Ideas are just a multiplier of execution

I've only ever had to sign NDA's for dreadful ideas..!

Over-Preparation + toil = opportunity

best

Phil

shut up and just do it, right?

Don't want to make a brilliant execution on an awful idea!

-$10,000,000!!!

Sometimes executing an idea might be a money disaster, but you continue.

Brilliant.

... and you can't divorce your intentions from the business model. People will measure idea according to what they THINK your intentions are or should be. Usually, measured in terms of money.

I learned with CIYH that there are much bigger returns than money, that my idea was validated long before the income starting tracking.

((((((LOVE IT!!!!!))))))

"The person who says it cannot be done, should not interrupt the person doing it!" -

Chinese Proverb

ps. bookmarked this page to get the message across to dreamers who have challenges with full execution.

For all, it's a simple matter of focus.

Everything boils down to focus.

“One day Alice came to a fork in the road and saw a Cheshire cat in a tree. Which road do I take? she asked. Where do you want to go? was his response. I don't know, Alice answered. Then, said the cat, it doesn't matter.”

I'm with Fran, but for fear (or lack of) seeming thick, what the hell is an NDA, I'm based in that part of the world outside America.

I'm never really sure why people are so obsessed by ideas? I guess it is the most glamorous and seemingly creative part.

I am not a great ideas person at all! But I sure can take an idea and run with it, work at it, face the challenges, learn from them and tweak the idea as it suits the situation and keep evolving.

1% inspiration 99% perspiration.

Great Great Great

Yes. I understand. But, just what is an NDA?

Robert, that's two of us asking the same thing... glad I'm not alone here.

Hey D, I just told all my Facebook friends to subscribe to you! Not just because you know so much about music. Mostly because you have so much to offer as a great thinker and philospopher. And here's out take on what to do with the ideas we all have floating around. The idea aren't really worth that much until there's a lot of action to go with them.

http://sueandsteveshow.com/improve-your-life/ideas-are-like-a-light-bulb-in-a-microwave/

It's a useful point, but I do think it's worth noting that there are plenty of great ideas out there that are worth executing, but the "idea guy" lacks the connections or wherewithal to get that idea executed. For some, the notion of "raising money" is no different than "building a rocket ship and traveling to Mars."

And similarly, because there are plenty of "executors" ready and waiting to steal those ideas, the "idea guys" feel it necessary to procure NDAs in the hopes that it'll prevent their ideas from getting stolen. Rarely works even when done properly, which is probably at least partly your point.

All this said, I'm now curious... might Muckwork in a position to help "execute" good, great, and brilliant ideas and turn into very valuable businesses? That would be pretty darn neat...

You're not thick, Cath, most people never come across them. An NDA is a Non-Disclosure Agreement. More here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-disclosure_agreement

Excuse the typos. Wish the "leave a reply" box were the same size but used a smaller font, so I could more easily edit my note.

Completely agreed - well put.

NDA must mean No Dummies Allowed?

I was approached to produce someone's project, but had to wait several months until they felt they could disclose the marketing plan to me. WTF?! You can't MARKET something we haven't PRODUCED yet...

an NDA is a non-disclosure agreement.

Kevin, I think Derek will agree - the "idea guy" lacking connections can still execute by understanding that weakness and finding people/companies that have access. Part of executing is finding the appropriate teammates.

I am full of ideas so I should be rich right? My biggest challenge has been the follow through (execution) so this post really hits home. Thanks for the that!

NDA = non-disclosure agreement http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-disclosure_agreement

A non-disclosure agreement (NDA), also known as a confidentiality agreement, confidential disclosure agreement (CDA), proprietary information agreement (PIA), or secrecy agreement, is a legal contract between at least two parties that outlines confidential materials or knowledge the parties wish to share with one another for certain purposes, but wish to restrict access to. It is a contract through which the parties agree not to disclose information covered by the agreement. An NDA creates a confidential relationship between the parties to protect any type of confidential and proprietary information or a trade secret. As such, an NDA protects non-public business information.

Yeah, I always get a kick out of the people who tell me they have stacks and stacks of notes with the most amazing ideas... that they're doing nothing with.

I think people often don't execute a plan, because they're not the right person for the plan. If someone wants something, but they don't have the motivation, then they might need to spend some time finding themselves; they can become the right person for the plan. Of course, they can also just find a different plan. Either way, find the motivation and the rest just happens.

Brian Dorn

http://dorncreations.com

Unfortunately those of us who are idea people often have ideas coming and going so rapidly that it is rare that we ever have an opportunity to even act on one of them.

I cannot count the number of ideas that I had and let go only to find that someone else had the same idea and ran with it making lots of money.

Likewise I have freely given away great ideas that people have turned into minor money makers. Ironically these ideas often head in other directions from where I originally planned they should go. Probably because I only gave the people the initial idea but not the whole idea.

My big problem is staying focused.(as you can probably tell). I start out with a small idea then I usually see it going in many directions and see how huge it can become. Then instead of doing anything with it I move on to something else.

Also, many of my ideas require an investment by others or a sales force capable of showing people how my ideas can benefit them. Being a one man operation who has to be tied to a 50 hour per week day job and still have time for a family, there is no time to go around marketing my ideas. So I tend to keep them to myself.

I am an engineer. I write and perform music. I do artwork. I write stories and books. I develop spreadsheet applications. I develop training documentation and teach classes. I generally have five different things going on at once. I fact I shouldn't be taking the time to write this but I can't help myself. Ahhhhh!

Gotta go. I have three other projects going on right now.

Thanks Julian, much appreciated. "Like Roddy Doyle in an extremely good mood" I must dig deeper..

I'm out of the US too, but I'm guessing it's a Non-Disclosure Agreement: ie. I'll tell you my idea so long as you don't tell anyone else.

LMAO at Alex Shalman's comment. Derek thanks a ton for spelling this out so plainly. I now have a very short answer for anyone else who attempts to drive me crazy about this (and many have): sive.rs/multiply. Question: Were the numbers you used just a means of making your point or are they based on some research you've read?

Alex:

"Kevin, I think Derek will agree – the “idea guy” lacking connections can still execute by understanding that weakness and finding people/companies that have access. Part of executing is finding the appropriate teammates."

Alex is that not a bit of a contridiction?

It makes me think of a (paraphrased) quote: Pay attention to the tongues in their shoes, not the tongues in their mouths.

Action speaks louder than words!

"You have to have money in order to make money" is the old saying. You can have the most brilliant idea or product ever invented but if you don't have any money to invest in it, nobody will ever know about it.

Ideas are the fruit of inspiration. Thanks again for the inspiration DS.

Keith: you say it loudest by DOING! "Show me. Don't tell me."

From the start, dare to make mistakes and you will learn. Learning leads to a means or way of going about something, which leads to structure and measurable achievement.

If you're gonna shoot...shoot! Don't talk!

You are right on Derek, as usual! This blog is an example of an awesome idea, that you have put into execution mode. Hope it pays off for you, at least as much as it does for us...

One of the intriguing things about NDAs is that they are only really of use to big companies who want to approach smaller ones, or individuals for help.

The bottom line is you need deep pockets to defend an NDA, and they are rarely worth the paper they are written on, unless you have the lawyers to back them up, and the prospect of winning considerable damages.

Probably more important to find good people to work with, who share your vision and ambition. Most investors invest as much in the person as the idea.

Brigs :)

well said! People put way to much emphasis on ideas..I can rattle off a thousand "great ideas" but so what... granted they are important, but only half the equation, I sort of look at it like yin/yang: ideas and execution, like everything in nature theres a balance...brillant ideas + brilliant execution = Success..I like how you've assigned a value to the brillant idea with no excecution worth 20 bucks, that is so true..

Nicely put, and a great kick in the ass for a procrastinator like myself. Keep up the good work!

there seems to be no shortage of idea guys waiting for somebody to recognize their genius and execute FOR them.

that's where i come in.

for a price...

The exception to the rule: A lot of what comes out of Hollywood?

that's true for songs too...

you can write all you want, but gotta get them out somehow...

Derek

i love how your brain works.

Thanks.

So true. Coming from the advertising world, I saw countless great ideas executed poorly, and brilliant executions of horrible ideas. But I would add one caveat: somehow, some way you have to know that an idea is great, irrespective of its execution -- and that's pretty darn hard to do.

Jeff

I agree, NDA forms is only worthwhile if the person already executed the idea, meaning the have the source code for the program or the first pro-type built.

In terms of the universe, niether thought nor execution have much value. How many people have lived in the last 100 years, and how many do we know? Maybe all human life is vanity. When I, ego , me takes action, its always laughable.

When you're right, you're right.

Like most brilliant thoughts this is so simple why didn't we think about it this way before? Or did we? Execution is the tricky part and that's why everyone is so opinionated about music right now...great ideas are shot down before there are attempts at execution.

Just as a side note to Derek: Many of us out here believed for a long time that you WERE interested in hearing ideas. That is probably why so many people approach you. Honestly, for a couple of years every email you sent out people would say, "if you've got an idea, you should run it by Derek Sivers."

So now we're clear on your intent ...onward idea people. Executioners sharpen your pencils.

Janet Hansen

Scout66.com

A few times now over the last decade.

I've lost great ideas...because they were good enough to get on the pitch list...but you can't copyright an idea or a title.

I guess my executions weren't good enough. Or...as I've heard tell...if the idea is good enough, they'll just write their own...it's all about the money.

I was warned that could happen...a "thank you" would have been nice.

well, i had a great comment that kind of shows things without telling them but i can't tell you, unless you go to http://www.teamilluminati.com/nondisclosure and sign my NDA.

Whew...Look at all those cards falling over each other. No facts as to "idea's" net worth. No facts at all except Derek sounds a bit miffed.

For Me this seems to take a lot of Faith and stamina to impliment Because it's a journey and Learning happens along the way ... Just when you think you got Something then comes along more Ideas ... yikes...and I never know If I'll get to where I want to Get ... but I got to keep on Going ... RISK !!! you get burned Alont the way ... but there seems To be breaks as well ... little Ones... this is a good outfit...it Helps Me to keep on going .. step By step ...

Thank You

ROCK ON Derek! I believe when we 'spill out' our ideas too soon (ego blah blah blah), it dissapates into space possibly losing it's integrity. When I stay focussed on an idea and build step by step by executing with a deep passionate, motivated, inspired energy, staying focussed on the vision of how it serves me, and thus others, it builds with pure intention. Yes, blabbing about the idea to every one else is time wasted away from executing the idea and making it happen! I trust and feel my vision from a deep place within and I smile everyday and when walls come up, shift with flexibility, but stay in the executable desire to continue. Blah Blah Blah! wooo hoooooooo!

Carey Grant that it takes faith and massive emotional and physical stamina to execute ideas. Well at least faith and a ton of money to hire people to make things happen. (smile)

derek,

how about MY so-so idea and YOUR so-so execution..? We split 50 grand and make me and a lot of my friends and family SO-SO STOKED!!!

to Calvin:

Mozart has come up with many a brilliant melody, but Twinkle Twinkle was a French traditional, 'ah, vous je dirai, maman', on which tune he just wrote variations.

