By this point, most executives have probably at least heard of lean startup methodology. You may even know that it’s used for product development, and, in the association context, particularly applicable to ideas for new non-dues revenue programs, products, or services. Perhaps you’ve heard of the Build-Measure-Learn cycle, or the idea of the Minimum Viable Product. Maybe someone has mentioned vanity metrics versus Metrics That Matter (and you can hear that capitalization in their voice) to you.
- But what, really, is lean startup methodology?
- Where did it come from?
- What do all those terms mean?
- How does the methodology work?
- What tools exist to support the methodology?
- How does it apply to associations?
- Are any associations using it successfully?
Answers to all these questions and more can be found in Innovate the Lean Way, a monograph I co-authored with Guillermo Ortiz de Zárate (of NCARB at the time, now of the American Society of Appraisers) ten years ago. Yes, it’s still relevant, and G and I think that associations would still benefit from learning how to ensure they’re heading the right direction as they think about an audience of customers or members, the problem they’re trying to solve for that audience, and their potential solution to that “problem worth solving.”
Are you read to dive even deeper? Check out my new Lean Startup Series of services.
Regular blog readers may also notice that I’ve been revisiting lean startup concepts pretty regularly over the past several weeks. There’s a reason for that, which will be revealed next week. (Can’t wait that long? Click here.)
Photo by Dominik Van Opdenbosch on Unsplash