cyberlaxamana

by Joshua Chuang Hypothesis-driven, lean entrepreneurship can be the difference between a successful venture and a failed one. This strategy requires one to propose a hypothesis, develop a test around the hypothesis, test it, and learn from it. At its core, hypothesis-driven, entrepreneurship strives to reduce the biggest risk startups face: building a product that no one wants. A powerful tool for entrepreneurs, but potentially dangerous for those who don’t fully understand it or who overlook certain dangers. The following serves as my warning label to the entrepreneurs out there following the lean startup methodology: 1. BEWARE of Assumptions People tend to presume they understand how things work, when in fact they often don’t. For example, with Cake Financial, the founder and CEO, Steve Carpenter, assumed that the user-interface wasn’t what people cared about and focused his attention on the back-end. He also assumed that Yodlee would be a bad business partner, based on his pr...

by Lucas Vargas First coined to describe Steve Jobs’ charisma and its effects on employees, the reality distortion field (RDF) term has been generalized to refer to the effect on an audience’s sense of level of difficulty. It makes the audience believe that accomplishing a mission, no matter how complicated it could be, is possible. But then a question comes to my mind. Is it possible for an entrepreneur to apply a lean startup methodology if he creates an RDF? To answer this question, we must distinguish two types of entrepreneurs. The first group consists of people who create the RDF but not necessarily believe that the mission can be fulfilled. They use the rhetoric and charisma to convince their interlocutors, motivate them to accept an idea, regardless of whether they believe it or not. I would classify them as smart. I believe that Steve Jobs is part of this group of people. He doesn’t really believe that all the products he develops are going to be a success. He takes advantage ...

by Brett Gibson There are many things in life that can be taught, learned and practiced.  Programming can be learned, developers can be purchased, coding can be practiced.  Repetition and practice help people become great at many things, but there are some things in life that cannot be taught.  In 1981 Burrell Smith at Apple Computers founded the term “Reality Distortion Field” to describe the charisma of Steve Jobs.  It’s evident to me that some people have it and some people don’t.  Contagious enthusiasm, intoxicating vision, distorted reality.  Sharing your vision with someone and having them embrace your ideas and take ownership is a gift that many people strive for, but few people have.  Vision is the ability to see something in your dream-like world and know that you can build it, then inspire others to join and help you.  Steven Covey describes this power in his New York Times bestseller, “ Seven Habits of Highly Effective People ” as “begi...

by Ashwin Limaye I would like to question the compatibility of "reality distortion fields" (RDFs) and lean startups through my personal experience working at the Management Innovation eXchange (MIX) this summer. MIX was an ambitious idea – building an online platform to share management ideas, bring together leading CEOs, managers and thinkers and ‘reinvent management for the 21 st century’. Prima facie, MIX had three major ingredients of a lean startup: Leverage, Iterations and Low burn. The MIX generated phenomenal leverage: the founder was a highly-regarded management thinker, the CEO held contacts within a large consulting Firm and the ‘friends and advisors’ comprised prominent CEOs and business professors. Together, they brought rich contact lists, an initial customer base and sponsors who were able to offer favorable deals such as funding for the web development team and informal partnerships with leading industry associations. The MIX was quite lean: a five person tea...

by Joyce Chan Many entrepreneurs, like Steve Jobs, create a “reality distortion field” that allows them to sell their vision to potential employees, investors and partners. Is an RDF compatible with the lean startup? Lean startups are: constantly changing products to fit the customer needs and maximizing the learning process from every marketing / product change.  The ability to create a “reality distortion field” (RDF) is an extremely powerful skill. An RDF is only compatible with a lean startup when the entrepreneur has a vision that is in touch with the customers’ needs and is willing to hold to lean startup principles. An entrepreneur with a great understanding of market demands only needs to hone his ideas in the lean start up; the business’s general concepts are already appealing to the user.  However, RDFs may be harmful to employees, investors and partners as their leader’s vision may be wrong, risking lost time, money and effort.  RDFs are an excellent tool for t...