--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: your first idea is unlikely to be the…" description: "\"“your first idea is unlikely to be the best, so you should be optimising for speed of iteration rather than quality of prototype.”\" — Adrian McEwen" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d1/adrian-mcewen-98287_quote_your-first-idea-is-unlikely-to-be-the-be_2120792.jpg" --- # your first idea is unlikely to be the best, so you should… ![“your first idea is unlikely to be the best, so you should be optimising for speed of iteration rather than quality of prototype.” quote by Adrian McEwen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d1/adrian-mcewen-98287_quote_your-first-idea-is-unlikely-to-be-the-be_2120792.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d1/adrian-mcewen-98287_quote_your-first-idea-is-unlikely-to-be-the-be_2120792.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d1/adrian-mcewen-98287_quote_your-first-idea-is-unlikely-to-be-the-be_2120792.jpg) > ““your first idea is unlikely to be the best, so you should be optimising for speed of iteration rather than quality of prototype.”” [Adrian McEwen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-mcewen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Early ideas are rarely optimal; prioritize rapid iteration over perfect prototypes. **In simple terms:** Early ideas need fast iteration, not perfection. Key Takeaway Iterate quickly, refine later. Themes innovation iteration prototype development learning efficiency Mood pragmatic focused optimistic Type Prototype:1 Quality Prototype:0 Idea Unlikely:1 Iteration Quality:1 Optimising:1 When to use this quote - startup development - software design - research projects Key Concepts lean methodology product design creative process Questions to Reflect On - How many iterations are enough? - When should you focus on quality? A Different Perspective Speed may sacrifice depth and quality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Idea Unlikely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idea-unlikely-4324727/) [Iteration Quality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/iteration-quality-4324728/) [Optimising](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/optimising-4324729/) [Prototype](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prototype/) [Quality Prototype](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quality-prototype-4324726/) ## Related quotes > [Because economics is all about optimising, doing the best you can with what you have - it's usually the first place you should look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-oster/because-economics-is-all-about-optimising-doing-the-best-you-can-with/) [Emily Oster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-oster/) > [It may also be pertinent to ask whether a greater effort in the less expensive basic stages of research may not lead to reductions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-tower-waterman/it-may-also-be-pertinent-to-ask-whether-a-greater-effort-in-the-less/) [Alan Tower Waterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-tower-waterman/) > [I think there's a prototype we're all looking for, whether it's Brett Favre or Troy Aikman. And everyone's got that picture in their mind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-payton/i-think-there-s-a-prototype-we-re-all-looking-for-whether-it-s-brett/) [Sean Payton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-payton/) > [An MBA is a great degree for career paths like investment banking, finance, consulting, and large companies. An MBA is not necessarily the right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-kawasaki/an-mba-is-a-great-degree-for-career-paths-like-investment-banking/) [Guy Kawasaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-kawasaki/) > [I had to learn everything about manufacturing, patents and how to run a business, and eventually I came up with an prototype that worked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-george/i-had-to-learn-everything-about-manufacturing-patents-and-how-to-run/) [Melissa George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-george/) > [As a writer, I always think about who my prototype actors are, in my brain. It's helpful, as a writer, to think about that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlton-cuse/as-a-writer-i-always-think-about-who-my-prototype-actors-are-in-my/) [Carlton Cuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlton-cuse/) > [The idea of an e-book has been around since the late 1970s, when researchers at Xerox PARC got on the case. Their prototype used…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-platt/the-idea-of-an-e-book-has-been-around-since-the-late-1970s-when/) [Charles Platt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-platt/) > [I want to encourage other people to try to discover who they are, not to try to fit into some superficial prototype of what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-norman/i-want-to-encourage-other-people-to-try-to-discover-who-they-are-not/) [Larry Norman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-norman/) > [The first album is a classic record and I think the prototype of a sound that no one else does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-valentine/the-first-album-is-a-classic-record-and-i-think-the-prototype-of-a/) [Kathy Valentine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-valentine/) > [Sometimes I suspect that there are two prototypes of philosophers who write about humans - I call them "celestials" and "terrestrials", without implying that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nomy-arpaly/sometimes-i-suspect-that-there-are-two-prototypes-of-philosophers-who/) [Nomy Arpaly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nomy-arpaly/) > [Everything about my journey to get Spanx off the ground entailed me having to be a salesperson - from going to the hosiery mills…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-blakely/everything-about-my-journey-to-get-spanx-off-the-ground-entailed-me/) [Sara Blakely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-blakely/) > [A source of strength in the early days was that groups in various parts of the world were prepared to construct experimental computers without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-wilkes/a-source-of-strength-in-the-early-days-was-that-groups-in-various/) [Maurice Wilkes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-wilkes/) > [This is another lie. We are only seeking Man. We have no need of other worlds. A single world, our own, suffices us; but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanislaw-lem/this-is-another-lie-we-are-only-seeking-man-we-have-no-need-of-other/) [Stanislaw Lem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanislaw-lem/) > [“the constructor always has a prototype property. More”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-freeman/the-constructor-always-has-a-prototype-property-more/) [Eric Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-freeman/) > [As our domestic fowls are said to have their original in the wild pheasant of India, so our domestic thoughts have their prototypes