The Hiking Pass

Fruit in a bottle

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy) — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 14:55:00 +0000

Dynamic Thinking

How To Put A Whole Fruit Inside A Bottle! - The funniest home videos are here

Design for sale 4!

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy) — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 14:01:00 +0000

Do you know anyone in technology? Do they need to convey their message better? All layouts can be delivered in 4 days. Usability and clean code included!

*Fresh and organic color palate
*Good contrast
*Clear Images
*Code guaranteed to validate (This is something good)
*4 day delivery
*Viewable on multiple browsers and PDA's / phones

Call 713.344.0230

When voice fails, text

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy) — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 14:05:00 +0000

Proof for no matter what the industry, thinking differently about problems can save the day.

Controller praised for texting pilot down safely

When he realised his problem the 39-year-old pilot, with four passengers on board, gained height and flew south. With a radio communications blackout on board, the pilot used his mobile phone to repeatedly try to establish contact with Kerry airport and then air traffic control at Cork.

Eventually he managed to contact Cork on his phone, telling them about his problem and his intention to approach the airport from the sea.

He then lost audio telephone contact but the air traffic controller switched to texting and told the pilot that he had a primary radar signal on the aircraft and that Cork would allow them to land there. He then used texts to guide the 30-year-old plane in.

The entire article is Here.

Fortune 500 vs the Fortune 5,000,000 (Small Enterprise)

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy) — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 15:22:00 +0000

I've worked with demanding clients: some that try to threaten suits, ask for more than they pay, do the old presto chango routine, give no heads up, try to get over easy, late, and every other loath of business. Can you guess what size company it was? Believe it or not both: small and large, government or not. People are people and there's nothing more to it. For the people that feel that experience trumps the universe, I have it and again, people are people no matter what size company they work for. The only difference is the amount of work and the budget.

It really bothers me when the gold standard of approval is the fortune 500, or 100 or whatever, and I don't mind working for anyone as long as they are honest, but I mean you have to be a complete dumb ass to screw up a million dollar budget and not get at least an ounce of value out of it. Now other industries may be somewhat different but in IT its pretty difficult unless you don't understand the problem (which is the mistake most enterprise IT retailers make). You know most people say that I have extreme views but I have more respect for someone that can deliver the same proportionate value as someone with a million dollar budget with a one man shop. If people are as good as they claim, shouldn't they do the same things they do with a friends and family budget as they do with a fortune size budget. I think the true heros create astronomical value while the rest are just good at spending other people's money.

How to Take Over the Garbage Industry

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy) — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 14:33:00 +0000

The most important innovation is looking at things people don't value as a fundamental building block. It's not just physical garbage -- it could be people, ideas or objects. The first generation of sustainable business created very eco-friendly products but at a premium price. The inputs had a greater cost because they were better, eco-friendly, organic, and all that. With eco-capitalism, you're able to do the best thing for the environment, the best thing for society -- all at a great price. And garbage is the essence of that.

The link is here

Albert Einstein said, "We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking that we used when we created them"

Businesscard Screens

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy) — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 14:06:00 +0000

The long awaited app is finally done. While we really are testing it before our first release, we decided to drop a few screens.

The Main Site

The Main App

Sign up free at try Business Card.com

Two agile ways of thinking

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy) — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 14:37:00 +0000

Two great ideas of new ways of thinking: one for sales and one or management. From the incredibly credible reviewers on Amazon,

The Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures

“The premise behind Roam's book is simple: anybody with a pen and a scrap of paper can use visual thinking to work through complex business ideas. Management consultant and lecturer Roam begins with a “watershed moment”: asked, at the last minute, to give a talk to top government officials, he sketched a diagram on a napkin. The clarity and power of that image allowed him to communicate directly with his audience. From this starting point, Roam has developed a remarkably comprehensive system of ideas. Everything in the book is broken down into steps, providing the reader with “tools and rules” to facilitate picture making. There are the four steps of visual thinking, the six ways of seeing and the “SQVID”– a clumsy acronym for a “full brain visual work out” designed to focus ideas. Roam occasionally overcomplicates; an extended case study takes up a full third of the book and contains an overload of images that belie the book's central message of simplicity. Nonetheless, for forward-thinking management types, there is enough content in these pages to drive many a brainstorming session.”
-Publishers Weekly

Read the back of the napkin

Maverick: The Success Story Behind the World's Most Unusual Workplace

Shortly after Ricardo Semler took over Semco, his family's moribund manufacturing business, employees began referring to him as Dr. Dickie. In the context of a hardened and confrontational union work environment, this nickname signaled the changes that were about to come.

Maverick tells the story of the transformation of Semco into a radical and high performing organization.

Here's a sampling of Dr. Dickie's good ideas...

* Make each business unit small enough so that those involved understand everything that is going on and can influence the outcomes.

* Implement a rounded pyramid organization structure with floating coordinators. Coordinators are the only supervisory level and are all at the same organizational level but different pay rates.

* Demonstrate trust by eliminating symbols of corporate oppression as well as the perks of status.

* Share all information and eliminate secrets. You can't expect involvement to flourish without an abundance of information available to all employees.

