I have heard it said that ideas are cheap. Ideas are nothing. The execution of an idea is all important and without execution there is nothing. No matter how good an idea may be, if it is not executed well, we have only junk.
I agree with this entirely. Far too often people come up with an idea, and get excited about it and think that the idea is the important thing. The thought (even though it may not be a conscious thought) is that a great idea will make up the slack for poor execution. Wise practitioners recognize that the poor execution of a great idea will fail.
You can easily see this failed process when a designer (or creator or developer) brings you a product (whether a design mockup or an application prototype) and they have to explain their original idea to you. If the thing itself does not adequately present the original idea, then the execution is lacking and you have only junk.
So, let me state again. I agree completely with these thoughts. The problem of creators putting too little effort in execution because of the supposed greatness of an idea is common and far reaching and can be found anywhere no matter how big an organization or how famous a person may be.
I decided to name my company “an idea”, however, because of one simple fact—a truly great product starts with a great idea and is built with great execution, but an idea is what starts it all. It is an idea that inspires us to execute well. It is an idea and the greatness of that idea that gives hope of building a great thing.
So when I founded my company almost four years ago, I decided to pay homage to the simple concept of an idea. It is the starting point of everything great that mankind has been able to produce, and is what started me down the path of becoming my own boss and building my product. It is always thrilling to see where an idea can take you.
Note I just recently re-used this post as the initial post on my company’s blog.