Think big, move small

Think big, move small is about balancing understanding with action. It’s knowing enough about the whole system to move in the right direction without becoming paralysed by the complexity of the whole.

The approach is simple: build a broad understanding of how everything connects, then use that knowledge to identify and execute smaller, strategic moves. When mastered, it’s the difference between drowning in complexity and confidently navigating it, letting you tackle really big stuff by moving small pieces.

• Big initiatives are complicated. Think big, move small helps you to avoid the two most common traps when getting stuff done: diving into details without a direction, and trying to solve everything at once.
• Be the navigator. By building and championing the big picture, you become the navigator: able to see dependencies early, identify safe steps, and most importantly, guide work in the right direction.
• Build trust. Small moves are surprisingly powerful. Each completed piece builds credibility and trust, this is especially helpful on longer initiatives where stakeholders need regular reassurance that things are moving forward.
• Minimises your risk. By taking an iterative approach, you can fold in learnings as you go. This leaves you open to new information, changes in the environment, and customer feedback.

1. When starting on a new initiative. Use think big, move small to guide your approach.
2. When joining an initiative that’s already underway. Use think big, move small to get your head around what is already known, already moving, and what’s still to do.
3. When you’re under pressure to deliver. Use think big, move small to identify the bits you can ship early to buy time, and which bits can come later.

But remember that if it is simple, keep it simple. Don’t overcomplicate simple tasks or requests by adding layers of abstraction unnecessarily. If the task is an isolated small move, then you might not need to think big!

1. First, go shallow but wide. Identify your boundaries, but don’t get into the detail yet. For example, maybe the project is a new online store for a business that sells pottery. If you can identify what is in scope (the website) and what isn’t (social media and marketing), then you’ve done it.
2. Next, decompose that big picture into large chunks that make sense. For our online store, this might be homepage, gallery, contact us functionality, the shop itself, the cart and payment functionality, and a blog. These are all big chunks that together make up the whole, but are distinct enough to talk about separately. The trick here is to not go too deep. You don’t want a ton of parts to work with. You want just the next level of detail down from the whole.
3. Next, prioritise. Pick the chunk that is the most important, highest risk, or most work. Use your understanding of the big picture, the big objectives, and the things your stakeholders are most interested in to guide you.
4. Now, get to work! You know what the priority is and how it fits into the whole, so you can safely dig into the details of this chunk.
5. Keep digging. For really massive projects, you might need multiple levels of abstraction (our pottery store could be part of a large homewares company and maybe they’re undertaking a digital transformation and the website is just one part of a larger whole). You can repeat these 4 steps at each level.
6. Rinse and repeat.

• Assuming the big picture has already been taken care of. Especially when you are joining an initiative that’s already underway, it’s easy to assume someone else has taken care of the big picture. You would be shocked to know how often that is not the case! Don’t be afraid to ask for the big picture view, and offer ways to fill in any gaps you spot.
• Getting lost in analysis. If everything is becoming urgent and youʻre starting to get stuck in fire-fighting mode, then you might be over-applying this method. Take a break, step back, and focus your efforts.
• Failing to validate. It is so tempting to try to perfect your understanding of the big picture before moving forward. Don’t. Embrace some ambiguity — you only need enough context to start making informed choices.
• Jumping to details too quickly. If you can’t explain how everything connects (even roughly), you’re not ready for detailed analysis yet. Step back up and look at the whole.
• Working in isolation. You can’t build an effective big picture view alone. You need multiple perspectives to really understand how everything fits together. Many brains are better than one. Plus, involving others early builds the buy-in that you’ll need later.
• Being the secret squirrel. The big picture — however it is documented — is valuable to everyone, not just you. Share it widely! Champion it! Use it to build shared understanding across the team. The more people who understand how everything connects, the more people you have steering the ship in the right direction.
• Getting caught in the weeds. Once you’re working on the details of a chunk, it’s easy to lose sight of the bigger context. Take time regularly to step back, review the whole picture, and check that you’re still moving in the right direction.
• Managing expectations. People often want certainty about everything right away. Be upfront that this approach means that you won’t have all the answers immediately, but also involve them in your work so that they can see how you’re getting there!

• Just start. Building a big picture can be daunting, but it shouldn’t be. Start with a concept model, a story map, or a canvas and go from there! Even a rough sketch on a whiteboard is better than keeping it all in your head.
• Keep yourself honest. Regularly ask yourself, Can I explain how this piece connects to the whole? If you can’t, then it’s time to step back and think big.
• Stories are sticky! If you are able to make the big picture an easy-to-grasp narrative, then you’ll find maintaining focus on it much, much easier. And good stories get retold, spreading understanding naturally through your team.
• Keep it in view. Whether it’s a diagram on your desk or a model on the team wall, keep your big picture where you can see it. Visual reminders help maintain perspective when you’re deep in the details.

• Concept model (tool)
• Story map (tool)
• Opportunity canvas (tool)
• Dig until done (method)
• The Map

• The concept of big picture + incremental focus was first mentioned in 10 Things They Don’t Tell You: Unlikely Truths from 10 Years of Business Analysis
• Also inspired by pretty much all modern delivery approaches.