All models are wrong—many are useful.
- Formal models help make our assumptions explicit and, consequently, testable.
- The act of modeling sharpens our intuition by clarifying our assumptions regarding cause and effect.
- Testing the boundaries of our models helps us understand the conditions under which a strategy can work—and when it won’t.
In other words, formal business models can help us learn, explore, and communicate—even when prediction isn’t plausible.
