Lean Startup a National Security Imperative

This is post 10 in our 13-part Lean Startup Co. Education Program series. A curated collection of pieces designed to cover topics ranging from cross-functional teams, to embracing failure, complete with real-world stories from our diverse roster of clients and insights from our Lean Startup Co. Labs Faculty.

Rapid iterative experimentation followed by validated learning is not new to military organizations. Both the American Navy and the German Army used experimentation to gain the military advantage. The Germans did it with motorized warfare to develop a doctrine (business model) that enabled them to defeat France and Britain in weeks in 1940. The American Navy used it bring about aircraft carriers and displace battleships. The 1920s-30s were a period of high technological uncertainty just like what we face today with the advent of AI and quantum computing. DoD Agencies still consider the concept of Lean Startup as only suited for commercial enterprises, when in fact they have used the same principals before and need them again today.

Join Erwin Godoy, Former Special Advisor for Innovation to the Director of Plans and Program, and Heather McGough, Co-Founder of Lean Startup Co., who started the Labs Education Program serving corporations, government agencies, Heather McGough, Co-Founder of Lean Startup Co., who started the Labs Education Program serving corporations, government agencies, and nonprofits.

Today we also wrote about Lean Startup as a National Security Imperative. Military organizations have been using these concepts for almost a century now, and the historical use of and current need for Lean Startup methods in U.S. defense offers several lessons for entrepreneurs and enterprises alike.