I believe it’s time that someone stood up and told the truth about one of the great problems that we face today. The truth is that we aren’t in short supply of idea makers or visionaries. The truth is that we are in short supply of idea implementers and visionmakers. Most people have a great idea. In fact, your great idea has probably been thought of by thousands of other people before you. It is not in your idea where value is created. Value is created in the extent of how far and how well you can execute on your idea. In fact, if you have that one-in-million idea or even that one-in-a-billion idea, that idea has been thought of by at least 6,700 to 6.7 other people in the world, respectively. How did I arrive at these numbers? Right now there are approximately 6.7 billion people in this world, 6.7 billion / 1 million or 1 billion is 6,700 or 6.7 people. I say this to illustrate the point on how useless ideas are, useless to the extent that you can implement that idea.
I write this in response to multiple articles that I have seen written about, “our leadership crisis.” I also recently saw The Social Network. Laugh all you want but yes, I finally saw The Social Network. Someone has to implement the great ideas that people have, I was busy implementing ideas while you were watching The Social Network or thinking of your next “big idea.” I say this in jest, simply to illustrate my point in the best way that I know how, sarcastically. In The Social Network, an idea was hatched for a social network that was based upon exclusivity; however, the idea makers/visionaries/leaders had no way to implement their idea. Their solution was to hire a programmer to write their social network. This programmer had to be creative and talented. They tried twice before but failed to find their guy, until they ran into Mark Zuckerburg.
Allegedly, Mark took their idea, turned his back on the project that he said he would do for them, and implemented a different and more robust version of their site. Mark launched the site Facebook and created a company valued at nearly $50 billion and a user base of nearly 600 million worldwide. Ideas are worthless. Value is created to the extent of how far and how well you can implement your idea.
What the world needs is not more idea makers/visionaries/leaders. What the world needs is more idea implementers/engineers/creators/gamers. Creatives who understand technology, psychology, design, and commerce. People who make things and not ideas. People who get things done by actually doing them and not by getting others to do it for them. One of America’s biggest problems is that we want to be the leader or own the project rather than do the hard work or learn the skills it requires to implement the project. We need to stop wanting to be the CEO or the next American Idol and start wanting to be the next best programmer or engineer or great designer or small business owner. If you want to create value, work and develop your skills in making the things you are passionate about. Collaborate with other doers and not thinkers. Value the creation of things rather than ideas.
Ideas are useless, useless to the extent of how far and how well you can implement your idea.