Thomas Edison's marketing philosophy says to simply "fill the unmet need."

When the unmet need is finally filled and one has tangible proof that it works, then tell the key people to bring it to the next level.

Most people don't want to hear about the thousands of failures that Edison's light bulb had over a 75 year period. It just makes the whole project less believable.

In reality, he learned from every mistake and although he took many breaks in the project, he kept going back to it and ultimately came up with the commercial product that is operating five feet from my computer right now.

So true. This reminds of the people who set up companies with a logo, trademark, staff, and everything else EXCEPT actually finding out if they've got a product/service that will sell.

Good post, Derek... Thanks Cath... Also, in reply to Cath and Schmange and others... yes you do need money and contacts to succeed. But that is why God invented venture capital.

Go back thirty odd years, and the seed-money/angel investors/venture capital to execute a new idea were very hard to find. Now, it's a mature, sophisticated industry. If you don't want to fund your idea with the money from your paper-round, there's a lot of guys will give you cash, connections and backup in return for a slice. Some are nasty, some are nice, just like in every area of life.

Derek, not sure if you've posted on the specifics of start-ups and their many funding options, but it might be an interesting post for some of your readers. A lot of great people with great ideas have no idea how much help is available. At, of course, a price! I know it's not your chosen route, but it would suit some of the ideas out there. Might would help them survive if you drew a quick map of the start-up ecosystem.

Love it! Super simple. I'm going to hang on to this one for reference and inspiration.

I was once talking with a guy who claimed to have a brilliant idea which oh, he was so afraid to broadcast aloud for fear of "someone" (other than him, of course) being able to make huge profits off of it.

He finally convinced himself that I was not the person who could possibly rip him off and he told me the idea. It wasn't a bad idea or even stupid, just not something that this guy could ever possibly execute; it literally would have taken the dedicated resources of a major aircraft designing/building corporation.

I told him that the only way he could make money off the idea is if he used it in a science fiction story and then sold the story (for about $35) to a science fiction magazine, and that he should do so because it might substantially make air travel better.

He looked at me as if I were nuts. Yeah, nuts for even thinking he could possibly take that idea and write a story, let alone sell it to a magazine.

Poseur.

If you want to see a logical and brilliant idea beautifully--and competently!--executed,visit lopatinflutes.com. Not an idea the music world was holding its collective breath in anticipation of, but to them who know, square tones holes DO make a difference in the tonal qualities of a flute.

There are tons of ideas out there; couldn't agree more that the proof is in the pudding once they're in motion.

Loved it. The harder you work the luckier you get. The more you execute the luckier you get.

well said and I totally understand where you are as a musician friend of mine put it - what is the point of record a performance that is not authentic.

Your right on Derek.

Looking forward to see you launch your new project.

Great Idea!

lol I think your estimate of the value of a brilliant idea and no execution is highly inflated...lolol

=0 is more like it.

Amitié

Annemarie

Hi Derek,

I have a brilliant idea. It has been totally beyond execution by me to date, but a favourable reception to it by a very capable person in this particular field, has now encouraged me to take it as far as I can to achieve my desired result.

I just thought of an extreme exception

Stalin was brilliant at killing people - at excecuting the excecuting...

But it was a bad idea.

But he did alright financially...

perhaps not a model to follow tho... :-)

Also being a fiction writer, I have learned that most of your ideas someone else has already thought of.

I think I kind of agree but more from being poor and not being able to pay for their idea that they think is brilliant.

What happens to me is I'll be performing and they'll want to share some great idea that will cost me money but even if I play them a song they don't give me a tip so I think they just want you to hear their idea so they can hear themselves talk.

They don't realize I might have tried their idea and it didn't work and If I tell them that they start to say I'm negative.

I think I might just bring a box and if they have an idea just have them put in a box so I can not stop playing music.

When will I get to the box ?

Sometime when I want a good laugh.

Derrick,

For the first time, I disagree with you. Sometimes the greatest ideas come from those who can not afford that "Great Execution". And so, they approach potential investors with NDA's to protect their products while attempting to get someone else's financial backing who shares in their enthusiasm.

Sitting on a great idea and waiting for the money to come along is far worse. It leaves time for someone WITH the financial backing to make a move first.

I don't think that NDA's are the issue here. The issue is that great ideas are hard to come by, but everyone seems to think they have one ;)

OK, so you multiply the numbers, and that's what it costs you? ;-)

The credit goes to those in the arena. Pablo Picasso said, "I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it. Leave the comfort of the Anal-lytical Cave and share the idea to bring forth to the world your creation. Derek, you have stimulated the thinkers to be the doers. Kudos! Lenny P

for those who never found out, NDA = Non Disclosure Agreement.

great article, Derek.

Sometmes "exeuting" means "money". Sometimes a good idea, needs money to get executed. And, beaside that, not all criative people are good executors, and often good executors have not easily good ideas. So...why don't put this to parts together, even if they belong to different subjects? Nobody is better than nobody else: someone has easily ideas, someone else is better in executing: the best thing is to appreciate each other and work together. Ideas are as precius as the capacity of executing them. It is not just a metter of making money: many great "ideas makers" has become known only after their death, without making any money out of their ideas. But despite that, they still have contributed to the progress of art, litterature, science, etc...they probably wearn' t good executor, but neither who , just because of that, wouldn't had listened to their ideas.

That is so true, it really is. Make a plan and go for it. If you fail pick yourself up and dust yourself off and try again or try something else:)

If someone wants you to sign a form of any kind for any reason in regards to co-writing or song ideas, I recommend you just walk away and let them have the idea. Their "execution" of the idea won't likely be worth the paper it's printed on anyway, after which, when they are through making a jackass out of themselves, you can go ahead and write the idea in a different and better way that you probably would have been happy to share the credit with them for in the first place.

RELEASE WHATS BURNING FROM WITHIN.MAKE THE MOVE TO PUT IT INTO ACTION!!!!

IDEA: Capital Punishment

EXECUTION:Success!!

my ideas are spawned from my passion,

I execute it with my passion,

I have and believe I will always know I

invested correctly passion is win-win.

The fact is I have always gained.

I've enjoyed each post I've read on Derek's manner of getting people to think and to share.

I had a great idea years ago (back in the early 1980's.) I wrote a song titled: COULD YOU IMAGINE THAT? I spoke of people one day walking around with air tanks on their backs, carrying plastic bottles filled with clean drinking water you'd have to buy. I talked about implants to help cripples walk, I spoke of using computers to instantly communicate with everyday people around the world. I spoke of so many things that later on did in fact come to life. I only recorded that song on a cheap Panasonic mono cassette tape recorder with one mono mic while I played my guitar and sang.

I was so caught up in becoming a well known musician and songwriter and touring with well known musicians that I never professionally recorded that song plus many other songs that would have made me so much more money then me playing the rhythm guitar for well known musicians on stages.

I managed unknown musicians for free "mainly giving them advice and my idea's" which in turn made several of them very rich and famous.

What I'm getting at here is, that my mind is so filled with alternate personalities, that I cannot concentrate on myself enough to get my ideas listened to or be able to keep all rights to my idea's. I guess I've always enjoyed helping others out more then helping myself out.

I've always gotten a charge out of seeing what others could do with my idea's. While I was happy performing as a concert opener or a band member.

Pay attention to my lyric's in my songs posted on www.myspace.com/rhythmsreason and try not to concentrate on my inability to sing.

I have the idea's, I have the motivation, and I had the connections at one time, I just didn't focus on myself enough to really make my idea's happen for me. I let them happen for others instead without getting any monetary satisfaction, but I did get personal satisfaction which obviously made me happier as I am still a staving artist....lol

I guess I'm a loser "monetarily speaking" but the experiences over the past 30 odd years for me have been priceless.

~Mark~

To leave one's music unfinished, to burn a great book before anyone has ever read it, to electrocute an innocent man are all awful ideas.

Stop expecting free help and pay professionals to play the parts, promote with passion, put on electrifying performances.

Imagination is the beginning, taking action in the direction of the idea is the key to success

I second what Amir said about NDAs - but I think what Derek is possibly describing is that people approach him saying "What do you think of my idea?" and make him sign an NDA before telling him what the idea is.

Also, it doesn't really matter if you tell people that you have this great idea for an electric lightbulb unless you can actually make the thing work. Edison gets the credit because on that 100th time, the bulb didn't blow up.

Anyway, ideas + execution = business success. Emphasis on the execution. Great thought for the day. Thanks D!

Never do an NDA with an MBA, or your time will be MIA.

I like what Chris Huf wrote....the best!

This is one of the best posts I think you've made.

I actually had an idea a few months ago, which I wanted to tell you about, but instinct told me not to and just create something - execution as you say.

Looks like I made the right choice!

Respect.

Yea I agree if you can execute it all by yourself then you can make it happen however if you need others then ya have to tell the story - no execution $0

In order to get someone interested, you must first show that you do not need them.

General Patton said it best, " A good idea today, implemented with purpose, is better than a great idea tomorrow with no follow through " Paraphrased !

Ideas require WORK ! ! ! !

"The problem with hoarding ideas is you end up living off your reserves. Eventually you become stale.

If you give away everything you have, you are left with nothing.This forces you to look, to be aware, to replenish."

Paul Arden IT'S NOT HOW GOOD YOU ARE IT'S HOW GOOD YOU WANT TO BE (p. 30)

I recently found Griff Hamlin's '4 note blues'..... inspiring enough to prompt me to ....do it!

O.K. it'll take time BUT what struck me was Griff's simple statement along the lines of 'it's not rocket science - Apply yourself.'

Rather than procrastinate - which I'm excellent at - I'll now go play and practice 3 of the blues scales - which I'm not exellent at :) .... 'Apply yourself' ... wot a brilliant idea!

I am just shooting from the hip right now, but this is what I say. if you have a so so idea, but execute it brilliantly (especially in things like "pop" music) you can still make a whole lot of money. this has been going on for at least the last 60 years. on the other hand as someone observed, you could have the finest product, made from the finest ingredients, made with the finest skill and care, and with the finest noble intentions ever offered, but if you don't know how to market it and sell it and execute the distribution, advertising and sale of the product, then you will largely be ignored while your wonderful product rots in obscurity. very sad, but true.

Bill Thurman

derek, you are full of so many good inspration with faithful words. I've learned alot from your ideas, thanks for your hard work.

Well put! I to the folks who think the execution is about what its going to cost you I don't think thats it.

If you have ever heard Derek speak at a conference you might have heard a great story about how he send out his Cd for college radio play and instead of sending out a normal fresh (boring) press package with it he crumpled up the enveloped and the papers that had his printed info/bio inside and rolled them in the dirt. The outside said something along the lines of Do Not Open and inside was a great letter from the "sender" which was an Alien that lived behind the radio station and wanted to listen to this music.

