Saying you’re an idea person but not an execution person tells me you’re not going to succeed

Sorry, bit of a rant today.

Let’s start with this: everyone has good ideas. The world is full of good ideas, and self-proclaimed “idea people”.

To say you’re an idea person and not an execution person says to people that you’re smarter than them, and you should come up with ideas and they should do the hard work.

I’ve never in my life met a successful person who would characterize themselves as an “idea person”. The people I see succeed are those that work extremely hard at their goals. They grind until they get it right.

It’s one of the reasons I have so much respect for Stacey Abrams, because she refers to her organization as a Do Tank, not a Think Tank.

It’s one of the reasons I have so much respect for Roz Brewer. Read this article in Fortune that talks about her work at Starbucks. She thinks, yes, but then she does the hard work.

If you’re telling people that you’re an “idea person”, please stop. At best it’s insulting and condescending, at worse it’s a sign that you’re lazy and aren’t interested in doing the hard work to be successful.