The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses · chapter 12 · id the-lean-startup-c12-02-the-lean-startup-methodology-a

“The lean startup methodology applies universally -- to any size company, any sector, any stage of development. It is 'a new way of thinking about the development of innovative new products.'”

contestedconfidence: high⚠ extracted by pipeline, re-audit pending

Receipts

Peter Thiel, Zero to One (2014)source alive

Lean is a methodology, not a goal. Making small changes to things that already exist might lead you to a local maximum, but it won't help you find the global maximum. Lean works for optimization, not for invention.

Berends et al. (2016), Effectuation and Lean, Research PolicyDOI registry: valid

Lean methods work for early-stage uncertainty but break down as firms scale. The methodology lacks guidance for post-product-market-fit growth.

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