I could be wrong about the details... But I think that is definitely great execution and for what it would normally cost he got a great response and lots of air play.

Heres his original blog about it. Enjoy!

sive.rs/captain-t

just do it..nike!

Just do it has been a slogan for Nike...and that's biblical too. The bible says faith without works is dead James 2v17. Whatever the idea, whatever we believe on, in, and upon, if not accompanied by deeds has no life in it. And if I do believe...just do it.

Thanks for sharing Derek

Hm ... Why are you so negative to ideas and not to execution?

You could also say: to me execution's only worth unless a good idea.

Ideas and their execution are like physics and chemistry ... Chemistry works only by following the rules of physics. But the latter didn't even know about chemistry when it fixed how this universe will grow.

It's absolutely true what you're saying. But I have seen too many good ideas being destroyed by bad execution. And at the end people simply say, the idea wasn't worth to be executed.

An NDA's not an idea/execution problem. But a very ill consequence of lost confidence between business partners.

People who have good ideas but miss the financial power for the execution are maybe also a little sick of seeing someone other making money with their creativity. They try to protect their interests with an NDA, instead of looking for the right partner.

A good execution's as hard to find as a good idea.

No hard feelings ... Just my point of view, based on my personal experience :-)

Great idea....twenty bucks

Great idea and great execution...twenty thousand bucks

Being able to sit back and say....pffff..I thought of that a LONG time ago....PRICELESS!

lmao

AND...whatever happened to...if it's THAT great of an idea someone else woulda already done it.

I have plenty of ideas, I just need to find someone who is an executionor(?). We'd make a perfect team. I could come-up with a new gas chamber or electric chair and my associate could "execute" my ideas. Ahhh...my wife "executes" most of my ideas already.

Like just the other day..we were at the beach and a topless blonde walked-by and winked at me. I suddenly had a GREAT idea that involved all 3 of us but the missus executed that one RIGHT AWAY and I didnt get a penny!

What people forget is that:

There is 6000 MILLION PEOPLE in this planet, all them with their own ideas, they can't see others ideas but they have it.

When you study History you discover a lot of people thinking they were the first to have an idea when Plato an Aristoteles were thinking that 2500 YEARS BEFORE.

Look, an economist that in 1946 was writing about economic fallacies you find today. I got to the same conclusion by myself before reading this. I recall reading Alex Carr book about stoping to smoke and say: "Hey, I thought about this too".

I'm making software: a voice recognition software, the idea is obvious: "make the machine to listen and talk" and a lot of people had it for sure, being capable to make the best voice recognition software is not that easy.

People want to be paid for doing nothing more than daydreaming. Ideas are a dime a dozen.

The economic link I refer is:

http://jim.com/econ/contents.html

Nicely put Derek!

I remember a songwriter refusing to play me his demo tape UNTIL my company had signed him to a contract. That way he figured his 'idea' was safe and only an advance would make him change his mind.

Good way to get a deal? I think not!

My mum died 5 months ago and my music has been out there for licensing since 2001 I received a roytalty statement the other day saying Dawn Warrior has been licensed to ovation tv war oratorio, it was a lovely surprise, but the greatest coincidence is that they licensed it on Feb 20th this year, which is the day my mum passed away.

Could call this a spiritual execution yes!

Twitter was such a simple idea! any web developer can create it in days...

* It was just thought of, before others did

&

*It was just brilliantly executed before others did

-so talk really IS cheap....hmmm...

Derek,

You should be proud of all the thought you've inspired by this one simple blog!

I agree, ideas are the easy part.

Execution is something else.

TALK is CHEAP

IDEAS are even CHEAPER

ACTION is GOLD

flat out brilliant and eye opening!

Mykel

Jump in head first, no regrets, no reservations. I dig it!

I always want to comment on your great observations, Derek. But by the time I get to the bottom of the comments it's all been said!!

It never ceases to amaze me the amount of comments you generate on your page. (gets us all thinking!)

I don't think of the creative process as 2 distinct parts, idea and execution.

There is a spark that comes from ____, or maybe a better analogy is a seed that suddenly starts to grow. You give it attention and time until it grows into its full potential. Songwriting, and making visual art, are great teachers of this process that happens in many layers of life.

Writing a song is equivalent to developing an idea. The idea for a song is a vague and incomplete thing, perhaps full of promise, and it grows and modifies as the song is written. Traditionally songs continue to grow and modify long after the writer leaves this world. My point is you have to do something, to be active and involved, in order for the idea to develop into a song. And even when it feels "finished," there still remains further development, how it will sound and evolve via performances, with differing instrumentation, and/or during the recording process. Maybe 10 years later you'll want to improve some of the words, or a bit of the melody. Art, like life, is process.

Marketing - if that's what Derek mostly means by execution - is also that, a process that starts with an idea and develops and changes by the time and attention put into it. Some of us find that part fascinating and challenging, as it also provides feedback, give and take, mystery, and surprises. But some of us (me included) would rather be at the piano nurturing the song we woke up with that morning!

A successful photographer here in Oregon said he spends 85% of his time marketing, and 15% producing his photographs. It's a valid choice, to make a living solely via one's art - but the reality that comes with that choice is that the devotion to one's art becomes 85% devotion to marketing.

One last thought on that, from Robert Fulgrum: Music is far too important to be left to the professionals.

EXCELLENT WAY TO PUT IT! IT MAKES A WHOLE LOT OF SINCE!!!

New ideas are like raindrops, sometimes you catch one with your toungue and then its yours to keep. But a new idea is only yours if you catch it first. They come from heaven if their good.

The same holds true in music. A great song badly executed has little chance of being enjoyed.

Thanks, Derek. Thanks for reminding me why I am have been so broke up until now. LOL.

I think the numbers may be off. The idea of the transistor is certainly worth more than that.

horrible!

well it looks like all the ideas have only one focus

make as much money possible!

it seems to be the only engine that runs this world

i doubt we can survive this worldwide thinking

and guess ist a good idea to not have any good ideas anymore so they arent abused to make a max of profit

Blow a bubble eventually it pops.

plant a seed..yes indeed.

Interesting.... this approach certainly speaks to the reality - it takes a leap of faith to get things going and faith is an action word! I would also suggest that it takes some execution to find an idea's worth.... it's so easy to dismiss an idea as dumb - especially when it seems impossible or something nobody would be interested in, but these might be signs that it's an idea unique enough to pursue!

less talk-the-talk and more walk-the-walk is what I always say...

Hear, hear, Derek!

Very true.. but then how does one improve execution?

This">sive.rs/book/Execution">This book is a great start. This">sive.rs/book/UltimateSalesMachine">This one, too. — Derek

I already know this...but I appreciate your efforts to teach others

Thank you, Derek. I always enjoy reading about your thoughts and ideas. If I were to actually follow up on these, I would be much better off.

Thank you for all you do.

And it takes only 1 naysayer to kill the idea in the midst of execution.

I've determined to surround myself with positive people who CAN believe in a good idea, and will say "I'm behind you 100%... Go--do it!"

Great stuff, Derek.

ideal are the same as risk, you have too take'm, a lot of great thing have come from them.

Einstien said something along the lines of ' a person is lucky to have one original idea in a lifetime.'

If that's true, then people who are capitalizing on a lot of great ideas have many partners in their success, and the smart ones have a good memory about it, and are generous about it.

I would be interested in seeing the execution of the other ones.

Yeah this plays into what you were saying the other day about; talking about what your going to do makes it less likely that you'll do it. There's a pattern emerging.

I'll just contribute one idea, that, I think people underestimate execution in all things, but especially in the arts. As Ani DiFranco said, "nobody ever thinks about what it takes to get that far".

People over-estimate connections, which are a very crucial piece of the pie, but not the only crucial part.

ideas that feel "truthful" or right, considered intuitive, may compel people into action. Sometimes the idea accompanied with a physical sensation can "move" you literally in one direction or another. My manager says …”if you want to be successful , start at the end” meaning, if you have an idea to do something start taking actions you would do at the end and work your way backwards.

The best ideas are those that value service to others above all else. In this scenario, the value of money diminishes, hence, no need for NDA's and a greater opportunity for execution. Does it matter that someone might "steal" your idea? Hell, yes! But there is another consideration -- it could be that the problem being solved is so common that the solution has been mulled over by several others, like you. Is the solution the same? Probably not -- exactly. If your idea has the merit you think it does, you have to put it out. You need allies, committed and willing to help execute. You will get them only by sharing. You want protection? Document every step of the way. It shows, at the very least, a capacity to execute and it gives others something more substantial to consider than that interesting conversation about whatever it was that was rattling around your head that particular moment, the details of which have been lost. Along with opportunity.

to reader cath-NDA is a non disclosure agreement-and derek-this has been proven true over and over again to me-as a songwriter-it is very easy to have a great concept for a song-but meaningless unless you do the work and create it-same with a business concept. thanks for spreading your insight around- words to live by> Just Do It

So, what's everybody doing still reading and posting to this thread?

I love ideas...

I'm going to print this and frame it. It's a good reminder.

Hi Derek,

Very good points of doing something with any of our enlightenments as ideas in action...

Though where is the realitys in all this blah blah what sheep?

Where all this sucks is people always steam on about other peoples weakness without looking at the background of such a person who may have all the right ideas but lives in a very poor area...

He is looking around for options that will help him get to a level where he may be able to erect his own esteem to produce his vision and try get help to put it in the marketplace...

But the conman is suck a crooked serpent his idea is to argue down the poorman and knock his confident saying your idea is naff and you're a laughing stock no-one will back your sheddy little ideas...

The poor man may get fed up with all these highbrow serpents and go back to being a next ripped off blues/jazz musicians trying to get equal rights for the unwaged musicians who are in this plight because they don't know who to trust or where to turn having being at the ends of rejection, racism and segregation for so many unfurfilled years...

So these poor people with the most ideas are the messengers that has his messages taken and then shot kill for having such a bright idea...

These points are not just ideas it's serious facts of history in reality so we don't forget about the truths n rights in our very privilege surroundings...

All these bright sparks got for the millions of music arrangements and idea's they have produced is the serpents busy exeuctions of stealing their works,so NDA or whatever agreements these options has not changed very much over the years of modern progressive music has it?...

So it's easy to bragg and boast and talk corntrash since you have never had to struggle to get the banks or record companies without the contricks to back your creative ideas...

with respect of course reality strikes back...

MWM

You're very right, unfortunately execution often cost way to much money, great idea's are lost everyday, I think its a three part puzzle, IDEA+INVESTMENT+EXECUTION=$20 000 000, WITHOUT ALL THREE, ITS NOT GONNA WORK.

People over-estimate how much money they'll need. Sometimes investment/funding can do more harm than good. I never had any investment or investors for any of my previous businesses, and I never plan to in the future, either. — Derek

if people dont have a pland they can not Execute.

if people dont read the fine print

they can Execute there goles.

if people dont listen to reaseon

the can not Execute there dreams.

so befor they get leagle docutements they have to juge there

frist and last action.

