Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 5, 2023

This post previously appeared in EIX. In the early stages of a startup your hypotheses about all the parts of your business model are your profound beliefs. Think of profound beliefs as “strong opinions loosely held.” You can’t be an effective founder or in the C-suite of a startup if you don’t hold any. Here’s how I learned why they were critical to successful customer development.

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Steve Blank

AUGUST 29, 2023

I just saw the movie Oppenheimer. A wonderful movie on multiple levels. But the Atomic Bomb story that starts at Los Alamos with Oppenheimer and General Grove misses the fact that from mid-1940 to mid-1942 it was Vannevar Bush (and his number 2, James Conant, the president of Harvard) who ran the U.S. atomic bomb program and laid the groundwork that made the Manhattan Project possible.

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Steve Blank

FEBRUARY 14, 2023

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Steve Blank

JANUARY 5, 2023

We just wrapped up the second year of our Technology, Innovation, and Great Power Competition class – now part of our Stanford Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation. Joe Felter , Raj Shah and I designed the class to 1) give our students an appreciation of the challenges and opportunities for the United States in its enduring strategic competition with the People’s Republic of China, Russia and other rivals, and 2) offer insights on how commercial technology (AI, machine

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Technical Review Artificial Inteligence Technology China 353

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 20, 2022

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. L?ozi ??. I just had lunch with Shenwei, one of my ex-students who had just taken a job in a mid-sized consulting firm. After a bit of catching up I offered he was looking a bit lost. “I just got handed a project to help our firm enter a new industry – semiconductors. They want me to map out the space so we can figure out where we can add value.

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Forecast China Demand Web 376

Steve Blank

JUNE 20, 2022

This post previously appeared in Fast Company. How does a newly hired Chief Technology Officer (CTO) find and grow the islands of innovation inside a large company? How not to waste your first six months as a new CTO thinking you’re making progress when the status quo is working to keep you at bay? I just had coffee with Anthony, a friend who was just hired as the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of a large company (30,000+ people.

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CTO Technical Cofounder CTO Hire Incubator 354

Steve Blank

MARCH 22, 2022

If you think you understand quantum mechanics, you don’t understand quantum mechanics. Richard Feynman. IBM Quantum Computer. Tens of billions of public and private capital are being invested in Quantum technologies. Countries across the world have realized that quantum technologies can be a major disruptor of existing businesses and change the balance of military power.

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Technology Algorithm Stealth Distribution 436

Steve Blank

JANUARY 11, 2022

This article first appeared in West Point’s Modern War Institute. We just had our final session of our Technology, Innovation, and Great Power Competition class. Joe Felter , Raj Shah and I designed the class to give our students insights on how commercial technology (AI, machine learning, autonomy, cyber, quantum, semiconductors, access to space, biotech, hypersonics, and others) will shape how we employ all the elements of national power (our influence and footprint on the world stage)

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Technical Review Technology Taiwan Venture Capital 281

Steve Blank

DECEMBER 14, 2021

If I ask you to think of an elephant do you see an elephant in your head when you close your eyes? I don’t. Regardless of how descriptive the imagery, story or text I can’t create any pictures in my head at all. 2% of people can’t do this either. This inability to visualize is called aphantasia. I never knew this absence of mental imagery was even a thing until my daughter pointed out that she and I were missing something my wife and other daughter had.

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Conversion Founder 416

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 30, 2021

penitus cogitare, cito agere – think deeply, act quickly. 75 years ago, the Office of Naval Research (ONR) helped kickstart innovation in Silicon Valley with a series of grants to Fred Terman , Dean of Stanford’s Engineering school. Terman used the money to set up the Stanford Electronics Research Lab. He staffed it with his lab managers who built the first electronic warfare and electronic intelligence systems in WWII.

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Security Silicon Valley Russia China 364

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 26, 2021

This article first appeared in West Point’s Modern War Institute. We just completed the eighth week of our new national security class at Stanford – Technology, Innovation and Great Power Competition. Joe Felter , Raj Shah and I designed the class to cover how technology will shape the character and employment of all instruments of national power.

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Technology Russia Artificial Inteligence United States 307

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 2, 2021

This article first appeared in West Point’s Modern War Institute. . We just completed the fourth week of our new national security class at Stanford – Technology, Innovation and Great Power Competition. Joe Felter , Raj Shah and I designed the class to cover how technology will shape all the elements of national power (America’s influence and footprint on the world stage).

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Technical Review Taiwan Technology Artificial Inteligence 366

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 13, 2021

This article first appeared in West Point’s Modern War Institute. We just had our first week of our new national security class at Stanford – Technology, Innovation and Great Power Competition. Joe Felter , Raj Shah and I designed the class to cover how technology will shape all the elements of national power (our influence and footprint on the world stage).