* Every six months bosses are evaluated by their subordinates and the results are posted.

* Salaries are public information unless the employee requests that they not be published.

* Allow employees to set their own salary. Consider these criteria: what they think they can make elsewhere; what others with similar skills and responsibilities make in the Company; what friends with similar backgrounds make; how much they need to live on.

* Share 23% of pretax profits. Employees vote how the pool will be split. They must vote to determine the manner of each quarterly distribution. In practice they always vote for equal dollar shares.

* Substitute the survival manual for thick procedure manuals. Eliminate policies and rules wherever possible.

* Job rotation; 20% of managers shift jobs each year.

* Set up workers in their own businesses as suppliers to the company.

* Eliminate the wearing of wristwatches whenever and wherever possible. It is impossible to understand life in all its hugeness and complexity if one is constantly consulting a minute counter.

* Either you can create complex systems so as to manage complexity, or you can simplify everything.

My company used Maverick as assigned reading for a management retreat some years ago. The result was a change of direction that it's hard to imagine would have been arrived at otherwise. Highly recommended for those open to having their organizational paradigms shifted.

Read Maverick: The Success Story Behind the World's Most Unusual Workplace

The ugly side of project management

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy) — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 14:04:00 +0000

Finally back to business from a long vacation! I had some time to think about some of the past projects, my flash golden era, and some recent events. Some time ago I found a graphic depicting what every person involved in a project realizes towards the end. When no one's on the same page, things really start to get ugly. Not sure who created it but its perfect.

Google Docs, the best document web service

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy) — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 14:26:00 +0000

Really great web service from the rocket surgeons at Google. It help to organize documents without using messy email.

Design for sale 2!

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy) — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 14:44:00 +0000

Do you know anyone in apartment locating? Do they need to convey their message better? All layouts can be delivered in 4 days. Usability and clean code included!

*Fresh and organic color palate
*Good contrast
*Clear Images
*Code guaranteed to validate (This is something good)
*4 day delivery
*Viewable on multiple browsers and PDA's / phones

Call 713.344.0230

Semantic Tagging

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy) — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 14:43:00 +0000

One of the technologies that will take us from web 2.0 to 3.0 is tagging. While somewhat different from true semantics, is it similar.

If your company blocks youTube try Vimeo. Its another great video sharing web service.

Small changes to make life easier

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy) — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 14:03:00 +0000

Small changes can make the biggest differences. Lets look at airlines and engineering.

Dave Demerjian, a writer for Fastcompany talks about the bottom up approach that Alaskan Airlines took in moving passengers through check in. The scenario:
* Average check-in time: 25 to 30 minutes
* New terminal, $500 Million
* Alaska tried self-serve kiosks, but technology alone wasn't the answer

The process

The resulting minor changes, such as moving the button that sends a bag down the conveyor belt, "increased agents' efficiency and prevented them from straining themselves," says Gordon Edberg, a principal at ECH Architecture who helped implement the adjustments.

At a Seattle warehouse, it built mock-ups, using cardboard boxes for podiums, kiosks, and belts.

The result:
* Alaska agent processed 46 passengers, while her counterpart at United managed just 22
* The Seattle makeover cost $28 million, a far cry from a new $500 million terminal
* Forrester Research estimates that it costs airlines $3.02 to process a passenger using an agent but only between 14 and 32 cents for self-service

How about travel?

* Southwest Airlines started flying slower about two months ago, and projects it will save $42 million in fuel this year by extending each flight by one to three minutes.
* On one Northwest Airlines flight from Paris to Minneapolis earlier this week alone, flying slower saved 162 gallons of fuel, saving the airline $535.
* JetBlue adds an average of just under two minutes to each flight, and saves about $13.6 million a year in jet fuel.
* Adding just four minutes to its flights to and from Hawaii saves Northwest Airlines $600,000 a year on those flights alone

In engineering,

One six-inch Lily Impeller (named for the flower that inspired its shape) in a municipal water treatment facility can move 1 million gallons of water in just 24 hours, using the same amount of energy as a single house-hold light bulb. According to the Encyclopedia of Energy, marine cargo ships burn 200 met-ric tons of diesel fuel every year. One freighter can go through 10,000 gallons in a single day. The industry as a whole spends $43 billion a year on fuel, and as a result, it considers a 1 percent increase in propulsion efficiency money in the bank. A 10 percent increase (meaning savings of more than $4 billion industry-wide) is unheard of.

Design for sale 3!

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy) — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 14:54:00 +0000

Do you know anyone in food service or health and wellness? Do they need to convey their message better? All layouts can be delivered in 4 days. Usability and clean code included!

*Fresh and organic color palate
*Good contrast
*Clear Images
*Code guaranteed to validate (This is something good)
*4 day delivery
*Viewable on multiple browsers and PDA's / phones

Call 713.344.0230

Design for Sale!

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy) — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 14:31:00 +0000

Do you know anyone in construction? Do they need to convey their message better? All layouts can be delivered in 4 days. Usability and clean code included!

