In my last post, I suggested turning your riskiest assumptions into hypotheses that you can test. But how do you tease out the assumptions you are making? It’s a tricky question. We make a great number of assumptions every moment we are alive, on topics ranging from physical laws to the likely behavior of others … Continue reading Look Behind the Why
Me: I think the big bites can burn your mouth more than small bites, because there are more molecules–those little balls bouncing around–that can bump into your mouth and warm it up than there would be in a smaller bite. At least, that’s my guess. My young daughter: That’s your hippopotamus? Me: Yes. That’s my hippopotamus. In … Continue reading What’s the Hippopotamus?
Eric Ries’ The Lean Startup advocates rigor in the learning we do while building products or services. While calling learning the startup’s “most vital function”, he rightly warns about falling back on learning as an excuse for failure after the fact. He also calls out the danger of unfocused experimentation: “if the plan is to see … Continue reading The Lean Grownup