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A lot of fantastically great ideas seemed like terrible ideas until they were executed. That is why a lot of people say that ideas are cheap, execution is what

A lot of fantastically great ideas seemed like terrible ideas until they were executed. That is why a lot of people say that ideas are cheap, execution is what has value.

danieltillett 11y ago
This is true, the key is seeming like a terrible idea, not actually being a terrible idea. A good idea does not have to appear to be good after 15 seconds, in fact, it is probably a warning sign if everyone thinks your idea is good straight away as then it is likely that someone else has had it and is working on it, or there is some fundamental flaw that you have missed. Execution most defiantly is critical, but the quality of the idea make execution much easier. The purpose of my post was not to downplay the importance of execution, but to touch on the value of truly good ideas and more importantly how you might find them and recognise them.
- mattlutze 11y ago
  Except that one of the hallmarks of a really good or great idea is that almost anyone you tell it to says "oh, of course, it's so simple." But you need a big enough sample size to know it's not friendship-bias from your trusted confidants and some crazy guy with money one of your college buddies knows. Leading us back to execution...
  - danieltillett 11y ago
    I do address this in my post. One of the hallmarks of a good idea is one that is simple to explain, but hard to think of for the first time. These idea have the advantage of removing competition, but lowering the barrier to acceptance. They are of course rare.
    - mattlutze 11y ago
      I was responding particularly to: > it is probably a warning sign if everyone thinks your idea is good straight away as then it is likely that someone else has had it and is working on it, or there is some fundamental flaw that you have missed. I can't get to the original at the moment so my comment is specific to this comment thread's context. I'll just leave my favorite economics joke: Two economists were walking down the sidewalk discussing their recent research when one looks down and sees a $20 bill. "Look, a $20!" says one, slowing to bend down and retrieve it. "Impossible," replied the second, stopping the first mid-bend, "if there was a $20 bill on the ground, someone would have already found it and picked it up."
      - danieltillett 11y ago
        It is just a warning sign that you should be careful - I have picked up many a $20 bill off the street by being aware - both literately and metaphorically. On this topic I found a wallet once with over $1000 in cash in it which I gave back to the owner. He could not believe that I would do such a thing, but the personal value it gave me doing this was worth much more than any monetary value I could have got from spending the money. Maybe I am an idiot :)
- dkersten 11y ago
  Sure, I agree with you. I think PG said that how good the idea is, is a value multiplier. I think the problem is when people believe that ideas, on their own, have inherent value. But (100 idea) * (0 execution) is still = 0 The reverse is also true, however: (0 idea) * (100 execution) is also 0 I think maybe what I believe (and many people believe) is that execution is weighted higher than idea, but that doesn't mean that idea has no value at all - just not so much that it is usually more important to execute well than worry about the perfect idea. Also, most people have many ideas, so if one fails or turns out to be bad, its not such a big deal and can be fixed. Finally, we have the "ideas people" who bring little to the table but the idea. I would argue that these ideas have close to no value unless the person can augment it with something else of value too.
  - danieltillett 11y ago
    Yes the quality of an idea is a multiplier - I like to the think of execution as the multiplier of the idea given good ideas are rarer than good execution, but this is just personal preference. Good ideas do have intrinsic value, because if you tell me a truly good idea I will steal it from you. If you have any idea that ticks 10 or more points from my list please send me an email telling me all about it :)
    - dkersten 11y ago
      Hmm. Maybe. (re: execution being the multiplier) I'm not completely convinced either way, I guess. if you tell me a truly good idea I will steal it from you I think perhaps most people don't have a list, like you do (even unofficially in their heads). Most people are too busy with their own ideas to bother with others, even if they really are great. I suppose if you have a criteria for measuring the quality of the idea, as you do, then you can make objective decisions about an idea based on its actual merits (as defined by your criteria) rather than gut feeling or wanting to work on your own stuff. I suppose what I'm saying is that most ideas are cheap because most people don't have a good way of objectively measuring their value beyond executing and seeing how it goes. Note though that I've usually heard it as "ideas are cheap", not "ideas have no value" -- despite what I might have said in my previous comments :D
- shubhamjain 11y ago
  > A good idea does not have to appear to be good after 15 seconds, in fact, it is probably a warning sign if everyone thinks your idea is good straight away as then it is likely that someone else has had it and is working on it, or there is some fundamental flaw that you have missed. Have you ever been in a class where you feel lucky when someone asked a question which you felt too embarrassed to ask? There is a class of products, which would feel immediately useful but no one feels like building them. For eg, Errorception[1] was probably the first Javascript error tracking product made. I could guess people before this tested manually on all browsers or had a custom front-end tracking solution. As a product, it felt immediately useful, one more headache resolved but it took till 2011 for the product to get made although the problem was always there. Of course, products like these won't make billion dollar companies but definitely be useful to large number of people. [1]: https://errorception.com https://errorception.com
eitally 11y ago
And honestly, a lot of ideas were terrible until they were executed. It was only through the process of exploration & execution that a practical use or market emerged & evolved from the original spark.
- danieltillett 11y ago
  This is not such a great approach to take if you have limited resources. Sure you might get lucky and find a great idea (ala AirBnB) even though your first idea is not great, but it is not the optimal way to proceed. I would much rather start with a good idea that I try to make better, than a terrible idea I have to figure out how to pivot into a good idea.
jamesrcole 11y ago
I think there is a massive difference between your own judgement of an idea and others' judgement of it. The latter has to go through difficulties in expressing the idea and the justification of it, and in the understanding, by a different person, of those details. I think the "ideas are cheap" / "good ideas seemed terrible" thing is mostly from the perspective of other people. If that's true then individuals shouldn't take it too seriously when it comes to their own ideas.

