Little Bets: How Breakthrough Ideas Emerge from Small Discoveries

Peter Sims

Apr 2011 · Sold by Simon and Schuster

About this ebook

“An enthusiastic, example-rich argument for innovating in a particular way—by deliberately experimenting and taking small exploratory steps in novel directions. Light, bright, and packed with tidy anecdotes” (The Wall Street Journal).

What do Apple CEO Steve Jobs, comedian Chris Rock, prize-winning architect Frank Gehry, and the story developers at Pixar films all have in common? Bestselling author Peter Sims found that rather than start with a big idea or plan a whole project in advance, they make a methodical series of little bets, learning critical information from lots of little failures and from small but significant wins.

Reporting on a fascinating range of research, from the psychology of creative blocks to the influential field of design thinking, Sims offers engaging and illuminating accounts of breakthrough innovators at work, and a whole new way of thinking about how to navigate uncertain situations and unleash our untapped creative powers.

Ratings and reviews

The author tells that, most of the ideas related to entrepreneurship begin with some little bets. In other words, this statement suggests that successful companies usually start as a small concept rather than a big, structured plan and then develop from that. Some key takeaways for me are that one has to work hard in order to be successful. Another key concept is that top heavy plan is often not good for a little bet. Instead start with small steps and trust the process by taking the journey. I really like that this book teaches and shows extraordinary ideas like this. Another important lesson was that one should not be afraid to fail, because fails are the fastest path to learn, progress and to be successful. If one takes no action that instantly implies failure. As a University of Twente Honours student enrolled in the Entrepreneurship and Business Development, this recommended reading was helpful for understanding the entrepreneurial mindset.

This is a great little book. Experimentation is the key to innovation and progress, and you have to be willing to make acceptable risks in order to move forward. Or as one of my friends is fond of saying, "If you can't make a mistake, you can't make anything." Easy to read, encouraging, and illuminating, with references to great examples (especially Pixar) and studies. Highly recommended.

A good book and easy read. It's in the small steps that we find the giant leaps. This book contained a lot of helpful principles and tools that can be put to good use.

About the author

Peter Sims is a bestselling author and the founder and chairman of BLK SHP (Black Sheep), Inc., a place and platform for making small bets and building new ventures. He is also an advisor at Google[x], The Moonshot Factory, Alphabet’s semi-secret innovation laboratory. After working as an investor in venture capital with Summit Partners in London, Sims became an accidental author, as the coauthor of True North, the bestseller that has been selected as one of the top twenty-five leadership books of all-time. After that, he stumbled into Stanford’s Institute of Design and learned product design and design thinking, an experience that helped Peter view himself as a creative for the first time, so he dedicated himself to writing his second book, Little Bets, for all those with untapped creativity. A top resource for innovators, it was selected as one of the six best advice books for entrepreneurs by The Wall Street Journal. Previously, he cofounded FUSE corps and was part of the initial team of collaborators that started Giving Tuesday, the global philanthropic movement that raised roughly $10 billion in over 100 countries for social good causes. He is a graduate of Bowdoin College and Stanford Business School. In all that he does, Peter feels most at home as a creative entrepreneur and innovator, contributing to making the world a bit more human.