This concept makes a lot of sense.Being an idea guy with LOTS of trouble with execution, I just keep thinking of new ideas about this and that. I keep coming up with what I think are good ideas. Some are, some are not.

Perhaps I'm scared of failure in the execution. And now, with this onus on execution(always afraid of execution, maybe it's the word itself), I may discourage myself out of Thinking anything new for awhile.

Nahh. It's great point.

Man talk about user generated content!

How on earth do you keep up with these massive threads Derek!

Oh it's not so hard to read through new comments once each day. I love hearing other people's thoughts on these things I post. It's useful to see when I've been misunderstood, for example, because I know I have to express that thought better. Or when someone has a new angle on it I never considered before. — Derek

Yes, less is more but also useless isn't much of value either as I know it's what you do rather than what you say.

Guess that's why I wrote "Momma's Blues":)

Nice to know you live by the same text of the song!

Connections?

The idea of NDAs is in case it is a great idea that you don't go out and execute. Say you have the means to execute, (which is probably why they're introducing the idea to you) if they have no legal rights to it, they just lost all that money. Consider it part of the cost of doing business. Be happy that they think that much of their idea to remember to present NDAs. You would tell someone to copyright their music to protect themself.

Ideas are just a multiplier of execution is so true. But without having your ideas copyrighted or trademarked in the begining can be a disaster for the idea guy.

And once "the idea guy" has his/her idea copyrighted or trademarked and does not have the funds to promote or execute the idea, this is another disaster for the "idea guy" if he/she cannot locate a sponsor to help out financially.

This has always been my problem. I copywrite all of my songs before sharing with anyone, yet I'm unable to find the money man to help promote my songs.

Whenever I gig out and perform my songs for people at clubs or bars or taverns, I always get a nice round of applause and I'm always asked back.

But not having the funds to promote my own ideas has always held me back from becoming known within the music industry.

I was thinking Maybe my ideas "songs" are too simple, or too over the top to garb the attention of the money man I need to promte them.

Yet when I write a song for my fiance who is a unsigned professionally trained female singer, the songs get the attention they need. Several of my songs her and I recorded in our home recording studio did get her signed by a independent record label in 2007. Unfortunately the record labels producers did a horrible job re-recording all 8 tracks on the cd.

So....even the ones executing ones ideas can be to blame for the ideas failing.

Like Stan wrote on July 29th, 2009 said:

Taking the Music Industry, for example..a So-So Song “worth $5″.. Plus $1 Mil in “Execution” SHOULD net ‘em $5 mil each time-around? Doesn’t seen to work out thataways, does it? (There’s a LUCK FACTOR involved..JMO.)

~Mark Johnson~

Good point, Derek. The valuation of ideas over execution is what got Enron into trouble.

(Well, that and an ethics deficiency.)

I'm sure lots of people have wonderful ideas. To realize an idea though is not that simple for everyone. A great idea will remain great only in thought, unless the means are available to bring it to life. Sometimes this happens naturally,some times not. One fact is that lady luck plays a major role in brining an idea into fruition. If you are in the right place at the right time when she comes along.All you need is that one streak of fortune and the world can be your oyster. Sometimes though you can spend lots of money, work 24/7 but not reach your goal. In general you can win if its natural for you to win; but if you undertake to do something that you really don't want to do, or you are afraid you cannot accomplish you probably wont win.

Oh, how true!!!

I have to show this to a friend who always comes up with the greatest, most BRILLIANT ideas but does NOTHING about them, and gets extremely upset, when I am not enthusiastic about hearing yet another super-duper-fantastic idea...

And by the way, this article reminds me to work more on executing my own ideas... :-)

Thanks Derek!

Derrick,

This was perfect timing. It seems that I can always do more than what I'm doing and when I do more I see more results.

Thanks,

Kamal

I would just say if you had an idea stolen and used for profit and you got jipped out of it completely, the next time you would want nondisclosure form! Also if your idea is bigger than the people that read or hear your idea, the usually response is "i don't think it will work", or the all time " I can't help with this One" which really means that I don't want to help you live your dreams, I'm living mine! so what is the big deal about one wanting to protect the right to ownership, same as a house you want to protect your home!

Thanks for the thought provoking concept. Actually a great idea is totally subjective and execution is a mixture o luck and motivation. A lot of what I would consider great artists (subjective) have been squashed by the economic times we all face. I am not convinced execution of a good idea can be 100 percent correlated to economic returns

Thanks Derek. Concerning NDA's. Does one breathe in a vacuum? Niether do ideas... Peace. Good travels to you concerning your adventure to live around the world. Perhaps a thread on what parameters would be acceptable for anyone daring to take such an adventure. Peace

I love this!! Derek's on top again!! :D Thanks for sending.

my mind is like a galloping, if i can just tame this galloping horse am gonna be a superstar(LOL).SCANNING through loads and loads of unfinished songs in my several notebooks, notepads and pieces of papers makes me believe that an idea is nothing without execution.if after reading this and i dont change i will burn all of them(ideas), so i can have my peace. writing songs for 10 years without finishing 99% is disaster.

If you are doing this for money only then you have failed.

I always feel that when ones work has a new perspective. "cATCHER IN THE rye" the auther had a brother who was a well connected screenwriter with a jag in Hollywood, and this being books would be written either as fiction or real but either way it was before the book was published and the fame it recieved and notoriety. So the author could have just rode the fame waves and intrigue of his brother.Alan moor who does not like fame or credit with Watchman -perhaps this is due to not looking in film production himself and be of credit-althought the new film does have a friend /foe ending which is rather rare these days.

You are brilliant :)

My formula for this is... to develop the idea...think of three things you can do right now...this moment to get it started... no matter how small the action seems take action... it will build momentum...then..rinse, lather,repeat...when obstacles present themselves move to your right and get back in your lane....this process will allow you to gain support...create success.

yes true true!!

Yeah, I was just talking to a friend about how IDEAS cannot be copyrighted, only the hard implementation of those ideas.

So you might not want to share your million dollar ideas with everyone. If they act quicker than you, you'll miss out!

word.

And people who hang on to ideas and don't execute, act as if the person who executed the idea stole something from them.

By not taking action, not executing, you are stealing from yourself and everyone else in the world. You're stealing their opportunity to benefit from who you are.

Just remember - there are unlimited opportunities in the world - so stop worrying about the one's you might miss and get into action!

It’s differently; better just to execute your idea.

Talking about it is not the best.

You need to put it into action

In general, I agree with Derek. However, don't underestimate a good idea! Remember: without it there's nothing to implement )

I think the main point of the article is some people's overprotectiveness about their supposedly great ideas - that's what gets really funny and patetic sometimes )

One more thing: "KNOWING the path is not the same as WALKING the path..." )

FIY: you can look up NDA on wikipedia. It stands for "Non-Disclosure Agreement"...

ok derek. I won't tell you what havemybook.com is all about until it's executed brother.

It should be up in 8-10 days.

Great post!!!

I love this article! So true. People who are ultra-protective of their ideas have always made me wary. Like the article says, what good is having an idea if you aren't able to execute it? If you don't work with others (i.e. telling them your idea) then you won't be getting very far with it.

Cool great post. Thanks buddy. But i don't use this very often. there is a great chance of error

I cannot stop thinking about this article. You have a knack for sharing really profound concepts in a straightforward way. Many of my business models have sprouted from you and your perspective and you've never asked me to sign an NDA. I look to you for inspiration and consider you a mentor, though we've never met. The notion of pairing degrees of execution with a dollar sign is startling (in a good way). Now I understand why some of my ideas are only worth $20. Going forward, my effort, research, and passion will be in the 'brilliant execution' mode. I also believe that execution is iterative and as you learn you can move one idea from no execution to brilliant execution. I'm going back to my good - brilliant ideas and critiquing my execution. Thanks for the perspective and additional work load. :-)

derek.

hear you. i love the math and your simplification; what you are saying is real.

from my personal experience, it seems that people utilize me as a rehearsal space for their business ideas. i have surmised over time it is because i am nice and won't shoot someone down during a pitch...

in your case, i assume they must not know you. you would never share someone's idea without permission, so tough for them they didn't read more of your writing.

best regards
stefan

"That's why I don't want to hear people's ideas.

I'm not interested until I see their execution."

Amen!!!

Idea's have to be worth something.( In comment to the new business student who wrote that they are worth 0$ ) There are some people who go through life with few or no ideas. You have to give credit for even formulating a thought.

Even a rock at the edge of a cliff has potential energy.

When you unpack the meaning implicit in the word "execution," you cannot avoid the fact that the quality of execution is directly proportionate to the quality of the ideas that are implemented at each step along the way. In other words, you have identified a false dichotomy.

If the "idea" does not incorporate the foundation of the "execution," it is not a good idea. If the "execution" is not infused with intelligent and strategic implementation, it is not good execution.

In short, the value of an idea can only be known by the results it generates.

This post perfectly encapsulates the most fundamental lesson that I've been progressively learning in just about all I've been doing.

I couldn't agree more with you on this one.

More people should run their ideas past others before implementing.

Brilliant article. So simple yet so well said. I'm totally behind the idea of execution being better than just the idea itself.

Seems to me that the author, in his own writing, contradicts himself by understating the importance of the idea. Using his own formula, an awful idea with brilliant execution is going to cost someone $10m.

And is he complaining about the cost of ink to sign an NDA which might net him a 20x multiplier?

SIMPLY PUT AND I LOVE IT. AN IDEA IS ONLY A THOUGHT PROCESS NEEDING A PLAN OF EXECUTION AND DOES NO GOOD WITHOUT PROPER PLANNING AND FOLLOW THROUGH. IT WILL REMAIN ONLY AN IDEA IF NOT PUT INTO EXECUTION. BASICALLY - THE PROOF IS IN THE PUDDING - NOTHING FROM NOTHING LEAVES NOTHING AND NOTHING MULTIPLIED BY ITSELF IS STILL NOTHING.

After your post I think I am gonna share my ideas more often :)

As a major suppliier of printed leaflets,Brochures,folders,magazines and banners we get many ideas from both clients and staff. I think your multiplier hits the nail on the head and we will be using it in the future when such ideas are presented.
Many Thanks

Anyone who bitches about signing an NDA is exactly the reason why anyone one who has intellectual property to protect has to have one and has to have it signed.

And most certainly, those who bitch about signing an NDA have never had an idea worth a plug-nickle or one of their ideas ripped off.

NDA's don't guarantee that some creep isn't going to rip you off.
Creeps are everywhere. It simply give you permission to go after their sorry asses in court.

Tip to anyone who has a good idea and is starting a business or project...if anyone gives you static about signing an NDA - take it as a warning and run. Because they are no one you want to be in partnership with. Just move on and look elsewhere.