*Fresh and organic color palate
*Good contrast
*Clear Images
*Code guaranteed to validate (This is something good)
*4 day delivery
*Viewable on multiple browsers and PDA's / phones

Call 713.344.0230

Design Case Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy) — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 14:35:00 +0000

Is design purely aesthetics? Can it include functionality? Is it only the presentation or can it be what's under the hood? We'll explore both scenarios in a sec.

Case 1

Case 2

Case 2.5

Case1
More
difficult to make changes
weight
time to develop

Less
user friendly
functional
less effective
stable

Time: 14 weeks
Cost: $30,000

Case 2-2.5
More
usability
stability
more compatibility with devices and browsers
more functionality

Less
code
time to develop
price
time to change
confusing

Time: 5 weeks
Cost: $6,000

Questions that provoke dialog

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy) — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 06:58:00 +0000

Questions to ask management

If you ask so much of me why don't I have the best tools to get the job done?

Our entire department shares the same frustrations. Do you have a solution?

Can you solve problems with the same tools that were used when they were created?

What technologies are you preparing us for that dont exist yet to solve problems that we dont even realize are problems?

Are we working at full capacity or are there things slowing us down? Can we fix them?

Is there a better way to do this that doesnt involve as much time and other resources?

Will you retaliate if I express my grievances?

Ten Cost effective Marketing Tips

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy) — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 14:05:00 +0000

Define what makes you unique
Why should customers buy from you and no one else?

Market yourself
Do something... anything. Remember no marketing means no customers.

Contact old customers
The best business is the business already acclimated with yours.

Write thank you notes
Aside from good manners, how would you like it if your grocer wrote you one?

Strategic Philanthropy
If you're in carpentry donate to Habitat for Humanity. Into catering? Donate to your local homeless shelter.

Build a client database
Keep contacts, preferences and even birthdays and keep in contact with them every month.

Start an electronic newsletter
Keep prospects informed until they are ready to buy.

Always have business cards
Be prepared.

Post a web page
At least have contact and company information.

Remember PR is free
Send newsworthy accomplishments to local newspapers.

The truth about meetings Part II

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy) — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 16:07:00 +0000

I've seen from wasting time in the past that God forsaken meetings suck the blood out of your workday. Technology has, like many other industries, taken sacred deities like org charts and collaboration and tossed them on their side.

How to hire better

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy) — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 14:34:00 +0000

In addition to everything else 37Signals and Coudal Partners spotlight everything that just doesn't matter in the hiring process.

What is usability?

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy) — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 15:42:00 +0000

Standard code
Peter Wiggin of O'Reilly says:

As we watch the growing trend of portable web-enabled devices, we realize they require only small subsets of the bloated HTML code we are sending to desktop browsers, and multiple output formats are what XML and standardized markup languages were designed for. Getting to that point, however, will require some work.

Clear simple navigation
Stuart Robertson says:

Who can use your website? People with limited mobility may have a hard time controlling a mouse to click on links, and tabbing through menus can be slow going. The W3C introduced the access key attribute to enable users to select the appropriate key on their keyboards and navigate to a particular link.

Examples of clean and simple navigation

Simple Forms

Interoperability
Step 6 of the Mozilla Manifesto states:

The effectiveness of the Internet as a public resource depends upon interoperability (protocols, data formats, content), innovation and decentralized participation worldwide.

Access for screen readers
Web accessibility refers to the practice of making websites usable by people of all abilities and disabilities. When sites are correctly designed, developed and edited, all users can have equal access to information and functionality. For example, when a site is coded with semantically meaningful HTML, with textual equivalents provided for images and with links named meaningfully, this helps blind users using text-to-speech software and/or text-to-Braille hardware. When text and images are large and/or enlargable, it is easier for users with poor sight to read and understand the content. When links are underlined (or otherwise differentiated) as well as coloured, this ensures that color blind users will be able to notice them.

What exactly is RSS?

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy) — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 14:52:00 +0000

We use RSS quite a bit. I think its finally time for an explanation!

5 great (free!) web services

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy) — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 14:19:00 +0000

Google Apps
A web based office suite that keeps everyone on the same page.

Docstoc
Find and share any type of document. Its completely free.

Twitter
The newest micro blogging sensation.

Business Card
Phone run out of contacts? Need to share todo lists? Business Card makes it easy and fun to do.

Facebook
Connect with friends and colleagues in a more personal setting.

How to get groups on the same page

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy) — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 15:11:00 +0000

Too often people are never on the same page and as a result things never get done. Email gets messy most of the time CCing everyone so we use a technology called a wiki. Here it is in plain English.

5 ways to use your web site

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy) — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 17:03:00 +0000

Keep track of customers
Email is cheap. Use it, and while you're at it include preferences about your customers in a database.

Cut printing costs
Mail outs, brochures and posters can get pretty expensive.

24 hour help desk
Accept payments, customer surveys and let customers download lost invoices. Set up your system to do things that take a lot of time

Distribution point for product updates
Value added information like tips and tools can help them get the most out of their product or service. service reminders = more business

Credibility
Expose your credibility. Publish advice show, new trends.

Social Media Explained

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy) — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 17:18:00 +0000

I like common craft's videos because they simplify things and make it easy for anyone to understand. They are funny too.

Social Media in Plain English