Improv > Master Plan: What Jazz Teaches Startups
Originally a thread on X/Twitter:
Founders know that building a successful #startup hinges on being able to adapt quickly.
A master plan can focus and guide a team, but when it stops working it’s important to quickly improvise a “Plan B”.
And do you know who does this extraordinarily well? Jazz musicians.
If startups were a style of music, it’s very clear that they most closely represent Jazz.
Founders will tell you that what happens day-to-day has an element of improvisation and spontaneity that’s a reaction to what they’re experiencing in the moment.
Decisions are typically made with incredible speed and adjustments are made equally fast.
A Founder needs to be hyper-alert to signals and feedback coming from all directions and as a result their plans and teams need to be fluid and malleable.
A byproduct of improvisation is that it isn’t flawless. In fact, “mistakes” are made with regularity.
To quote the immortal Miles Davis:
“When you hit a wrong note, it’s the next note that you play that determines if it’s good or bad.”
Resolution is what matters.
Dissonance moving to consonance.
Drama and agitation builds when resolution is delayed.
Calmness and tranquility result from resolution.
And while the heart of jazz is improvisation, it isn’t random or undirected. Jazz players can change the harmony, the rhythm or the melody, and there are times they do all three at once.
Good jazz has a set of conventions that when followed create music rather than noise.
Understanding these conventions allows musicians to pick out the underlying structures they are playing with and modify them to turn dissonance into consonance.
The same is true of experienced Founders in the land of startups.
Dissonance is easy to spot in a startup.
It arises when prospective customers aren’t buying at the rate you expect them to.
It arises when existing customers aren’t behaving the way you want them to.
It arises when employees are questioning the plan.
Experienced Founders know how to spot dissonance quickly and convert it to consonance.
Consonance can come from improved product positioning.
Consonance can come from a better customer onboarding experience.
Consonance can come from a reallocation of internal resources.
Experienced Founders understand the fundamental drivers of success and know how to tweak the dials and turn the knobs in pursuit of consonance.
They know how to turn chaos into order and noise into music.
