The following is an excerpt from The Big Moo, written by one of The Group of 33.  It is one of 5 excerpts from The Big Moo published by Know More Media during this week.

Making the Wrong Decisions, Slowly

How did TiVo end up on death’s doorstep?

Here’s a company that reinvented the single biggest in- fluence  in  our  world—television.  A  company  that  figured  out how to make television work for the viewer, instead of the other way around. TiVo created a magical brand, secured a powerful licensing  alliance,  and  had  a  huge  impact  on  our  culture—all with just a few hundred employees.

And yet they’re out of money, can’t keep a CEO, and are in danger of disappearing altogether.

The problem is that TiVo got scared. After they made it over the first few hurdles of financing and product development, they became focused on not blowing it.
Here they were, on the edge of greatness. They had enough money,  enough  time,  and  enough  resources  to  get  everything right. So they took it slowly and carefully, focusing on not making a mistake.

And that was the mistake.
 
Fail fast and cheap. Fail often. Fail in a way that doesn’t kill you.

This  is  the  only  way  to  learn  what  works  and  what  doesn’t. TiVo had one remarkable idea, but they needed far more than that. You are going to make wrong decisions, no question about it. Make them fast and cheap.

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