Supposedly, Growth Exists Where There Are No Numbers

How can we measure the unknown? How can we even locate the unknown? On the face of it, Clay Christensen’s quote “growth exists where there are no numbers” seems completely reasonable to any startup that has failed (which is most of them). While not explicitly stated, it seems to be the leading driver behind Steve Blank urging entrepreneurs to fail fast as well; which suggests that you collect data by iterating from a random starting point (it’s random, or you wouldn’t fail). It sounds reasonable in a world where new ideas, concepts and business models have no data to validate themselves. In fact, it’s completely unreasonable!

Clay Christensen states that there is currently no system of measurement for jobs-to-be-done relative to the non-consumption within an unknown market. He stated this clearly at SAP Sapphire 2014 and then mentioned that he is coming out with a really good book that solves this problem. Personally, I can’t wait to read it. However, the book(s) has already been writt…