Archive for the ‘Business’ Category

I just finished reading through 37signals new book called “Getting Real.” I really enjoyed the book and would definitely recommend it. Below are some thoughts and highlights.

Work from large to small.

Due to my previously mentioned perfectionist nature, I often get stuck in the details. The book pointed out that “Success and satisfaction is in the details, but you’ll also find stagnation, disagreement and delay. There’s plenty of time to be a perfectionist. Just do it later.” Now actually doing that is going to be tougher, but it is a great point that really hit home with me.

Just Wing It and Scale Later.

Too often things get stuck in plan mode. The book suggests, “Create a great app and then worry about what to do once it’s wildly successful.” That makes a lot more sense to me. I understand that scalability needs to be in the back of your mind, but it shouldn’t drive a project. Make something great first and get it out the door as quickly as possible.

If you try to please everyone, you won’t please anyone.

This is obvious, but I think it is good that the book discussed it. You can’t please everyone. It’s just not possible. Focus on pleasing the users who are going to love your app and become evangelists.

Any feature that requires learning will only be adopted by a small fraction of users.

A user can only learn and use a certain number of features. If they can get what they need done, they won’t spend the time necessary to learn the correct or easier way to do it. Their way works and that is all they are interested in. This is why feature bloat is bad. Nail down which features are going to be used and don’t add the others in. This keeps the app simple and easy to use.

Decisions are temporary so make the call and move on.

Again due to my perfectionism, this is often an issue with me. I painstakingly analyze what would be the best way to do something. In the end, what keeps you inerested in and excited about your app? Progress. Making decisions quickly means you can spend more time getting things done, which means you will remain excited about your app.

Done. Start to think of it as a magical word. When you get to
done it means something’s been accomplished. A decision has
been made and you can move on. Done means you’re build-
ing momentum.

Five Antonio Salieris won’t produce Mozart’s Requiem. Ever. Not if they work for 100 years.

You don’t need a hundred programmers. You need a few great ones. Excellent point.

I found this essay by Scott Berkun this morning while browsing the internet before work. I am not going to say much on it, just that it is really interesting. Below are a few paragraphs plucked from the essay.

That said, the more homogeneous a group of people are in their thinking, the narrower the range of ideas that the group will openly consider. The more open minded, creative, and courageous a group is, the wider the pool of ideas they’ll be capable of exploring.

Some teams of people look to focus groups, consultancies, and research methods to bring in outside ideas, but this rarely improves the quality of thinking in the group itself. Those outside ideas, however bold or original, are at the mercy of the diversity of thought within the group itself. If the group, as a collective, is only capable of approving B level work, it doesn’t matter how many A level ideas you bring to it. Focus groups or other outside sources of information can not give a team, or its leaders, a soul. A bland homogeneous team of people has no real opinions, because it consists of people with same backgrounds, outlooks, and experiences who will only feel comfortable discussing the safe ideas that fit into those constraints.

People worry about the wrong thing at the wrong time and apply their intelligence in ways that doesn’t serve the greater good of whatever they’re trying to achieve.

The lesson is this: “Speed kills”. I was never very good at pool, but this one guy there was, and whenever we’d play, he’d watch me miss easy shots because I tried to force them in with authority. I chose speed and power over control, and I usually lost. So like pool, when it comes to defusing smart people who are defending bad ideas, you have to find ways to slow things down.

In 1876, Thomas Edison set a goal to have one major invention every six months and one minor invention ever 10 days. He came very close to achieving that goal.

This line was plucked straight off a sign at Greenfield Village this weekend. It was outside the replica of Thomas Edison’s Menlo Park complex. Edison is credited with some 650 major inventions and over 1000 patents (above is the phonograph, I believe). He was an inventor and he set goals to be the best. I am a web developer and I am just cruising. I am pretty inspired by Edison and I think it is time to set some lofty goals for myself. What do I want to be? What do I want to be remembered for? I have been a sponge for my first few years involved with the web soaking in all the information that I could. Though you should never stop learning, there does come a time when you need to start using what you have learned or you will get fat and slow on information. I think now is that time for me. It is time to set goals and do something great. But what…?

The other day while shopping at Target, I decided to pick up some undershirts. Normally, I grab a pack of large, rounded-neck Hanes and head for the nearest checkout. This time was different though. The last few times I have grabbed my Hanes my eye has been drawn to a competitor. The competitor is known simply as Merona. Every time I grabbed my Hanes off the shelf, I wondered if my life would be better with the Meronas. I begin to picture myself on the beaches of Spain or Italy or some other rather exotic place in nothing but my Meronas. Ok, I had a pair of trunks on too or at least for the sake of visualization, I will say that I also had a pair of trunks on. Spain here I come. I placed my rounded Hanes back on the shelf, quickly grabbed the Meronas and headed to the checkout.

What on earth do undershirts and professionalism have in common? I thought you might ask that. Well, the Meronas are packaged in a simple, elegant black package with a few shades of grey to complete the look. The fonts on the package scream elegance. No tag, no shrink, and the armpits never stain. Ok, the armpits will probably stain, but only time will tell. My point is that despite the fact that I know the Hanes will do the trick, I couldn’t help but pick the Meronas because of the packaging. I think presentation is often overlooked by web designers. They assume that because they are the best, or the fastest, or the cheapest or all of the above that they will win the bid. Errrr. Try again. Why is it that your competitor can charge an arm and a leg and wins the majority of the battles between you? Most likely they have made the client feel like a king and presented themselves as the best.

This is far from an essay on professionalism and presentation. I mean, seriously, I used the word armpits and made mention of myself in only an undershirt. I just want to point out a few ways that you can ‘appear’ more professional.

1. Letters - hand-written or typed. It doesn’t matter which. Think about the last time you got ‘real’ mail. A personal letter mentioning how you enjoyed meeting with them and that you guarantee you will do everything in your power to meet their every need goes along way.
2. Questions - verbal or electronic. Many web professionals believe that the client wants to hear about all of their solutions. Errrr. Try again. The client wants to hear intelligent questions that show you are actually listening to what they say AND that you care about what they say.
3. Contact - verbal. The best way to earn and keep a clients trust is by staying in contact with them. Who do you trust? If you are like me, you trust those you are close to and spend time with. Do the same with your clients. Spend time with them and keep them informed each step of the way and they will not stray. Sorry for the rhyme.

These tips are nothing out of the ordinary and probably nothing that you haven’t thought of or heard of before. They are just a simple reminder that a little bit of professionalism and presentation can go a long way with the people who pay your bills. So what is my opinion on the Meronas? The softest undershirt I have ever owned.