BOOK 1 - Lean Startup – Eric Ries

BOOK 1 - Lean Startup – Eric Ries

The first book I listened to was by recommendation from the Citi Ventures team, and I was genuinely surprised at how much I enjoyed it. It was so good I bought a hard copy to make notes in as I went along. 

In Lean Startup, Eric takes you through his ‘build-measure-learn’ sequence with great case studies and tips on how you can apply these principles. It made me understand the different mindsets required for working in the corporate world versus in a start-up, and particularly how success is  measured in these environments. It also led me to reflect on my military experiences and realise that this is how we were taught to win - by learning, and therefore thinking, faster than everyone else. In the army it is referred to as getting inside someone’s OODA Loop, the OODA loop (Observe, Orient, Decide and Act) being a concept originally applied to the combat operations process, often at the strategic level in military operations). 

Great book for anyone who wants to start thinking about their own business or being in charge.

My main takeaways from this book are:

1. Entrepreneurship can be anywhere. Militaries and corporations can apply it just as easily as an individual with the correct senior management support. I now like to tell people that my role within Citi is as an “Intrepreneur”
2. Entrepreneurship is a form of management. Large organisations are often put off by innovation and entrepreneurship because they see it as unfocused and unmeasurable and  individuals generally want to work for start-ups to get away from traditional management structures; but actually, entrepreneurship is just a different type of management outside of Focus Programmes and Project or Business As Usual (BAU).
3. Build-Measure-Learn. This is the heart of Eric’s book and the start-up mindset, for me it is a different way of applying the OODA Loop.
4. Rethink your metrics of success. Don’t try to measure innovation by figures in the early stages, especially $ or £, otherwise it will fail. Set out the hypotheses you wish to test and measure what you learned and how you improved. “It failed but I learned a lot” is just an excuse unless you set out clear learning targets at the beginning.