BIO: Dan McClure is an innovation choreographer. That’s someone whose job is to run into burning buildings, looking for opportunities to reinvent how the world works.

STORY: Dan took up a senior management job because his friends and family insisted he should have a ‘real’ job. However, Dan hated the job and was terrible at it.

LEARNING: Understand who you are and what you’re about. Be committed to following your passion and talents. Otherwise, you’ll be dragged into things that make you miserable.

 

“Have the courage to say; I’m not good at that, and therefore, I’m not going to build my life around it. Instead, I’m going to embrace these other things that I am good at.”Dan McClure

 

Guest profile

Dan McClure is an innovation choreographer. That’s someone whose job is to run into burning buildings, looking for opportunities to reinvent the way the world works. He’s a thought leader in the emerging practice of ecosystem innovation and the co-author of the Fast Company Press book “Do Bigger Things – A Practical Guide to Powerful Innovation in a Changing World.” Across his 40-year career, he’s worked with firms facing the threat of obsolescence, helped business pioneers thrive in fast-changing markets, and supported activists tackling tough challenges like climate change. He’s a passionate optimist who’s excited about the future.

Worst investment ever

When Dan was in college, he was looking for something to do. He was thinking of the Peace Corps. Dan applied and was three weeks away from traveling. While doing the medical exam, the doctor told him he had an umbilical hernia, and they didn’t let any hernias into the Peace Corps. And with that, Dan was out of the Peace Corps.

Dan found a job at a local utility company as an engineer. It was a good job, but he wasn’t very good at it. Dan was chugging along. Then he realized if he wrote a computer program, it could do his job, and Dan wouldn’t have to do everything he was doing. So Dan started writing the computer program. Then, the federal government deregulated the entire energy industry and threw everything into turmoil. Luckily, Dan had a computer program that could save the day. He got an innovation team and started fixing and changing things.

Everybody around Dan kept telling him to get a real job. His innovation stuff wasn’t so cool back then. After about six or seven years, things began to calm down. There was a senior manager position in the newly created marketing department in Dan’s company. He decided to take the job. Finally, he had a real job and could settle down. With that job, Dan could move up in the company and be an executive-level person. This was a great opportunity, but Dan hated the job. And even worse than that, he was terrible at it. Dan had invested his future in this success that he had earned, and it was what everybody else said he should want and do, but it was a catastrophe.

Lessons learned

• Understand who you are and what you’re about.
• Be committed to following your passion and talents. Otherwise, you’ll be dragged into things that make you miserable.

Andrew’s takeaways

• Find your place in the world.

Actionable advice

Invest time and effort in figuring out what you really are and are not.

Dan’s recommendations

Dan recommends reading Do Bigger Things. It’s fun to read and has a lot of stories that illustrate complex concepts.

No.1 goal for the next 12 months

Dan’s number one goal for the next 12 months is to create a tribe of choreographers.

Parting words

 

“Go do bigger things, muck around in the world, and change stuff. It’s a lot of fun.”Dan McClure

 

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