If I execute a great idea, what would I need you for?

awful idea and brilliant execution
- $10,000,000 = iPad

You realize this post constitutes an idea, right?

Aren't you missing the point?
I totally agree - ideas not executed are worthless BUT...

People seeking an NDA before discussing their idea, recognise they ONLY have an idea (good or bad), but also recognise full well the folk they're approaching with the idea have the ability to execute it properly (hence the approach?), and potentially WITHOUT them.

The two parties need each other, BUT only one of them has the ability to shaft the other!!

The NDA goes a tiny bit towards levelling the terms.

There's also the patent issue which depends on the idea/invention/product NOT being in the public domain in order to be able to protect it properly. NDAs help a bit there too, or at least help your application.

What's so funny about NDAs?

At first glance all that sounds real, great and realy great.

But...
Great ideas usually take time and money for ANY type of execution, so ... so I have to tell that idea to someone who's in charge to allow it's execution and according expenditures. Right? Therefore I strongly dissagree with your "not interested until execution done".

I think in-charge-people who are able to listen to that ideas unprejudiced and with great deal of vision (and support their execution) are worth at least 10% of that multiplied amount.

For that reason I miss some multipliers (with negative values!) which would show loss amounts caused by people not willing to listen to my ideas.
;-)

Derek, this is a brilliantly simple explanation of a concept that is extremely difficult to to explain to some people. Thank you.

if your ideas any good you dont have to worry about people stealing it, you'll have to shove it down peoples throats before they get it!

I think that any idea is expensive only for its author, and cheap for others (investors, etc)
But there are some ideas that are expensive even in its start state...

Makes me think of that line from The Good, The Bad and The Ugly:

"When you got to shoot, shoot, don't talk about it."

It is interesting to note that ideas are not protected by copyright; and in fact are specifically excluded from such protection by the American Constitution. Now, as a philosopher, I have always found this to be problematic: why is it that the product which is most characteristic of my field (concepts) is not afforded the same ownership protection as every other field? And of course the answer is, that could only happen in a society where having "thought police" is acceptable; so, the realization that any kind of legislated ownership protection for concepts would almost immediately spin about and bite we philosophers on the behind goes hand-in-hand with the an acceptance of the fact that others will forever be taking concepts and iseas as their own without crediting the person who created them in the first place.

All of which would have remained an obscure consideration pondered off on the sidelines of philosophy, but for the advent of the digital age. Today, all fields in which cultural objects are produced face the same dilemma: in an age of digital replication, how is it possible to ensure that the works of any individual are being paid for by those who use them? How can workers who produce cultural products be assured of getting paid for what they do by those who use these cultural products?

Well, I don't have an answer for that; all I can tell you is what has been concluded in philosophy: if something is worth doing, or needs to be done, then whether or not it produces economic returns can't be a factor when deciding if it will be done.

In other words, one will never achieve anything if one waits for the money to flow in before proceeding to do what one intends. One will never achieve anything with that approach. If you take no joy or derive no self-worth from your own accomplishments, then, it is unlikely you will ever achieve anything; and in the end, it the thought of such accomplishments is infinitely more fulfilling (and entertaining) than the thought of money that was made (which is a pretty boring thing to think about over and over).

Very good site.thank you very much

So, so true

start small, act quick, think big!

bad idea x BRILLIANT EXECUTION = $10,000,000
= minus 20 mil USD ;-]

La idea brillante con ejecución brillante valdría 200 Millones, no 20!

thank you very much.very good.

Simple yet brilliant Derek. SO true!

Cursos Ingles Irlanda I love that quote "Start small, act quick, think big". Excellent.

Like I always say, There are no good ideas, only good implementations. Or as you call them, good executions.

Well done. Makes it easy to understand. Timeless.

John,
Juste pour t'informer que "sûr" prend un accent circonflexe. Tu es ridicule de critiquer sur la rédaction alors que tu ne fais pas mieux (et les majuscules ???).
Bref rien de constructif, je te conseille de réfléchir avant d'écrire, ça prendra du temps, mais tu finiras certainement par devenir moins con avec un peu d'effort.

Je rajouterai que ce principe de l'idée qui n'est qu'un multiplicateur de l'exécution n'est pas nouveau. 37signals l'a écrit dans un de ses livres : Rework (et dans "Getting Real" également si je me souviens bien...).
Cet article n'est qu'un extrait de ces livres.

Julien
stoeffler.cc

Hi Derek, I hope you are OK. I'm the old busker who met you at the London Troubadour with your other English artists. When I saw the cross it reminded me of the help I sent to the Democrats a few days ago. I have just released 'you Gotta Vote,' to try and help them with their electoral campaign. I released 'George Bush Blues' in 2008 through your company. Dance while you can.

First of all i am sorry if someone brat it up already but i did not fill like reading 258 posts(: but you really did not facer in a lot of other factors like:

luck
the better the idea or the more time you spent on it. The less luck you need

Determination To Succeed and passion
no matter how good your EXECUTION. there will be times that things are gust not going your way and this is where parson can realy help.
it may be a good idea just not for you. why try to do something that you believe will make you money. when you are competing whit dos that would do that for fun.

break down of EXECUTION
time spent at it
my father trend children to play sports and he said that it was not the best that Succeed but the ones that stuck to it.
short/madden/long plan
murphy's law
plan for the worst. hope for the best.

i relay like your comment on 173 "Sometimes investment/funding can do more harm than good" though that is something i fell that you only find out from exp. o at lest that was for me any way ):

IDEA*luck*passion*time*plan= if i do not Succeed try,try,try again

Then again mabby that is what you ment by EXECUTION but i like breaking thinks down.

In any case i like your posts. thanks for taking the time to wright your posts and read 200+ coments on each post (:

Great post and a great way to look at things. Ideas are worthless without someone actually doing something with them - there's no point in saving them.

Thanks, Derek. Now I'm off to do some executing.

Coincido plenamente. Sólo haría un pequeño comentario y es que en el ciclo de vida de las ideas, van teniendo valor. Cuando no hay ejecución bien pueden valer como mucho $20 o quizá menos ya que tendrían que pagarnos solo por escucharla. Pero en si me espero hasta el final tampoco me interesa porque yo no tengo 200 millones.

Por eso también hay que capturar en el medio.

Saw a post that said "right after you sign an NDA, you'll find that the great idea was a (insert-your-niche-here) Social Network".

I tried it once and that's exactly what happened. It's like magic...

I like to read Derek's points and agree with regard to the Non Disclosure Agreement. Action the idea to see if it's worth while - tell the world about it if its good - License it for protection!

This is hilariously awesome. I may have a new "formula" for success.

And Philip is right... it is always the terrible ideas from the people who never actually do anything that require the NDA be signed. Hahahaha.

Oscar

Re: #240 by Wolf who said:
"Anyone who bitches about signing an NDA is ..."

I don't bitch about signing NDAs because I won't sign them. To presume we *need* to sign them implies you think we need you.

Then you wrote:

"...those who bitch about signing an NDA have never had an idea worth a plug-nickle..."

This is off the mark in several ways.
1. This assumes we want to be you. That the only thing keeping us from it is your idea. That all our years in practice have been spent biding our time waiting for your one great idea to come along so we can finally ascend to greatness to become you. This posture also presumes any ideas that preceded yours that we've helped develop, was a waste of time (because if they were any good we would have stolen them already and not be available to take your job)...so, if we've been wasting our time on stupid ideas, why would you want to hire us? We wouldn't know if your idea was any good either.

2. If you need our help to execute your idea, by default we presumably can do something you can't and have more going for us than you do. So... if we're more skilled, competent and connected, why would we want to step backwards to be you?

3. It is a bit arrogant to presume your idea is the sole determinant of success or failure and that service providers are interchangeable, one being just as good as another [If execution weren't important, you wouldn't be hiring us because you could do it yourself.]

People who won't sign NDAs have a track record of wins and losses. As such, they will be very selective of clients they take on. It is the reverse of your posture. You must convince someone to take you on. If you were charged with murder, you'd want the best attorney (as measured in wins and losses) you could buy -iow, execution. If you had a brain tumor, you wouldn't want any old hack with a scalpel either.

Adorei o conceito. Vou tentar explicá-lo para um amigo que vive tendo ideias e acha que pode ficar rico só com essa parte.

This especially applies to the entrepreneurial world of tech startups. Ideas abound, but fail because founders don't keep at it.

Es cierto, ahora que soy emprendedor hasta escucho gente que me dice que tiene una idea y luego antes de decirmela me advierte que no me vaya a copiar Ja! el trabajo es en la ejecución.

I think what everyone is trying to say is:

"THOUGHT DETERMINES WHAT YOU WANT
ACTION DETERMINES WHAT YOU GET!"

I totally agree!!!

I've always said "ideas are overrated". Thanks for explaining this mathematically :)

Brilliant idea with no execution is 20 bucks? You're too kind. Brilliant idea with no execution is 0 bucks with a deserved slap on the wrist and a kick in the butt.

Execution is not necessarily about the product itself. It is about being persistent in trying to build a company. The folks at HyperOffice know something about this!

This concept is really important. So many friends will tell me about their ideas and make me swear up and down not to mention them to anyone, but then they do nothing with them. Execution really is the catalyst for growth.

Ce qui est intéressant, c'est que même une idée moyenne, grâce à une exécution superbe, peut mener sur le chemin du succès.
Donc il suffit d'être marginalement meilleur que le reste de la concurrence (et non pas purement exceptionnel), pour avoir du succès...

Ideen werden erst dann wertvoll, wenn andere sie mit ihren eigenen anreichern. Gute Ideen ziehen gute weitere Ideen an!!!

I think this is one of the single most seminal posts on the subject of startup realities, and I have been liberally quoting it in virtually all of my presentations (with attribution, Derek :-) for years.

This quite simple post has become what seems to be a permanent tab on my browser ... the irreplaceable value of taking action that you expressed so clearly, Derek, is a constant reminder to get out of my head filled with fears, doubts, rationalisations, distractions away from what is important ... whenever I have the mindfulness to pause, look, and take that one step that is always available to me right now.

Thank you.

they say that the most brilliant idea, without execution, is worth nothing. But they r forgetting that it took billions of years of evolution 2 come-up with that idea in the 1st place. It takes only a matter of months to execute it after that. After all, where wuld we all b without sum of history's greatest inventions & innovations? From the 2 stones that made our first man-made fire, to the wheel, the lightbulb, the TV, telephone & many others, I don't remember any entrepreneurs being involved!

its like the guy who invented the lightbulb (Edison) saying: "my idea can make this wire glow much brighter & longer than a candle...but getting people to want it is going to be real hard! So lets do heaps of market research & execute a strategy."

people who say things like "the most brilliant idea, without execution, is worth nothing" are like ugly people saying "beauty is skin deep". Where would you be without the 'innovative spark' that produces the idea might I ask?

Its funny you never mentioned a 'No Idea' above because a brilliant idea by itself may be worth $20 but a brilliant execution without any idea is worth ZERO!!!