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Technology Russia China United States 421

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 21, 2021

For 25 years as the sole Superpower, the U.S. neglected strategic threats from China and a rearmed Russia. The country, our elected officials, and our military committed to a decades-long battle to ensure that terrorists like those that executed the 9/11 attacks are not able to attack us on that scale again. Meanwhile, our country’s legacy weapons systems have too many entrenched and interlocking interests (Congress, lobbyists, DOD/contractor revolving door, service promotion of executors versu

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Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 1, 2021

You think startups are hard? Try innovating inside a large company where 99% of the company is executing the current business model, while you’re trying to figure out and build what comes next. Charles O’Reilly and Michael Tushman coined the term an “Ambidextrous Organization” to describe how some companies get this simultaneous execution and innovation process right.

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Incubator Lean Agile Business Model 402

Steve Blank

JUNE 8, 2021

We just finished our 6th annual Hacking for Defense class at Stanford. What a year. With the pandemic winding down it finally feels like the beginning of the end. This was my sixth time teaching a virtual class during the lockdown – and for our students likely their 15th or more. Hacking for Defense has teams of students working to understand and solve national security problems.

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Steve Blank

JUNE 4, 2021

I was pleasantly surprised to hear from Suresh, an ex-student I’ve known for a long time. A U.S. citizen he was now the head of sales and marketing for a company in London selling medical devices to hospitals in the UK National Health Service. His boss had identified the U.S. as their next market and wanted him to set up a U.S. salesforce. Suresh understood that the U.S. health system was very different from the system in the UK, not just the regulatory regime through the FDA, but the reimburse

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Steve Blank

MAY 24, 2021

Register Here. In 2020 over 1,000 educators joined us online to learn and share how to teach during the pandemic. Now we’re heading back into the classroom and the world has changed. What is the “new normal” for Lean Education? Will using video to “get out of the building” still play a role? What roles do diversity, equity and inclusion play in future syllabi?

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Steve Blank

MAY 19, 2021

As Director of the U.S. Army’s Rapid Equipping Force Pete Newell delivered innovation at speed and scale in the Department of Defense. Pete is now CEO of BMNT, a company that delivers innovation solutions and processes for governments. Here are Pete’s 5 principles that will accelerate innovation. To help a large Defense organization wrestle with how to increase the velocity of innovation in their ranks Steve Blank and I spent the better part of last week with our heads together re

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Steve Blank

MARCH 9, 2021

A version of this story previously appeared in Defense One. The story of RYAN and Able Archer is an oft-told lesson of a U.S. intelligence failure, miscalculation, and two superpowers unaware they were on the brink of an accidental nuclear war — all because the Soviet Union relied on a software program to make predictions that were based on false assumptions.

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Steve Blank

FEBRUARY 19, 2021

During the Cold War U.S. diplomatic and military alliances existed to defend freedom around the world. Today, these alliances are being reshaped to respond to Russian threats to the Baltics and Eastern Europe and to China’s economic, military, and technological influence worldwide. Hacking for Allies. The U.S. Department of Defense works with our allies to expand their industrial base.

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Steve Blank

FEBRUARY 16, 2021

A version of this article – co-authored with Raj Shah and Joe Felter – previously appeared in War On The Rocks. After hearing from 20+ guest speakers , including two Secretaries of Defense, Generals, Admirals and Policy makers in our Technology, Innovation and Modern War class – the direction of technology and the future of national security came into sharper focus.

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Artificial Inteligence Security Taiwan United States 418

Steve Blank

JANUARY 28, 2021

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Steve Blank

JANUARY 14, 2021

Our recent national security class at Stanford, Technology, Innovation, and Modern War was designed to give students insights on how the onslaught of new technologies like AI, machine learning, autonomy, cyber, access to space, biotech, hypersonics, and others have the potential to radically change how countries fight and deter threats. With 20+ guest speakers , including two Secretaries of Defense, Generals, Admirals and Policy makers, the class emphasized that winning future conflicts requires

Technology 387

Technology China Artificial Inteligence Acquisition 387

Steve Blank

JANUARY 8, 2021

This class, Technology, Innovation, and Modern War was designed to give our students insights on how the onslaught of new technologies like AI, machine learning, autonomy, cyber, access to space, biotech, hypersonics, and others has the potential to radically change how countries fight and deter threats. Our 20+ guest speakers were an extraordinary collection of military and policy leaders including two Secretaries of Defense, Generals, Admirals and Policy makers.

