Precision Problem‑Solving
Science is eating startups.
Entrepreneurship has become analytical, methodical, and empirical. Data, technology, and engineering permeate all innovation projects.
But startups and innovation initiatives still fail at catastrophic rates. Why?
Because we’ve adopted the tools of science without embracing the behaviors and values of science. Innovation teams lack a precise understanding of why startups exist and how they work. In the words of Reid Hoffman, managers need “a technologist's precision in solving non-technological problems.”
I’ve lived in both worlds, as a manager and a technologist. My ambition with this blog is to bring those two worlds together, drawing not from fads but from the rich tradition of scientific problem-solving.
Steve Blank called our exponentially growing information the most profound change in innovation. Most of it obscures more than illuminates. Solving problems isn’t about amassing information and data. It’s about the pursuit of good explanations.
The Explainable Startup explores how small teams solve big problems. Precisely.