1. What is the difference between learning and validated learning?
I don’t actually remember this clearly laid out, but I’d guess it’s “learning where you actually check whether you actually learned anything rather than bullshitting yourself (by coming up with a hypothesis about how you can generate value, and what metrics would give you a clear sense of whether you achieved that value.)”
2. True or false: “According to the author, a startup with exponential growth in metrics like revenue and number of customers is doing well.” Explain your answer.
I think the author said “not necessarily”. I can’t remember their reasons exactly, but my answers are “because there are hacks you can do to make yourself look like you’re growing, or delude yourself into thinking you’re growing, without actually having a plan that will enable you to continue to grow longterm.”
3. Finish the sentence: “almost every lean startup technique we’ve discussed so far works its magic in two ways:”
I… don’t remember
4. Ries argues that startups should pay more attention to innovation accounting than traditional accounting. Name two ways in which startups can change their financial metrics to accomplish innovation accounting.
I was actually fairly confused about this while reading the book (I wanted a clear answer here and didn’t feel like I got one)
I think elements of the books answer included
have a clear understanding of what type of growth your product/company/team is aiming to generate (sticky, viral or paid)
have explicit hypotheses of how your plans are going to generate growth, which you check. (I think it was implied that you both check that your key growth metrics went up, and also more specific metrics that tie in with the specific experiment you’re running, which connect to the key metric)
5. Describe, concretely, what a car company’s supply chain would look like if it used push vs pull inventory.
Push inventory is when you make sure warehouses and stores have a sizeable chunk of inventory so they are prepared for customers showing up and buying something.
Pull inventory is when you have just a few of each item at each stage in the supply chain, and when each item is purchased, it sends a request up the supply chain to restock.
6. Ries applies the pull inventory model to startups. But what is the unit that is being pulled, and where does it obtain the “pull signal”?
Building out features based on customer demand and verified hypothesis. Start by building the smallest feature you could to validate that a project is even heading in the right direction, and then run a test that checks. (This may not even require building a product. Could be a fake “buy things” button). If you’re operating within an established company, you can roll it out to a small number of users)
7. True or false: “Lean manufacturing is meant to give manufacturers an advantage in domains of extreme uncertainty”. Explain your answer
I think mostly (but not overwhelmingly) false. I think lean manufacturing was developed to compete against larger car companies, which involved uncertainty but was more about flexibility, and differentiating in nicher markets.
8. True or false: “Lean manufacturing is about harnessing the power of economies-of-scale.”
False
9. Ries discusses an anecdote of a family folding letters. The dad folds, stamps, and seals one letter at a time; whereas the kids begin by folding all letters, then stamping all, etc. Name two reasons Ries’ considers the dad’s method superior.
If the dad messes something up, he’ll find out immediately, and not waste much time.
Switching between tasks
10. True or false: “A consequence of lean manufacturing is that the performance of each employee as an isolated unit, in terms of output per unit of time, might *decrease*.” Explain your answer.
11. Give an example of what a “large batch death spiral” might look like in practice.
You’ve built a big product over the course of months before you were able to get on-the-ground feedback on it. You get feedback that something is wrong, but all your processes for
12. According to Ries, the “Five why’s” method is a control system (though he doesn’t say so explicitly). What does it control, and how?
13. Explain the meaning of Toyota proverb “Stop production so that production never stops”
editing in progress
1. What is the difference between learning and validated learning?
I don’t actually remember this clearly laid out, but I’d guess it’s “learning where you actually check whether you actually learned anything rather than bullshitting yourself (by coming up with a hypothesis about how you can generate value, and what metrics would give you a clear sense of whether you achieved that value.)”
2. True or false: “According to the author, a startup with exponential growth in metrics like revenue and number of customers is doing well.” Explain your answer.
I think the author said “not necessarily”. I can’t remember their reasons exactly, but my answers are “because there are hacks you can do to make yourself look like you’re growing, or delude yourself into thinking you’re growing, without actually having a plan that will enable you to continue to grow longterm.”
3. Finish the sentence: “almost every lean startup technique we’ve discussed so far works its magic in two ways:”
I… don’t remember
4. Ries argues that startups should pay more attention to innovation accounting than traditional accounting. Name two ways in which startups can change their financial metrics to accomplish innovation accounting.
I was actually fairly confused about this while reading the book (I wanted a clear answer here and didn’t feel like I got one)
I think elements of the books answer included
have a clear understanding of what type of growth your product/company/team is aiming to generate (sticky, viral or paid)
have explicit hypotheses of how your plans are going to generate growth, which you check. (I think it was implied that you both check that your key growth metrics went up, and also more specific metrics that tie in with the specific experiment you’re running, which connect to the key metric)
5. Describe, concretely, what a car company’s supply chain would look like if it used push vs pull inventory.
Push inventory is when you make sure warehouses and stores have a sizeable chunk of inventory so they are prepared for customers showing up and buying something.
Pull inventory is when you have just a few of each item at each stage in the supply chain, and when each item is purchased, it sends a request up the supply chain to restock.
6. Ries applies the pull inventory model to startups. But what is the unit that is being pulled, and where does it obtain the “pull signal”?
Building out features based on customer demand and verified hypothesis. Start by building the smallest feature you could to validate that a project is even heading in the right direction, and then run a test that checks. (This may not even require building a product. Could be a fake “buy things” button). If you’re operating within an established company, you can roll it out to a small number of users)
7. True or false: “Lean manufacturing is meant to give manufacturers an advantage in domains of extreme uncertainty”. Explain your answer
I think mostly (but not overwhelmingly) false. I think lean manufacturing was developed to compete against larger car companies, which involved uncertainty but was more about flexibility, and differentiating in nicher markets.
8. True or false: “Lean manufacturing is about harnessing the power of economies-of-scale.”
False
9. Ries discusses an anecdote of a family folding letters. The dad folds, stamps, and seals one letter at a time; whereas the kids begin by folding all letters, then stamping all, etc. Name two reasons Ries’ considers the dad’s method superior.
If the dad messes something up, he’ll find out immediately, and not waste much time.
Switching between tasks
10. True or false: “A consequence of lean manufacturing is that the performance of each employee as an isolated unit, in terms of output per unit of time, might *decrease*.” Explain your answer.
11. Give an example of what a “large batch death spiral” might look like in practice.
You’ve built a big product over the course of months before you were able to get on-the-ground feedback on it. You get feedback that something is wrong, but all your processes for
12. According to Ries, the “Five why’s” method is a control system (though he doesn’t say so explicitly). What does it control, and how?
13. Explain the meaning of Toyota proverb “Stop production so that production never stops”