Constructing business as a research theory

As an ex-academic, I've learned many things that do not transfer to outside academia. Sometimes it is a simple mismatch of knowledge, other times it is an idea of understanding that completely misses the mark. Sometimes it's me getting in the way of myself and being an ex-academic has nothing to do with it.

One of these things is trying to get things right in business projects. A research project is costly and after the data is collected, that's that. I learned that I want to get my study design right, otherwise I might be wasting resources and have to double my used resources in the end (worst case scenario) to test my hypothesis.

I brought that knowledge to running a business project. It made me justify all kinds of actions to get everything just right before implementing. Especially with respect to product: Have to get it just right. Because otherwise it's a waste of resources and you have to build it again.

There are many factors to consider after all, much to achieve. Ambition abound and the hope to accomplish everything at once. But a business is not a research project.

In research terms, I have come to see building a business project more like constructing a theoretical framework, if I have to see it in research terms. A theoretical framework starts out with an idea, which you test and build out from. You construct a business like theory: step by step you test and add and test - not the reverse.

I know I'm still learning this lesson the hard way.