Why excellent execution is just as important, if not more so, than a great idea

Ideas vs Execution. Thinkers vs Doers.

In this day and age where we have Shark Tank, IndieGoGo, Kickstarter, and the ability to promote big ideas to anyone who will listen, everyone believes big ideas are the golden tickets to fame, fortune, glory, and early retirement.

Everyone wants to be the Thinker and Person with Big Ideas because it’s perceived to be more glamorous than the Doer and Person Who Does the Heavy Lifting. But both are equally important.

Ideas are nothing without a way to execute them effectively and efficiently. Venture capitalists don’t invest or buy out startups based on just an idea, but their belief that the startup is able to execute on their idea.

At any given moment, whatever big idea you might have, someone probably also has the same one — so who’s going to do it better? Not first, but better.

The Apple iPod was not the first mp3 player in the market, but it was arguably the best when it came out — and remained so for years. Steve Jobs had both the vision and the oversight to get “1,000 songs in your pocket”. He was involved with its development, from concept to design to prototyping to production. The iPod worked because it was the best in class.

Likewise, Google didn’t invent search, Facebook didn’t invent social networking, and Airbnb didn’t invent online home rentals. But all took ideas that were previously in the market and became leaders because of excellent execution. Yes, sometimes there is such a thing as “first mover advantage”, but only if that first mover has a great product and continues to improve and innovate on that product. Who would you say is leading the Virtual Assistant space? If you have an iPhone and an Echo, who do you turn to first for the weather, to turn on your home lights, or to play a song…?

When Great Ideas Fail

I love technology, but naturally it’s complicated. I’ve crowdfunded several companies in the last year and sadly, two of them folded: Plastc and PopSlate.

Plastc, like Coin, was in the business of creating a smart card that could hold all your credit cards (and even gift cards) in one place. When you make a purchase in the real world, you could literally swipe the surface of the card to choose which card you wanted to pay with. The card number and accompanying details would be displayed on the card.

But Plastc folded. And how did I find out? Though my LinkedIn newsfeed: “Plastc swiped $9 million from backers and just completely vanished”. Even though they raised $9M from backers, they had issues with things like production/manufacturing and NFC/EMV support — as a result, they practically disappeared overnight. No notice, no refunds, no options for their backers. As a backer, I received an email later in the day after I read the article above.

PopSlate was selling an iPhone case that used electronic ink on the backside of your phone, essentially giving you quick access to a 2nd screen. It was marketed as a “Mophie, Pebble and Kindle, all in one”.

But they also folded. They couldn’t figure out how to manage battery performance, failed certification tests with Apple, had manufacturing issues — and eventually burned through all their cash. Again, no refunds or options for their backers.

Update: I actually originally wrote this article in May 2017 on LinkedIn. After having recently watched the Fyre Festival documentaries on Netflix and Hulu, I thought this article was more relevant than ever and decided to repost. The Fyre Festival is now the poster child for great idea, bad execution. Now what this article doesn’t address is having a sociopathic co-founder and CEO, but that’s another article for another day…

Ad Agencies Aren’t Just About Great Creative

Ad agencies need to be able to execute flawlessly as well, not just come up with great ideas.

As an ad exec, I work in a pretty cutthroat and crowded industry. There are more ad agencies today than ever, with the large shops like Ogilvy and Grey still around, and with more niche and boutique shops springing up every year. So how do you differentiate yourself from other shops? That’s a loaded question for sure, as there are tons of different answers and reasons why agencies are selected, but, for the sake of argument, one differentiating factor will be the agency that can execute best on their ideas.

The Good

One of my proudest accomplishments to date was when I took over a few projects for a client who was going to end their relationship with my agency. Despite these projects being our swan song, I knocked them out of the park from an executional point of view. The clients took notice and started to give us more projects. I helped grow the business to a point where at the end of two years, half of my agency’s revenue came from this one client.

The Bad

In early stages of my ad agency career, when I was more junior/mid-level, I was at an agency where senior management sold clients on big digital tactics that I just couldn’t deliver on because my agency didn’t have the right core competencies to give me the support I needed. Budgets ballooned and timelines were pushed out. And every day that the client’s product or services wasn’t in market or being promoted, it cost them. For one particular big pharma brand I worked with, it was estimated that for every day that there was a delay in our campaign hitting the market, it cost my client nearly $1M in sales.

The Ugly

And when I’m talking about excellence in execution, it’s not just about pulling off the big idea either, like the creation of a new smart credit card. Working in the pharma advertising space, even a small typo can have huge ramifications: it could delay tactics by days, weeks, and even months, due to the heavy amount of regulation and rigid process. This increases costs for both the agency and client — and the opportunity cost of not being in market impacts sales. Mistakes like these can even hurt brand reputation. Or cost a company $255M in one day.

I’ve seen team members removed from accounts or even fired for lack of quality of work. I’ve seen agencies fired as well for failure to execute. As I mentioned, with so many competing agencies out there who can come up with creative solutions, why would clients tolerate lack of quality of work?

So How Do I Execute Flawlessly?

Depending on your industry, there are different processes and methods that you can use to achieve operational excellence, like Six Sigma. Do some research to see what’s relevant for you. Check with your company to see if they offer any courses.

But philosophically:

• Know who you are. There are people who are naturally better thinkers — as there are those who are better with attention to detail. If you are more one than the other, then surround yourself with people who are the other. It’s not impossible to be both — just don’t take for granted the need to do it right.
• Don’t bite off more than you can chew. If you or your company doesn’t have the core competency to pull something off right, don’t pretend you can. Partner with those that can.
• Don’t take execution for granted. Make sure you map out as much of the entire viability of the project upfront, rather than making it up as you go along or crossing that bridge when you get there thinking that it will all work out. Hold yourself accountable and hold your team accountable for figuring out the right plan.
• Don’t think execution is beneath you. Don’t be afraid of doing. Embrace it. Get your hands dirty. Do it better than anyone else. The lines between winning and losing are clear. Be a leader and set the example for your team. Set expectations with everyone around you that everyone needs to deliver.
• Don’t take shortcuts. Spell check will not let you know that you used “they’re/their/there” or “affect/effect” or “your/you’re” incorrectly. Due diligence is important.

Find the Right Balance

To be clear, you shouldn’t be afraid to come up with big ideas even if you haven’t figured out the execution. I still applaud Plastc and PopSlate for coming up with what I thought would be great products. I don’t have intimate details of how they operated so I can’t cast stones. But I only lost $225 in crowdfunding investment — there are Plastc and PopSlate folks who lost their jobs.

You can’t be perfect all the time — it’s called “human error” for a reason. And failing is an important part of taking risks in business and entrepreneurship. My point is don’t bathe in the glow of the idea at the expense of flawless execution.