I’ve talked with thousands of entrepreneurs. Some very successful and some not-so-successful. This morning I was thinking about the not-so-successfuls and I realized they could be bucketed into two groups: those with the Big Idea Syndrome and those with Analysis Paralysis.
With all due respect to Donny Deutsch’s The Big Idea (love his show), the big idea isn’t worth jack. It’s all about the execution. But those who suffer from the Big Idea Syndrome jump into idea after idea, full of excitement and ambition, only to fall flat because they fail to realize success comes from execution, not the idea.
On the other end of the spectrum are the entrepreneurs who are too afraid to act. They think, analyze and talk till they’re blue in the face, but they don’t take action. Their paralysis keeps them in their cushy corporate job or in the comfort zone of their modest small business. They’re paralyzed and unable to jump in and act.
I think the key for successful entrepreneurship is to be in the middle of the spectrum: act on the idea (almost any idea will do), but realize that execution is the key.
Execution is key, however turning that idea into a product or service that is worth value is the hard part. If you do it as an entrepreneur still employed “in their cushy corporate job:, then the corporation owns the IP.
It’s the entrepreneurs willing to show their spouse that they not only have a plan, but the will to execute it and a willing customer base.
I have failed before by following a “Ready, Fire, Aim!” approach. This time around I made sure there were customers ready to buy the product before it even existed.
Comment by Randy — February 12, 2008 @ 1:08 am
Clate,
This is a very good point. It applies to anyone trying to get something real done. I’m a founding member of a non profit. The past year the leader of our group has been proposing one “hot” idea after another, yet our organization hasn’t really seen much growth. finally, at our 2008 planning meeting I had to really bring the issue to the forefront and make a case that our weakness has been in the execution. You have to make it happen. Absolutely have to, otherwise ideas are like supernova’s - look great in a picture but really don’t mean much to you in any other respect.
Comment by Shailesh Ghimire — February 28, 2008 @ 10:15 am