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Do Bigger Things: A Practical Guide to Powerful Innovation in a Changing World
Unleash your potential to do bigger things!
In today’s changing world, where business leaders must navigate industry disruption, entrepreneurs struggle to push beyond initial success, and activists tackle hard challenges like climate change, there is a need for a more powerful way to do innovation. Too many innovators are trapped by the limits of common innovation practices. The way we’ve been taught to create and innovate for the past two decades is failing us.
It’s time for a paradigm shift. To unlock the secrets to doing bigger things, this book introduces the pioneering concept of ecosystem innovation. Drawing on their experience with a wide range of innovators, from Fortune Global 100 companies to local entrepreneurs in Nepal, authors Dan McClure and Jennifer Wilde present remarkable stories and actionable insights for achieving more with innovation.
With this step-by-step guide, you’ll acquire the big-picture mindset and capabilities you need to outmaneuver fast-moving competitors and break through the ceiling on innovation impact. Do Bigger Things offers a practical way to set bolder goals, understand harder challenges, and design more powerful solutions.
Shatter the notion that game-changing endeavors are beyond your reach, your organization’s capabilities, or your community’s grasp. The time to do bigger things is now.
In today’s changing world, where business leaders must navigate industry disruption, entrepreneurs struggle to push beyond initial success, and activists tackle hard challenges like climate change, there is a need for a more powerful way to do innovation. Too many innovators are trapped by the limits of common innovation practices. The way we’ve been taught to create and innovate for the past two decades is failing us.
It’s time for a paradigm shift. To unlock the secrets to doing bigger things, this book introduces the pioneering concept of ecosystem innovation. Drawing on their experience with a wide range of innovators, from Fortune Global 100 companies to local entrepreneurs in Nepal, authors Dan McClure and Jennifer Wilde present remarkable stories and actionable insights for achieving more with innovation.
With this step-by-step guide, you’ll acquire the big-picture mindset and capabilities you need to outmaneuver fast-moving competitors and break through the ceiling on innovation impact. Do Bigger Things offers a practical way to set bolder goals, understand harder challenges, and design more powerful solutions.
Shatter the notion that game-changing endeavors are beyond your reach, your organization’s capabilities, or your community’s grasp. The time to do bigger things is now.
224 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 13, 2024
32 people are currently reading
1961 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
January 19, 2025
TL;DR: You can’t MVP/lean startup your way to solving truly complex problems, but must instead take an adaptable approach while still considering/planning for second order effects.
It took a few chapters to even figure out the book’s thesis since it was dripping with generic anecdotes and MBA buzzwords. The book bent over backwards to fit the real world examples into its framework, rarely giving any evidence that the book’s approach was used.
The constructed examples are even worse, often including cringy and out of touch advice that was hard to take seriously. My favorite example was about communicating ambitious goals, in which a bakery expanding into nighttime operations changes its mission statement from “make a profitable bakery that delivers healthy food to the community” to the supposedly more inspiring “we believe great baked goods bring happiness whenever you have them, so we want to be pioneers of providing this joy in more parts of people’s lives.”
It took a few chapters to even figure out the book’s thesis since it was dripping with generic anecdotes and MBA buzzwords. The book bent over backwards to fit the real world examples into its framework, rarely giving any evidence that the book’s approach was used.
The constructed examples are even worse, often including cringy and out of touch advice that was hard to take seriously. My favorite example was about communicating ambitious goals, in which a bakery expanding into nighttime operations changes its mission statement from “make a profitable bakery that delivers healthy food to the community” to the supposedly more inspiring “we believe great baked goods bring happiness whenever you have them, so we want to be pioneers of providing this joy in more parts of people’s lives.”
June 4, 2024
I liked this one. It stimulated my thinking. Likely will serve as a reminder for some or helpful to those new to the business space, to find a fresh perspective that centers around a concept called “ecosystem innovation” as a way to look at finding solutions.
I would like to thank Greenleaf Book Group | Fast Company Press for providing me with an advance readers copy via access to the galley for free through the NetGalley program.
The Story
Provides a framework to evaluate leadership and business aspects from multiple points of view.
