Play the Lean Startup Game
Organizations often build products with minimal customer involvement. Consequently, they often build products that are different from what the customer actually wants or what the customer will pay for. Lean startups take a different approach and involve customers at every stage of product development. Ram Srinivasan describes how to run a business based on the lean startup approach. Ram begins by playing a collaborative game that explores the marketplace. Delegates self-organize into teams and try to run a profitable business making widgets. They sell the widgets to customers and during the course of game learn what the customer wants—and is willing to pay for. The teams track a few metrics to determine their profitability. At the end of the game, Ram debriefs the teams on why customer discovery and customer validation are important.