Most of us realize that thanks to science, and perhaps more importantly, scientific method, that we enjoy a level of technology and therefore comfort that the kings and queens of a century ago would have envied. Maybe we should apply the scientific method to how we run our businesses. Specifically, scientists create hypotheses to explain a natural phenomenon and then run experiments to test that hypothesis. The hypothesis is then adjusted to reflect the lessons from the data collected.
In a short article from HBR, the authors suggest that C-Level execs treat should strategy like a scientific hypothesis and adjust it when the “data” (results) from execution don’t meet expectations. The recent debacles at VW and Wells Fargo might have been avoided according to the authors if the C-Level team had listened to the data from “the experiment” and revisited their hypothesis (strategy) when it failed to produce the desired results.
Find out why Your Strategy Should Be a Hypothesis You Constantly Adjust.