Embracing Failure and Experimentation in Leadership

BONUS: Never Stop Experimenting—Building a Culture of Continuous Discovery with Stavros Stavru

In this BONUS episode, we dive deep into the world of continuous experimentation with Stavros Stavru, Ph.D. in Organizational Transformations and founder of EdTech ventures AhaPlay and The Caringers. Stavros shares insights from his latest book "Never Stop Experimenting" and reveals how teams can maintain their discovery mindset while balancing the pressures of delivery.

The Exploration-Exploitation Dilemma

"What would we choose? What we know, and try to exploit? Or go for something new, and better than we currently have?"

Stavros introduces us to one of the fundamental challenges facing modern teams: the tension between exploration and exploitation. He explains how teams often start with an exploration mindset, focused on solving real problems through discovery. However, over time, there's a natural shift from discovery to delivery, and teams forget the importance of continued exploration. The title "Never Stop Experimenting" serves as an anchor for teams to remember the value of maintaining their experimental approach even when delivery pressures mount.

Born from a Decade of Practice

"All the techniques that I describe in the book were born during 10 years of practice."

The book isn't theoretical - it's grounded in real-world application. Stavros shares how every technique and framework in "Never Stop Experimenting" emerged from his extensive hands-on experience working with teams over a decade. This practical foundation ensures that readers get battle-tested approaches rather than untested concepts.

Software Development as Incremental Experiments

"Experimentation requires a creative process."

Stavros addresses a common challenge: while teams understand the benefits of experimentation and want to experiment, they often face management resistance that ultimately demotivates the team. He emphasizes that viewing software development as a series of incremental experiments isn't just beneficial - it's absolutely necessary for teams to remain innovative and responsive to changing needs.

The Fatware Matrix: Putting Products on a Diet

"The challenge: how do you convince the business that you need to spend some time removing features?"

One of the book's standout concepts is "The Fatware Matrix," which helps Product Managers recognize when their product is becoming bloated. Stavros introduces a practical tool combining the Kano framework with maintenance cost analysis to illustrate the true cost and impact of maintaining old features. This approach helped one team successfully remove features from their software, with stakeholders later commenting, "Now this is more transparent for us." The key is managing feature creep and software bloat before they become overwhelming.

The NSE Ratio: Optimizing Experimentation Rhythm

"It's when we try something new that we learn what works. We need to change something on a regular basis."

The NSE (Never Stop Experimenting) Ratio measures how long teams wait before introducing new approaches or experimenting with their processes. Stavros explains how teams should define their NSE ratio as part of their team agreements, establishing a regular cadence for trying new things. This systematic approach ensures that learning and adaptation become embedded in the team's rhythm rather than happening sporadically.

Building a Safe-to-Fail Culture

"Speak of your own failures. When we show our failures as leaders, we show the team that they can run their own experiments."

Creating a truly safe-to-fail environment requires leaders to model vulnerability and transparency about their own mistakes. Stavros emphasizes that leaders must give the example by sharing their failures openly, which gives permission for the rest of the organization to take risks and learn from their own experiments. This leadership modeling is crucial for establishing psychological safety around experimentation.

About Stavros Stavru

Stavros is a Ph.D. in Organizational Transformations and a leading voice in Agile coaching, leadership, and soft skills. Founder of EdTech ventures AhaPlay and The Caringers, he has delivered over 800 trainings and authored Never Stop Experimenting, a powerful toolkit for continuous improvement across teams and organizations.

You can connect with Stavros Stavru on LinkedIn, and check his book site at Neverstopexperimenting.com.