Here's The Thing

ROWE and Inc. Magazine

2010-07-19T12:12:50-04:00

This week, Inc. Magazine published an article about starting and running a business in Atlanta. In it, I'm quoted talking about how Ripple is a results-only work environment, or a ROWE. Today I've had a number of people ask me what that means. I thought maybe the best thing to do would be repost my previous post about Ripple and ROWE. Here you go:

WHY ROWE Works

I finished Dan Pink's book, Drive, today. In it, Dan basically unveils the science behind why freedom in the workplace is going to be this generation's most important business revolution. Here is Dan's TED Talk, which is a good primer for the book.

If you are familiar with a ROWE (Results Only Work Environment), think of Drive as reverse engineering why ROWEs work. If you're not familiar with ROWE, here's a good story from Business Week.

ROWE is basically the tactical implementation of the belief that people with freedom, trust, clear goals, and autonomy work better. I wrote a short essay in the Atlanta Business Chronicleabout Ripple's experience with ROWE last year:

Here's the unedited essay (proving that there is a good reason to have editors...):

Ripple was never the kind of place to track every minute of people's time, to watch over their shoulders. In 2002 there just 5 of us, things were pretty loose, and that's how we liked it.  But by 2007 we had 23 people, and little things started to get in the way: John sees the doctor a lot. Judy always seems to be a little late. Sometimes Angie “gets” to work from home. Bob shows up, but never seems to get much done. So to resolve the tensions, the management team started making more rules, hashing out policies. Taking control. That seemed to be the thing to do, right? Set more rules, do more policing. You know what? More policing sucks. It takes one chunk of the smart people and turns them into cops. And it takes the remaining smart people and turns them into children. One group gets control, the other loses control. Less real work gets done. Control, it turns out, is not the answer. Freedom is.
Finding Freedom   I first read about a Results Only Work Environment (ROWE) years ago, when Best Buy was pioneering it. It sounded awesome: People work where they want, when they want, so long as the work gets done. Work Utopia! But, like many Work Utopia readings, it lost my attention. Best Buy is a big, big company. Ripple is a small one. So it was hard to figure out how such a system might translate to me.  Hard to figure out how until last year when I was speaking with my friend Craig, whom I know through Entrepreneur's Organization (EO). He said that his company, Matchstic, was a ROWE. His 10-person company was a ROWE, and it was working. I had to dig deeper, so I talked to Craig for hours. I had him come in and talk to my team, and we all read the book, Why Work Sucks. Three months later, Ripple was a ROWE.
The Freedom of Freedom   What does it mean to be a ROWE? Well, in a ROWE, people are responsible for themselves, their teams, and their results. Goals are set together, but tactics are largely left to individuals and teams. There is no babysitting. People and teams are judged by their outcomes (this is both easier and harder than I thought it would be). At Ripple results are things like how many service cases get closed. How happy clients report that they are. Sales numbers. Results Only. Pretty much the way you want to be judged, right? Well, there's a good reason for that: It's how everyone wants to be judged.
The Hard Part   Here is the hardest part about a ROWE: Figuring out what constitutes acceptable results. But we should have been doing that anyways. In a traditional work environment things like working long hours, being at your desk, and watching your time are proxies for results. Terrible proxies. Plenty of people can show up everyday and turn in lousy results. Ripple was using those proxies because we didn't have the discipline – or the courage – to let results speak for themselves.
The Best Part
We are very new to ROWE, but the resulting freedoms – for people, innovations, and management – have already buried themselves in the culture. Management policing is nearly gone for the simple fact that no one at Ripple is going to let a poor performer screw-up a marvelously free work environment. Here's a result that makes it all worthwhile: I spend 50% less time managing people and enforcing rules, leaving me me free to think about other things. Like how to grow my businesses.

This One Time, At Brand Camp....

2010-06-02T19:31:15-04:00

Last week, I went to Matchstic’s Brand Camp. It was awesome.

Brand Camp is a two - day offsite immersion workshop digging into your brand, what makes it special, and what makes it different.

What makes Brand Camp any different than reading Positioning or Zag? In theory, not much - the principles are the same (in fact, they would both make for perfect homework for Brand Camp). The difference is that you actually do the stuff. You leave with a brand brief. In your hands! All in two days with fantastic tutoring, mentoring, and perspective.

I think two things separate it from anything Ripple has done in the past:

Matchstic sends their founding partners to guide you through the process. That’s pretty helpful since these guys do nothing but brand strategy all day. They are smart, passionate about brands, and committed to keeping things on track. They are great for brainstorming and advice of course, but also for a swift kick in the behind when needed. That was frequently needed.
There are four other companies camping as well. Which is pretty cool because everyone is working together. It really keeps the process from getting into ruts. The creative juices are always flowing, and there is always a “civilian” from one of the other companies to say “I don’t really get what your saying.” That is something you never really get when your working with just marketing people + your own people. Both can fall victim to the Curse of Knowledge - but there is no such curse when four unrelated companies are in the room.

Bonus: You’re in the woods, getting to know other people with similar challenges, and eating grilled meats. Sitting around a conference table pales in comparison.

