Discovery driven planning is
a distinct and unique paradigm of business development. It provides an
alternative means of business development in an environment marred with
uncertainty. Many new ventures that begin in such climates fail because the
basic tenants of the business are assumed to be correct even though there is no
historical precedent against which these tenants can be compared. I prefer to
look at discovery driven planning as a means of giving the social entrepreneur
tools when vying for market space and fiscal sustainability. In some respects I
feel it is working a bit backwards.
Traditionally,
one builds a business model with projections of ultimate returns based upon the
model. The entrepreneur then judges the ultimate success or failure of the
organization by how it faired in contrast to projections. When using discovery
driven planning, the ultimate goal is to spend as little as possible while
attaining the largest informational and experiential returns. The entrepreneur
also begins at the end in terms of social impact and returns and works
backwards through building the organization. It is a model of perpetual
experimentation, trial and error, and exploration that could prove very
valuable.
The
techniques used in discovery driven planning facilitate ongoing information
attainment and could help in the creation of an organization that is
strategically placed, competitive, and purposeful with credible
milestones and salient direction. This can save a social start up tremendous
losses because the venture begins by thinking about its bottom line in terms of
social impact and revenues.
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