It’s Better to Be a Big Fish in a Small Pond

The following is adapted from The Elephant’s Dilemma.

Would you rather be a big fish in a small pond, or a small fish in a big pond?

Some people look down on the idea of being a big fish in a small pond. They think it shows a lack of ambition. Such fish are successful not for their own merits but because of their small surroundings.

In contrast, when you’re a small fish in a big pond, you are challenged to grow and reach your full potential. You have to fight and earn your place in the pond. It’s more “respectable.”

But as a small fish, your power and influence are limited. If you feel stuck at work, unable to enact the change you want, it’s probably because you’re a small fish.

If you are truly ambitious and want to have a tangible impact on the world, you need to be a big fish. And if you can’t be a big fish in a big pond, you need to find a smaller pond. 

In the metaphor of ponds, moving from big to small seems like a clear step backward, to a smaller life. But in the real world, moving to a smaller pond can actually open up a multitude of possibilities. In my case, I worked at GE—a very big pond—for more than ten years, and once I chose to leave and find a smaller pond, my impact rose exponentially. 

Small Fish in a Big Pond

GE is a mammoth company. When I was there, I was one of 300,000 employees. In that environment, it’s hard to see the direct impact of your work. 

I worked in the business innovations group. We worked on consumer venture projects and trademark licensing initiatives and got to reimagine what we could be from a marketing and business innovation perspective.

It was a cool role, and I knew our group did good work, but there was so much happening around us that it felt like our efforts were sucked into this big, bureaucratic machine where they just…disintegrated. We were trying to drive innovation, but we were like a single cog pushing hopelessly against a huge metal beast.

Of course, when you’re not the top dog, it’s easy to sit at your desk and think, God, if I were running this place, I’d do all this differently. I did my fair share of that. But then it went further. I got to the point where I really wanted the chance to run things the way I imagined. 

I was driven to try something new because I could see how an organization that was truly sustainable and innovative could have a more positive impact on its people and the world. And that’s the kind of impact I was craving.

I also wanted to explore business philosophies that seemed risky to a company steeped in tradition. GE had might and power and obscene amounts of money, but it was so weighed down with infrastructure and assets that we couldn’t look beyond systems that utilized those assets. We slipped into always operating within the structure we’d created. That meant new ideas were limited and not that revolutionary. 

I was fascinated with the concept of driving innovation in disruptive technologies, and small companies are great for that. They have the benefit of speed and agility. They can move and change quickly, and they can take risks bigger companies won’t. 

In the end, I realized I could accomplish more outside of GE than within its walls. The big pond had actually become a limitation.

Big Fish in a Small Pond

I leapt from the big pond of GE to the small pond of Big Ass Fans, which brought in a couple of hundred million dollars a year and had a staff of 1,300. Compared to GE, it felt very small to me. 

The founder, Carey Smith, brought me on to help the company transition from a founder-led setup to a more sustainable operating environment that didn’t rely on his presence. He wanted to ensure his business would be around long after he moved on. 

I was excited at the prospect of being involved in such a unique opportunity. This was about real business sustainability. I don’t mean “sustainable” in the environmentally friendly sense but as a business term. It was about adjusting operations so they could sustain changes in ownership and management and the world. Ensuring a company is sustainable in those terms has a positive impact on employees, the local community, and the brand. 

With Carey, I looked at the business intimately and holistically. We talked about strategic options. Within six months, we settled on a direction and started executing the plan to sell the company to a firm that would be able to fund and grow it into the future.

In less than two years, we closed a transaction to sell Big Ass Fans to a private equity firm for $500 million—a phenomenal price for a business of its nature. A lot of people were surprised by how much we secured, and they weren’t shy in saying so. It was an extraordinary event for us, for the city of Lexington (where the company was headquartered), and even for the state of Kentucky. 

Carey took an exit as a founder. He made a shitload of money and paid out a ton to the employees, which had always been an essential part of the plan. I made a decent chunk of cash, too, making the risk of leaving GE literally pay off. With the sale, we felt confident the company would now live beyond its founder. It started its shift from “the Carey Smith show” to an independently sustainable, high-performing program.

And I had helped make it happen. For the first time, I was able to clearly see how much impact I could have.

Jump to a New Pond

When I left GE, it felt like a risk. Though I was a small fish in a big pond, it was a pond I knew and was familiar with. Anytime you jump from your pond, there’s a risk that you could end up flopping on land, running out of oxygen. But the alternative is to spend the rest of your life stuck in the wrong pond, where you can’t have the kind of impact you want.

Fortunately, you don’t have to make a giant jump all at once. You can start with small jumps. Big Ass Fans was actually a stopover jump for me on my way to a different pond: Truman’s, a non-toxic cleaning products company I founded with my business partner, Alex. 

If I’d tried to leap directly from GE to Truman’s, the risk would have been too high. But by using Big Ass Fans like a stepping-stone, I’ve made my way to the right pond for me.

If you’re not having the kind of impact you want at work, the problem may be your pond, not you. So take a hard look around you. Are you where you’re supposed to be? If not, it’s time to make a leap.

For more advice on doing impactful work, you can find The Elephant’s Dilemma on Amazon.