Building Moonshots

WAY 28Get to Action: Merely starting the process of inventing can move teams to results.

About the Way

Sports apparel company Nike’s slogan of “Just Do It” has become an unlikely battle cry and one of the best advertising slogans worldwide since it was introduced in the late 1980s—enduring for over 30 years. The campaign was so motivating that numerous people even contacted Nike with personal stories about how they “just did it”—from starting a running habit to quitting dead‐end jobs.

These calls to action are powerful because they move people from dreaming to doing, from talking to walking. This need is doubly true when your idea is a potentially world‐changing vision that will require years of hard work, collaboration, breakthroughs, and luck coming to fruition. Humans have long reminded each other about the importance of taking action. Renaissance polymath Leonardo da Vinci said, “Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do.” Self‐help books about procrastination abound with titles such as No Excuses!, The Now Habit, Do the Work, and The Productivity Project.

The importance of doing runs deep in startup circles. Silicon Valley startups have the mantra to just ship—meaning, stop playing around and deliver something to your customers. When Apple's engineers were tempted to delay the release date of the first Macintosh, founder Steve Jobs infamously told his team that “real artists ship.” Entrepreneur and investor Reid Hoffman also emphasizes ...