in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/as-our-domestic-fowls-are-said-to-have-their-original-in-the-wild/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) ## More by Adrian McEwen > [“How to choose the right platform for your Internet of Things device is as easy a question to answer as working out the meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-mcewen/how-to-choose-the-right-platform-for-your-internet-of-things-device/) [Adrian McEwen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-mcewen/) [Explore all 2 Adrian McEwen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-mcewen/) ## More Prototype quotes > [As our domestic fowls are said to have their original in the wild pheasant of India, so our domestic thoughts have their prototypes in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/as-our-domestic-fowls-are-said-to-have-their-original-in-the-wild/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“the constructor always has a prototype property. More”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-freeman/the-constructor-always-has-a-prototype-property-more/) [Eric Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-freeman/) > [This is another lie. We are only seeking Man. We have no need of other worlds. A single world, our own, suffices us; but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanislaw-lem/this-is-another-lie-we-are-only-seeking-man-we-have-no-need-of-other/) [Stanislaw Lem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanislaw-lem/) > [A source of strength in the early days was that groups in various parts of the world were prepared to construct experimental computers without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-wilkes/a-source-of-strength-in-the-early-days-was-that-groups-in-various/) [Maurice Wilkes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-wilkes/) > [Everything about my journey to get Spanx off the ground entailed me having to be a salesperson - from going to the hosiery mills…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-blakely/everything-about-my-journey-to-get-spanx-off-the-ground-entailed-me/) [Sara Blakely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-blakely/) > [Sometimes I suspect that there are two prototypes of philosophers who write about humans - I call them "celestials" and "terrestrials", without implying that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nomy-arpaly/sometimes-i-suspect-that-there-are-two-prototypes-of-philosophers-who/) [Nomy Arpaly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nomy-arpaly/) > [The first album is a classic record and I think the prototype of a sound that no one else does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-valentine/the-first-album-is-a-classic-record-and-i-think-the-prototype-of-a/) [Kathy Valentine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-valentine/) > [I want to encourage other people to try to discover who they are, not to try to fit into some superficial prototype of what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-norman/i-want-to-encourage-other-people-to-try-to-discover-who-they-are-not/) [Larry Norman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-norman/) > [The idea of an e-book has been around since the late 1970s, when researchers at Xerox PARC got on the case. Their prototype used…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-platt/the-idea-of-an-e-book-has-been-around-since-the-late-1970s-when/) [Charles Platt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-platt/) > [As a writer, I always think about who my prototype actors are, in my brain. It's helpful, as a writer, to think about that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlton-cuse/as-a-writer-i-always-think-about-who-my-prototype-actors-are-in-my/) [Carlton Cuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlton-cuse/) > [I had to learn everything about manufacturing, patents and how to run a business, and eventually I came up with an prototype that worked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-george/i-had-to-learn-everything-about-manufacturing-patents-and-how-to-run/) [Melissa George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-george/) > [An MBA is a great degree for career paths like investment banking, finance, consulting, and large companies. An MBA is not necessarily the right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-kawasaki/an-mba-is-a-great-degree-for-career-paths-like-investment-banking/) [Guy Kawasaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-kawasaki/) > [I think there's a prototype we're all looking for, whether it's Brett Favre or Troy Aikman. And everyone's got that picture in their mind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-payton/i-think-there-s-a-prototype-we-re-all-looking-for-whether-it-s-brett/) [Sean Payton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-payton/) > [It may also be pertinent to ask whether a greater effort in the less expensive basic stages of research may not lead to reductions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-tower-waterman/it-may-also-be-pertinent-to-ask-whether-a-greater-effort-in-the-less/) [Alan Tower Waterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-tower-waterman/) > [Today is what's thought about long ago. Now today we have to project, think, experiment, prototype the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hartmut-esslinger/today-is-what-s-thought-about-long-ago-now-today-we-have-to-project/) [Hartmut Esslinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hartmut-esslinger/) [Browse all 124 Prototype quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prototype/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“your first idea is unlikely to be the best, so you should be optimising for speed of iteration rather than quality of prototype.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Adrian McEwen" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-mcewen/your-first-idea-is-unlikely-to-be-the-best-so-you-should-be/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Prototype" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-mcewen/your-first-idea-is-unlikely-to-be-the-best-so-you-should-be/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d1/adrian-mcewen-98287_quote_your-first-idea-is-unlikely-to-be-the-be_2120792.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d1/adrian-mcewen-98287_quote_your-first-idea-is-unlikely-to-be-the-be_2120792.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d1/adrian-mcewen-98287_quote_your-first-idea-is-unlikely-to-be-the-be_2120792.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“your first idea is unlikely to be the best, so you should be optimising for speed of iteration rather than…” — Adrian McEwen", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Adrian McEwen", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-mcewen/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“your first idea is unlikely to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-mcewen/your-first-idea-is-unlikely-to-be-the-best-so-you-should-be/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-mcewen/your-first-idea-is-unlikely-to-be-the-best-so-you-should-be/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```