Les idées sont des ressources gratuites et abondantes même si elles sont de qualités inégales. De toute façon, une fois une idée mise en application, tout le monde va la copier s'il s'agit d'une bonne idée (bien réalisée par ailleurs). Je citerai cette phrase issue du développement personnel qui dit : "1000 idées ne valent rien face à 1 action."

Je peux comprendre que les constructeurs (surtout en technologie informatique) protègent leurs idées à coup de brevets. Cependant, pour moi, un brevet devrait être une promesse de réalisation. A quoi bon amasser des brevets dans un coffre-fort ? Pour les ressortir au bon moment quand une société voudrait en faire une application concrète ? Ça, c'est ridicule ! Un brevet devrait être caduque s'il n'est pas suivi par sa mise en application.

Great idea really! I have never been thinking in this way, but it's truth. Thanks for sharing this...

how do i execute idea!!!!!

So true. Ideas come a dime a dozen. Execution is the key. Success depends on finding a very strong team and an army of believers.

Hey nice! But does this mean you'll buy brilliant ideas for $20? I think this may be more than I can get for them elsewhere.

The going rate appears to be 1.2c, "a dime a dozen".

Oops I mean 0.8 c :)

Nay to the negative comments. This is the simplest way to convey that ideas have little bearing compared to execution. I linked to your post in my own:

http://www.naivethinking.com/?p=27

"Idea + passion does not equal success! (You need execution)"

I admire the logic, however, what about the ideas that McKinsey consultants generate? McKinsey consultants do not execute ideas; they often generate ideas while brainstorming with clients. The clients decide whether to execute the ideas, and when the clients execute the ideas, the burden of proof (success/failure) rests upon their shoulders.

Would the ideas of McKinsey consultants, and for that matter, the ideas of lawyers, accountants, architects, engineers, and doctors performing consulting functions, be worth "a dime a dozen"?

I really would appreciate honest replies. I am researching on this topic, and that's why I landed on this website. Thanks!

Ideas are still valuable as without one, you have nothing to execute. By disclosing details of an idea, you risk a good executor being able to run with it and beat you to market. Rare? Perhaps, but look no further than Zuckerberg and the Winklevii.

I agree ideas without execution are useless ideas.

But I think the problem is after the ideas are given to the executioners, the executioners are still 'needed' by the idea giver but to the executioners, the idea giver is no longer needed no? They got the idea, they can execute the idea, why do they even want to keep the idea giver in the relationship? Or give him a 30% equity?

Think Mark Zuckerberg and the twins.

Anyone to comment?

This thought is actually valuable. Implementation or execution really is the channel for development. Great idea really! it's truth. Thank you for sharing this...

awysome calculator thanks derek @dziennikarze thx link very powerfull

Teriffic calculation ;) Thanks for sharing a new topic with us! I enjoy reading your post....

The first time I predicted the world recession was in 1999. Then dotcom crisis followed. I earned nothing. I was too young.
Next time I predicted the world recession in Feb. 2007. The subprime crisis started then. I saved c. $30k and became recognised in my country.

If I worked for financial institution, not at academia, I would earn millions of dollars. Knowledge about the future is priceless only if you really want to earn on it.
I did not. At that time. Next time I will :)

Monetary values with a negative sign implies loss right??? So how can the brilliant execution of an awful idea cause us a gigantic loss???
Because you could spend a lot of money building the company, with no customers, and end up losing a lot of money. This happens a lot. — Derek

It took me some time to figure it out. No more NDA-s, no more fooling around. Execution is the essence of the business.

awesomely put !!!

Simple yet brilliant, math always shows you the truth.

Really interesting! I'm making a website, but I lack unique ideas, and I've been putting it off for months. I have the basics down, but I've spent a while thinking of ideas. I don't even have a name for it!

So apparently every time someone has an awful idea, they get penalized a dollar! Sounds good to me.. :D

There is always something to learn from you. You may say things we usually know already but the way you said them makes them appear like news. :)
thanks

What about Fibonacci? The Arabic numbers are very cool. My question is well I will google this... who really rationally quantified the value of zero?

I find this is speculation and really just a thought whilst I beverage up. But I have this time to ponder thoughts. I have many of these that bud in the garden of ideas. What is really cool is going to Utah and staring at the sky throughout the night. I must say that everyone is invited to view the stars where they are. It is pretty amazing. The galaxy with binocs gives understanding of our existence! I just wish I could share that with all the souls of the World!

Good ideas are relevant to today’s environment and use new approaches, techniques and forms of collaboration to accomplish their objective

In our office we're always talking about how great ideas are worthless unless they're executed properly! Love this stuff!

Let's face it, there will always be people who have business ideas for making good money and people who have it made and tucked away looking for safer way of multiplying it.

It is like having an expensive car but no fuel to put in, and the one who puts in the fuel gets to have a say where to drive to -then why have a great idea, keep taxi that you do not mind driving anywhere, an then parking it for the night without the fear of losing it............

I would like to believe it is the marriage of an idea and the execution that makes for a splendid mix, yes. The thrill of creation, the manifestation of anticipation, getting things off the ground and keeping them there.

If failure is not made part of a plan then your plan is not complete, and if there are no contigencies built into the plan then you have a weak plan.

The best success stories are those which are based on developing and maintaining partnerships, whether with suppliers or with cusotmers. People last longer than money, ideas and everything else.

A clear understanding and setting up of expectations is the key to a successful start and mid course corrections are what helps keep the path. Interestingly, if you were to aim at for helping people be successful and knowing how their success can contribute to yours will make for an everlasting success route -may seem selfish at the end of the day but come to think of it, people whose lives you touch may not feel wronged as you would have contributed to their success eventually

Yes, this sounds a lot like the rock/tumbler metaphor used by Steve Jobs in the Lost Interview. It's near the end.

Interestingly, I used a similar metaphor to describe life in the ashram I lived in.

Why are rocks round? It's the strongest shape, and you have to endure getting your sharp edges knocked off.

The idea is the rough rock in need of polishing and much work goes into it.

Very well said !!!

I totally love your calculation. Its brilliant. Thanks for sharing.

Great post man! I Would love to buy your books. You didn't factor in difficulty of execution because some ideas are easier to execute than others, and people still insist on NDA because they fear the person they are revealing the idea to might be able and tempted to execute the idea independently and better than they themselves.

lol actually ther was a Pasteur's Experiment like French scientist Louis Pasteur conducted experiments that proved the theory of spontaneous idea generation. People believed organisms could come from non-living stuf. Experiments involved filling a flask full of broth and leaving it in different locations.

This is just superb. Loved the way its explained...

A respectful contrarian viewpoint:
Is it possible, d’you suppose, that many people agree execution is more important because the world is relatively full of good managers to lead a project and good doers to execute a project but projects worth working on are comparatively scarce – there are lots of bad ideas, after all, and lots of good people to work on them.

Look at the companies we most admire – do we admire them for execution or innovation? Is their source of differentiation and success that they do things, or invent things?

Everything matters. All members of a team matter – you need ideas people, you need people who get it done, you need people to clean the office too. Choosing one as being more important than another when all are needed….are you sure that’s a good thing, another way of polarizing our already divided society?

That said, I do agree that protecting an idea is often misplaced energy – if it’s that good an idea it’ll be copied anyway, companies will regard the possible legal expense as merely a another cost of entry.

Hi there,
I found this article very interesting, but while reading it I was having the feeling something was missing.
At the beginning was just a sensation, but then I realized it was dealing with my own experience and my approach at both Ideas and Execution.
I totally agree it is their multiplication that make the business.
But, I believe that it is their mutual continuous interaction and influence on each other that make even more business.
Looking at your table I was wondering:
1) what makes an Idea move from weak to good?
and
2) what makes an execution move from great to brilliant?

In my opinion, the answer to question 1 is Execution, and the answer to question 2 is Ideas.

Most the time, in my previous experiences, I was not able to come out with new Ideas.
But where I was very good was to work on others' basic ideas and make them become brilliant.
I was doing this through execution.
But the more the idea was growing, the more I had to work on a more efficient execution.
And I realized I am very good at that, sometimes I say I am good at creating an avalanche effect, give me something that is based on a good idea but that doesn't work, and I will make it fly like an eagle.

In conclusion, Idead and Execution should work like a ping pong game getting in risonance, 2 players start ping pong a ball at 1 meter from eachother, one of them move a bit more far away, the other does the same, and continue like that, until they will be at 50 meters from each other and the ball will fly really high.
The 2 players are: Ideas and Execution

This was my little contribution, hoping somebody will read it
Alfredo

Derek,
I would like to feature this post in a book I'm writing about the Fairshare Model, a performance-based capital structure for companies that seek to raise venture capital via a public offering.

I believe the Fairshare Model will be an intriguing option for angel–backed companies that seek $2M to 25M in a round of public venture capital. A slide deck with the High Concept is here http://fairsharemodel.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Fairshare-Model-High-Level-Concept.pdf
Karl

Where do I send the $1 I owe for each awful idea I do not execute on?

i.e.
Awful Idea (-1) x No execution ($1) = -$1

It was suggested by @lukewestra that I put it in a jar to fund the better ideas that come along. Love the post.
Good idea. ☺ — Derek

What a table. Useful point. At this time i have a so-so execution:D

It's hard to start a succesfull business and it takes time for the idea...

Great point, Derek! It reminds me of the Strength Finder 2.0 concept, but applied to thinking vs doing.

Love this. Just reading your book. This bit alone made me glad I'd bought the book. Thanks!

I like your calculation and agree that execution is key to success.
However, I believe that we are most productive when we do what inspires us most. This is why salesmen are not the best at business management.
I feel the same applies to having ideas and executing them, and so I pay others to execute them.
The trouble is getting someone to execute exactly what I want.

Great Idea, Derek, and great Explanation! Thanks.
Never thought about the relation between Ideas and Execution in this way, but seems really natural to me now. Congrats and thanks again.

Zdravko

Something else that came to mind:
If you're usually working a certain amount of time developing an idea and you fin yourself spending the double of time working on a new one, does it mean that your new project (idea) is twice as valuable, or is it just poor planing and execution?

I totally agree! Thank you very much for quantifying such thought.

Great post. I think most people that don't actually start a business believe all the value is in the idea, most of us who are in business is that you're never short on ideas, it's the execution that usually falls apart. Thanks

I think most people that don't actually start a business believe all the value is in the idea, most of us who are in business is that you're never short on ideas, it's the execution that usually falls apart. Thanks

It's like memes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QB091UtEP5Q

makes sense. but it takes capital to fulfill ideas! musical ideas.

I often apply this to musicians that I play with. I don't care how much talent you may have, if you don't execute by learning songs and coming to rehearsals, you are effectively useless.

I am one of those who just discovered your blog a few days ago and loves it. Interestingly I wrote about the same point you are making a few month ago:

idiallo.com/blog/how-much-does-your-idea-cost

It saddens me when people tell me ideas and think they just hit the jackpot. On it's own an idea is worth nothing. Its just like the paper on which we print currency.

