A tech company hired lots of creative visionaries to generate breakthrough ideas, but an engineering leader warned they were drowning in ideas and falling behind on execution. They needed people focused on schedules, deadlines, and getting work done. Too many idea people in one place can actually slow you down.
Sounds weird, but too much innovation can wreck your team. I worked with a tech company that was obsessed with hiring creative, flexible people who could dream up the next breakthrough. And it worked. They hired a ton of innovators. But then one engineering leader told me, we're actually drowning in ideas and falling behind on execution. He actually said they needed some non-innovative people. People who would build the schedules, enforce deadlines, and put their heads down and get the work finished. That's the problem with hiring 5 versions of the same great employee. A team full of idea people can generate brilliant ideas but still accomplish almost nothing. Innovation matters, but somebody has to organize it, somebody has to execute it, and somebody has to make the hard decisions. Sometimes your team doesn't need another visionary. Sometimes it needs somebody who finishes things.