The combination of marketing geniuses, regular folks, and beer makes the process a special one. It’s an experience I would highly recommend.

Props to my advertising friend John Reid

2010-04-16T00:05:29-04:00

My friend John Reid is in advertising. He took a whole Internets worth of heat when his agency took over the Radio Shack account. They crafted a campaign to help make Radio Shack relevant again, culling its focus, branding it The Shack, etc. It wasn't very popular with the blogosphere, and probably not very popular with hip ad types in general. I certainly had my doubts.

Well, I figured it was time to give John Reid his due advertising praise. The Shack is working, Radio Shack is becoming relevant again, they are selling iPhones, and companies want to buy it.

Well done John Reid.

MLK Encore

2010-01-17T23:23:52-05:00

Every time I watch this speech I get goosebumps.

I often forget that the namesake section, the "I Have a Dream" section - of this speech was ad-libbed. It's kind of cool though, you can see it when you watch it. He reads faithfully from his notes for most of it, and at about the 12:00 mark starts to ad lib and search his head for the right words (at times looking quite terrified that he might go blank!). Then he goes back to his prepared text at about 14:45. And so, we get possibly the most iconic 3 minutes of public speech since the Gettysburg Address - from pure emotion.

Mike Landman's 7 Rules for Job Seekers

2010-01-06T01:52:28-05:00

You are a product. Your resume and interview are your marketing. And a product has to differentiate itself to have a chance of being noticed and valued. It astonishes me to continually get the same generic resumes, the same attempt to prove diverse skills, and the same generic answers - that I must conclude are coming from the world of resume/interview advice. The prevailing theory seems to be "offend no one, never take your self out of contention." Imagine that process recruiting for a sports team or a movie cast. Terrible. So I have my rules.

No one else will have my same rules, which leads us to Rule #1.

There is no such thing as the right resume, no right interview.
Remember, this is not much more than a professional date. There are certainly a few things to do every time (no burping, no shorts), but every employer is different in nearly every other way. It's easier to be yourself than to try to figure me out.
You can't fake who are without being no one.
When you try to be the person you think I like, I don't like you. Because you seem insincere and full of...something. There is no need to fake who you are, or what your background is. You don't know what I want.
This is a 2-way street.
You'd better be interviewing me too. We're in this together, so there is not a lot to be gained by being a sycophant in the interview. Make sure you want the job. More importantly, make sure you want the company. I should be selling my company to you too.
Well-rounded is safe. And safe is dangerous.
Name one well-rounded famous athlete. OK, there are two. Deion Sanders and Bo Jackson. And neither could play hockey. But basically, no others. Even MJ couldn't do it. Well-rounded means you are not awesome at anything. And I'm looking for awesome. At something.
You are weak. At something, probably many things. So "struggling" to find a weakness is lame. A weakness of being "too organized" is lame. When I see that pained expression where you try to find weaknesses but "can't think of any," I think: "weak." Trot out your real weaknesses, they accentuate your strengths .
Leave me with a story to tell.
I am going to leave our meeting with an impression of you. And, if you have done well, a story to tell others about why you're the person for the job. So find a pointed, true narrative to weave in about yourself that touches the every part of the interview from beginning to end. No story = lost in the shuffle.
Thank me. Twice.
The moment you get home, do 2 things. Send me an email thanks, and drop a real ( handwritten!) thank you note in the mail. Even if you bombed #1-6, a handwritten note will put you back in contention. Class stands out.

Extra Bonus for Entry-Level Job Seekers:

If you are entry-level, I am looking for a bargain.
The very nature of entry-level is: “I'm cheap, and I'm willing to prove myself.” You can't be bringing experience, which means you need to bring something else. Ambition, a record of achievement, raw talent, personality, something. Something that makes me think you're a bargain. Because cheap labor, absent some returned value, is not a bargain. Figure out what your something is.

WHY ROWE Works

2010-01-04T22:05:41-05:00

I finished Dan Pink's book, Drive, today. In it, Dan basically unveils the science behind why freedom in the workplace is going to be this generation's most important business revolution. Here is Dan's TED Talk, which is a good primer for the book.

If you are familiar with a ROWE (Results Only Work Environment), think of Drive as reverse engineering why ROWEs work. If you're not familiar with ROWE, here's a good story from Business Week.

ROWE is basically the tactical implementation of the belief that people with freedom, trust, clear goals, and autonomy work better. I wrote a short essay in the Atlanta Business Chronicle about Ripple's experience with ROWE last year:

Here's the unedited essay (proving that there is a good reason to have editors...):

Ripple was never the kind of place to track every minute of people's time, to watch over their shoulders. In 2002 there just 5 of us, things were pretty loose, and that's how we liked it. But by 2007 we had 23 people, and little things started to get in the way: John sees the doctor a lot. Judy always seems to be a little late. Sometimes Angie “gets” to work from home. Bob shows up, but never seems to get much done. So to resolve the tensions, the management team started making more rules, hashing out policies. Taking control. That seemed to be the thing to do, right? Set more rules, do more policing. You know what? More policing sucks. It takes one chunk of the smart people and turns them into cops. And it takes the remaining smart people and turns them into children. One group gets control, the other loses control. Less real work gets done. Control, it turns out, is not the answer. Freedom is.

