Theory is a Four Letter Word

In business - certainly in the Israeli startup scene where I work - the tendency is towards action: ‘Just Do It’.

Or, more accurately, ‘better beg for forgiveness than ask for permission’.

Time’s ticking, money’s tight, so let’s roll up our sleeves, throw a dart at the map, and start.?

That’s great. That creates momentum. The sheer act of engaging the world forces a reaction.

Spoiler Alert!

However fast you go, at some point you’re bound to hit a question you can’t answer.?

The question can be happy or sad.

Happy Question: What exactly is working? How can we can do more of it?

(Our dart hit the bullseye - we're thrumming with dollars, adrenaline and success.)

Sad Question: Where did we go wrong?

(X didn’t sell. No one came to the party.)

To answer hard questions, you need theory.

That's a word no one likes. It requires thinking.

Theory means taking a deep breath. Reviewing scattered information about people and products and events. Data which needs to be aired and shaken out. Like dirty laundry.

What happened? When? To whom? How many, for how much? Why did they take tonnes of X, but none of Y? What did non-customers really say when they said no??

At heart, there’s one core question - Why? - inviting us to name an underlying principle that explains what happened. What secret fact have we unearthed? Where does it point?

Here is the dramatic point in the story where the Storyteller strides in. Mop in hand, wearing rubber gloves.

Theory is a dirty word and dirty work. You can’t avoid it.

Lucky for you, some of us can’t get enough of scrubbing filth to reveal the gleaming marble floor beneath.