Thoughts on Thinking & Memory

I'm playing hooky from vacation to write a quick blog. I just got done exercising. I find this is often the time where my thoughts come together- connecting all the bits and pieces floating in my mind. It's like sediment settling. I'm always impressed by my mind's initial resistance to calm. But it usually wears down and gives in.

I've been thinking a lot about how the mind works. I attended a number of related sessions at SXSW recently. One on brain hacking was particularly interesting. I just finished a fascinating book- Moonwalking With Einstein- which is all about how to improve your memory. I am now creating "memory palaces" when I visit new places. Vacation is great for that. It's also good for mental "settling". Memories need calm to form.

Good take-away from book: If you want time to "slow down", create more memories.  

I think it's a given that most of us equate activity with progress. I certainly have that default perspective. Understanding that a rested mind can make insights that can have profound results on our lives and work is the not the same thing as believing and living that truth. The equivalent amount of activity to achieve the same value as an insight is numerous multiples but we must not believe this since we rarely make the time and space for calm. We also help foster a culture where activity is valued over thought. I am as guilty of this as anyone. But my goal is to live what I claim to believe: thinking > acting.

Why I Love Vinyl Records

It's no secret I'm a fan of vinyl records but I realized I've never actually explained by aberrant behavior. So here is my defense:

Vinyl is imperfect. Like a painting or a person- vinyl records are always somewhere south of perfection. There are so many small details that go into making a record- mastering, cutting, pressing, etc- so there is endless room for error. Which makes a well pressed record a thing of beauty to see and hear. Digital is always perfect, every time. To quote the Talking Heads "Heaven is a place, a place where nothing, nothing ever happens". Perfection is boring.

The way it sounds. Some people will swear that vinyl sounds better but I would argue that it mostly sounds different. Without getting too technical I will try to explain the main differences. To quote Neil Young "Digital music is a picture of sound". Vinyl is analog which is continuous like a river- every time you play a record, in small ways, it will sound different. The needle will track differently, a new "pop" will appear, etc. Also there is no doubt that vinyl has a real "warmth" to it that often means more bass response and a warmer middle range. Another key difference is the way albums are mastered for vinyl versus digital (most of the time). Digital has a hard stop at 0db but vinyl is an organic matter and there is no hard stop. So this leads to an artistic struggle between the dynamic aspect of the music and the physical limitations of the vinyl. So vinyl is more dynamic (most of the time), sonically, than digital which means less fatigue for the listener and more emotion in the music. 

The experience. Listening to vinyl is a very immersive experience. You put the record on, you sit down, look at the jacket and focus on the music or maybe read a book. There's no skipping around, jumping tracks. That's a pain to do so you don't do it. The limitations of vinyl relaxes me. Infinite choice is stressful. With vinyl you have your record collection and that's it, if you want to listen to a record you don't have, too bad, you'll have to buy it. Like we find with design- fewer choices means a better overall experience.

I could go on with so many other reasons but these 3 hit on the main points. If you are a vinyl enthusiast I'd love to hear what you love about records. Or maybe this post inspires some to start their own collections. Oh- one that thing- records generally don't go down in value over time, only up, so that's nice too.

Also check out my site www.recordgeeks.com for vinyl pressing reviews.

9 Questions To Ask Before Starting A Business

Had an informational interview with an IUPUI student this week. He was back in school and looking to start his own business when he "got out". He was interviewing different business owners, trying to get the lay of the land, see if he was cut out for it. I started saying a bunch of stuff and forgot to say some other stuff. So I thought I'd collect this into a blog if for no other reason than to have a better answer next time I'm asked. 

If you can answer yes to all of these questions then I think you are ready to start your own business. Of course I couldn't answer yes to most of these when I started my first, or even second business, so don't let me get in your way! These are things that I struggle with continually. Keep in mind that these questions aren't focused on your business model but on your disposition to run a business.

