tl;dr summary: In this exploration into the complexities of failure and learning, I draw from a range of entrepreneurs to debunk myths and advocate for a more nuanced understanding. The key takeaway is that failure is only harmful if we…
Below is some material that I wrote, but didn’t use, in my book The Mistakes That Make Us: Cultivating a Culture of Learning and Innovation. Maybe it was a mistake to cut it. But the material wasn’t really related to…
Failure is one of the most misunderstood concepts in Lean and continuous improvement. Leaders talk about learning, experimentation, and growth mindset–but in practice, early mistakes are often treated as evidence that people or ideas aren’t ready. That gap between intention…
Alternate title: “Lean is an Integrated System. Of Course Just Implementing Pieces Leads to Failure.” Throughout the 10 years that I’ve been involved with Lean healthcare efforts, I’ve heard multiple stories of organizations that ended their formal Lean initiatives. They do so, as I’ve been told, because they need to cut costs...
I love the show “Silicon Valley” and I just “binge watched” all ten episodes of Season 2 while traveling home from vacation. A few scenes from two episodes made me think about continuous improvement (yeah, even while on vacation). When…
Bessemer Venture Partners – The Anti Portfolio This post was originally written in 2006, but was updated in 2023 with an updated link and some quotes from the updated Bessemer “Anti Portfolio” website. The link above goes to one of…
