Eric Ries Quotes

There are only two sources of competitive advantage: the ability to learn more about our customers faster than the competition and the ability to turn that learning into action faster than the competition.

The only way to win is to learn faster than anyone else.

The winner of the next war will be he who learns the most and learns the fastest.

Most entrepreneurs think capital is the biggest problem they have - but it's not. You can have all the capital you want, but if the market fit and ability to adjust are not present, your startup will likely not succeed.

Business is like tennis. Those who serve well win.

Speed, agility and responsiveness are the keys to future success.

With most competitors moving ever faster, the race will go to those who listen (and respond) most intently.

It's not whether the glass is half empty or half full, it's who is pouring the water. The key in business and success at any endeavor is doing your best to control your destiny. You can't always do it, but you have to take every opportunity you can to be as prepared as-and ahead of-the competition as you possibly can be.

Focus too much on the near-term and you won't get tomorrow's customers, focus too much on the long-term and you won't get today's.

Innovation is key. Only those who have the agility to change with the market and innovate quickly will survive.

Market like the year you are in.

People working on bigger ideas on a more protracted timeline will be more on the stealth side. They aren’t releasing new PR announcements every day. The bigger the secret and the likelier it is that you alone have it, the more time you have to execute. There may be far more people going after hard secrets than we think.

Above all, success in business requires two things: a winning competitive strategy, and superb organizational execution. Distrust is the enemy of both. I submit that while high trust won't necessarily rescue a poor strategy, low trust will almost always derail a good one.

He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared.

We win because we hire the smartest people. We improve our products based on feedback, until they're the best. We have retreats each year where we think about where the world is heading.

Anytime you find someone more successful than you are, especially when you're both engaged in the same business - you know they're doing something that you aren't.

Business is a game, played for fantastic stakes, and you're in competition with experts. If you want to win, you have to learn to be a master of the game.

The company that consistently makes and implements decisions rapidly gains a tremendous, often decisive, competitive advantage.

It’s a matter of time; you adapt to the different culture and different way of life. Human beings are adaptable.

If we can accept whatever hand we've been dealt - no matter how unwelcome - the way to proceed eventually becomes clear.

What is the thing that matters most to making progress right now?

In every sort of danger there are various ways of winning through, if one is ready to do and say anything whatever.

We use technology to make it cheaper, better, and faster for the client. And then if you have the most flow, you can win. Now, having said that, Silicon Valley wants to take on this business. They think they see an opening.

Core competence, as it is used by many managers, is a dangerously inward-looking notion. Competitiveness is far more about doing what customers value than doing what you think you're good at.

Here's a pointer culled from the careers of men who have attained notable success: Don't sit in your office during the hours prospects can be seen. Do your office work before or after the hours during which possible customers can be reached. This may mean adding an hour or two quite often to your day's work; but in times like this particularly, the securing of a satisfactory amount of business through the expenditure of an extra hour or two a day is not an unreasonable price to pay.