Every founder knows the moment when the “validated idea” hits the wall of organisational friction. The problem isn’t poor research. It’s that the research stopped at the surface.

Customer interviews are invaluable. But here’s the trap: talking to users isn’t the same as understanding the system they live in. At best, interviews reveal a fragment of reality, at worst, they give teams false confidence that they’ve found “the truth.

MVPs test if something works. MVJs test if it works in the world. And in the end, journeys beat features every time.

the missing piece of Lean This post is part of my series From Vision to Value, where I explore what Peter Checkland’s Soft Systems...

Systems-Led Discovery We love the myth of the founder. The rebel. The genius. The eccentric with a dream. The start-up world idolises the...

Everyone quotes Peter Thiel. Zero to One is gospel in tech circles. And to be fair, it’s inspiring. Thiel tells founders: Think boldly. Build what no one else dares. Define the market instead of asking for permission. But here’s the blindspot: vision isn’t the same as clarity.

There are two types of people in the product world: Those who chase ideas, and those who map the mess. I’ve spent more than two decades...