1. Can you have hard conversations? By this I mean- can you tell your business partner that you think they aren't carrying their weight? Can you tell a client they need to pay you more money? Can you fire someone?

2. Can you manage expectations? Do you have a habit of over-promising and under-delivering? Do you do what you say? 

3. Can you walk away? From a deal, from a partnership, from your own company- whatever thing that needs to be left behind in order to grow. You must always be willing to put everything on the table, go all in.

4. Can you delegate? Are you willing to let others fail even when it makes you look bad? Are you willing to give people time to grow? Can you suppress your control freak instincts?

5. Can you handle stress? Starting a business is exciting but also extremely stressful. Can your marriage/relationship handle cash flow issues? Can your health handle it?

6. Can you be honest with yourself? Do you tell yourself lies about the business? Sales leads, investment, staff issues, etc. Most business problems stem from good people lying to themselves about their business. That leads to them lying to everyone else which creates a real mess. Optimism is an effective fuel but reality always wins. 

7. Are you willing to do whatever it takes? Change your business model, change your name, scrap an internal project that you worked on for a year, work 80 hour weeks when needed to get things done.

8. Do you have a high risk tolerance? Chances are you will have to take risks running a company that were unthinkable as an employee. A high tolerance for risk is needed to start, and run, a successful business. If you have a low risk tolerance then maybe you are best off as an employee. 

9. Can you let your ego take a back seat? Many business owners can answer yes to the questions above but their oversized ego limits their potential. They can't take critical feedback from their team or customers, they only like their own ideas, they have trouble sharing the spotlight. It's hard to walk the line between confidence and ego, something I struggle with regularly.

Any other questions that I missed?

Thoughts on Cultural Maturity and ROWE

This post is inspired by some of the comments around my SmallBox post on our new core value "Freedom". I wanted to post a blog that went deeper into my thinking on cultural maturity and specifically my fascination/fear around ROWE. ROWE stands for Results Only Work Environment. Here's a quick definition from CultureRx's GoRowe.com website:

"Work Environment is a management strategy where employees are evaluated on performance, not presence. In a ROWE, people focus on results and only results – increasing the organization’s performance while cultivating the right environment for people to manage all the demands in their lives...including work."

I have been flirting with ROWE related ideas for the last year. My business buddy Michael Reynolds is a big proponent of ROWE and has successfully implemented it at his company SpinWeb. But I have struggled with adopting ROWE at SmallBox. I had some legitimate concerns including the fear that our team culture would suffer. What if everyone started working remotely? What if people abused the freedom? I didn't want to extend freedoms that I would rescind later.

At the core of my concerns was my fear that the SmallBox team wasn't cultural mature enough to handle real freedom. Of course, with freedom comes responsibilities and accountability but it still scared me. But I realized, as we wrapped up 2011, that we were ready. We had the right team and our culture was mature enough to handle it. As a company we had got through out teenage years and were entering adulthood. We could be trusted with something as radical as freedom. 

So as much as I love the idea of ROWE I don't think it's for every organization. It's not for organizations that are still, culturally, in their adolescent or teen years. ROWE is for adults and let's face it, not every culture is operating at an adult level. Most are still hanging out in High School mode- gossiping, in-fighting, pettiness. It requires a team where every team member can hold the other accountable. From intern to CEO. 

We weren't ready to extend these freedoms a year ago but I think we are now. Let's see how it goes! 

Factory Week Video and Profile on Verge

Don't usually post promotional stuff on this blog but I'm really proud of my SmallBox team and the work we did last week for our 2nd Factory Week.

Here's a great video that the Verge production team made as well as a link to an article that talks about the week and how other companies can join in next time, or on their own, to bring the awesomeness of a Factory Week to their team. Next Factory Week is currently planned for late July.

Also, the video gives you a great sneak peak of the Speakeasy co-working tech space which is opening in February. It's a project I've been working on, with many others, for the last year and I'm really excited to see it launch. More on that later. 

http://vergeindy.com/intrapreneurship-factory-week/