I recently received this email from Kenneth Lewelling:
I have been catching up on your blog this week and really enjoyed your lean startup posts.
Lean startup has been a large influence on my product. I first read the lean startup not long after starting my project and it was immediately helpful[…]
I am surprised how simple a concept lean startup is not how difficult it is to practice. By that I mean rewiring your brain to learn by creating tests and measuring the responses. As an engineer I just want to create a solution. Nothing worth doing is easy though.
My response:
Thanks, Kenneth. I really appreciate that.
I like the phrase you used: “rewiring your brain”
Effective methodologies/frameworks, if communicated well, have the ability to dramatically change the way we think. Lean Startup is certainly one example but I’ve found others’ studies in behavioral psychology (e.g. Nir Eyal, BJ Fogg) and game design/mechanics (e.g. Jesse Schell, Gabe Zichermann) arm me with a different perspective and understanding of product design.
It’s so important to learn. Those that enable others through their teaching, will indirectly change the world. Unfortunately, they won’t get the credit.