I enjoyed the review of the tech world. Particularly as it relates to who succeeded in growth, niche, and pivoting.
Gave me a deeper understanding of the verbiage for gaps in my inability to keep up with the changes in terminology over the past 20 years.
A few concepts were a little vague such as differentiating steps to follow, job needs, and a checklist, all essentially saying the same things to me. Tools, people, and process. Being the change, being unique. Take it to the next level. Positive thinking to overcome challenges. Changing perspective. Or at times, seemingly contradictory, in the sense if staying inside the guardrails yet also being disruptive. In their respective context felt less directed at times. For example, embracing AI while recognizing the ecosystem creation in not having the capability or access to grasp what data collection actually entails, to make a more accurate result when using a mathematical model, which is what predictive and generative AI is based off of.
Sometimes was an over simplification of process, namely the example of vaccine manufacturing and delivery as illustrated. The ecosystem proposal basically just adds more parts by gaining insight into the actual pre-existing components from using a magnifying lens, rather than an actual “new” way of doing something. Ended up feeling like a rearrangement of buzzwords and the same thought-to-action approach for this one. Shuffled or reworded then portrayed as a new synthesis of information. Looking at the whole picture and all the players from a zoomed out look, rather than innovation and growth from a few aspects of a problem, which I thought would have been the more valuable piece to focus on.
Though I do see some of the benefit from the suggestions.
Puts big names and international organizations on pedestal, as if someone who has drunk the global utopia Kool-Aid. Not to detract from some of the benefits from a larger body of consensus, big picture, or input from multiple talents, but many that were mentioned are actually not well-received outside of Silicon Valley and the philanthropic subsidiaries they serve, as in the mainstay communities that they set out to serve in the first place. In fact, quite controversial and inflammatory.
Overall though, it’s a positive, motivating read. A nice pace and change from the “harsh reality” and “tough talk” trends we’ve seen over the past 5-8 years.
Instead, this book does a good job along the lines of evaluating your own thinking and approach to problem-solving, then embracing an inviting, practical, and refreshing point-of-view that teaches you to explore the world outside your specialty or niche.
The Writing
Great diagrams. Story illustrations were fun and personable.
I would like to see more from these authors, particularly a deeper analysis of the risks and consequence, then lessons learned. How consistency, tradition, nostalgia can be at odds with entrepreneurial spirit of innovation when moving from need to change.
For example, exploring the need for limited investment or scaling back of components for major corporations and industries to mom and pop shops with local flavor and charm, to the demand of uniformity that forsakes local personality, since expansion causes to fit everyone in a broad stoke, yet at the same time widens personal choice within that one size fits all approach in efforts to not offend anyone. Or address the greed and overconsumption, materialism, and gluttony found within scalability and how that not everything is or should be scalable. And where the compromise lies.
How to be agile and promote “there’s something for everyone” and staying relevant, while also being genuine, meeting specialized and local demand, and the longstanding needs of the mainstay, faithful customer base, and how to continue to meet their expectations in the process.
Blog post
I would like to thank Greenleaf Book Group | Fast Company Press for providing me with an advance readers copy via access to the galley for free through the NetGalley program.
The Story
Provides a framework to evaluate leadership and business aspects from multiple points of view.
I enjoyed the review of the tech world. Particularly as it relates to who succeeded in growth, niche, and pivoting.
Gave me a deeper understanding of the verbiage for gaps in my inability to keep up with the changes in terminology over the past 20 years.
A few concepts were a little vague such as differentiating steps to follow, job needs, and a checklist, all essentially saying the same things to me. Tools, people, and process. Being the change, being unique. Take it to the next level. Positive thinking to overcome challenges. Changing perspective. Or at times, seemingly contradictory, in the sense if staying inside the guardrails yet also being disruptive. In their respective context felt less directed at times. For example, embracing AI while recognizing the ecosystem creation in not having the capability or access to grasp what data collection actually entails, to make a more accurate result when using a mathematical model, which is what predictive and generative AI is based off of.
