The year 2011 marks the one-hundredth anniversary of Frederick Winslow Taylor's "Principles of Scientific Management." The tremendous material abundance we enjoy today is the result of the productivity revolution he unleashed by bringing the tools of science to the study of work itself. Management today is rigorous, scientific, and effective — at the production of physical goods.
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The year 2011 marks the one-hundredth anniversary of Frederick Winslow Taylor's "Principles of Scientific Management." The tremendous material abundance we enjoy today is the result of the productivity revolution he unleashed by bringing the tools of science to the study of work itself. Management today is rigorous, scientific, and effective — at the production of physical goods.
In other areas, the picture is bleak, especially for new products. We fail spectacularly, in startups and big companies alike. Too often, we're building something nobody wants.
There is a movement that is trying to eradicate this disease. We are at the beginning of a second scientific management revolution that will bring science, rigor, and discipline to the process of innovation itself. It has already begun to transform the way startups are built around the world. It is called the Lean Startup.