This post is a leap from Rule 2 of bootstrapping the non-profit: Do it Now.
This is such a key idea, and so interesting and relevant to Do it Now, that I thought I’d do something about it like, write now.
The idea is that when you’re developing a new business or organisation, there is so much that you don’t know that planning has less value – it will inevitably change when you know more.
Because of this, your focus needs to be on trying things out, working with what you do know – and your best guesses – and testing them out in the real world.
So we get the lean startup cycle:
The relationship between this and Do it Now is that the fastest way make progress – even if it’s only progress in knowing what not to do – is to go through this cycle quickly. One of the best ways of increasing your cycle speed is to take action – now!
Counter-intuitively, the more uncertain a situation it is, the more useful this approach – and cycle speed – can be:
When a project can be approached with a high degree of certainty, the best activity is to plan. As we have high confidence that the plan is likely to succeed, the best strategy is to execute what we know will work well. The focus can therefore be on executing the plan and monitoring progress.
Open Classrooms: The Learn Startup
When a project carries a high degree of uncertainty, the best activity is to learn. As any plan would make too many assumptions that would be hard to justify. The best strategy is to increase the speed at which we learn until we have discovered which plan would work the best. The focus must be on learning and discovery and checking any assumptions that we have.