Sometimes was an over simplification of process, namely the example of vaccine manufacturing and delivery as illustrated. The ecosystem proposal basically just adds more parts by gaining insight into the actual pre-existing components from using a magnifying lens, rather than an actual “new” way of doing something. Ended up feeling like a rearrangement of buzzwords and the same thought-to-action approach for this one. Shuffled or reworded then portrayed as a new synthesis of information. Looking at the whole picture and all the players from a zoomed out look, rather than innovation and growth from a few aspects of a problem, which I thought would have been the more valuable piece to focus on.
Though I do see some of the benefit from the suggestions.
Puts big names and international organizations on pedestal, as if someone who has drunk the global utopia Kool-Aid. Not to detract from some of the benefits from a larger body of consensus, big picture, or input from multiple talents, but many that were mentioned are actually not well-received outside of Silicon Valley and the philanthropic subsidiaries they serve, as in the mainstay communities that they set out to serve in the first place. In fact, quite controversial and inflammatory.
Overall though, it’s a positive, motivating read. A nice pace and change from the “harsh reality” and “tough talk” trends we’ve seen over the past 5-8 years.
Instead, this book does a good job along the lines of evaluating your own thinking and approach to problem-solving, then embracing an inviting, practical, and refreshing point-of-view that teaches you to explore the world outside your specialty or niche.
The Writing
Great diagrams. Story illustrations were fun and personable.
I would like to see more from these authors, particularly a deeper analysis of the risks and consequence, then lessons learned. How consistency, tradition, nostalgia can be at odds with entrepreneurial spirit of innovation when moving from need to change.
For example, exploring the need for limited investment or scaling back of components for major corporations and industries to mom and pop shops with local flavor and charm, to the demand of uniformity that forsakes local personality, since expansion causes to fit everyone in a broad stoke, yet at the same time widens personal choice within that one size fits all approach in efforts to not offend anyone. Or address the greed and overconsumption, materialism, and gluttony found within scalability and how that not everything is or should be scalable. And where the compromise lies.
How to be agile and promote “there’s something for everyone” and staying relevant, while also being genuine, meeting specialized and local demand, and the longstanding needs of the mainstay, faithful customer base, and how to continue to meet their expectations in the process.
Blog post
Read
January 30, 2025‘Do Bigger Things: A Practical Guide to Powerful Innovation in a Changing World’ by Dan McClure and Jennifer Wilde is a business book centered around ecosystem innovation. They go on to explain what ecosystem innovation is, relay stories within the greater story to provide instances of this concept, and provide the “building blocks” of how anyone can implement these ideas and be successful. Overall, the book was alright. I appreciated the examples of innovations provided to help explain the ideas/concepts. I found this to be like many other business related books where it began to feel quite repetitive and therefore making it a much slower read. I’m sure there are people that could find this book to be quite helpful.
#GoodreadsGiveaway
#GoodreadsGiveaway
March 3, 2024
This book is in my work wheelhouse and I was immediately impressed with its simple, direct approach to helping people think about approaching collaborative innovation. Like Donella Meadow's classic primer on systems or Frijtof Capra's works (any of either authors I was terribly surprised not to find in a scan of the footnotes), Dan McClure and Jennifer Wilde have created a book on a complex topic highly accessible and understandable for both the novice and the experienced innovation systems practitioner.
I'm reading what I already wrote, find it too glowing, and feel like I need to make a few points clear: I don't know either of the authors. Never heard of them that I'm aware of -- or at least didn't make the connection to Wilde since I have heard of the work of Nepal Innovation Lab. And I'm not terribly generous with five star reviews, but do give too many 4-stars in my personal opinion upon reflection. A five-star review in this case means I want to remember it, am comfortable recommending it to the orgs I work with that are struggling with collaborative innovation, and I would probably revisit it.
So a few criticisms: I'm not overly impressed with the depth of the footnotes and quotes. Lots of low-hanging, mass media/popular press stuff here, to the point of being trite -- for instance do we need one more person reminding us Lao Tse and the one step/1,000 mile quote? Many others are pulled from the titles one finds in the self development/business shelf at airport bookstores. Yawn. That might be to say one doesn't need to go any more deeply than those other books do to accomplish big things. In that case, it's a plus that McClure and Wilde cherry pick a few nuggets to share so you don't need to revisit any of those (Pink, Florida, Ries, Simon, Covey, etc.)
