[ccc3]

This post is just plain wrong. Obviously it's tempting to get caught up in ideas and ignore execution, but saying ideas are flat-out worthless is simply being ignorant of history. A few examples:

- Creating an assembly line to mass produce cars in the early 1900s was a good idea. It clearly wouldn't have gone anywhere without execution, but if Henry Ford had instead decided to execute flawlessly on a hand-painted rock business the results would have been far different.

- Starting a software-only company in the late 70s was a good idea. I'm sure most people here know Microsoft's story well enough to understand the importance of execution in this case, but they never would have achieved the same level of success if they weren't executing on a big idea ("a computer on every desk and in every home").

- I think you could argue that the company that makes Snuggies has executed their idea as well as possible. But because of the nature of their idea they will never be anything more than a flash-in-the-pan business. There's nothing wrong with that type of business, but the potential is much smaller.

Yes, your idea matters. It determines what market you'll be addressing and ultimately sets the upper limit for your success. The real problem is that people get caught up in ideas because they're more fun than executing. Realistically the time spent on the idea should probably be a fraction of a percent of the time spent on execution. Pick an idea that you think you can execute on and that has large enough potential, then focus 100% on execution.

[jamesseda]

He isn't saying ALL ideas have equal potential for success. He is saying the value of most ideas is $0.00. To use your example, part of Henry Ford's success was the $5 work day. He was not the first person to think that increased pay would decrease turnover. He also did not invent the assembly line. The intrinsic value those ideas is nothing, but using the ideas he created value.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assembly_line#History

[jasonlotito]

None of your examples detracts from what he is saying. Your suggestion comes down to level of success. Your examples only work if Henry Ford would be considered a failure if painted rocks didn't lead to as much success as cars did, despite the evidence that rocks, painted and unpainted, are still a market.

[ccc3]

He concludes his post by saying:

Ideas are worthless. Execution is everything.

The only way that's true is if you consider success to be binary. Either you succeed or you fail. But level of success is important in terms of economic value and it is demonstrable that the idea is a factor in level of success.

[pwhelan]

Hyperbole is a literary tool to emphasize a point and should be put in context knowing this.

[zeynel1]

And also to execute you need to have an idea. Idea and execution are not independent. Idea has value by definition because it is the starting point.

[micaelwidell]

Funny you should mention hand-painted rock business as a counter-example. I presume you haven't heard of the massive success of Pet Rocks? Basically the story I was told was that Gary Dahl had a bet with a few friends that he could sell any product, no matter how stupid or useless, with the right packaging and marketing. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pet_Rock

[xiaoma]

It's still a much more limited business than the one Ford did create. Fifty years from now, the pet rock will be forgotten but Ford's assembly line will still be well known.

[kenjackson]

But in one thousand years from now, when we're all teleporting, no one will have cars anymore, but I'll bet you will be able to find painted rocks. :-)