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Lehman: Don't execute grand upfront plans; build products incrementally

Tom Lehman · a16z Podcast | Guiding Startup Culture -- The Genius ISMs · Jan 2, 2019 · at 7:14

Tom Lehman, co-founder of Genius, discusses cultural principles ('Genius ISMs') on the a16z Podcast, warning against over-planning and advocating for incremental iteration.

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“It's called Seeing Like a State by Jim Scott, and it basically sort of is a long argument against sort of making a grand plan, And then trying to execute it, and it's just, it's gonna go awry, so don't make a grand plan, do an incremental thing.”

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