Other critics might dismiss some of the conclusions as too overly simplified to the point of being less-than-helpful. For instance, the metrics chapter is weak (at the end, which is a perennial pet peeve with me on strategic planning about complex issues -- or anything in the change space.) Step one of the to-do task list in the closing of this chapter is "act, learn, adapt." step two is "design for flexibility". Wait a second. The first one says adapt, so we already must be designing for flexibility. And the third step is measure. Well if you aren't measuring in step one, you aren't going to adapt until you've failed. Like complex dynamic systems, the process isn't linear. You need feedback looks built into the entire process. So I'm agreeing with those other straw men critics I set up at the beginning of this paragraph.
Thinking about it, I'm knocking a star off my initial five star review. I'll give it a four.
A third criticism to soften the glow of my opening remarks, the authors recognize its takes a team but they also put a lot of weight on a single individual, who they call the choreographer. That can result in a defacto top down approach -- the choreographer designs and directs and watches from the side -- and lead to a lot of burnout. One needs to be a dancer, too. And McClure and Wilde acknowledge that but keep going back to the alpha role. So I recommend finding and building a committee of the willing who completely share the vision of the change/innovation needed.
A fourth is the discussion of a reductionist approach to taking on the grand challenge to working on "a thin slice." No mention of trying to understand the feedback loops and identifying the pivot points where change may be most effective, most efficiently. They advise instead, try something, measure it, then pivot. Almost like they've punted on truly incorporating systems thinking into their approach.
Wow. Did I wonder now, did I actually like this book? Yes, although I've talked myself in to rating this three stars and dropped the initial fifth. I liked it. It's helpful for me, but...
Is this a book for everyone involved in business, or government or nonprofit work? Not at all. It's for people curious about figuring out how to approach significant change, big challenges, or complex issues that presently have too many tacitly connected elements in underachieving systems. It's short; it's inexpensive; and likely to whet one's appetite to learn more if one is new to the space. Experienced folks may find clever encapsulations that help reduce the challenges to bite-sized pieces if you're still building the committee of the willing.
This is the first book I've reviewed through the generosity of NetGallery. A little scary that their AI figured out to recommend this one to be my first toe-touch into their community but I'm genuinely grateful they did.
I'm reading what I already wrote, find it too glowing, and feel like I need to make a few points clear: I don't know either of the authors. Never heard of them that I'm aware of -- or at least didn't make the connection to Wilde since I have heard of the work of Nepal Innovation Lab. And I'm not terribly generous with five star reviews, but do give too many 4-stars in my personal opinion upon reflection. A five-star review in this case means I want to remember it, am comfortable recommending it to the orgs I work with that are struggling with collaborative innovation, and I would probably revisit it.
So a few criticisms: I'm not overly impressed with the depth of the footnotes and quotes. Lots of low-hanging, mass media/popular press stuff here, to the point of being trite -- for instance do we need one more person reminding us Lao Tse and the one step/1,000 mile quote? Many others are pulled from the titles one finds in the self development/business shelf at airport bookstores. Yawn. That might be to say one doesn't need to go any more deeply than those other books do to accomplish big things. In that case, it's a plus that McClure and Wilde cherry pick a few nuggets to share so you don't need to revisit any of those (Pink, Florida, Ries, Simon, Covey, etc.)
Other critics might dismiss some of the conclusions as too overly simplified to the point of being less-than-helpful. For instance, the metrics chapter is weak (at the end, which is a perennial pet peeve with me on strategic planning about complex issues -- or anything in the change space.) Step one of the to-do task list in the closing of this chapter is "act, learn, adapt." step two is "design for flexibility". Wait a second. The first one says adapt, so we already must be designing for flexibility. And the third step is measure. Well if you aren't measuring in step one, you aren't going to adapt until you've failed. Like complex dynamic systems, the process isn't linear. You need feedback looks built into the entire process. So I'm agreeing with those other straw men critics I set up at the beginning of this paragraph.
Thinking about it, I'm knocking a star off my initial five star review. I'll give it a four.