Finding Freedom I first read about a Results Only Work Environment (ROWE) years ago, when Best Buy was pioneering it. It sounded awesome: People work where they want, when they want, so long as the work gets done. Work Utopia! But, like many Work Utopia readings, it lost my attention. Best Buy is a big, big company. Ripple is a small one. So it was hard to figure out how such a system might translate to me. Hard to figure out how until last year when I was speaking with my friend Craig, whom I know through Entrepreneur's Organization (EO). He said that his company, Matchstic, was a ROWE. His 10-person company was a ROWE, and it was working. I had to dig deeper, so I talked to Craig for hours. I had him come in and talk to my team, and we all read the book, Why Work Sucks. Three months later, Ripple was a ROWE.

The Freedom of Freedom What does it mean to be a ROWE? Well, in a ROWE, people are responsible for themselves, their teams, and their results. Goals are set together, but tactics are largely left to individuals and teams. There is no babysitting. People and teams are judged by their outcomes (this is both easier and harder than I thought it would be). At Ripple results are things like how many service cases get closed. How happy clients report that they are. Sales numbers. Results Only. Pretty much the way you want to be judged, right? Well, there's a good reason for that: It's how everyone wants to be judged.

The Hard Part Here is the hardest part about a ROWE: Figuring out what constitutes acceptable results. But we should have been doing that anyways. In a traditional work environment things like working long hours, being at your desk, and watching your time are proxies for results. Terrible proxies. Plenty of people can show up everyday and turn in lousy results. Ripple was using those proxies because we didn't have the discipline – or the courage – to let results speak for themselves.

The Best Part

We are very new to ROWE, but the resulting freedoms – for people, innovations, and management – have already buried themselves in the culture. Management policing is nearly gone for the simple fact that no one at Ripple is going to let a poor performer screw-up a marvelously free work environment. Here's a result that makes it all worthwhile: I spend 50% less time managing people and enforcing rules, leaving me me free to think about other things. Like how to grow my businesses.

Real Business Learning

2009-06-04T12:30:32-04:00

Seth Godin ran an MBA program this year. Not a traditional one, but a valuable one no doubt. His post is long, but the real lesson is this:

"The educational lesson that I found the most striking is that the book knowledge was easy to transmit and not particularly essential. Once you get this far, it's sort of a given that you're good at school. We read more than a hundred books, and the book learning happened quickly . Our culture has done an amazingly good job at teaching talented people how to learn concepts from books.
I taught for five to twenty hours a week, and very little of it was about the books. So, if concepts from books are easy, what’s hard?

Doing it.

Picking up the phone, making the plan, signing the deal. Pushing ‘publish.’ Announcing. Shipping."

SanDisk finally vindicates me

2009-06-03T21:59:19-04:00

2 years ago, I surmised that SanDisk could not make any headway against the iPod, because they we're trying to violate the laws of positioning by challenging the iPod on it's own turf. SanDisk's CEO said it even more succinctly today (albeit 2 years late): "You can't iPod the iPod."

I dunno, I was feeling kind of smug, so I thought I'd write about it. *pats self on back*

Best quote ever from a US automaker?

2008-12-24T14:05:56-05:00

This was in 2006, and I think it says quite a bit about the fundamental problem the US automakers find themselves in.

Upon closing 14 factories, Bill Ford let us in on the new plan: "From now on, our cars will be designed to satisfy the customer, not just fill a factory."

To be fair, Ford seems to being doing the best job of the three. But the admission that customers were the #2 ( or lower) priority until 2006 speaks volumes.

No voicemail? Glorious!

2008-12-22T13:19:24-05:00

Kodak, I love you. This is the first mainstream company I have heard of eliminating voicemail. I have been dreaming of doing this for years, but haven't for fear that people will find it unfriendly. Maybe Kodak has blazed a trail for 2009...

The world craves innovation - and buys it

2008-12-04T11:35:22-05:00

Here is a video clip of Steve Balmer from 18 months ago. He does 2 things ( other than looking really defensive).

He laughs at the iPhone declaring no one in business would want it.
He explains that WinMobile's huge sales basically doom the iPhone to niche status.

The problem? iPhone just unseated WinMo in sales. In 18 months.

Happy People Watch Less TV

2008-11-21T16:28:36-05:00

Happiness is inversely correlated to watching TV. Cause or effect? They don't know. But some correlations are just easier to adopt than to figure out.

I am vindicated!

The new winners are not always the old winners.

2008-11-19T13:55:38-05:00

This is one of the more interesting takes on the music industry I have seen in print, from Topspin CEO Ian Rogers.

It's a reminder that just because the old guard loses, that doesn't mean there is an industry in duress.

Insert whatever industry you want into this paradigm. The US auto industry, typesetters, buggy whips, boxed software, railroads, long distance. The music industry is thriving. It's just that the money is going elsewhere.

