I know a lot of people obsessed with protecting their idea. One person, in particular, took an idea I had shared with him and off he went building a company around my idea. The company had some success with the idea, but they never achieved what they could have become.
The bottom line is it may be easy to take someone's idea, but it is far more difficult to take their vision.
The vision supersedes the idea. It involves process, execution, strategy, talent, skills, systems, reality, management, brainstorming, and conviction. It is so much more than just the birth of the idea; it's making the story come alive.
The idea is great, but a blind spot is the vision. What makes your idea unique and powerful is you. It's what you believe that allows you to persevere and take action when others quit. It's what you see about your idea that can be played with and expanded upon without limits.
Nevertheless, ideas are made to happen only as the result of a well-managed workflow and execution of the vision. It's never just the idea.