Jun 30 (edited) • General discussion
Measuring Your Learn Rate
Are You Learning Faster Than You're Burning Cash?
I recently wrote a newsletter about how using my scientific background helps me take a methodical approach to marketing experiments. I've found that applying scientific principles is incredibly powerful for learning and growth. My approach isn't just about accumulating facts; it's about embracing a systematic, evidence-based methodology to understand challenges, test hypotheses, and adapt strategies. It's about approaching every business decision not as a guess, but as an experiment, constantly observing, analysing, and refining. This scientific mindset has been invaluable in navigating the complexities of the market, identifying opportunities, fostering continuous improvement within my business. As business owners we are constantly making decisions, taking risks, and investing resources. But are we truly learning from those investments, or just spending?
The difference between rapid growth and stagnant plateaus often boils down to your learn rate. It's not just about what you do, but what you discover along the way.
The Friday Learning Check-in
Forget the typical "what did we accomplish?" updates. Every Friday, gather your team and ask one powerful question: "What did we learn this week?"
This simple shift in focus can be transformative. It moves the conversation from activity to insight.
Sales: Instead of just reporting on closed deals, what did you learn from the rejections? Were there common objections? Did a new approach resonate with prospects?
Marketing: Beyond campaign metrics, what did you learn from your experiments? Why did Message Variant A outperform Variant B? Was it the imagery, the call to action, or the target audience?
Product/Customer Service: What surprising feedback did you receive from users? What unexpected pain points did they reveal?
Encourage everyone to share their key takeaways. The real magic happens when you dig deeper. Don't settle for surface-level observations like "CPAs are too high" or "customers liked the new feature." Instead, ask "Why?" repeatedly.
Why were CPAs high? Was it a targeting issue, ad creative fatigue, or a problem with the landing page?
Why did customers like that feature? What specific problem did it solve for them that other solutions didn't?
Useful learnings often surprise you, challenge your assumptions, and most importantly, raise new questions that point towards your next strategic moves.
The "Is It Worth It?" Equation
After your team has shared their learnings, it's time for a crucial calculation: Was that learning worth your weekly burn?
Let's say your business spent $20,000 this week. Did the insights you gained about your customers, your product, and your market truly equate to $20,000 worth of knowledge?
This isn't about direct ROI on every single learning, but rather a mental exercise to assess the value of your knowledge acquisition. If you're consistently burning cash without building substantial, actionable insights, you're not scaling efficiently. You're simply spending.
Think of it this way: every dollar you invest should ideally generate a return in two forms – revenue and knowledge. The knowledge you gain feeds directly back into your strategy, allowing you to iterate faster, make better decisions, and ultimately, accelerate your growth from $5 million to $50 million.
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Measuring Your Learn Rate
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