The Lean StartUp - 11 Adapt

The author emphasises the fact that it is necessary to build an adaptive organisation. For this reason, at his startup, IMVU, they developed and established a training programme where the people they were hiring could be productive from day one. However, Ries claims that even though the Lean methodology and especially, the Build-Measure-Learn concept is reliant on speed, speed alone in a startup could be fatal. To illustrate, if the production of a company never stops, they then do not have time to consider and analyse whether the consumers have changed their demands or whether the products they produced have actually been converted into sold products. 

Subsequently, the book rightly emphasises the notion of the 'Five Whys' as to why mistakes occur in a startup. 

These include:

"1. Why did the machine stop? (There was an overload and the fuse blew.)

2. Why was there an overload? (The bearing was not sufficiently lubricated.)

3. Why was it not lubricated sufficiently? (The lubrication pump was not pumping sufficiently.)

4. Why was it not pumping sufficiently? (The shaft of the pump was worn and rattling.)

5. Why was the shaft worn out? (There was no strainer attached and metal scrap got in.)"

The Five Whys provide a way to analyse why some mistakes occur in order to prevent them from happening again. This is in line with a notion that we have discussed previously on this blog, which is the fact that the no.1 step to solving a problem, is recognising there is one. 

Additionally, the Five Whys are very important because it prevents the 'curse of the five blames'. When a mistake happens, the worst thing someone can do, is to start shifting blame before actually analysing where and why the mistake occurred. Moreover, if someone starts to immediately blame someone else, that means that they have not even considered that themselves could be accountable for the error and hence, they will not realise it in order to prevent it from happening again. Ries calls for a meeting of everyone involved in the company that was part of the error to have a discussion and analyse the Five Whys.

He also states that companies should follow these 2 simple rules:

"1. Be tolerant of all mistakes the first time. 

2. Never allow the same mistake to be made twice."

Furthermore, Ries also advises companies to appoint a Five Whys Master, who is responsible for providing the reasons why a mistake happened and to specifically provide answers for the five questions outlined above. 

Finally, the valuable lesson that a company should never get complacent is again emphasised. As society and the world changes, companies must change with it. This can only happen when a company is always trying to innovate. This will be the topic of discussion in Chapter 12.