A third criticism to soften the glow of my opening remarks, the authors recognize its takes a team but they also put a lot of weight on a single individual, who they call the choreographer. That can result in a defacto top down approach -- the choreographer designs and directs and watches from the side -- and lead to a lot of burnout. One needs to be a dancer, too. And McClure and Wilde acknowledge that but keep going back to the alpha role. So I recommend finding and building a committee of the willing who completely share the vision of the change/innovation needed.
A fourth is the discussion of a reductionist approach to taking on the grand challenge to working on "a thin slice." No mention of trying to understand the feedback loops and identifying the pivot points where change may be most effective, most efficiently. They advise instead, try something, measure it, then pivot. Almost like they've punted on truly incorporating systems thinking into their approach.
Wow. Did I wonder now, did I actually like this book? Yes, although I've talked myself in to rating this three stars and dropped the initial fifth. I liked it. It's helpful for me, but...
Is this a book for everyone involved in business, or government or nonprofit work? Not at all. It's for people curious about figuring out how to approach significant change, big challenges, or complex issues that presently have too many tacitly connected elements in underachieving systems. It's short; it's inexpensive; and likely to whet one's appetite to learn more if one is new to the space. Experienced folks may find clever encapsulations that help reduce the challenges to bite-sized pieces if you're still building the committee of the willing.
This is the first book I've reviewed through the generosity of NetGallery. A little scary that their AI figured out to recommend this one to be my first toe-touch into their community but I'm genuinely grateful they did.
September 5, 2024
Do Bigger Things by Dan McClure and Jennifer Wilde is an inspiring book about unconventional thinking and creative problem-solving, which can allow you to change the world with powerful innovations.
I wasn’t sure what to expect going into this but the title intrigued me. I originally thought that most of the book would be over my head or beyond what I was willing to put in as I am not a natural entrepreneur and I am happy to say I was wrong. This book is inspiring and reminds you that you don't have to do everything alone, that's what teams are for. The concepts are easy to understand and you are given many examples to help guide you through the process, which I appreciate.
Corrine Davies does a wonderful job narrating the audiobook and is easy to understand and follow. Dan McClure and Jennifer Wilde also include outlines of “road maps” you can follow to get your ambitious goal off the ground and at the end of each chapter, they give a basic summary of that chapter and a checklist to get you started in that area.
In Do Bigger Things, you are not only given Big Picture thinking, but also how to break that down to see the steps needed to get you there. As a visual learner, I appreciate that they don’t just “tell” you the information but they also “show” you through real-world examples.
4.5 stars
I wasn’t sure what to expect going into this but the title intrigued me. I originally thought that most of the book would be over my head or beyond what I was willing to put in as I am not a natural entrepreneur and I am happy to say I was wrong. This book is inspiring and reminds you that you don't have to do everything alone, that's what teams are for. The concepts are easy to understand and you are given many examples to help guide you through the process, which I appreciate.
Corrine Davies does a wonderful job narrating the audiobook and is easy to understand and follow. Dan McClure and Jennifer Wilde also include outlines of “road maps” you can follow to get your ambitious goal off the ground and at the end of each chapter, they give a basic summary of that chapter and a checklist to get you started in that area.
In Do Bigger Things, you are not only given Big Picture thinking, but also how to break that down to see the steps needed to get you there. As a visual learner, I appreciate that they don’t just “tell” you the information but they also “show” you through real-world examples.
4.5 stars
September 23, 2024
A surprising take on the self-help / biz-help genre. While many of the suggestions are a bit cherry-picked, if you need inspiration for big audacious goals and ideas for how to get your followers to come with you into the desert, this may be the book for you.
I especially liked the directions to a restaurant analogy - 1 person gives you every little turn and signpost - but construction detours you and you loose your way. Another person gives a landmark destination - head for the tower with the red blinking light - much easier to navigate to and explore along the way.
I think this way and plan my goals this way. I think others who already have creative, free-thinking tendencies will also enjoy this book. I also think we'll buy this as a gift for people that think and plan differently - mileage may vary with changing hearts and minds!
If you like this, I also recommend Seek: How Curiosity Can Transform Your Life and Change the World.
