There is a kind of struggle especially in the business, entrepreneurship and startup world, around the concept of ideas VS. execution. Many great names have been quoted saying that ideas are important. And many others have been quoted saying that execution is everything.
Anatole France (the french writer and poet 1844-1924), had a wiser approach to this question …
To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe.
– Anatole France
This quote comes to really close this debate, it gives back importance to ideas, all while emphasizing the importance of execution.
This quote emphasize the importance of execution. To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream. By focusing the first part on the conventional wisdom, that to accomplish you need to act, hence importance of execution.
Then the dreaming, planning and believing part are brought to light. Making sure to present the whole as engine to success rather than the parts.
I personally like this quote. I do think it is way more truthful than the quotes that attribute success to only one element. In business, maybe many could find execution as the main drive, but once the business grows in complexity, action alone is no longer sufficient. Also dreaming is very important if we wish to create great things. Planing and believing in what we are doing is essential. A great company, is a company that can transfer these values to the employees.
Related Ideas Vs execution:
Steve Jobs : the best ideas have to win
Talk is cheap. Execution is everything.
People don’t care about what you say. They care about what you build – Mark Zuckerberg
The only impossible journey is the one you never begin – Tony Robbins
Success is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration – Thomas Edison
Good ideas are always crazy until they are not – Elon Musk – Larry Page
It’s easy to have ideas, it’s very hard to turn an idea into a successful product – Jeff Bezos
Dreams are a dime a dozen. It’s their execution that counts – Theodore Roosevelt
You have to believe it before you see it. – quote by unknown
Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions. – Albert Einstein
There’s no shortage of remarkable ideas, what’s missing is the will to execute them – Seth Godin
Ideas are worthless. Execution is everything – Scott Adams