My favorite blurb:

"The lamenting we read in the press is not the story of the new music business. Continuing to talk about the health of the music industry on these terms is as if we’d all been crying about the dying cassette business in 1995. The difference is that when we moved from cassette to CD the winners were the same (big companies who owned access to cash, distribution, and marketing) and the definition of winning was the same (more units sold for these big companies)."

Alan's "O" face.

2008-10-23T12:46:13-04:00

As in "oops."

No matter who you're voting for, this is genius

2008-10-02T14:43:56-04:00

This is about getting involved, getting connected with people and their energy. It would be a great idea for a company, but it's brilliant for a political campaign.

The Obama iPhone app.

Anything can be rethought

2008-09-22T10:51:05-04:00

Rethinking is happening with classical music right now. Going to the symphony is a fine thing, no doubt. But it is an undertaking. Get dressed up, file in, stay silent, clap at only the prescribed moment, file out. Most people are, quite honestly, nervous at the symphony. And it isn't really a natural way for many of us to enjoy music. No talking, no drinks, feeling uncomfortable and uninformed.

The folks at Fringe are changing that. I went to my first Fringe event on Saturday, and I was completely blown away. Its was laid-back and cool. There was beer, wine, and finger food. People clapped when they felt inspired by the music. We wore jeans. The musicians wore jeans. There was art and DJs before, during and after the event. Short movies and documentaries about the performers before the shows. And, like at any great concert, an obvious connection between the musicians and the audience. Rather than a room full of frozen penguins staring at a stageful of frozen penguins, there were just artists and music lovers. Smiling, clapping, and just generally having an awesome time. Fringe transformed classical music from something you do to feel adult, to something you do for fun.

It was an interesting lesson in how to rethink anything. Anything at all.

What exactly is the point of these things?

2008-08-12T23:31:30-04:00

I sent an email to a friend at KPMG. At the bottom of the reply is this. Why do these things exist? Is there any POSSIBLE way I am legally bound by this? Is this designed to make the lawyers at KPMG feel like they are earning their salaries? Or to scare me? Or what?

This email has been sent from KPMG LLP, a UK limited liability partnership (which is a subsidiary of KPMG Europe LLP), from KPMG Europe LLP or from one of the companies within KPMG LLP’s control (which include KPMG Audit Plc, KPMG United Kingdom Plc and KPMG UK Limited), together "KPMG". KPMG Europe LLP does not provide services to clients. None of KPMG Europe LLP’s subsidiaries have any authority to obligate or bind KPMG Europe LLP. This email is confidential and may be legally privileged. It is intended solely for the addressee. Access to this email by anyone else is unauthorised. If you are not the addressee or an intended recipient or have not agreed with us the terms on which you are receiving this email any disclosure, copying, distribution or any action taken or omitted to be taken in reliance on the contents of this email or its attachments, is at your own risk, prohibited and may be unlawful, and to the fullest extent permitted by law KPMG accepts no responsibility or liability to you. When addressed to our clients any opinions or advice contained in this email or its attachments are subject to the terms and conditions expressed in the governing KPMG client engagement letter. Anything in this email or its attachments which does not relate to KPMG's official business is neither given nor endorsed by KPMG.

"We don’t beat the Reaper by living longer. We beat the Reaper by living well."

2008-07-25T16:56:15-04:00

I never met Randy Pausch, but I sure wish I had. He died today at 47, but not in vain. He left behind a 90-minute blueprint for how you beat The Reaper in the short time you have.

Test post from iPhone 2.0

2008-07-10T13:02:10-04:00

Huzzah!!

WiFi as public charity

2008-06-17T21:36:18-04:00

Remember when your Pets.com stock raced down from $60 to $2 and you didn't sell? That was a bad idea. You regret that, because it was wildly overvalued even at $2 and deep down you knew better. But the Fallacy of Sunk Costs consumed you, and you were determined to make something of your investment. We all know how that story ends (mine ends with a big basket of Webvan).

Well, that's what is about to happen in Philadelphia, where the Mother-of-All-Bubbles, Municipal WiFi, is going to be attempted once again. When that project is done, hopefully the mayor will turn his attention to more pressing citywide issues, like the distribution of free Betamax to every taxpayer.

This will either fail mightily, or become a very large pubic works project.

Crazy idea: NOT lying by default

2008-05-18T17:18:03-04:00

This is a truly astonishing article. It chronicles the very limited, rogue trial by a tiny fraction of hospitals and doctors to not lie by default when they make a mistake.

Yep, they are, against most advice and some twisted conventional wisdom, going to try the option of apologizing for mistakes and doing their best to make things right.

Municipal WiFi very much like the Edsel

2008-05-13T19:52:01-04:00

The final nail is in the municipal WiFi coffin. It's fitting that it is also in its birthplace.

If only someone would have predicted this...

Whatever will I do without TV?

2008-05-02T12:48:40-04:00

So I gave up TV about 3 years ago. And I get a lot of different responses when I tell people that. Some think I'm crazy. Some think I'm making a political statement. Most, I suspect, think that I am posturing myself as a bohemian hipster of some sort. A poet.

But it really didn't start as much. I moved into a building with no cable. And I wasn't going to live there long. So I silently protested the purchase of a $500 Satellite box, by having nothing at all.

