5 ms·

Great news. It seems like everyone who ever mentions Four Steps to Epiphany says the same thing: Amazing content, you should take the time to read it, but I hav

Great news. It seems like everyone who ever mentions Four Steps to Epiphany says the same thing: Amazing content, you should take the time to read it, but I haven't actually been able to get through it yet.

BadCookie 15y ago
Absolutely. It really feels like the book has a lot of useful information, but after the first couple of chapters it becomes almost impenetrable. (And I am used to reading technical papers!)
- blrgeek 15y ago
  Slogged through it. Later chapters are very heavy - and worth their weight in gold. If you've never done Enterprise sales/mktg for a new product before, you will hear practically every objection written there. It's sad that the writing is too heavy for people. It's well worth the read.
  - zackattack 15y ago
    There's always custdev.com, the "cliff notes" edition, which I liked. But it covers the first chapters. But deep down, I'm looking for step by step instructions. Standing on the shoulders of giants, someone will eventually write it.
gallerytungsten 15y ago
I read the whole thing. Great book. It helps to keep a red pen handy if you're perturbed by typographical and grammatical errors.
damoncali 15y ago
Actually, skip it. It's not that good. There were some solid ideas in it back when he wrote it, but it was/is very raw, and has been fleshed out and refined by Blank and others in the years since. That, and the writing/editing is really bad - not up to the quality of what you find on his blog, which I like a lot.
- JoeCortopassi 15y ago
  I completely disagree with the above comment, but why is it being downvoted? Down voting people because they have a differing opinion just makes HN an echo chamber. Downvote trolls and irrelevant comments, not stuff that promotes reflection and discussion. That being said, damoncali, I never thought the blog was that great compared to the book
  - damoncali 15y ago
    Different strokes, I suppose. To be clear, I think there is lots of good info in the book - I just think it is better presented and expanded upon elsewhere, including his own blog, the many lean startup themed sites/books, and other places. In my view, the book reads like a big-company consulting manual, and does not get to the point very quickly or well. An important work, but not a must-read any more. Will I buy his new book? Probably.
- mindcrime 15y ago
  Yeah, I couldn't disagree with you more on this, but this comment doesn't deserve to be downvoted. FWIW, I think The Four Steps to the Epiphany is absolutely in "must read" category. Sure, you can crib together most (if not all) of the same material from reading hundreds of different blog posts, spread over dozens of blogs.. but if you just read the book, you get all of the important content, in one place, with the methodology all laid out in order, with the diagrams, etc. Honestly, I'd argue that reading TFSTTE should be a prerequisite to reading any of the various blogs and articles out there that touch on Customer Development and the Lean Startup approach. But that's just my take...
drumdance 15y ago
If possible, see Ries or Blank in person. They're both great presenters and I suspect you can get 75% of what you need just from listening to that and taking good notes. The book probably has some good worksheets in it, though, so maybe worth it for that.

BadCookie 15y ago

Absolutely. It really feels like the book has a lot of useful information, but after the first couple of chapters it becomes almost impenetrable. (And I am used to reading technical papers!)

blrgeek 15y ago
Slogged through it. Later chapters are very heavy - and worth their weight in gold. If you've never done Enterprise sales/mktg for a new product before, you will hear practically every objection written there. It's sad that the writing is too heavy for people. It's well worth the read.
- zackattack 15y ago
  There's always custdev.com, the "cliff notes" edition, which I liked. But it covers the first chapters. But deep down, I'm looking for step by step instructions. Standing on the shoulders of giants, someone will eventually write it.

gallerytungsten 15y ago

I read the whole thing. Great book. It helps to keep a red pen handy if you're perturbed by typographical and grammatical errors.

damoncali 15y ago

Actually, skip it. It's not that good. There were some solid ideas in it back when he wrote it, but it was/is very raw, and has been fleshed out and refined by Blank and others in the years since. That, and the writing/editing is really bad - not up to the quality of what you find on his blog, which I like a lot.

JoeCortopassi 15y ago
I completely disagree with the above comment, but why is it being downvoted? Down voting people because they have a differing opinion just makes HN an echo chamber. Downvote trolls and irrelevant comments, not stuff that promotes reflection and discussion. That being said, damoncali, I never thought the blog was that great compared to the book
- damoncali 15y ago
  Different strokes, I suppose. To be clear, I think there is lots of good info in the book - I just think it is better presented and expanded upon elsewhere, including his own blog, the many lean startup themed sites/books, and other places. In my view, the book reads like a big-company consulting manual, and does not get to the point very quickly or well. An important work, but not a must-read any more. Will I buy his new book? Probably.
mindcrime 15y ago
Yeah, I couldn't disagree with you more on this, but this comment doesn't deserve to be downvoted. FWIW, I think The Four Steps to the Epiphany is absolutely in "must read" category. Sure, you can crib together most (if not all) of the same material from reading hundreds of different blog posts, spread over dozens of blogs.. but if you just read the book, you get all of the important content, in one place, with the methodology all laid out in order, with the diagrams, etc. Honestly, I'd argue that reading TFSTTE should be a prerequisite to reading any of the various blogs and articles out there that touch on Customer Development and the Lean Startup approach. But that's just my take...

drumdance 15y ago

If possible, see Ries or Blank in person. They're both great presenters and I suspect you can get 75% of what you need just from listening to that and taking good notes. The book probably has some good worksheets in it, though, so maybe worth it for that.