Does this quote from a friend of ours sound familiar?
“It takes hours or a few days for an entrepreneur to execute or test an idea. On the corporate side it takes a few weeks or months for people in my organization to even come around to the idea…even in low risk situations.”
This tension drives many leaders we connect with to ask the question, “How can I get my team or my brand to act more like entrepreneurs or a startup?”
There are countless things you can do to get started. One tangible thing you can do as a leader is to bring new ways of thinking into your team or brand via books. Here are a few of our recent favorites to consider:
Lean Startup by Eric Ries
While adopting the Lean Startup approach shouldn’t be your overall strategy, the Lean Startup approach of “build, measure, learn” is definitely one approach you can take to start to build a culture of experimentation within your team.
Traction: A Startup Guide to Getting Customers
Many businesses operate in a few proven channels today. Traction will give your team inspiration and a framework for experimenting and pushing into new channels for growth.
Innovator’s Method
Combining best practices from Lean Startup and Design Thinking, The Innovator’s Method shares an innovation process that aligns with our thinking at The Garage Group — borrowing principles and practices from several proven Startup concepts to build a right-sized approach for each organization.
Building a truly entrepreneurial team is challenging, and requires more than just reading a few books. But, starting to get inspired and take action today in a few, tangible ways will set you on a course to making meaningful progress.
Photo licensed under Creative Commons 2.0 via Flickr user: Betsy Weber
The Garage Group helps brands and organizations innovate and grow like startups.
