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It only Took 20 Years, but the Strategic Management Society Now Believes the Lean Startup Is a Strategy

After two decades, the Strategic Management Society has formally recognized the Lean Startup approach as a legitimate strategy, marking a symbolic shift in how iterative, customer-driven methods are viewed by mainstream strategy scholars. The movement originated from the author’s post-retirement development of Customer Development and co-creation of the Lean Startup methodology, which codified founders’ experimental tactics into repeatable practices. This endorsement could accelerate adoption of Lean Startup principles in corporate strategy, academic curricula and investor evaluation, blurring lines between entrepreneurship and formal strategic planning. The decision signals broader institutional acceptance of rapid experimentation and validated learning as core strategic tools with implications for how firms allocate resources and manage innovation risk.