A lot of fantastically great ideas seemed like terrible ideas until they were executed. That is why a lot of people say that ideas are cheap, execution is what has value.

danieltillett 11y ago

This is true, the key is seeming like a terrible idea, not actually being a terrible idea. A good idea does not have to appear to be good after 15 seconds, in fact, it is probably a warning sign if everyone thinks your idea is good straight away as then it is likely that someone else has had it and is working on it, or there is some fundamental flaw that you have missed. Execution most defiantly is critical, but the quality of the idea make execution much easier. The purpose of my post was not to downplay the importance of execution, but to touch on the value of truly good ideas and more importantly how you might find them and recognise them.

mattlutze 11y ago
Except that one of the hallmarks of a really good or great idea is that almost anyone you tell it to says "oh, of course, it's so simple." But you need a big enough sample size to know it's not friendship-bias from your trusted confidants and some crazy guy with money one of your college buddies knows. Leading us back to execution...
- danieltillett 11y ago
  I do address this in my post. One of the hallmarks of a good idea is one that is simple to explain, but hard to think of for the first time. These idea have the advantage of removing competition, but lowering the barrier to acceptance. They are of course rare.
  - mattlutze 11y ago
    I was responding particularly to: > it is probably a warning sign if everyone thinks your idea is good straight away as then it is likely that someone else has had it and is working on it, or there is some fundamental flaw that you have missed. I can't get to the original at the moment so my comment is specific to this comment thread's context. I'll just leave my favorite economics joke: Two economists were walking down the sidewalk discussing their recent research when one looks down and sees a $20 bill. "Look, a $20!" says one, slowing to bend down and retrieve it. "Impossible," replied the second, stopping the first mid-bend, "if there was a $20 bill on the ground, someone would have already found it and picked it up."
    - danieltillett 11y ago
      It is just a warning sign that you should be careful - I have picked up many a $20 bill off the street by being aware - both literately and metaphorically. On this topic I found a wallet once with over $1000 in cash in it which I gave back to the owner. He could not believe that I would do such a thing, but the personal value it gave me doing this was worth much more than any monetary value I could have got from spending the money. Maybe I am an idiot :)
dkersten 11y ago
Sure, I agree with you. I think PG said that how good the idea is, is a value multiplier. I think the problem is when people believe that ideas, on their own, have inherent value. But (100 idea) * (0 execution) is still = 0 The reverse is also true, however: (0 idea) * (100 execution) is also 0 I think maybe what I believe (and many people believe) is that execution is weighted higher than idea, but that doesn't mean that idea has no value at all - just not so much that it is usually more important to execute well than worry about the perfect idea. Also, most people have many ideas, so if one fails or turns out to be bad, its not such a big deal and can be fixed. Finally, we have the "ideas people" who bring little to the table but the idea. I would argue that these ideas have close to no value unless the person can augment it with something else of value too.
- danieltillett 11y ago
  Yes the quality of an idea is a multiplier - I like to the think of execution as the multiplier of the idea given good ideas are rarer than good execution, but this is just personal preference. Good ideas do have intrinsic value, because if you tell me a truly good idea I will steal it from you. If you have any idea that ticks 10 or more points from my list please send me an email telling me all about it :)
  - dkersten 11y ago
    Hmm. Maybe. (re: execution being the multiplier) I'm not completely convinced either way, I guess. if you tell me a truly good idea I will steal it from you I think perhaps most people don't have a list, like you do (even unofficially in their heads). Most people are too busy with their own ideas to bother with others, even if they really are great. I suppose if you have a criteria for measuring the quality of the idea, as you do, then you can make objective decisions about an idea based on its actual merits (as defined by your criteria) rather than gut feeling or wanting to work on your own stuff. I suppose what I'm saying is that most ideas are cheap because most people don't have a good way of objectively measuring their value beyond executing and seeing how it goes. Note though that I've usually heard it as "ideas are cheap", not "ideas have no value" -- despite what I might have said in my previous comments :D
shubhamjain 11y ago
> A good idea does not have to appear to be good after 15 seconds, in fact, it is probably a warning sign if everyone thinks your idea is good straight away as then it is likely that someone else has had it and is working on it, or there is some fundamental flaw that you have missed. Have you ever been in a class where you feel lucky when someone asked a question which you felt too embarrassed to ask? There is a class of products, which would feel immediately useful but no one feels like building them. For eg, Errorception[1] was probably the first Javascript error tracking product made. I could guess people before this tested manually on all browsers or had a custom front-end tracking solution. As a product, it felt immediately useful, one more headache resolved but it took till 2011 for the product to get made although the problem was always there. Of course, products like these won't make billion dollar companies but definitely be useful to large number of people. [1]: https://errorception.com https://errorception.com

eitally 11y ago

And honestly, a lot of ideas were terrible until they were executed. It was only through the process of exploration & execution that a practical use or market emerged & evolved from the original spark.

danieltillett 11y ago
This is not such a great approach to take if you have limited resources. Sure you might get lucky and find a great idea (ala AirBnB) even though your first idea is not great, but it is not the optimal way to proceed. I would much rather start with a good idea that I try to make better, than a terrible idea I have to figure out how to pivot into a good idea.

jamesrcole 11y ago

I think there is a massive difference between your own judgement of an idea and others' judgement of it. The latter has to go through difficulties in expressing the idea and the justification of it, and in the understanding, by a different person, of those details. I think the "ideas are cheap" / "good ideas seemed terrible" thing is mostly from the perspective of other people. If that's true then individuals shouldn't take it too seriously when it comes to their own ideas.