From Dream to Done: What It Takes to Build Something
The image above is a structure my brother built—piece by piece, standing solid on a hill, soon to be a home. It didn’t just appear. It started as an idea, then a plan, then a whole lot of sweat and effort to make it real.
That process—getting something from inspiration to reality—is something I think about a lot. Whether it’s a house, a business, or a creative project, the path from dream to done isn’t one smooth road. In fact, it usually takes three very different kinds of people to make it happen.
The Dreamers (The Big Idea Stage)
Some people are wired to see what could be. They live in possibilities, always thinking up new things—whether it’s a startup idea, a better way to run a business, or just an improvement to their own life.
I once worked for a consulting firm run by a pure dreamer. Every day, he’d come in with a new idea. It was great for brainstorming with clients—he could spin up possibilities out of nowhere. But when you have a team trying to execute, it’s chaos. You can’t keep rethinking everything when people are mid-build.
The Builders (Getting It Done)
At some point, dreaming has to give way to doing. Builders take the raw vision and actually make things. These are the engineers, the craftsmen, the people who turn an idea into something real.
This is where the friction usually starts. Dreamers want to keep tweaking and exploring, while builders just want to finish the damn thing. If you’ve ever worked in a startup or built something from scratch, you’ve probably felt this tension. It happens everywhere—from tech teams to construction crews to families trying to renovate a house without going nuts.
The Finishers (Keeping It Running)
Even after something is built, it’s not done. A house needs maintenance. A product needs support. A business needs people to keep it moving forward. Finishers are the ones who step in when the excitement fades and make sure things actually last.
Think about Apple. Steve Jobs was the dreamer. Steve Wozniak was the builder. But neither was the one keeping the company running day-to-day once it scaled. That took a whole different set of people.
Balance Grasshopper
The best teams—and honestly, the best leaders—figure out how to balance all three roles.
- Dreamers need some structure, or their ideas never leave the whiteboard.
- Builders need flexibility, or they get frustrated when plans inevitably change.
- Finishers need to keep things running without getting stuck in “we’ve always done it this way.”
A friend once told me that most people are either hunters or farmers. Hunters chase new things. Farmers tend to what already exists. The real magic happens when you get both working together instead of clashing.
Are you more of a hunter or a farmer? Do you get stuck in the idea phase, or do you have a habit of moving too fast without finishing things? Maybe you’re the rare person who can bridge all three stages (if so, teach the rest of us your secrets).
Knowing yourself and which type is a helpful start when stuck – you’re probably having a problem specific to your archetype.