Much like all the diet books I have ever read - I am not likely to adopt every recommendation and follow every menu right off the bat... though I know they would be good for me. That said, since reading the book, my excel spreadsheets and I have been getting better acquainted so that one day I can proudly pass them off to our first data engineer...you are welcome whoever you are...don't roll your eyes at me.

Post from Cindy Alvarez (Director of User Experience at Yammer) on how to properly structure questions when you're interviewing customers.

The same logic can be applied to writing surveys as well: