Steve Blank

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Why Companies and Government Do “Innovation Theater” Instead of Actual Innovation

Steve Blank

Metrics are used to manage process rather than creation of new capabilities, outcomes and speed to deployment. Finally, companies and government agencies have realized that the processes and metrics they put in place to optimize execution (Procurement, Personnel, Security, Legal, etc.) are obstacles for innovation.

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ESADE Business School Commencement Speech

Steve Blank

Metrics like Return on Net Assets, Return on Capital and Internal Rate of Return are the guiding stars of the board and CEO. As Harvard professor Clayton Christensen noted, these efficiency metrics provided wise guidance for times when capital was scarce and raising money was hard. Ultimately this is not just another staff function.

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Is a Venture Studio Right for You?

Steve Blank

These studios have different metrics than startup studios whose limited partners are private family offices or venture capitalists. In both North America and Europe, many venture studios in non-major cities are funded by government agencies to stimulate local growth, at times with matching donations from companies.

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The Three Pillars of World-class Corporate Innovation

Steve Blank

This may include new processes, metrics, incentive systems, or changing organizational structures. How to ensure that we are using the right tools, processes, and metrics to test and adapt ideas in order to reduce risk. These programs invest in and manage innovation projects that create value by producing new growth or cost savings.

Portfolio 367
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Times Square Strategy Session – Web Startups and Customer Development

Steve Blank

What metrics do we use to see if we learned enough in Customer Discovery ? I gave my boilerplate answer, “I’m a product guy and I tend to invest and look at deals that have measurable revenue metrics. Dave McClure has some great metrics…” It was an honest but vaguely unsatisfying answer.

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Building a Company with Customer Data – Why Metrics Are Not Enough

Steve Blank

Web startups are at real disadvantage here as founders may confuse web metrics, A/B testing and on-line surveys as the entirety of first-hand knowledge – for most web business models they are not. Metrics tell you that something is happening. Of course you need to collect metrics, do A/B testing and run online surveys.

Metrics 239
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Leaving Government for the Private Sector – Part 1

Steve Blank

In the Agency I dealt with a few difficult personalities focused on empire-building and metrics rather than running sound operations. All the things that most of the outside world doesn’t understand as being critical to a handler-asset relationship are just as critical to relationships in industry. Judgment remains paramount.