The Ideation to Execution Gap

Why you're letting your ideas rot away instead of bringing them to life.

This morning at 6am, the synapses in my brain began to fire uncontrollably, with bits and pieces of a creative idea that I just had to piece together. In that moment. At 6 am. I tried to at least let the sun rise a bit, but the anxiety started to kick in. If i didn’t get out of bed and start the process to execution, I was going to implode. So there I was, dragging myself out of bed all the way over to my kitchen table desk, where it was time to make sense of everything in my brain. This is where most of us get stuck, because having an idea is easy. It’s always acting on it, that people tend to fail at. The idea just sits in their brain or a journal, collecting dust and rotting away while we sit and wonder when our lives are going to change. This is called the Ideation to Execution Gap, and it’s more common than you’d think.

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A few years ago, I was the queen of making up excuses for any of my short comings. If I never achieved a goal, it was because the odds were stacked against me. If I didn’t land that client I wanted, it was because I didn’t have the right tools. Neither of those excuses were accurate, I just had a really hard time holding myself accountable. This way of thinking really set me back when it came to actually reaching my goals and accomplishing everything I set out to. I was constantly comparing myself to other people or creatives, wondering why I wasn’t as successful or why my content wasn’t as strong. I always found a way to conjure up some excuse as to why they were succeeding in a way that I wasn’t. When in reality, I just wasn’t bridging the gap between Ideation and Execution.

When it comes to creating, it’s really easy to have an idea. How many times have you heard the phrase “you know what would be really cool?” That phrase alone makes my head spin; especially when it is never followed up by actual execution, so let’s fix that.

The Ideation to Execution Gap:

You want the gap between your idea and execution to be as small and short as possible. This allows for your idea and all the thoughts that accompany it, to stay as fresh as possible so you are always locked in. If the gap here is too long, you may forget about your goal and process all together.

So you have an IDEA….

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Step 1: Post Idea Clarity

Not every idea is a good idea, so the first step is to make sure this is one you will be committed to. Does it make you happy? Is it realistic? Are you able to execute soon? For me, I had this crazy urge to photograph these new custom mixed lipsticks I got from Lip Lap. I laid there, staring up at the ceiling and knew I wanted to photograph them with key colors of red, black, gold, white and maybe some lens flare and grain to give it a vintage vibe. Of course i thought a lot more, but this was the base. This was my starting point. 1 lipstick/gloss comb (2 products total), 3-4 shots, vintage vibe. I knew I could add this to my portfolio and secure more work that way, so I knew it was worth my time, energy and talent. Okay so now what…

Yes im quoting myself bc if i don’t, who will? Carrying this energy throughout the year tysm.

Step 2. Organize your Thoughts

When I have an idea or project I want to do, sometimes my brain will rattle of everything thought every, that could potentially pertain to the first idea at hand. Some of which, have no fucking relation to the bigger picture. I cannot stress this enough, but ORGANIZE YOUR THOUGHTS. Make an effort to make sense of whats in your brain. Sift through your thoughts and separate whats relevant from irrelevant so you don’t waste your time chasing down things that wont serve their intended purpose. So many people will go straight from an idea to creating right then and there; no strategy, no plan, just vibes. While that can work for some, it definitely doesn’t work for most. You may find yourself in the middle of a process without and endgame, and very lost and confused on what to do next (this was old me. don’t be old me).

Step 3. Understand your Objectives

Arguable the most important part of the Ideation to Execution process, is to fully understand your objectives. No matter who, what, when, where, or why, every great product, art piece, marketing campaign, film or any other successful project, have a clear and definable goal. No matter how cool or talented you think you are, everything that’s worth anything, comes from an objective. This is the WHY behind everything you do. What do you wnat to get out of this? What do you want people to feel or think when they experience it? Now that you have a clear idea and you’ve organized your thoughts, it’s time to establish your process.

Step 4. Establish your Process

Whatever project or idea you are trying to execute on, it will undeniably require a process for you to follow, that makes things a lot more structured, which in turn helps keep you on track; some sort of layout that includes a timeline and certain factors pertaining to your project. For me, this mean developing my process to get this photoshoot done; aka developing my shotlist so I know exactly what it is I want to shoot, and sourcing props and whatever I need to execute. This should serve as a step by step process that showcases how you will get from A to B and start to finish. Think of a personalized instruction manual for your goal; anytime you get lost or are not sure what your next step is, you will always have this to refer to. This should NOT be so detailed with an hour by hour timeline. Think of this as a more general process overview.

Step 5. Execution

The final step in shortening the gap between ideation and execution is the actual execution of your project. At this point, you have some sort of execution strategy, or step by step process that covers your project from start to finish (step 4). This is where the fun begins. You already have your roadmap, so now you apply everything you’ve broken down within the last 4 steps. But because you outlined what this process should look like, what is arguable the hardest step for most, now becomes the easier; all you have to is follow your own steps. Regardless of what it is you’re doing or what your process looks like for you, allow yourself to give in to the world on some level. In saying this, I implore you to embrace change. We may set out for one things, but the cards we are dealt say another. It’s our job to adapt to those changes and pivot accordingly.

My Vision Board for 2025, Watch the full video on what my goals are for the year and how i strategized reaching them.

I say this because change is inevitable, whether we like it or not. Shit happens, point blank, period. We can’t control it, but we can control how we respond to that. Being able to adapt to change is arguably what produces the greatest work. No matter the industry, no matter the project, embrace the unexpected, don’t fear it. And whatever it is you’re working towards, is gonna be great. Gap closed.

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