4 ms·

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, h

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
  - danieltillett 11y ago
    Yes I think if I have anything of value to contribute to this topic it is not my criteria of what is a good idea or not, but the idea of having some sort of objective list of your own. I would encourage everyone to put together their own list as just the process of doing this is highly valuable. In doing so you start to question your own assumptions and work out what is important to you.
marcosdumay 11y ago
> execution is weighted higher than idea What does "weight" means in a multiplicative combination? (3a) b = a * (3b) = 3 a * b
- dkersten 11y ago
  I simply meant that "one point of idea quality" != one point of execution quality, but since its all made up abstract stuff anyway, I suppose all I meant is that a "good idea" has a different value than "good execution" (some people say more, some people say less).
  - marcosdumay 11y ago
    I got that, I was nitpicking about the formula, but not too much. I still have a point to make (and did communicate it badly). What I don't get is any relation between "point of idea quality" and "point of execution quality" that could survive a second of thought. This is too much like mixing different unities, that are ok to multiply but not to compare at face value. I don't see how "execution is worth more than idea", or the other way around, or anything in between could ever make sense.
    - dkersten 11y ago
      You're probably right. I haven't really thought about it that much, I'm just trying to articulate how I understand what I've heard. I personally think that perhaps good ideas without execution have little value, but execution without good ideas probably has equally little value. I say this because I've experienced cases where I had an idea that I thought was good, but did nothing about, only to (later) find somebody else who did the exact idea I had in exactly the way I would have. Clearly the idea had value for that person, but not for me - but the only difference is execution.

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
- danieltillett 11y ago
  Yes I think if I have anything of value to contribute to this topic it is not my criteria of what is a good idea or not, but the idea of having some sort of objective list of your own. I would encourage everyone to put together their own list as just the process of doing this is highly valuable. In doing so you start to question your own assumptions and work out what is important to you.

marcosdumay 11y ago

> execution is weighted higher than idea What does "weight" means in a multiplicative combination? (3a) b = a * (3b) = 3 a * b

dkersten 11y ago
I simply meant that "one point of idea quality" != one point of execution quality, but since its all made up abstract stuff anyway, I suppose all I meant is that a "good idea" has a different value than "good execution" (some people say more, some people say less).
- marcosdumay 11y ago
  I got that, I was nitpicking about the formula, but not too much. I still have a point to make (and did communicate it badly). What I don't get is any relation between "point of idea quality" and "point of execution quality" that could survive a second of thought. This is too much like mixing different unities, that are ok to multiply but not to compare at face value. I don't see how "execution is worth more than idea", or the other way around, or anything in between could ever make sense.
  - dkersten 11y ago
    You're probably right. I haven't really thought about it that much, I'm just trying to articulate how I understand what I've heard. I personally think that perhaps good ideas without execution have little value, but execution without good ideas probably has equally little value. I say this because I've experienced cases where I had an idea that I thought was good, but did nothing about, only to (later) find somebody else who did the exact idea I had in exactly the way I would have. Clearly the idea had value for that person, but not for me - but the only difference is execution.