The two-sided coin of idea and execution

It's a popular opinion that ideas are worthless, since anyone can think of one. It's execution that counts. But is that really so?

Just repetitively grinding at something without a plan has no value, as eloquently said by Bjarne Stroustrup in a recent CppCon. One would be like electrons in random motion; moving, but not going anywhere.

However, when we're skilled, we long for good ideas, which is why beginner programming forums are filled with questions about the "best projects" to work on. Without the necessary execution skills, ideas won't translate into valuable reality.

The truth is, idea and execution are two sides of the same valuable coin, and we need to keep improving on both.