It was uncomfortable at first. I was used to just...having it there. The familiar "bum-bum" of Law and Order keeping me company in the background. Casually perusing through the channels stumbling upon a Seinfeld rerun, or a Hitler documentary. Sometimes watching really excellent stuff too, like Battelestar, or Discovery. But in truth, I rarely sought out content, even with Tivo. I would just....have it on.

So when I moved into my new place, I figured I had gone a year without TV, and that I should get me some cable. But I had changed. I had found other things to do. I interact with the world differently. I just never watched it, and so I cut it off 3 months later.

I still watch shows sometimes. Either on AppleTV, or from Netflix. But there is something about the...deliberate... nature of my consumption now that reduces it by a factor of ten. I never have anything on in the background. TV does not keep me company.

I didn't fully understand the meaning of it all until I stumbled upon this article. The author makes a great point- a societal-changing point about the meaning TV has had in the world since it became popular. That is was our response to something we had never really had much of before the 20th century. Free time.

I don't know if it's true or not. But it sure is an interesting read.

For me? Much happier. Much more productive. A political, bohemian, crazy poet.

A few highlights of my evening at Emory

2008-04-28T12:53:48-04:00

I spoke on a panel last week at Emory. It was great fun, and I met some very cool people. One of the gentlemen in attendance, Joe Koufman, did a quickie synopsis. Thankfully, he trimmed out all the dumb things I said, and only left in a few smartish sounding things.

Who are you?

2008-04-14T11:33:02-04:00

Everyone knows your weaknesses.

Or your quirks. Or your strengths. The truth is, you rarely fool anyone (Which is why people like people who are just themselves. Watching a charade is exhausting).

I learned this again last week in a most unusual way. My girlfriend threw a surprise party for my 40th birthday. But not just any surprise party - a roast.

All manner of speeches, videos, props, pictures, and jokes were levied. From my very oldest friends, to my very newest. Truthfully, it was the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me, and might well go down as the best night of my life.

But the striking thing was that every speech, joke, video, and prop was a caricature of what I thought were my most obscure personality traits. Phrases, thoughts, values, and mannerisms that I think of as relatively minor, and figured probably went mostly unnoticed. 25 years of friends - some of whom I have not seen in 20, some of whom I've known for less than one - pulling out the exact same stuff.

Turns out, it's those things that make up much of the core of what makes me different - and thus - define me to my friends.

I think this applies to companies as well. I think company leaders have a tendency to focus on the big things that define them: Products and performance and such. All important of course. But I bet it's safe to say that the accolades, or the complaints, or the jokes about a company probably come from the little things. The little things that you do all of the time but don't think about. How the phone is answered, how clean the bathroom is, how you react to certain requests. Most likely, once you have a customer ( just like once you have a friend), the big things take on a much smaller role, and the small things become defining.

Let us all learn somehow from my night of personal humiliation!

And thank you to everyone who made Saturday possible. Especially you Krystin.

But also to you Homer, Angie, Stacy, Lisa, Harlan, Caroline, Dave, Julie, Sergio, Evan, Marie, Tony, Diane, Cyndi, Nathan, Joe, Rich, Flo, April, Morris, Eli, Jason, Abigail, Patrick, Gretchen, Matt, John, Haley, Larisa, Beth and the many others who could not make it but were there in spirit.

Oh, and another thought for you, my dear friends...

Watch your backs, bitches.

Getting more from work

2008-03-31T12:19:16-04:00

Seth Godin had this post this morning. It's about getting more from school, work, whatever.

It's an interesting thing to mull as an employer. People often think that their employer has a plan for them. And while we might well have some sort of a plan, it's not nearly as fleshed out as it could ( maybe should) be.

So what's the best way to get more from work? More fulfillment, more experience, or - the real currency of the new economy - more learning experiences?

Initiative.

Initiative is really the only way. Even the best, most well-meaning employer can only give so many opportunities. And in the absence of initiative, I feel like instead of giving someone an opportunity, I am loading them up with work. Because I just don't know the difference. Maybe you're excited to help with the newsletter - or maybe you think it's a drag. Maybe you are dying to grow the company and be a leader! Or maybe you're looking for more family time. And without initiative... well, I have to be a really good mind-reader. And I think I am about as good at that as any employer. Which is to say - marginal.

So how does one go from waiting, to taking? I think it's pretty easy actually. You walk into your employer's office, and say "I have an idea."

Then you volunteer to help make that idea a reality. That's the hard part.

I am so powerful

2008-03-21T16:43:52-04:00

Well, not really. But the blogosphere is!

Sony changes their mind for the better.

Perhaps Sony could invert the message they are sending?

2008-03-21T10:55:50-04:00

So, when you buy a new computer, it invariably comes preloaded with trial software, promotional stuff, and generally a whole host of speed-sucking, annoying software pre-installed. This is fondly known as "crapware."

Sony, in their infinite wisdom, has decided to charge you for the luxury of buying a computer that comes free of such detritus.

This is just going to piss people off. When I saw it I shook my head. And I thought, well, that this would be the end of my post. Bad Sony.

