Design of Experiments

Three Insights from Dr. Edward Baker’s “Scoring a Whole in One”

Change Initiatives, Community of Practice, Design of Experiments, Intrapreneur, skmurphy / By /

This post explores three insights from Dr. Edward Baker’s “Scoring a Whole in One.” First, individuals must understand the enterprise context they operate in; second, leaders must serve and connect; and third, practice is necessary for improvement but does not lead to perfection.

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Entrepreneurs Cannot Rely on a Cookbook or a Manual

1 Idea Stage, 2 Open for Business Stage, Books, Design of Experiments, Lean Startup, skmurphy, Startups / By /

Entrepreneurs starting their first business often hunt for a cookbook of recipes to make sense of a journey that is alternating between bewilderment and frustration. But startups fight for existence in a competitive and evolving environment, where changes in the technical or social substrates can invalidate their strategy or enable competitors without warning.

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Making Business Decisions in Uncertain Times

Checklist, Design of Experiments, Rules of Thumb, skmurphy / By /

Business leaders today are faced with business challenges and a level of uncertainty that is unprecedented in recent memory. Established approaches and well-tried options no longer work, forcing us to make business decisions in uncertain times. This article collects some useful tips for making better business decisions that I have learned over the last 40

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Paul Tyma on “The Old Man’s Business Model”

5 Scaling Up Stage, Design of Experiments, Rules of Thumb, skmurphy / By /

Paul Tyma defines the Old Man’s Business Model as taking the sure way, even though it may be longer than shortcuts that may not work. Tyma calls it a “trade-off of investment up-front versus brute-force hope.” The “old man” invests up front instead of hoping a quick and dirty approach may work.

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Something Ventured: Make Money and Change the World for the Better

Design of Experiments, Founder Story, MVP, skmurphy / By /

One documentary worth watching to get some context on the history of entrepreneurship and venture capital is “Something Ventured.” It’s a series of interviews with venture capitalists talking about their investments and their risk mitigation strategies in the 1950s through 1970s. It’s clear that they paid a lot of attention to “minimum viable products” and

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Constructive Pessimism

4 Finding your Niche, 5 Scaling Up Stage, Design of Experiments, skmurphy / By /

Constructive Pessimism: to anticipate problems you have to be willing to acknowledge their possibility and look for them. Many entrepreneurs who are naturally optimistic make a serious mistake in discouraging pessimistic thinking instead of putting it to good use. The clever utilization of constructive pessimism is one of the keys to success.

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Managing Change in an Organization: An Incomplete Resource List

Change Initiatives, Customer Development, Design of Experiments, Rules of Thumb, skmurphy / By /

Some models I like for change management in organizations. Startup entrepreneurs frequently have to navigate the challenges managing change as a part of the sales process. Intrapreneurs should find this list useful as well. I welcome any suggestions for additions, refinements, or improvements.

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Choosing the Right Targets and Metrics

3 Early Customer Stage, 5 Scaling Up Stage, Design of Experiments, skmurphy / By /

The targets that founders set for a startup, and the metrics they choose to measure their progress toward these targets, are key decisions in the definition of the business. The wrong targets–in particular selecting only targets that are easily achievable–will not only postpone difficult choices that will bring clarity but may doom a team from

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