Death, Composting, and Rebirth — Luminous Entrepreneurship examination

Eleven questions. Nine of eleven passes, and you can take it again as often as you like.

How does the module define innovation?

As a detailed plan executed without deviation As mutation tested by the environment As invention from nothing by a lone genius As copying what successful rivals already do
What are the three components of the evolutionary process as applied to innovation?

Variation, selection and retention Research, development and launch Planning, execution and review, particularly at first Ideation, funding and scaling up
What kind of variation does the module say should make up most innovation?

Large changes, to justify all the effort Rare changes, to avoid confusing customers Radical leaps designed to disrupt markets Small, continuous, reversible changes
What is the critical discipline of selection?

Keeping the founder's favourite ideas whatever happens Deciding by whoever is the loudest voice in the room Letting market reality judge, not the founder's ego Choosing whichever idea cost the most money to build
What does "innovation without accumulation" describe?

Retaining every experiment, failures included Experimenting without keeping what works Keeping old practices and never experimenting Collecting ideas without ever testing any of them
How did Isabelle transform her soap business?

Through about 200 small, logged mutations Through a partnership with a national retail chain Through one breakthrough product that changed everything Through a large marketing campaign in new regions
Why does permission to experiment matter for creative variation?

Failures should be recorded against individuals Experiments should need senior approval first Only already proven ideas should ever be tried Punishing failure suppresses variation
Why is slack a condition for mutation?

Slack exists mainly as a way of reducing costs Stress reliably raises creativity in every organism Under extreme stress, organisms cut variation to survive Mutation requires no resources of any kind at all, at least in theory
In the weekly mutation practice, what happens on Friday?

Reverse every change that was made during the week Record the result and decide to keep, kill or modify Launch the next large initiative for the quarter, though this can vary Report the week's results to the venture's investors
What is punctuated equilibrium?

Constant radical change with no stable periods at all A decline that inevitably follows every period of growth Long stability broken by brief bursts of rapid change Steady, uniform change that continues across all time
What do radical experiments need, according to the module?

An immediate launch to every existing customer Full integration into daily operations from day one Formal approval from every member of the team Protected space away from operational pressure