But that's not really fair or realistic. Sony is in business to make money, just like everyone else. And they get paid to preinstall that software. Trail software is a legitimate, if annoying, revenue source.

But the tactic still sucks, and will create bad feelings toward Sony, because the psychology works like this: That is my computer. I am paying $1500 for it. I don't want you loading it up with paid advertising that I am going to spend precious time uninstalling. How dare you charge me extra to send me my computer the way I want it?!?

So how could they accomplish their goal and not patently piss people off? Create a discount instead of a charge. Knock $50 off of the price of my new laptop if I allow Sony to preinstall the software. Now it feels like a choice - $50 dollars for my time. Now I kind of appreciate Sony for giving me the option.

Who cares? The net result is the same, right? Not really.

It's not logical I suppose, but "give me the salt,'" and "please pass the salt" invite very different relationships.

Ripple [hearts] baristas

2008-03-17T19:16:02-04:00

Looking for something to do on Thursday nights? Wanna see something you probably haven't seen before?

Come on out to Octane on Thursday night at 9:00 and watch a barista throwdown. What the hell is a barista throwdown?

Well, this is what baristas do for fun. They have latte art competitions. With rules. Money goes into a hat, winner takes all. It's hard to explain why it would be cool. But it is. So cool that Ripple is the Platinum Sponsor ( the Platinum Sponsor I say!) Here's a video of an impromptu one last Friday.

octane latte art throwdown from chemically imbalanced on Vimeo.

See an art form you probably didn't know existed, have a few beers, and watch the future rock stars, artists, and scientists of this century making the most of their college job.

Please, PLEASE let this catch on

2008-03-05T22:09:36-05:00

I would give huge bonus consideration points to anyone using this for their resume.

Failing with grace

2008-03-03T17:32:46-05:00

Michael Hyatt today wrote a great post about failure, how to get past it, and how to learn from it. Wisdom nugget of choice:

Once you acknowledge failure, you take away it’s power. You can then begin to turn it into something positive.

The hardest work thing I have ever done - Part II

2008-02-21T23:07:28-05:00

"We have got to get them to understand that this is important."

Someone said this in a managers meeting once, not too long ago. Well, actually, we had all said it at one point in time over the previous 14 months. About how we - The Managers - needed the get them - The Employees, to do something or other.

"When did they become 'them'?" someone asked.

My heart actually stopped. I knew right then that something was awry. We were not lean enough. Lean organizations are too busy fighting for The Cause to have a them.

And when I came upon the decision to make a management change (that's a euphemism for firing your friends) a few weeks later, I knew what Ripple 3.0 had to look like. It had to look like Ripple 1.0.

There is no them.

The hardest work thing I have ever done - Part I

2008-02-18T13:51:47-05:00

For those of you who are really in the know about Ripple, you know that I laid off three members of my management team about five weeks ago. Which is to say - almost all of my management team. Why?

Why would I let three people of their caliber get away? All three - passionate, smart, driven and loyal. Really the kind of folks you dream of hiring. All three great friends. All three the kind of person most aspire to be like.

The short version was cost, and the balance of producers with managers. We simply could not support so many managers, so many "departments" with so few people reporting to them. Everyone understood that at some level, and everyone was supportive of the decision, albeit sad - including the three folks on the losing end of the choice.

But the bigger question I ask is: How did I get here? How did I get to place where I had three people on my team that I could let go? Because we had no particular catastrophe; no big loss in revenues, no big jump in expenses, no one had screwed something up. We just got to an unsustainable place very slowly.

And upon reflection, it was the slowness. Ripple has been around a long time. Those folks had mostly worked here a very long time. And I tend to see people for what they deserve first, and what suits the company second (martyr alert!). That is the part of me that wants to develop people, which is, of course, the really fun part of the job.

Every one them deserved the job they had, the title they enjoyed, the salary they earned. The truth is - had I made a series of earlier hard decisions, I wouldn't have had one big hard decision later. We never had a need for all of the positions we had, but we had people that belonged in those positions. People I care about a great deal. People I had to look in the eye and fire - for no fault of their own.

Balancing fast growth with stability is a hard thing to do. I think I always understood the challenges of growing quickly- simply that it is a difficult endeavor, and that it requires a lot of energy, planning and effort. But people rarely talk about the downside of growing slowly. That people develop in their careers - and that they deserve to. But that energy has to be absorbed somewhere. Either in smart decisions... or in hard ones.

Test Post

2008-02-05T00:41:56-05:00

My lord. A blog post via email. Praise the Interwebs!

Rob and Julie Haag - Changing The World

2008-01-29T15:59:28-05:00

Rob and Julie Haag - and their son Michael on CNN (this is video) - making the world a better place. When I wrote about this 2 years ago, it made me proud to know the Haag's. It still does.

Atlanta #1 wireless city

2008-01-15T15:12:36-05:00

Per Forbes magazine.

When we started giving away WiFi 4 years ago, Atlanta wasn't even on the list. Lots of people chipping in to do their part. We're just happy to be on of them.

5 steps to saving lives (or your business)

2008-01-03T20:38:50-05:00

This is maybe the most important article I have ever read.

I'm not kidding. And I read a lot of articles.