Technology 385

Technology Artificial Inteligence North Korea Russia 385

Steve Blank

JANUARY 6, 2021

Over the weekend I got asked the best way to teach students the principles of Lean via Zoom. One of the key lessons from our Educators Conference is that when teaching online complex information needs to be delivered to students in small, easily processed parts. I realized that pre-pandemic I had put together a series of two-minute videos called “See Why.

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Steve Blank

DECEMBER 21, 2020

We just held our eighteenth and final session of our new national security class Technology, Innovation and Modern War. Joe Felter , Raj Shah and I designed a class to examine the new military systems, operational concepts and doctrines that will emerge from 21st century technologies – Space, Cyber, AI & Machine Learning and Autonomy. Today General James Mattis addressed the class.

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Technology China Artificial Inteligence Silicon Valley 278

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 27, 2020

We just held our fourteenth session of our new national security class Technology, Innovation and Modern War. Joe Felter , Raj Shah and I designed a class to examine the new military systems, operational concepts and doctrines that will emerge from 21st century technologies – Space, Cyber, AI & Machine Learning and Autonomy. Today’s topic was Strategy, Plans and Policy in the Joint Staff.

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Technology China Artificial Inteligence Operations 217

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 13, 2020

We just held our twelfth session of our new national security class Technology, Innovation and Modern War. Joe Felter , Raj Shah and I designed a class to examine the new military systems, operational concepts and doctrines that will emerge from 21st century technologies – Space, Cyber, AI & Machine Learning and Autonomy. Today’s topic was The Space Force and Modern War.

Technology 284

Technology United States Iraq Operations 284

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 11, 2020

We just held our eleventh session of our new national security class Technology, Innovation and Modern War. Joe Felter , Raj Shah and I designed a class to examine the new military systems, operational concepts and doctrines that will emerge from 21st century technologies – Space, Cyber, AI & Machine Learning and Autonomy. Today’s topic was Military Applications of Cyber.

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Technology Security Internet Video 306

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 26, 2020

We just held our eighth session of our new national security class Technology, Innovation and Modern War. Joe Felter , Raj Shah and I designed a class to examine the new military systems, operational concepts and doctrines that will emerge from 21st century technologies – Space, Cyber, AI & Machine Learning and Autonomy. Today’s topic was Artificial Intelligence and Modern War.

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Artificial Inteligence Fractional CTO Technology CTO 388

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 21, 2020

We just held our seventh session of our new national security class Technology, Innovation and Modern War. Joe Felter , Raj Shah and I designed the class to examine the new military systems, operational concepts and doctrines that will emerge from 21st century technologies – Space, Cyber, AI & Machine Learning and Autonomy. Today’s topic was Military Applications of Artificial Intelligence.

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Artificial Inteligence Technology Agile Architecture 246

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 19, 2020

We just held our sixth session of our new national security class Technology, Innovation and Modern War. Joe Felter , Raj Shah and I designed a class to examine the new military systems, operational concepts and doctrines that will emerge from 21st century technologies – Space, Cyber, AI & Machine Learning and Autonomy. Today’s topic was Innovations in Acquiring Technologies for Modern War.

Technology 388

Technology China Agile Acquisition 388

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 6, 2020

We just held our third session of our new national security class Technology, Innovation and Modern War. Joe Felter , Raj Shah and I designed a class to examine the new military systems, operational concepts and doctrines that will emerge from 21st century technologies – Space, Cyber, AI & Machine Learning and Autonomy. Today’s topic was Sourcing, Acquiring and Deploying Technology for Modern War.

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Technology Afghanistan Iraq Vietnam 397

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 29, 2020

We just held our second session of our new national security class Technology, Innovation and Modern War. Given the tech-centricity of Stanford and Silicon Valley, Joe Felter , Raj Shah and I designed a class to examine the new military systems, operational concepts and doctrines that will emerge from 21st century technologies – Space, Cyber, AI & Machine Learning and Autonomy.

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Technology North Korea Silicon Valley Artificial Inteligence 335

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 10, 2020

I’m teaching my first non-lean start up class in a decade at Stanford next week; Technology, Innovation and Modern War : Keeping America’s Edge in an Era of Great Power Competition. The class is joint listed in Stanford’s International Policy department as well as in the Engineering School, in the department of Management Science and Engineering. — Why This Course?

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Artificial Inteligence Technology North Korea Iran 368

Steve Blank

AUGUST 17, 2020

Rise Up. “Let’s do something to help with the pandemic.” In April, with the economy crashing, and the East Coast in lockdown, I heard this from Stanford instructors Tom Bedecarre and Todd Basche, both on the same day. And my response to them was the same, “I can’t sew masks and I don’t know how to make ventilators.” But after thinking about it, it dawned on to me that we could contribute – by creating a class to help existing businesses recover and new ones to start.

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