#122 Fire bullets before cannonballs: Jim Collins' method for validating ideas

The Growth Whisperers podcast

What does it mean to fire bullets before cannonballs? Often leaders are too bold or, alternatively, too conservative. Instead of taking too much or too little risk, the concept of firing bullets before cannonballs asks leaders to validate an idea with a series of small, low-risk experiments. Once you have validated your idea, then you can concentrate your resources on a big bet idea.

From Jim Collins -

“The ability to turn small proven ideas (bullets) into huge hits (cannonballs) counts more than the sheer amount of pure innovation.”

No one is smart enough or experienced enough to know what will or won’t work. Only the market can tell us that.

People intuitively say something will definitely succeed OR definitely fail. But we don’t know.

In this episode, Brad and Kevin talk about the fire bullets before cannonballs concept, why it matters and how you can use it in your business.

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