Pivot: How Top Entrepreneurs Adapt and Change Course to Find Ultimate Success

Chapter 13

Entrepreneur and Corporate Entrepreneur Perspectives: Incubation and Hypothesis-Driven Learning

We (Lois and Gina) are back to offer our commentary on the Pivot or Incubation Chapters 9 through 12. In these chapters, it is clear that both corporate entrepreneurs (and teams) and the entrepreneur present proposals and plans that are laden with assumptions. While both types of entrepreneurs recognize the uncertainties of their situations, too often assumptions are ignored or not recognized and this leads to being “punched and knocked down,” according to Remy, and, as Joanne states, requires the need “to ride the wave of chaos.” Converting assumptions to knowledge about technical, market, resource, and organization uncertainties through experimentation is essential for both settings to avoid being ensnared in executing your way to failure. While the entrepreneur and the corporate entrepreneur have to face all four uncertainties, Remy highlights the importance of market uncertainty for the independent entrepreneur and Joanne reminds us that often it is the resource and organization uncertainties that come to haunt the corporate entrepreneur.

Learning Is the Antidote to Uncertainties

The basic point, though, is that learning is the antidote to the uncertainties. Learning is fundamental to innovation, and following a structured approach can help entrepreneurs avoid the traps of cognitive biases, overoptimism, and settling for the obvious, which often leads to weak businesses. ...