How do I know an idea is strong before producing anything?

I don’t really start with a checklist.

From my Entermedia days doing music videos, I remember how many ideas sounded amazing in the room. Everyone hyped, references everywhere, you could already see the final result in your head. And then you try to explain it in one simple sentence, and it doesn’t land.

That’s usually the first signal for me.

If I can't say it simply, it's not ready.

Over time I also started looking at ideas through the “but / therefore” logic of Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the creators of South Park. Not “and then, and then”, but: something happens, but something changes, therefore something else happens. That’s where tension comes in. If an idea doesn’t have it, it usually feels flat, even if everything around it looks good.

Another thing I do is remove things instead of adding them. I strip the idea down and see if it still holds. If it needs more and more explanation, it’s probably not there yet.

Over time you just feel when something has weight and when it’s just noise. Because in the end, execution will only amplify what is already there.

Originally published: LinkedIn, March 2026