Funny in a way that it is so true. Brilliant ideas are a dime a dozen but the energy to see them through to fruition is more rare.

Great summary of one of the universal weaknesses of the Innovation ecosystem in many countries. Success is about doing things, not keeping them a secret.

Thanks for your insights and merry Christmas

What if I have the idea but can't develop it?!
Learn how or hire. — Derek

As someone constantly inundated with ideas and being on the planet for a while, I couldn't agree more.

Ideas are the easy part.

Lady Gaga has probably executed more ideas than most will in their lifetime :) Like the ideas or not, you cannot deny the constant flow of creativity executed by her, so successfully, together with the help of her team.

This is so awesome in it's simplicity. Thanks.

There is truth here. I'd follow and passion for a good idea over aloofness for a great one. But without an idea there is no execution.

Perfect and to the point!!!

I always figure the guy protecting an idea with his life must not have very many ideas. I have yet to hear a single idea in confidence or otherwise that somebody thought was spectacular that I thought was remotely better than what I come up with on a daily basis.

The Nike addage, "Just Do It", has been rehashed in different forms 100,000 times. My favorite is simply this "Do it, and shut up!" You don't know people by what they say but by what they do. It is the penultimate defining trait of one's character and their worth as a human being. Even the greatest ideas are nothing but mustard seeds - essential but there are a bazillion of them.

This is absolutely true!! People have ideas, but they are not ready for the execution and expect the return of $20,000,000.
Until we put in our efforts, and until we believe that our idea can stand the test of time, its "just an idea".
Millions on paper, but zero on the balance sheet.

I really like your approach to execute. In other words (as a popular slogan) "Just do it" or GET THE JOB DONE NOW and BE INSPIRED.
Thanks pal, lets keep in touch!

This is as true today as it was in 2005. Execution is all.

If you know who your Mastermind Alliance is (and they should include Money people) the idea can be shared.
Of course for 50 years our business motto has been "Don't worry about getting it Right, just Get It Going"
Has worked well for a few years.

Great formula for reminding everyone EXACTLY how to value a business and a business concept. Thanks.

Source?
Source = me. I wrote this in August 2005. See here. — Derek

I like your precise values affixed to different qualities of idea and of execution. It really is helpful.

Would you be so kind to elaborate more on what good, great and brilliant ideas equate to? And of course please also elaborate on how good, great and brilliant execution differ. Perhaps, some examples of real businesses could be helpful. Thank you!

Brilliant Execution X Awful Idea = Starbucks recent diversity campaign

Very rightly said. A good analogy to evaluate idea and execution capabilities.

I think the chart makes a lot of sense…linked to it on my blog (even if the $ rate sometimes fluctuates).

Ideas can come from anywhere.
It’s good to have watched your own ideas go through their conception and childhood – to recognize the potential of new ideas.

Many ideas have promise. Not all have potential. Reared under different conditions, under different adopters and implementers – the realization of those ideas can also vary widely.

It’s a mix of many factors.

It’s always best to have given birth to the most successfully realized ideas, of course, but any failures and ‘almosts’ can teach us a lot as well. And seeing others’ ideas through the stages also teaches a lot.
This is the value of creative talent and experience.

No two ideas are the same, just like anything else humans give birth to, but any experience is valuable and compounds to help inform our approach.

Creation is creation, no matter the context.

Then again, you either have it in you to be a great idea parent, or can learn to find it within yourself, or maybe it really is just hopeless. But even in that case, there are plenty of important roles that can still be played to help caretakers keep the best, fragile ideas safe and nurtured through their growing pains and awkward stages.

Thanks for sharing!

Name of the project : Take information of company product to customer level
Brief Idea : - Everyone need to go barber shop at least 5 times in a year , and spend more than 30 minutes in the shop , so my idea is to put up Advertizing board in every shop and advertizing space can be divided into Town level , city level and State level even country level , as my personnel experience I spend my time in shop by reading local news papers , magazine (mostly old ones ) or starring wall of the shop , some time Television fixed in it and channel of his choice .

So as my observation all the men of the family attended the shop frequently, and interestingly all sets of people come for hair cutting , list includes all age group , all economic group and all education background people . so we can have Products like Men wear , cars , financial products and many more. And we can have MOU with the shop owners for advertizing space as monthly rent bases are share in advertising amount .

If you think above idea worth full . We can work out on other details .
Mobile Number : 8008202889


Srinivas Kulkarni
Email ID : skillssrinivas@gamil.com

Explains a lot, no? Like how business people running common businesses get very rich whereas others with great ideas can flounder. And also explains where the magic is found with the businesses that end up changing everything.

Derek, the thin slicing that you so capably pull off is an inspiration that is challenging be to execute at a much higher level. It is true that ideas are usually only as effective in producing their intended result when they are executed!!!

Solid.

Cool.

This was the most brilliant breakdown of ideas. When you compare it to execution, then boom!

Very helpful. Thanks!

Derek,
I have a question, I do agree execution is where it's really at. I mean I have come up with 100's of ideas over the past few years and have been scared to actually execute on them (for whatever reason).

So, I'm leaning toward just starting to execute and figure it out along the way. I feel execution is difficult to perfect, especially if it's your first go.

Curious your thoughts? I know there is x amount of research and planning that has to go into execution, but I wonder if just getting started might be more important for some people (like me). Or else the minor details will continue to hold you back.

I always come back to this great post... but the table needs the following changes:

1. Add "Bad Idea" between "Awful Idea" and "Weak Idea", and set its multiplier to 0.
2. Change the "Weak Idea" multiplier to .5

If I see a great idea I think I can execute then I'm in. I can't come up with all the great ideas. I've had great ideas I didn't execute that others did and made a killing and vice versa.

The point is that an idea without execution, yours or someone else's is just a seed that hasn't been planted.
Good metaphor! — Derek

Awesome article Derek, very useful in striking the right balance.

ideas worth millions with its execution! - is a great idea!

Brilliant thinking

What determines/defines "execution?" For example, I have a good/brilliant product idea. I can package it and fulfill it within weeks. However, bringing it to market is a different thing.

I find this to be true also for sales technique vs. product.

You are right Derek but just telling or showing your idea is a kind of execution too.

I have a idea

Why not?

AWFUL IDEA = -10
WEAK IDEA = -5
SO-SO IDEA = 5
GOOD IDEA = 10
GREAT IDEA = 15
BRILLIANT IDEA = 20

It should it be more like a Gaussian Distribution?

The value graph with idea and execution makes a lot of sense, but I think if the person you're telling the idea to is the very person who could help execute the idea, I'm not so sure the best idea is worth only $20 as a concept alone. People share ideas in order to complete the execution - otherwise they wouldn't be shared in the first place.

I completely understand the crap value of just saying "let's make a wormhole spaceship to travel across the galaxy" and then not have anything else to offer - but sometimes a person might have very specific ideas in mind and simply doesn't have the money, time, one particular skill to execute all by himself/herself. I'd change the graph from a multiplier of arbitrary values to a percentage of total profits - so a brilliant idea is worth 20%.

That's really deep

Gold, love it!

As a visual artist i agree- quite often my ideas are difficult to explain & much easier to simply show.
i don't live my life in a cringe, fearing someone will run with one of my ideas.
(...that would not be appreciated and i do what i can to prevent it from happening.)
more here: ournows.com/jerrycrow

....Having ideas and executing them is not a problem- My stumbling block is / has always been monitizing / being able to survive on income generated on my creations.

Thanks for reading this.

Your framing is nice, but I really dislike and disagree with the sentiment. I think the world is anti-intellectual, just-****ing-do-it, execution-focused. This is why most companies fail to innovate, and 'two kids in a garage' beat them, over and over.
Yes, you need execution, but awesome ideas change the world.

This is the second article I've read of yours and I feel enticed to always leave a comment, but I feel like we're friends haha this is something I feel so strong about and it's always refreshing to hear

Best,
Ricky

Just wanted to say Thank You! This is simply brilliant.
Will work on the execution

- Tom

I've got the greatest idea for an app. I know you probably got countless of emails about this, but if you're still active on this sight - give me an email!
☺ — Derek

I agree & co-sign Frans take on the message plus restate my FAVORITE phrase from her, I am not certain of what 'CIYH' is, please explain... :

'Excerpt', from Frans comment "I learned with 'CIYH' that there are much bigger returns than money, that my idea was validated long before the income starting tracking

Sometimes I think it's good to play your cards close to your chest to contain your own creativity and ensure your own success. Sometimes I think we are too protective of what we consider our intellectual property.

There are times when I would like to see more collaboration or trust with exchanging ideas. The story of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Music (AACM) out of Chicago is amazing this way. It's told in the book "A Power Stronger Than Itself." I always wondered why people don't feel inclined to copy that level of collaboration and community building more often.

I used to work for a company that did a lot of NDA's. Those seem to matter more when it's big business. I gather it's a way of laying the foundation correctly if a deal happens to go forward. It's either mutual or one way. The corporate NDA's were always paid much more attention. I gather that sending an NDA prematurely comes across as anal, while sending it on time comes across as being responsible and sending it late or not at all can be legally messy if you don't agree on the terms.

I think this is ultimately about establishing trust, clarity in intention and good communication. Are people sending NDA's when they should be sending a lunch invite?

Sometimes I find that the sharing of an idea becomes a placeholder for actually executing the idea. The creative energy is dispersed in the words and the impetus to create is lessened. There are a few people who are an exception to this- people with whom I have sufficient chemistry that they propel me with a measure of enthusiastic accountability- but generally speaking, if something is worth creating it should be exciting enough for me to focus on it and make happen without external forces. If I am putting it off, I might need to reexamine if it really is a good idea, and then tweak as needed till it is a great idea.

Hey Derek! Nice to get an update from you about your happenings! We were in touch a while ago - I'm the musician that runs the Soundspace - a place for kids and youth (and anyone else, really) and we've been doing lots of cool things. I have some big ideas that I'm putting into focus and action soon, and I would love to write you a real letter to receive in the mail about it all if you are open to that! Letter writing has been a passion of mine for a long time. If you are open to that, shoot me your address to my email at the soundspace@gmail.com. thanks for sharing your wisdom and caring for other people's journeys!

Best,

Steve

http://www.thesoundspace.net/

Cheers,

Steve

Hi Derek...

I've created a way to use crowdsourcing as the primary driver of political and social change... with a multiplier that even you would have a difficult time getting your head around. more: www.facebook.com/FreiceMedia/

I'm going to launch this new venture by getting this 'worldwide vote of no confidence' in Trump to go viral. more: www.facebook.com/RepealReplaceTrump/

I need help with the viral part. But my timing is perfect. Because this Facebook page is also a strategic plan to remove Trump from office by Christmas Day 2017.

