This week’s @hubxlifescience homework is developing a Lean Business Model Canvas for our companies. I’ve started reading the book behind the spreadsheet, and I’m not sure what to make of it yet, but I did realize one thing already: Writing the conventional 30-60 page business plan is like wearing suits to interviews.
The suit is the “price of admission”, what interviewers charge to make sure you’re not wasting their time. You spent money to buy the suit. You ironed a shirt or had it laundered. You remembered or relearned how to tie a tie. You look “professional”. It’s a hazing ritual: they did it, and now they make you do it. It signals conformity, and they only notice if you’re not wearing it.
The conventional business plan is the “price of admission”, what investors charge to make sure you’re not wasting their time. You spent time generating dozens of pages of text, tables, and charts. You scoured the Internet for the right fonts and clip art. You remembered or relearned the anatomy of a business plan. Your business looks “professional”. It’s a hazing ritual: they did it, and now they make you do it. It signals conformity, and they only notice if you don’t have it.
The’re also alike because neither tell you anything about what is really inside.