

Is Execution More Important Than Vision? - physcab
http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/06/26/is-execution-more-important-than-vision/

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Tangurena
Yes. Execution is far more important than vision.

Ideas are easy to come by. Turning them into something is the hard part - and
doing them well is even harder. For too long there was this myth about "first
mover advantage" that overwhelmed logic and actual observation.

Amazon wasn't the first mail-order bookstore. They weren't the first online
bookstore. However, they're the best online bookstore because they "executed"
it best.

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skorgu
Not only execution but execution in the right direction. Amazon succeeded in
part because they picked a target (sheer volume and efficiency) and drove
singlemindedly towards it. Ditto companies like WalMart and FedEx.

Other companies have executed as well in orthogonal directions (I'd argue that
both GM and Microsoft are marketing companies with vestigal engineering
organs) and not done as well long-term.

I suppose that's where the vision comes into play; you have to see the target
to aim.

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access_denied
Execution in the right direction needs vision. Original question from
TechCrunch is stoo-pid. It's like asking if you want the car with tyres or an
engine.

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profquail
No. That is to say, you can't have one without the other.

Think back to all the neat ideas that came up during the dot-com boom, and
then remember that many/most of them failed in the end.

In the early stages of a business, you have to have the 'vision' that wows
people enough to make them want to invest in you. From that point, execution
is what keeps you in business.

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BerislavLopac
Actually, you can have a vision with no execution. I have a ton this instant.

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profquail
Logically, you are totally correct. In the business world, execution turns
vision into cash flow. So, a successful business will necessarily have both.

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johnnybgoode
> Is Execution More Important Than Vision? (techcrunch.com)

I saw this and thought, "Maybe, but how would _TechCrunch_ know?"

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vparihar
Execution is absolutely more important than vision because everyone can be a
visionary if he has even a little interest. For example, when you look at
Google giving you search results in one fashion, you think "I wish they had a
good design." But only bing.com could prove that search can be better
organized and designed, and I 'd say they have executed just fine. Ideas can
be generated even in the bathroom.

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tophat02
Before the idea is out in the market, then I'd say that vision is slightly
more important than execution. BUT, once it's out there and it's clear people
want to buy it, then vision takes a back seat to good, solid, competent
execution.

How many market leaders actually invented their markets? The business world is
full of the remains of "visionary" companies who just plain got out-executed.

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kaitnieks
Execution is important, no doubts there. And I agree that for mass products it
is more important than vision. However, I think that if the product is
targeted for a single customer or a small niche group then vision is way more
important - users will tolerate much of the shortcomings in execution if they
see a great future perspective and are excited about it.

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ujjwalg
Very interesting article. IMO, vision is important, but without having the
ability to execute it, its essentially worthless. When we launched a lot of
people said and some still say that they had similar ideas, but it was us who
executed it.

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DannoHung
Yes, details are important.