This is an astonishing testimonial to the power of putting aside your pride and realizing that systems COMBINED with smarts is exponentially powerful.

The takeaway: Checklists prevent problems. Checklists for things we already think we are good at.

In this case, literally thousands of lives and hundreds of millions of dollars were saved at just a handful of hospitals using a simple 5-point checklist - for stuff everyone already "knew."

The article is just plain interesting for it's own sake, but it also begs the question: What simple steps might we take that would save untold hours of time, and make dozens of clients happier, safer, and more productive?

The ATL

2007-12-11T14:21:06-05:00

December 11th. 72 degrees and sunny. Atlanta, GA. Summer is forgotten and forgiven. :)

Shameless Plea for Brilliant IT Peeps

2007-11-30T15:24:56-05:00

Hello Loyal Reader!

Ripple is looking for brilliant, experienced Service Engineers. And I, as shameless CEO, am putting the word out here. There is an official job description and everything.

Frightening Brand Extension

2007-11-20T09:40:41-05:00

Hot on the heels of this brand extension tour de force (The....drumroll please....Levi's Mobile Phone!), I'd like to announce that Ripple will be introducing a line of designer sausages just in time for the holidays.

How'd that cellphone move work out for Hummer, I wonder?

Another Voicemail Hater!

2007-11-15T18:21:36-05:00

Woohoo! One of these days the utopian world of no voicemail will be upon us! And then I shall exact my revenge!

Let's all save the world a collective 2 million seconds a day, and follow these guidelines.

A Most Unfortunate Brand Name...

2007-11-14T16:39:07-05:00

Mike

Where should this blog go?

2007-10-23T00:22:07-04:00

So I have been thinking a lot about this blog and what it should do, and where it should go.

I started this as a way to experiment, and collect my own thoughts. I thought a few friends would dig it maybe. But I'm not sure I am offering anything here that has much meaning. It seems to me that to provide real value to anyone a blog needs to be deep. As in: What am I an expert in that no one else is? What could someone learn from me? And how might that provide you (reader), and me (writer) some benefit? What would be interesting?

The only thing I am a true expert in is Ripple, my own company. At first blush I thought "is that boring?" Maybe it is. Or maybe it is damn interesting. I mean we watch TV shows about individual characters all the time. I love to watch a character develop. Warts and all. And a business is a huge culmination of characters. It is a massive boiling pot of values, ethics, compromises, risks, mistakes, fear, elation, second-guessing, and pure unadulterated passion. I have never had anything in my life teach me more lessons, test my values, or define my humanity like running Ripple. Maybe there is something to learn there for others. The idea would be to have a running dialog about Ripple, not just a positive spin type blog, or a place where we announce new products. You know, warts and all.

I feel like the pros are as follows:

People could really learn from my experience (it's interesting to try to understand why we as humans feel the need to give back - I'm glad we do, but it's interesting nonetheless).
Prospective clients and employees could get a meaningful window into what makes Ripple, and Mike Landman tick.
It could be an interesting way to demonstrate what we are great at.
When people see what the real motivators and values are behind Ripple they will be more understanding of us in general.
It could be a great feedback loop for clients, prospects and the world at large.

I feel like the cons are these:

People could come to see the mistakes and imperfections as weaknesses that make them want to work with another company.
Prospective clients and employees could get a meaningful window into what makes Ripple, and Mike Landman tick. :)
Competitors might leave armed with nifty information.

What do you think? Interesting? Just another CEO blog? Waste of time? I would love to get your input. Email or comment whatever you think.

And, before I forget: Thanks for all of your support to date. It has been an overwhelmingly positive experience for me so far.

Hey, I know! Change the world for the better.

2007-10-01T15:10:09-04:00

This professor, Randy Pausch, is the professor I always imagined all professors would be like when I got to college. Brilliant, interested, able to bring out the best in me. Inspiring. Better than me. Approachable. The reality is that very few professors are actually like this.

This is his last lecture as a professor. It is about how to realize your childhood dreams, how to help others realize theirs, and some lessons learned over his career spent doing both. It's 90 minutes long. I know, it seems really long. But if there were 500 more men like this in the world - even 5 more men like this in the world, the impact would be astonishing. We should all aspire to be like this man.

Oh, did I mention? He's going to be dead by Spring. He's 47. Yeah. It shouldn't matter, but it does. I will probably watch this 5 more times. Watch 9 minutes, then let me know if you were able to stop.

I had a few great professors while I was in school. But only one who really took an interest in me, one who I got to know. It was this man, Constantine Sedikides. So a little shout-out to you CS. Thanks. I often wonder if I would have finished school without you.

Thanks to Michael Arrington for the link.

Completely Failing Customers

2007-08-20T11:43:25-04:00

It's really astonishing how Microsoft is failing their customers. Here are two of Microsoft's biggest proponents absolutely SLAMMING Vista ( Jim Louderback is the Editor of PC Magazine, and Joel Spolsky is a famous developer that came from Microsoft). Even the box it comes in.

Rightfully so. Vista wasn't even close to being ready to ship. It probably won't be for 6 more months. Actually, it never will be. But the ecosystem that lives around Microsoft will eventually intervene and shore up the OS, because it will be forced to.

