Execution vs Ideation

They say "the world beats down a path to the person's house who builds a better mousetrap". Essentially this means that world pays a premium for good execution.

On the other hand, nothing great would have happened in the world if someone would not have spent time in thinking up things. I always feel that our imagination is bound by the realm of possibility. It means that if we can think something, there has to be a way to execute it. Whatever feels and looks impossible is only because we are looking at it through an existing way of doing things. To me, such things demand us to look at them in a different way, maybe not easily visible to everyone.

An imaginative person who understands execution well, will be in a good position to find such different ways and build his fortune. The one person who seems to have mastered this art well is Steve Jobs. Creating companies like Apple and Pixar needs great imagination but more importantly, the leader has to have a grip on the execution aspect of the same as well. Without this, it will be difficult to communicate the vision to your employees/associates in a manner meaningful enough that it can be executed upon.

Would love to hear your thoughts!