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Why Ideas Matter More Than Execution
- exolymph 10y agoSpoiler alert: they don't. Wrote a slightly longer rebuttal on Medium: https://medium.com/@sonyaellenmann/cmon-this-is-oversimplifying-197cf9ea3e60#.985lmv1h1 https://medium.com/@sonyaellenmann/cmon-this-is-oversimplify...
- alive2007 10y agoIn a philosophical sense, it is not helpful to perceive the difference between "ideas" and "execution" as a binary reduction on two sets. Instead, I view it as the idea-execution gradient. The theoretical limit on an idea-first mindset is 'literally only your idea matters. It doesn't matter how you execute it.' The theoretical limit on an execution-first mindset is 'literally only your execution matters. It doesn't matter what the idea is'. We can represent your stance on this gradient with a rational number coefficient, M. What you believe Matters. If you have a low M, you are idea-first. If you have a high M, you are execution-first. Let's assume the existence of a hypothetically Platonic M. By definition, founders of the most successful startups have a Platonic M. My point was, I believed the Platonic M is currently far lower than what the Valley rhetoric advocates for.