It's why people say "Penny for your thoughts" but when giving their opinion they say "I'm going to give my 2 cents worth." People always think their ideas are worth twice as much.
Fucking brilliant!! Love this. Thanks Bobbo. — Derek

This is so clearly defined - no fat to be found in this article or in any sentence for that matter. Big fan of your work, ideas, etc. This piece and many others are like a sculpture of words. They cut through all the noise (bullshit) out there and resonate in the brain!!! I think I make things harder than they need to be sometimes and instead of coming up with another idea and another idea - I should just execute the original idea......Anyways, thank you:) moving forward EXECUTION is the focus - not just another idea.

Regards,
-Mks

That was good.

For Derek's future book, and everyone else's writing:

I see where a few people have asked, and a few have explained, what an NDA is.

The journalism trick of the trade is that no matter how obvious some initials are... there are new babies being born every minute that will be encountering the initials for the first time.

Therefore, the standard trick is to write the long words in full the first time they are used. In newspapers, they used to put the initials in brackets right after the first time the long term was used, so that a person could scan up the article to find where the initials are first explained. (In my country the reporter style guide has been changed—and I think they were wrong to do so)

I know this from the very thin book "The Elements of Style" also called"the Strunk and White book." It is said that many "real writers" will reread that little book once a year.

I’m going to carry out brilliant execution on awful ideas until I resolve the inflation issue enough that I have time for family on one income with two kids. Oh, and paying off a house in less that 15 years. ;-)

I think of Ideas & Execution like parts of a vehicle, with ideas being the wheel and execution being the accelerator. To put it in perspective, I'll use a few games as an example.
Bad idea & bad execution: Bubsy 3D, an all around terrible game.
Bad idea & good execution: FIFA, repetitive, but well made.
Good idea & bad execution: Super Hydlide, not well made but has cool concepts.
Good idea & good execution: Zelda, Breath of the Wild.

I have a friend that goes to Uni with me (currently studying there), and he's a top rate student who's produced some of the best work I've seen, brilliant execution. However, he has no ideas, and simply sticks to jobs. While this gets him some money, he won't be going anywhere else anytime soon.
Anyone can have an idea, and a lot of people who have incredible skill sets. But good ideas are things that take time and love to nurture. As a thinker, it's fun to think up all sorts of cool ideas even if they don't get executed. But that doesn't do any harm, you just keep thinking up cool ideas until you come across one that can actually be executed, and then use those skills to work your way up and execute your other bizzaro ideas.

In this world, we have thinkers, and we have doers. Neither are better than each other (Depending on how you perceive 'better'), but they work in tandem with each other. That's why with games we have writers, and visual designers.

Yes.

Hey your notes on ideas are great. Thank you.

I like to use chess symbols, like this:

? Bad move
?? Blunder
! Good move
!! Great move

Hope you are well. Thank you for your work.
-Paul

Dear Derek:

Thank you so much for writing Anything You Want. It was a game-changer for me, and Incidentally I understand why Tim Ferriss considers you one of his favourite human beings.

I have what I consider to be a brilliant idea, and I look forward to sharing it with you and Tim once it has been brilliantly executed.

Until then, I remain admiringly yours,

David St John

Great idea.

i love the minimalist design. so easy.

I want to thank you for sharing your ideas. So simple yet so satisfying - really fires me up. I will be searching for your book. Thank you!

I couldn't agree more. With that said, i am very motivated to apply the knowledge.

Ideas are meaningless--without execution. So its laughable that someone would have you sign a nondisclosure for the simplest idea. Right? Well, the idea is meaningless to the originator if the execution is done by a third-party that stole the idea.

It sounds nice and has a meme-quality positive vibe to it but doesn't hold up to scrutiny in the real world where NDAs are necessary and there is always someone ready to execute *your* idea.

Agree completely. The whole point is in the execution of the idea.
BR
Abhijeet

Your math is off. Brilliant Idea x Brilliant Excecution = 200 million dollar idea.

Oops, I see it was "great" excecution. Carry on.

Most helpful "visualization" on why it is best to try something, anything.

Don't talk about it, DO IT!

Many people need micro level support to build their career. because they don't know what they should do next steps as even in organization they don't know the plans or big picture. From the news and conversation with team mates they keep changing their plans/no plans at all.

And the human without any objectives/goals may lazy or no focus.
When one of my teammate asked me, How can I be self motivated every time , I let him ask yourself some questions as :

Things to think about (just my recommendation to encourage your thoughts ) :
1) What knowledge do I want to acquire ?
2) What is the skill next I want to develop ? ( 2 or more short and long term plans )
3) What supporting experience would I like to have?
4) What supporting help I could give best ?
5) What level of risk am I honestly comfortable?
6) How will my goal support work/life balance ?
7) What role would I enjoy next?

Later I proposed them a template as well;

May you can find it here ;
docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1UCpc55O-2PMHBTiWIfUhukOCX9W-3Mw-tUUJGWtLI90/edit#gid=0

I think making an mobile application with this may worth; also will be a very good database to find where they can find best coaching as well.

Ideas + Execution = Success.

Hi Derek, just wanted to say thank you for your writings over the years, your concepts around life and meaning, in addition to your own personal story is hugely inspirational - and has led me to start my own blog www.dailybliss.co.uk regarding mental health and wellbeing. I couldn't agree more, an idea is worth nothing without execution...
Anyway thank you again for continuing to share and write.

Just listened to you on Shane's podcast. (Two of my favourite people!)

I hadn't seen this 'multiply' thought before - but oooooh it hits to the very core of my problem; "All mouth, no trousers" - full of ideas, spend countless hours day dreaming - hopeless at execution.

So... thank you for this - I should get it tattoo'd somewhere.

Watch this space!

I need execution split of software development revenue model

we are looking for investors for our company.

Such a deceptively simple concept — such a profound truth. Takes an Occam's Razor to the BS that can crowd one's brain. Thank you for this!

Consider the Endowment effect - our tendency to overvalue something simply because we own it. Sharing our ideas feels like sharing small pieces of who we are. To us, this carries a high value. To others… not so much.

A multi-million dollar idea is worth that much only after someone with the right knowledge, skills, and luck invests a good percentage of their life into making it a success. Consider this: how many people could come up with the idea of manufacturing electric cars? How many have made the concept a lucrative business? How many have failed with the same concept before?

So unless you can make it happen, it’s just a cool thought. If you sit on an idea for long enough, someone else will come up with it eventually. If you're not going to work on it, why not share it with the world?

Successful execution takes at least these 6 things: darkosavic.com/what-it-takes-to-turn-an-idea-into-a-successful-business/

That's exactly how we felt when my friend and I started removaly.com . There were other players in the data removal space and a lot of them with a lot of funding backing them. We felt we could execute better than the others in the market and we have.

Part of that execution is being able to differentiate and find a competitive advantage. Our industry is filled with a lot of people doing the same thing, so being able to set ourselves apart and execute better has been huge in marketing our product and growing our user base.

Thanks for the post!

See a reverse of this idea here:

mvpworkshop.co/blog/how-do-we-call-execution-without-an-idea/

☺

What are you selling? Is it an idea or an execution of it? If it’s a partial execution you likely need venture capital or angel investors.

If it's an idea that you aren't interested in developing yourself you can sell or share it here brainstorming.com/ideas.

Also, consider the following:

- You came up with the idea by remixing other people's knowledge and concepts.
- The endowment effect - our tendency to overvalue what we own compared to what we don't own. It isn't logical, but it's how our brains work.
- Sit on an idea long enough, and someone else will come up with it eventually.

This is so marvelous, we should have brilliant ideas with brilliant execution

And look how a post from 2005-08-16 is still there inspiring thousands of people ...An amazing execution

so inspiring !

Hi Derek … compliments on putting together the book “Anything You Want” with such clarity. I assume you would have a very busy routine. I have setup this startup where we develop digital solutions for large infrastructure projects. I wonder if you could share your reading list especially from an entrepreneur perspective.

Grateful as ever
Vivek

Spot on!

THE WHEEL your model is great for business, but not for culture. The wheel breaks your premise.

As for NDAs, I love the "me generation," but the following is only for readers wearing their citizen hat—otherwise you may safely skip it.

May I look at a bigger picture? For NDAs? (nondisclosure agreements)

An agency, governmental or nongovernmental, will often combine action, within the agency, with advertising outside the agency. Like, say, a city police service working against crime and also advertising about how to avoid getting your stuff stolen. Like operating some women's shelters and also educating the public about domestic violence. I call this an agency attending to the bigger picture: the public.

Part of the bigger picture is that an agency does not have total freedom. In the US you can have freedom of religion (such as a communist church) but not "freedom of corporation." Society says that to incorporate you must name certain officers, you must have a regular outside auditor, and so forth—and of course you don't have freedom to discriminate against any "race religion or creed" in hiring.

As a citizen, I wonder if we are giving corporations too much freedom in their NDAs. There is evidence that NDAs are being used against society's interest, used to prevent "whistle blowers" from reporting, for example, dishonesty and sexual sexual harassment, even after leaving the company.

I'm no lawyer-politician, but I think we the public should have the right to intervene against NDAs that are used to protect the company officers rather than simply to protect the company trade secrets.

The biggest companies, like the ones that melted Wall Street, can be be the worst. I respect the guy at google who resigned the first day when they insisted he legally sign that he had read a policy manual that did not, in fact, exist.

Footnote: I wrote this after reading the fellow Derek linked to at #382 who knew that certain ideas must be worked up on, not merely blabbed as a sound bite.

Whenever I get an idea in my mind. I always execute it no matter how, Because I know one thing if I won't then someone else with execute it.

Y sin IDEA, la ejecución de un GENIO, vale CERO. Aquí todo es importante, todo. La idea, el diseño, la planificación, la ejecución, el soporte postventa, etc.etc.

Aquí todo es importante, la idea, el diseño, la planificación, la ejecución, la postventa, etc.etc. El egocentrismo dejemoslo de lado.

Great information Thanks for quantifying - Idea is ore and execution is useful metal

What if we have something to have simulation about this concept. It's just an idea. :)

Great Logic. a mind-changer for many people, including me. Thanks.

Amazing knowledge, love to follow the same procedure and focus more on execution.

My commitment is to launch a digital course by the end of 2024 and to become financially free by 2030

Amazing blog, it gives an urge to execute your thoughts and do amazing in life.
Thank you very much to share insights with us .
God bless you with more success.

no think; only do

This is a wonderful thoughts and worthy of print out and paste in offices and rooms

People are very protective about ideas especially when those ideas has POTENTIAL (again it is still potential until it is being executed). There are tons of ideas in the universe yet when no one act on it is just an idea. Cleverly put Derek on this.

Cool idea

Hey Derek, long time fan here. My best friend and I quote each other this post from time to time. Seeing the explosion of “vibe coded” projects lately I wonder if after 20 years of validity, it doesn’t apply anymore. It feels like now anyone can create a frankenstein with a few prompts and go raise money pretending it’s a fully working MVP. Not sure if this is good news or bad news. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this! Cheers