Pushing Big Rocks: Why Some Ideas Move Forward and Others Get Stuck

In the early days of a startup, when the mission is clear and the team is small, pushing big ideas — the “rocks” that define strategic direction — feels natural. Everyone is aligned and hands-on, and there’s a shared sense of urgency to get the rock up the hill.

But as companies grow, things start to change. Some people keep pushing, but others step aside — some question whether the rock should even be moved at all. Internal politics, competing priorities, and inertia take hold. And sometimes, the rock stops moving entirely — buried under meetings, PowerPoint decks, and endless discussions.

The reality is that big companies don’t always push big rocks better. They often struggle more than smaller, focused companies. I’ve seen this firsthand at Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, and Cisco — where large-scale initiatives with massive potential never saw the light of day, only to be executed brilliantly by smaller, more agile competitors.

Why Big Companies Struggle to Push Big Rocks

Theoretically, a large company should have all the advantages — resources, talent, and scale. However, aligning thousands of employees, stakeholders, and decision-makers is hard when no one owns the rock outright, incentives are misaligned, or execution is bogged down — even the most promising initiatives stall.

Meanwhile, smaller companies don’t just push the rock — they become the rock. It’s their entire focus, and they move fast because they have no choice.

Examples of Rocks That Got Stuck — And the Small Companies That Pushed Them Instead

• Slack vs. Microsoft Teams — Microsoft had every opportunity to dominate workplace communication. But instead of making Teams a first-class product from the start, it got bundled into the Office “happy meal” as a reaction to Slack’s success. Slack outpaced them with an obsessive focus on user experience , forcing Microsoft to play catch-up.
• Zoom vs. Webex — Cisco’s Webex had a strong foothold in video conferencing. But Zoom — fast, focused, and simple — seized the opportunity when COVID-19 hit. While Webex was tangled in enterprise complexity, Zoom became the go-to platform for virtual meetings, growing exponentially.
• Xero vs. QuickBooks — At Xero, in my role as their first Chief Product Officer, I saw firsthand how a small New Zealand-based startup caught Intuit napping. While QuickBooks hesitated on cloud adoption, Xero embraced it fully, becoming the first SaaS accounting service in history. By the time Intuit responded, Xero had already captured a massive market share.

The lesson? Big companies often hesitate, while smaller companies commit. And when execution slows, it’s not because the rock is too heavy — it’s because no one is really pushing.

The Culture Factor: Why Some Rocks Get Pushed and Others Don’t

So, why do big companies often struggle despite their massive advantages? The answer lies in culture, alignment, and execution — and whether or not mechanisms exist to sustain accountability.

• In small companies, typically, there is no confusion about what needs to be done. The mission is clear, and everyone is directly accountable.
• Competing priorities, risk aversion, and politics create friction in large companies. Some push, some hesitate, and some actively resist.

PowerPoint is Where Rocks Go to Die

One of the biggest execution killers in large companies? PowerPoint.

A beautifully crafted slide deck is not execution — it’s an illusion of progress. In many organizations, ideas spend months (or years) circulating in endless loops of reviews, approvals, and “alignment meetings.” Instead of doing the work, people spend time perfecting slides to talk about the work.

The more a rock stays in PowerPoint, the less likely it is to move uphill.

I’ve written before about the importance of mechanisms in sustaining accountability (see my post on Amazon’s Weekly Business Review). Amazon understands that real progress isn’t measured in slides but in metrics, ownership, and execution. They replaced PowerPoint-driven meetings with narrative-based documents that force deeper thinking, real accountability, and next-step decisions.

Mechanisms: The Only Way to Keep the Rock Moving

Without mechanisms, everything is just a good intention. And good intentions, without execution, are meaningless.

Great companies don’t rely on belief alone — they build systems that drive accountability up and down the organization. Great companies have executives who dive deep and appreciate the details. Common mechanisms scale from the most junior employee to the most senior. My time as a General Manager at Amazon Web Services reinforced this more than any other. At Amazon, these mechanisms ensured that:

• Big ideas don’t get stuck in endless loops of discussion.
• Ownership is clear, and accountability is enforced.
• Execution is tracked with real, measurable progress.

Because, in the end, it’s not just about believing in the rock. It’s about making sure it actually gets to the top of the hill.

And if you don’t push it, someone else will.

Let’s Get Your Rocks Moving

If your company struggles to turn big ideas into execution, I can help. At Bodhi Venture Labs, I work with leaders to implement mechanism-driven approaches that ensure accountability, alignment, and momentum — so your most significant opportunities don’t get lost in PowerPoint.

📩 Let’s talk. Reach out to me at Bodhi Venture Labs, and let’s build a system that gets your rocks to the top of the hill.

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