I especially liked the directions to a restaurant analogy - 1 person gives you every little turn and signpost - but construction detours you and you loose your way. Another person gives a landmark destination - head for the tower with the red blinking light - much easier to navigate to and explore along the way.
I think this way and plan my goals this way. I think others who already have creative, free-thinking tendencies will also enjoy this book. I also think we'll buy this as a gift for people that think and plan differently - mileage may vary with changing hearts and minds!
If you like this, I also recommend Seek: How Curiosity Can Transform Your Life and Change the World.
January 21, 2024
Talking about innovation and adoption to new scenarios Of new technological reality is booming. We most Of the time know what to do however struggling with how to do things. Here lays the key to successful innovation. If you want to deliver an innovation, you need to challenge the change and be continuously fundamentally different. This book will provide you ideas and tips, scenarios and frameworks that can be applied to look at agile creativity in a new or different way. I liked the stories or examples that illustrated those simple concepts. There is innovation at your fingertips and we may miss out on it because we sometimes rotate in the same circle of ideas and routine.
September 18, 2024
This book was great!
It shows you innovation from a different point of view to the one that we always get. I really liked this point of view as it is something we have forgotten because of all the tech startups and their way of solving problems.
The authors use real world examples to help the reader understand what they are talking about and be able to land the idea.
They also provide a clear strategy and checklists to achieve your goals.
Overall, this book is a good guide on how to solve complex and large issues with a new point of view. I would recommend it for any entrepreneur, startup manager, or simply a curious mind.
It shows you innovation from a different point of view to the one that we always get. I really liked this point of view as it is something we have forgotten because of all the tech startups and their way of solving problems.
The authors use real world examples to help the reader understand what they are talking about and be able to land the idea.
They also provide a clear strategy and checklists to achieve your goals.
Overall, this book is a good guide on how to solve complex and large issues with a new point of view. I would recommend it for any entrepreneur, startup manager, or simply a curious mind.
December 30, 2024
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a free e-book copy of Do Bigger Things by Dan McClure and Jennifer Wilde. I recommend this book to fans of nonfiction to inspire your work process. With a focus on innovation and problem-solving, I felt the authors did a nice job providing real-world examples and explaining changing trends in the world. The diagrams were also helpful. Ultimately, I found myself wanting more, but perhaps the authors have more coming for us in the future? The synergy was nice, and it was worth the time spent reading it.
March 29, 2024
This is an interesting book about how to shift your paradigm and look at the big picture and how this shift can help you achieve more. This looks at ecosystem innovation and how this pioneering concept can help change everything.
May 9, 2024
The book is largely a rehash of a number of other books that are already written on the topic. I would recommend reading "The Lean Startup" by Eric Ries first and then jump to the last section of this book for some practical advice for how to implement the lean startup ideas.
April 14, 2024
This was an interesting business book. Like many in the genre, it can get repetitive. I did appreciate the way the described and explained the new role that is emerging with ecosystem innovation, the choreographer. I think that is much more descriptive than, say, calling that role a project manager. Most PMs don’t think big enough or flexible enough for ecosystem innovation. It also made me think of how some places say they are innovative, but really they are iterative. It isn’t big picture innovation.
C/o Netgalley
C/o Netgalley
Want to read
April 30, 2024March 31, 2024
June 17, 2024
I enjoyed the case studies and anecdotes.
January 2, 2026
I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway. The title makes it seem like it will be more motivational than it is. I'm not a business owner so I'm probably not the target audience.
April 12, 2024
Goodreads giveaway winner / free book review:
Quite helpful though not all new concepts to me. It did help me put into words things I knew but couldn't explain to others. I found this helpful.
Kindle e-book on IOS.
Used Spoken content accessibility tool with English Australian female voice Matilda Premium to listen to this book.
Quite helpful though not all new concepts to me. It did help me put into words things I knew but couldn't explain to others. I found this helpful.
Kindle e-book on IOS.
Used Spoken content accessibility tool with English Australian female voice Matilda Premium to listen to this book.
August 8, 2024
I enjoyed the big picture thinking here but I did not like that all their real life examples were the same references you get in every other business book. This was very similar to Smarter Not Harder by Dave Asprey.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews