FC NOW: The Fast Company Weblog
January 18, 2008
From the Editor of Fast Company: Crude Ideas
What kind of work is most valuable? At this magazine, we tend to talk about ideas and inspiration and management techniques, but less often about the dirty work of getting the job done. Which is why this issue's feature about Dirty Jobs' Mike Rowe was such an opportunity. Rowe, until recently, was a screwup. He worked a sequence of low-end acting gigs, more intent on entertaining himself than on having an impact.
Then he discovered Dirty Jobs--or, more precisely, he created it. He found a way to use his particular skills effectively, and he found the motivation to act on those skills. And it all worked.
Rowe is on the cover not just because his compelling personal saga illuminates how entertainment networks operate and the resurgence of cable's Discovery Communications (which airs Dirty Jobs)--though it certainly does that. But Rowe's story also allows us to examine an underappreciated aspect of economic success: the genius of expertly executed craftsmanship. It is the glue that cements ideas, on one end, and hard work, on the other, to fuel productivity. Either type of asset is squandered if inappropriately deployed. Execution is the great differentiator in our global economic competition.
Consider the acknowledged hero in American business today,
In a completely different arena, consider MI'Ts stylish Stata Center. Designed by Frank Gehry, the building has been plagued with problems since it opened--late and way overbudget--in 2004. It is now the subject of litigation between the university and the starchitect. Yet as Anya Kamenetz explains in "Lost in the Funhouse," on page 49, the problems more likely stem from how Gehry's design was brought to life than from any flaws in the design itself. Even a brilliant concept may be destined for trouble if not married to brilliant execution.
When Mike Rowe climbs into a sewer or strips shingles off a rooftop, he invariably fouls something up. These are jobs that others look down their noses at, yet he demonstrates by his own ineptitude just how hard they are to do properly. The message--that dignity and genius can be found in even the most unexpected places--is crystal clear.
And so is the challenge: How do we balance the importance of creative ideas with the imperative of erecting buildings that don't leak or software that doesn't crash or TV shows that actually entertain? For American businesses striving to improve productivity, it is a crucial question. I'd welcome your thoughts. As Malcolm Gladwell notes in a somewhat different context, in "Is the Tipping Point Toast?" beginning on page 74, "All [we] can ever do is uncover a little piece of the bigger picture, and one day--when we put all those pieces together--maybe we'll have a shot at the truth."
Feedback: editor@fastcompany.com
Posted by Robert Safian at January 18, 2008 11:05 PM | Category: editor's letter |
3 Comments
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It is indeed so true that the execution of an idea is as improtant as the idea itself. Another related factor is the timing of the execution.
Lately, our business/technology/professional literature can be seen as focusing on the tagline "work smart, not hard". But it is a faulty idea. Actually it should be "work hard and work smart".
By using the "work smart" cliche many entrepreneurs try to 'manage' things and the idea just gets managed well but poorly executed.
In the corporate world today, and perhaps others, the idea, the concept, is idolized, while sadly, the ability to execute is more likely than not taken for granted. And this will ultimately lead to an organization’s demise. As with Google, YouTube was not the first to do online video. But they were the best at making it easy – and thus the design and execution, and not just the idea lead to success. Microsoft is often criticized for rarely having any new ideas. Perhaps justified, but what they do is execute better than others. Again, their success is due to the dirty work, not the idea.
During the first Internet wave, those companies with sound execution (the dirty work) appear to have succeeded more often, while those with just an idea, and poor execution seem to have failed. The trend is clear - Excellent execution can save a bad idea, but all ideas are doomed with poor execution.
The question is, do you get it? Does your competitor?
Andrew Peterson at Realized Design, LLC
welllll as a very, very small business owner who has done extensive research on the bad idea versus execution debate... I can tell you one thing... A bad idea with great execution may not work for the long haul but can make you mega bucks in the short term and then who cares if it's a bad idea. Reference about two million worthless products in the market place for brief periods throughout the dawn of time.