How can experimentation help break entrenched business mindsets?

Let's get experimental.

It's very easy to get stuck in the mindset of we've always done it this way and this is particularly true when your previous efforts have been successful. You may notice that when you're not being successful there is a tendency to try lots of new things, perhaps somewhat in desperation.

Neither of these is optimal, of course. In either state it is important to try new things in a controlled way that allows you to test a hypothesis and evaluate what variables actually make a difference.

If you are building a start-up then it's even more imperative to learn quickly and iterate based upon known changes and generated outputs, otherwise you are just getting lucky from time to time. It is hard to scale luck.

Here are some thoughts on my last ten years of business experiments at a start-up and a scale-up.

🔎 Experiments can be performed in very small low-risk areas, but the impact of successful changes can be profound. You don't need to re-engineer your entire business, perhaps you can test a tweak to process or implement a new nudge (see nudge theory*). For example, it's always hard to get consultants to complete their time sheets. I've spent days of my life chasing data and it's a total pain. What nudges could we implement to impact the process and improve data quality?

🔎 Define success criteria: this is standard experimental fodder but it is important. What is the hypothesis? What are you trying to prove? How do you know if it has worked? At Qualyfi we have been evaluating different outbound email content to see what works (i.e. gets a response). My calculation is simple (repsonses/email sent) = effective %. If the effective % does not increase then the change is likely ineffective. Only change one variable at a time otherwise you won't know what made the difference.

🔎 Just because an experiment didn't work at some point in the past does not mean it won't work now. Time, people and maturity in business continue to change and can affect the outcome.

🔎 Set a sensible timeline for your experiment. Do not waste time if you see an obviously detrimental result. If an idea has real impact then you often see an immediate positive response.

▶ Pick an area that's been sticking in your business and try something different! Get a small team in a room for an hour and brainstorm ideas, get creative and test a new answer to the problem. This type of activity is highly rewarding for all involved and helps foster a culture where people tackle problems, rather than accept them.

*Nudge Theory.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nudge_theory