Q A TCS: What are the biggest challenges Did it move the top or bottom line? large companies face in adopting lean What I often get back is, “Let me show startup approaches? you our ‘Dogs at Work Policy.’” Blank: It’s the other way around. The issue is not about adoption of What I’ve learned is that companies lean. The issue is about dealing with don’t just need to build a lean startup continuous disruption. Lean is just a process. They need to build an end- tool in a tool set. It is not the answer. to-end innovation pipeline that has a It is a component of this: “How do I funnel on the left and deliverables on change the engines of the plane while the right. If you don’t know the ratio it’s in flight? Am I reconfiguring the of funnel ideas to deliverables, you’re product line? Am I going digital? Am I going to get it wrong. The big mistake changing channels? Am I reinventing is confusing activities with deliverables. the company? And am I willing to bet When I ask them about deliverables, my job, and is my strategy aligned with the answer for some 90% of them or my investors and my board?” more is they have none yet. TCS: So what five years after Harvard You’re not going to believe this, but it Business Review published your article on turns out the people who are doing it the lean startup, are big companies doing right is the U.S. government. enough to make their ventures lean? Blank: I keep telling [HBR] they ought The approach plays out slightly differently to be writing the article, “Why the for government agencies. But because Lean Startup Changed Nothing.” [He the government is being disrupted, the laughs] [The article] mostly resulted consequences are even greater than in innovation theater: a set of they are for companies. Macy’s can activities, typically like incubators and go out of business in the U.S. and the accelerators inside a company, that country will still go on. We can’t afford generate great coffee cups, posters, to have part of our Defense Department and lanyards, and almost nothing else. go out of business from being disrupted. My test [for their effectiveness] is this: