Work Smart & Play More

Putting ideas to the test

Mon, 17 Oct 2011 14:55:01 -0400

By nature I’m a tinkerer; I like to play around with new and different things. So when I have an idea the first thing that comes to mind is that I have to try it out. I recently came across an issue in which I tried to register for a Twitter handle, but it was already taking by someone. I’m sure that I’m not the only one that has experienced this problem. The issue in this situation is the this particular handle has become stale, meaning that the person has never sent a tweet and the account was created in 2010. This was the seed that generated the inspiration for my idea.

Twitter is just one location in which this could occur, there are plenty of other examples: domains, Tumblr, Facebook, etc. I started to search for online exchanges, in which individuals could procure or release handles from someone else. There are plenty of sites for domain exchanges, but I couldn’t find anything for other types of digital handles. So what is a tinkerer like myself going to do? … go out and build it myself.

Fade to stage left, in comes handleswap.com. I decided to start coding again and build a site in which people can identify what handles they either want to acquire (swapin) or release (swapout). The initial focus is on Twitter handles, because they have a decent API and I wanted to solve my immediate problem, which was to get the handle I’m looking for.

Currently it is against Twitter’s policies to buy or sell handles, so handleswap.com doesn’t deal with the actual exchanging of handles just yet. (Don’t tell anyone, but this is being worked on.) What you can do however, is to let people know the handles you want to swapin or swapout. The best part is that all you have to so is send a tweet.

To SwapOut a handle, just send a tweet and include “@handleswap #swapout”. This will let the system know that the owner of the tweet wants to release that particular handle.

To SwapIn a handle(s), send a tweet and include @handleswap #swapin as well as include the twitter handles you would like to acquire, eg: “@handleswap #swapin @handleyouwant, @secondhandle”.

If you feel that this idea is worth pursuing, please let me know by sending a tweet to swapin or swapout a Twitter handle.

Not just nerds in a corner

Fri, 26 Aug 2011 16:13:00 -0400

I was inspired to start blogging again after attending a talk given by the CEO of Etsy, Chad Dickerson. The talk focused around the importance of the engineering culture at Etsy and how it’s helping the company move faster than they thought they could. For those that don’t know Chad, @chaddickerson on Twitter, was the CTO until July of this year and has been the driving force behind Etsy’s engineering team. Chad discussed how at Etsy, they have a “just ship” mentality that has manifested itself as a means to ship code to production by anyone at anytime, even by members of the board.

Although I am a strong proponent of continuous deployments, I’m not going to argue the merits in this post (we will save that for another time). I would however like to focus on an underlying theme that was touched upon during the talk. The reason why Chad was able to build such a culture within Etsy is their view on technology. The engineering team is a true partner in the business and not just to the nerds that are put in a corner and only consulted with when there is a system problem. Looking at the technology teams as core to the business allows for more collaboration between the groups creating better alignment on the overall company objectives. It seems like such an obvious thing, but in my experience the technology teams are typically treated like the little brother that you don’t want but have to keep around. Lets face it, almost all businesses today rely on technology for day-to-day operations, and Etsy is no exception. The technology is the backbone of that organization. I don’t want to trivialize the amount of effort that I’m sure the team put in to get to this point, this was not an overnight process. The point I’m trying to make is that the company supported this approach and could have only been accomplished with that support. Chad, please keep up what you are doing, you are not only a great example for technology companies to follow, but I think for CEOs of all types.

You can find out more about Etsy’s engineering culture at their Code As Craft blog.

Found this in my back yard. (Taken with Instagram at Home)

Tue, 23 Aug 2011 23:22:11 -0400

Found this in my back yard. (Taken with Instagram at Home)

Most thoughtful gift

Sun, 26 Jun 2011 12:17:00 -0400

I consider myself a very fortunate man. I have everything I need. I’m not bragging, this is just how I feel. Because of this, when asked on special occasions (b-days, father’s day, etc.) what I want or what people should get me, my typical response is “I don’t need anything.” I realize that this can be frustrating for family & friends that are trying to do something nice for me. No one feels this frustration more than my wife. So what do you purchase for someone that doesn’t need anything? You get them something that can not be bought, and that is exactly what my wife did. For father’s day this year, she gave me something we could all use more of, time.

After a fantastic breakfast that she and the kids made for me, she got everyone ready and took the kids to work with her. My gift for father’s day was time to myself. This is something I haven’t had in a very long time. I could do what ever I wanted for the day. In case you are curious, I went to the movies and took a long walk through the Great Swamp.

This gift of time allowed me to clear my mind and reflect on what I consider important & valuable in my life. We spend too much of our lives IN our lives, not able to take a step back and appreciate what it is that we have.

Time slips by too quickly, as I’m reminded everyday when I look at my oldest daughter. Against my approval, she has transformed from a cute little girl to a beautiful young woman. The lesson here is to make the effort to enjoy your life and the people in it, you only get one shot at it.

True Strength & Beauty A friend posted this on her Facebook...

Wed, 09 Jun 2010 09:09:22 -0400

True Strength & Beauty

A friend posted this on her Facebook page and I thought it was worth sharing with more people. Ami, I am humbled by your strength and honored to call myself your friend.

Why is the why more important than the what?

Fri, 04 Jun 2010 11:11:06 -0400

I haven’t pooped in a while, so I figured it was time. Take it easy, I’m not being literal, I’m referring to an older post I wrote.

Have you ever wondered why some people’s thoughts/ideas solicit more of a reaction than others? Why do some companies have a stronger following than their competitors in the same business. According to the speaker in this video below it has to do more with how things are being communicated as opposed to what is being communicated. Not only that, but when things are communicated in this specific manner our reaction is more biological than it is psychological . I think the speaker does a better job of describing this than I could, so take a look a the video.

So the question to each one of us is, what is our purpose?

Song of the day, dedicated to my wife. HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

Wed, 26 May 2010 09:00:00 -0400

Song of the day, dedicated to my wife.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

"May the best of your todays be the worst of your tomorrows."

Wed, 21 Apr 2010 18:17:38 -0400

“May the best of your todays be the worst of your tomorrows.”

- Jay-Z (that’s whom I got it from, not sure of his source)

"Simplicity means the achievement of maximum effect with minimum means."

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 19:13:22 -0500

“Simplicity means the achievement of maximum effect with minimum means.”

- Dr. Koichi Kawana

I’m sure by now most people have heard that today Apple...

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 22:15:00 -0500

I’m sure by now most people have heard that today Apple announced their new multi-touch device. There are some that think this is the best new thing from Apple. For me however, I was greatly disappointed by this device. Not only is the iPad name a poor choice, I think the video explains why, but it’s just an iTouch with a larger screen, and a new application to read e-books. Big Deal.

I guess I set my expectations too high. From a form factor standpoint, it is basically what I would have liked to see. Functionality, however, is definitely lacking. I would have liked to see a fully functional computer running OS X that was multi-touch enabled. This would have allowed for a whole new range of applications.

I guess, I’m going to have to suck it up and wait some more for Apple to create a real tablet device.

OMG: brains can’t handle all our Facebook friends - Times Online

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 09:25:53 -0500

OMG: brains can’t handle all our Facebook friends - Times Online:

I find this study interesting on a couple of fronts. First, I have 236 friends on Facebook as of today. According to this study, I should probably purge a few folks from my friend list ;-)

The second reason I find this interesting is looking at this from a company/organization perspective. I’ve often heard complaints that companies get too large and take on minds of their own. That organizations turn into smaller groups competing for internal resources and not working in what would be in the best interest of the overall organization. Is it just that the internal social networks get too large and the personal connections are lost? I’m a firm believer that it’s people that run organizations and not the other way around. However, when the personal connections are broken or lost, its only human nature to act in your network’s/department’s best interest.

So a note for entrepreneurs, if you want to maintain a tight, well focused team, keep it under the magic 150 number.

Tired of the same old background wallpaper

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 13:58:47 -0500

Tired of the same old background wallpaper:

Just one example

Moved to tumblr

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 01:05:00 -0500

Moved to tumblr:

I just moved my blog to tumblr.com. My previous site was hosted via Wordpress.com, I just found it too heavy weight. Lets see if I can contribute more content with tumblr.com.

Where has the joy gone?

Mon, 08 Jun 2009 17:43:00 -0400

I think I found it (the joy that is) at a bar in Montclair, NJ called Just Jakes. My wife and I had gone to see a friend and his band, Hyperactive, play the other night and had an incredible time. Not only was the diversity of music (that ranged from funk to rock to swing to ska) fantastic, but I saw something that night that I hadn’t seen in a really long time. The guys on stage were doing something that they loved. They were performing not because they HAD to, but for the pure joy that they got out of it. Everyone in the band has a day job; but they have found an outlet for the passion of music. Watching these guys got me thinking about the fact that our lives are so focused around work and the daily grind. We tend to lose sight of the fact that it IS possible to have fun. Unfortunately, too many of us spend time working and doing things because we HAVE to and not because we really WANT to. For most of us, our jobs are avenues to make money in order to pay bills as opposed to passions to live and abide by.

As I gazed in amazement at the band, my attention turned to my friend Joe, the lead vocalist. When he is not playing gigs, he spends his days as the wine director of a shop in Bernardsville, NJ called 56 Degree Wine. My immediate thought was, what a lucky bastard. He gets to travel the world to drink wine, which he then writes about on his blog, Le Monstre Du Vin (this means The Wine Monster - I had to look it up) during the week and then plays music at clubs/bars on the weekends. The more I thought about it, I realized that it wasn’t luck at all. He designed his lifestyle to accomodate these two worlds. Joe found a way to take one of his passions and make a living from it, while still having fun with his passion for music. My sentiments then went from jealousy to admiration. Here is a guy that is so passionate about wine and music that instead of pushing these passions aside to maintain his life, he embraced them and decided to make a living from them.

The lesson I think we can all learn from Joe and others like him is that we don’t all HAVE to do things that make us unhappy. The key strategy is to identify your passions, and then have the courage to chase them down. Now don’t get me wrong - I’m not suggesting that everyone immediately quit their jobs so that they can have fun all day. It’s not always that easy. I think in many cases, it is MORE work to pursue your passions than to just make a living. What I recommend is that everyone try to find something that they enjoy doing… and then spend more time doing it. Wouldn’t the world be a better place if more of us spent time feeling satisfaction and joy from our day vs just going through the motions to “get by?”

Life mimicking art

Tue, 09 Dec 2008 13:50:19 -0500

Or is it the other way around?

If you liked the movie Minority Report, or at least thought the technology scenes were cool, you’re going to love this. A company has built an operating systems that leverages hand gestures to manipulate the information presented on the screen. One of the founders of Oblong was a science advisor on the movie and based the designs of those scenes on his work at MIT.

I’m especially excited about this because my company has been working on a software application that takes data from disparate sources and allows multiple remote individuals to interact with that data in real time. We have focused our efforts primarily on the data integration and collaboration aspects of the system. Next steps are to apply an easy and intuitive user interface to the application. This video has given me a lot of ideas on where we can take our application.

What business leaders can learn from the military

Mon, 10 Nov 2008 14:58:27 -0500

I recently came across a term called Commander’s Intent (CI). I briefly mentioned it in a previous post.

The core idea behind CI is:

The commander’s stated vision which defines the purpose of an operation
The end state with respect to the relationship among the force, the enemy and the terrain
The enabling of subordinates to quickly grasp the successful end state and their part in achieving it

To put it more plainly, it’s the military’s version of the KISS principal. There are too many variables that will dictate the actions taken by the forces on the ground. There is no way every action can be planned out. This is where the CI comes into play. Each person has a clear understanding of the overall objective. Each person will do what needs to be done in order to achieve that objective.

I think that the business world can learn from the concept of Commander’s Intent. The CI defines the where and the why; a finite objective, a way of behaving, or a desired result. This is significantly different than a vision statement that is difficult to pin-point. It’s a leader’s job to provide clear directions/goals for the business and to ensure that his/her team understands those goals and why they are important. It’s then up to the team to execute and achieve those goals.

Using the concept of CI instead of a vision statement also aligns the goals of the different teams, departments, and organizations involved. Because the objectives are more concrete. Any time you align the goals and motivation of a group of people, you achieve significantly better results.

When a business leader tells you what the desired goals are and then lets you go and do it, they are letting you know that they have trust in your abilities to get the job done. Trust between people is the foundation on which effective organizations are created.

The continual communication about the CI is critical to every business. You can/should modify the means of the message, but not the message itself. Aligning everyone’s goals sets the stage for success.

Eat like a bird, poop like an elephant

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 14:45:46 -0400

I realize that this is a fairly strange title, but it is actually a quote from Rules for Revolutionaries a book by Guy Kawasaki. I haven’t read the book as of yet, but it is on the list to read.

The quote “Eat like a bird, poop like an elephant.” is actually a philosophy that I have adopted recently.

It is fairly simple, consume as much information as you can; read, have conversations and be open to new ideas/concepts.

- Eat like a bird (birds eat a lot & often)

Spread the knowledge as much as you can, share what you have learned with others. This is partly what I’m trying to do with this blog.

- poop like an elephant (elephants poop a lot)

I thought this was worth pooping (sharing) ;-)

Managing Scope Creep

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 23:10:06 -0400

I believe that one of the most difficult tasks we face as software development professionals is scope management. We have all been there, features are added to a system because someone from a particular business unit says the features are a must have. When any system has multiple business stakeholders the problem just worsens. Here is an example: a CRM application is customized because the order of the data entry fields are not the way the customer service manager would like. In the majority of cases the cost incurred for making this type of change will never be recouped. This is because there isn’t any additional business value in reordering the fields. I’m sure that you have your own stories. If so please share.

What if I told you that I could show you how to mitigate these types of decisions from happening with a simple diagram that contains four boxes and nine labels which can be explained and executed within sixty minutes? You would probably think I was crazy, right? I sat in on a presentation given by Niel Nickolaisen, in which he did exactly that. Below is a modification of the diagram that Niel used in his presentation.

The key principals are to get the business owners to focus their decision making around the business value. I’m sure I don’t stand alone when I say it is extremely difficult to get multiple business stakeholders to agree on every feature set of a system. The diagram is a tool that can be used to accomplish this. As features/initiatives are being advocated, two simple questions can be asked.

Does this feature/initiative have significant business impact?
Will this feature/initiative differentiate us in the market place?

Doesn’t Matter

If something does not have a significant business impact and is not a market differentiator, then it doesn’t matter and you should not put any effort/dollars towards those features/incentives.

Partner

If something does not have significant business impact, but does allow you to differentiate yourself in the market place, then you should look to partner with another organization. Typically if this is the case, that is not a core part of your business. An example here might be if your organization is a book publisher, but and would like to offer products in an electronic form over the internet. You should not spend the dollars to build your own technology to manage the digital right and the distribution. A better use of your resources would be to find a technology company that can take that on for you.

Operate

This box focuses on areas which have significant business impact, but are not market differentiators. For these areas, you should try to find out how the rest of the market is doing it and copy that. You should not be trying to out do your competition here. In this area UNIQUENESS = BAD. Now with that said, you do need to be proficient in these areas because it does impact your business. An example would be invoicing & bill collection. This is vital to most businesses, but unless this is your core business, you do not need to create a new way to do invoicing or bill collection. Find industry best practices and follow those, use out of the box applications.

Innovate

These are areas in which have significant business impact and allow you to differentiate yourself in the market. This is where you should be spending most of your effort/dollars. Innovation is what makes a good company become a great company. As the axis states, this is how you will differentiate your organization from your competition. An organization should only have two to three areas here. Any more than that, will be a distraction.

Now when a decision needs to be made about a specific feature set, have the advocate identify which box it should belong to. Also have the other business stakeholder vet that decision, if you don’t get consensus, push a bit more. Once your organizations adopts this culture, you project/initiatives will shrink in size significantly. As we all know, the smaller the scope, the more manageable it will be, and the more reliable the costs estimates will be.

See how simple it can be. If you do try this approach, please post a comment to this post. I’d love to hear your story.

Grow a pair

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 15:22:53 -0400

and stand behind your words

This has been an issue of mine for some time now. Individuals that hide behind anonymity. I am targeting this frustration towards two groups of individuals. Those that post articles or comments on blog sites that won’t identify themselves. Their opinions are masked behind some random username that is only funny or makes sense to them. The other group are individuals within an organization that won’t provide feedback in an open forum. (This one is a bit more personal, because I’ve experienced this often at my company. Everything has to be annonymous.

"I don't feel comfortable providing feedback if people know it was me".

Frankly this is B#LLSH#T (fill in your own vowels). If you honestly believe in something than put your name to it. My perspective is that these folks really don’t have conviction in their points of view, because they don’t want to associate themselves to their comments. If you can’t stand behind your words, then your opinion doesn’t matter. Just like you should have pride in what you do, you should have pride in what you say. Within an organization, I can understand why people might feel this way, I don’t agree, but I can understand. There is a lack of trust between the individual and the organization. That’s a different topic, that I’ll address in another post.

I’m a55munch@someaddress.com and I have approved this post.

I apologize for the rant style of this post, but this just gets under my skin. If you didn’t get it, I’m not really a55munch@someaddress.com. I was trying to make a funny ;-)

Honesty, Loyalty, Respect, & Responsibility

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 16:21:04 -0400

Four principals to live life by.