Well said. I think that I would be shy of describing myself as an "ideas guy" simply because of the experience I've had with people who describe themselves that way.
But I appreciate your more nuanced interpretation of both the phrase and the parent's intention.
Looking back at the vantage point of my own 10 year old "startup" - oops, I mean "small SaaS software business" - I can certainly point to a couple good ideas that took about 5 years' execution apiece =)
To put it all another way:
If some young person said to me "I'm an ideas guy", that would probably be the end of my taking them seriously
If that same young person said to me "I've got a lot of good ideas - I think - but I'm not sure of my ability to make them happen", then I would respond very differently.
But I appreciate your more nuanced interpretation of both the phrase and the parent's intention.
Looking back at the vantage point of my own 10 year old "startup" - oops, I mean "small SaaS software business" - I can certainly point to a couple good ideas that took about 5 years' execution apiece =)
To put it all another way:
If some young person said to me "I'm an ideas guy", that would probably be the end of my taking them seriously
If that same young person said to me "I've got a lot of good ideas - I think - but I'm not sure of my ability to make them happen", then I would respond very differently.