But how does this happen? How is it that companies with so much money and opportunity can get things so wrong? Is it hubris? Politics? Greed? I don't really know. But to spend 6 years and countless millions to produce something inferior to your last model is something even the American auto industry hasn't done. Sure, their improvements haven't kept pace, but they rarely go BACKWARD.

If you are huge and own the world, you can keep this up. For a while at least, because people feel they have no choice. If you don't own the world, this is not an option. You must make your product better - all of the time. Just to stay in business.

Come to Bierfest!

2007-08-15T12:51:27-04:00

Every year, Ripple sponsors the German Bierfest put on by The German American Chamber of Commerce. It is an awesome time. Here's a great commercial for it!

Funny Americans

Atlantic Station, Saturday August 25th. 2PM.

Official site

Octane and a Great Brand

2007-07-15T16:35:17-04:00

Probably the most succinct definition of what a brand is comes from Marty Neumeier in Zag. He says a brand is:

A person's gut feeling about a product, service or company.

I have always marveled at the completeness of the Octane brand. How perfectly Octane everything is. How authentically Octane everything is.

The Octane brand isn't really about the things often associated with "brand." They don't do much advertising or traditional marketing at all. It's all about...everything else. The people they hire, the art on the wall, the music playing overhead, the customers they choose to attract.

The thing about Octane is that you can tell what they are all about the first time you walk in. You know what it's like by simply talking to someone who works there. More often by someone who goes there. Octane passes the gut check.

The lesson about brand is universal. Your brand is what are, not what you say you are. More branding is done every time you hire someone than in a year of marketing communications and advertising. Marty gives a last piece of advice about building your brand that Tony and Diane knew before they even started:

(Your brand is) a strategic filter for questions like “What should we do? What should we make? Who should we make it for? Who should we hire? How should we behave?”

A culture of ass-kicking at Octane

2007-07-15T00:03:30-04:00

So I was talking to Ben, a barista at Octane, and he was explaining that he has passed the first phase of their new certification. He was pretty proud. As well he should be. Their certification is hard as hell. So I asked him "why do you do it? Do you get paid more?" I mean I knew he didn't, but I was curious his answer. "Because I want to be the best at what I do."

Almost everyone at Octane feels the same way. Inspired. Inspired to be the best. And that's just hard to do. Is it like that where you work? I know it isn't like that at most coffee shops I go to. At Octane it's in the culture.It makes it enjoyable to be a customer there, and as someone who finds businesses fascinating, I enjoy watching it unfold.

I used to think Tony and Diane were passionate people about their coffee shop. Then I thought they were good at finding people. Then I came to realize that they are gifted leaders. They set a vision, without a trace of doubt, to become to best coffee in the world, starting with the Southeast. They asked their people to get on board and they did.

Unwavering leadership and ass-kicking. Oh, and beer.

Broken Record (Industry)

2007-06-29T15:37:33-04:00

You ever notice that when broken model is in its last throes, it fights like a sad, defeated bully?

If you haven't, witness the record industry villainize an artist who dares to embrace the obvious shift in how music is changing. Prince wants to give away his music. More power to him.

The industry want nothing to do with it. They have a status quo to protect, even though they are the only ones that think it is still viable.

They will be joining an elite club that consists of: passenger trains, horse-drawn carriages, and communism.

Product Leadership At Octane

2007-06-27T12:35:06-04:00

So there is this dilemma that I think nearly all businesses go through. I know we did.

Giving the customer everything they ask for.

When Octane first opened, there was coffee. Then smoothies. Then sandwiches. Then super-large coffee. Then beer. Mixed drinks. I've heard people ask for breakfast, greeting cards, and shoes (seriously). At some point it got out of control and Octane was in danger of losing its essence.

Every customer suggestion should certainly be listened to - but not always acted upon. Octane concluded that it's hard to really stand for something when you're doing everything.

Tony and Diane decided that they would have product leadership. They canned huge coffees. Killed nearly all the Frappuccino ( sorry, "Coolant") flavors, and pared back the food menu. Smoothies are dead. Less beers, not more. They decided on product leadership, and with less than half the items they sold before, sales are up - not down.

Now, Octane invests in 2 things, best I can tell. Coffee excellence and beer excellence. Their baristas go through ridiculous amounts of training for both. They practice, experiment, and study coffee and beer. They eschew the compromise of huge portions which are in direct conflict with a perfect coffee or espresso drink. They resist the higher margins and numerous requests for Bud Light and Coors and margaritas.

As a customer, I'll admit I initially found it sort of frustrating. I mean I used to have my own sandwich. I wanted breakfast. Lord knows I would buy shoes there if they sold them. I hounded Tony mercilessly lobbying for what I wanted to see at Octane. Of course that's why it's product leadership. Leadership is never easy. But Octane led me to things they never could have otherwise, and I'm grateful for it. I'm more loyal now than I ever was. I talk about Octane more now than I ever did.

In the old world, businesses won by diversifying and expanding product lines. Big mattered. In the new world, it's just the opposite. Businesses win by kicking-ass.