leadership, uncertainty, and self-deception by dan milstein - the lean startup conference 12/10/14
DESCRIPTION
What's the biggest challenge in getting a team of people to adopt Lean Startup methods? Dan Milstein, founder at Hut 8 Labs, suggests a somewhat surprising answer: it's the tendency of leaders to fall prey to the deep, built-in human propensity for self-deception. We're wired to lie to ourselves in certain situations--and, in startups, those situations crop up all the time. Tying together psychology research and his own (painful) experiences on both sides of the leader/team member divide, Dan looks at the dangers of self-deception and what you can do to overcome it.TRANSCRIPT
Leadership, Uncertainty and Self-Deception
Dan Milstein@danmilHut 8 Labs
Lean Startup: the hard part
1. Optimism
A most promising startup
What went wrong?
The founder’s story
My version of the story(aka, the truth)
Note: founder was not stupid
Lean Startup =
A series of unpleasant encounters with reality
Bad news, two options:
a) face unpleasant reality
aka, “I was wrong”
b) reinterpret reality
aka, “This isn’t bad news”
We all choose (b)
No, seriously, all of us
We tell ourselves stories
=> Self Deception
2. Newsflash: I Suck, Too!
An early leadership role
Project felt “normal”
I blame evolution
3. What To Do
Stop telling yourself stories?
Um, good luck
Tell yourself different stories
The template:
“I am awesome because...”
“...my vision is brilliant.”
“...my vision is brilliant.”
“...I learn faster than anyone.”
“...I face the crappy news better than anyone else.”
Find your own narrative
Hold to it, in the hard times
4. Politics
A most pressing problem
My version of the story(aka, the truth)
No cartoon villains
The manager’s story
Audience poll
Hmmm....
5. Leadership & Uncertainty
Leadership =
“I’ve come up with a plan...”
“...and changing the plan will make me look bad.”
Plans + Uncertainty = Fail
Plans => Questions
Leadership =
“Here’s an awesome vision, and here are the biggest risks...”
“...discovering problems will make me look smart.”
Lead by owning questions
6. Parting Thought
This is all really hard
But totally worth it
