Continuous Innovation Blog

The Simple Shapes of Customer Stories

Inspired by Kurt Vonnegut’s lecture on “the simple shapes of stories,” I’ve previously riffed on The Simple Shapes of Startups. More recently, however, I discovered that customer stories

Running Lean - 10th Anniversary Edition

Time flies. It’s been 10 years since the last edition of Running Lean. Since then, I’ve spent thousands of hours training and coaching hundreds of product teams, coaches,

Vitamins Don't Have a Triggering Event

How I learned to stop procrastinating and start realizing that now is the best time to launch or pivot a new product offering or startup – yes, despite the pandemic. Were

Design Thinking, Lean Startup, Agile? There is a Bigger Thing Happening

(This is guest post by Alejandra Gonzalez, a seasoned business model strategist, product owner, and innovation coach. In this post, Alejandra shares her perspectives on when and how to incorporate lean, agile, and design thinking into your product lifecycle. Enjoy… -Ash) As a product

All Those Who Wander Are Not Lost

Getting to product/market fit (aka the inflection point in the hockey-stick curve when a product's traction starts rapidly growing) is one of the most significant milestones for a startup.

The Customer Factory Manifesto

Successful businesses are more alike than unalike. They share a common universal goal and employ a systematic approach to building a…

The True Value of Your Time

Time is our scarcest resource. Other resources like money and people can fluctuate up and down, but time only moves in one direction.

In Search of Unicorns

The traditional startup funnel is broken.

Start With Mindset

Time flies. We’re already at the 10 year anniversary of the Lean Startup. Yes, it was a little over 10 years ago that Eric Ries started…

Level up your entrepreneurial game with our battle-tested playbooks

If you’re a long time reader of this blog, chances are high you’ve read my first book: Running Lean. But did you read my second book…

What is a Job-To-Be-Done (JTBD)

You’ve probably run into the jobs-to-be-done framework/theory. I did several years ago when I first stumbled into the Milkshake Study…

The Root Cause for Innovation Theater and How to Avoid It

In a recent post, I shared a reference implementation of an innovation funnel built on the Continuous Innovation Framework and cautioned…

“Lean Startup, or Business Model Design, or Design Thinking?” is the Wrong Question

In order to achieve breakthrough innovation, you shouldn’t be limiting yourself to any one of these frameworks, but rather using all…

Reorder your Chain of Beliefs with a leaner Lean Canvas

In my last post, I described how sketching an idea on a Lean Canvas is akin to stacking a chain of beliefs. Later links rely on earlier…

What is the Right Fill Order for a Lean Canvas?

A question I get a lot is: Why isn’t the Lean Canvas laid out more logically? Anyone that has attempted to fill one can relate. You have…

Give Yourself Permission to Scale

It’s been a busy 3 weeks since Steve’s last meeting with Mary. Her advice about first using demos for defining (before building) an MVP…

Why and How to Model a Non-profit on the Lean Canvas

I often get asked if one can or should model a non-profit using a Lean Canvas. The answer is a resounding yes. A nonprofit is essentially…

The Idea Funnel

The concept of an idea funnel isn’t new. It has its limitations. But I still find it a helpful visualization tool for outlining a…

My New Project — Unpacking the Innovator’s Gift

I’m working on my most ambitious project yet. I’m looking for answers to the fundamental innovation question: What defines a better…

The Problem With Problems

On his drive back to the office, Steve can’t help but replay his last conversation with Mary in his mind.

Don’t Start With an MVP

It’s been a little over 18 months since Steve quit his day job and ventured out on his own. Even though, his savings ran out 6 months ago…

The Artist and The Innovator

Over the last nine years, I’ve had the opportunity to work with thousands of entrepreneurs from all over world which has given me some…

A Lean Canvas is NOT Enough to Replace a Business Plan

Let me know if this sounds familiar… Say you have a promising new idea. In order to get the green light to move forward, you are often…

Continuous Innovation

In 2009, entrepreneurs from all over the world joined in on a grassroots movement taking place that led to the Lean Startup. The reason the…

The Beautiful Game of Entrepreneurship

Introducing the “BOOTSTART plan”

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