So, I'm engaged.
After 16 months of dating, I asked Michelle to marry me in Evergreen, Colorado. Everything was perfect - the town, the smell, the air, the cabin, the port, the fireplace, the meal, the look in her eyes when she realized what was happening. She truly had no idea - wasn't expecting anything for at least another year, and said yes immediately.
There was no hesitation in the decision at all. She's talented, beautiful, hilarious and brilliant. She's a marvel at her job, a gifted dancer, a fantastic piano player, and a world traveler. She can mingle with A-listers at Ciprianis one night, teach me a lesson in pool in some dive bar the next, and help me start a fire camping in Maine that weekend. She's kind, considerate and in all things looks to put the well-being of others ahead of herself. I've never met anyone like her.
I know, not sure what she sees in me either.
I'm struggling to remind myself why I left Colorado.
As the plane was landing at Newark, my heart was heavy. I had just spent 8 days in a place where the air is clean, the views are breathtaking and the people are friendly. It's true - not everyone is driven and focused on making themselves into something big and important. They don't seem nearly as concerned with being a success in the eyes of the world - they're much more concerned with being a good friend, a good family member.
You drive up to a toll plaza along E-470, and the attendant seems to be sincerely happy to be there, a happiness they seem intent on passing on to the drivers on their morning commute. No matter what restaurant or what store you walk into, the staff actually go out of their way to help you out. No stares, glances or body language to suggest that you aren't rich or white or well-connected enough to be there. Even in the Broadmoor, one of the finest hotels in the country, they warmly greet you as you walk in. They know you're probably not staying there, and that you just want to see the beauty that everyone talks about. It doesn't matter - based on the manner in which they treat you, one would think you were a regular.
Michelle never really understood when I said that the buildings in Manhattan weren't that impressive. After eight days spent driving through, skiing down and gaping at 14,000 foot mountain after 14,000 foot mountain, she gets it. The manmade glory that Manhattan tries to construct for itself is absolutely dwarfed by the natural glory of this country that far too few have taken the time to see.
Perhaps most noticable was the lack of stress we both felt. After a year spent working days, nights, weekends, trying to catch up, stay caught up, trying to keep everything from spinning out of control, the release we felt during the eight days was like water in the desert. My creativity, my energy, my health were noticably depleted before I left, and the recharge couldn't have come at a better time.
But now I'm back. The mountains, the rivers, the buffalo are gone. The genuine smiles, the light laughter and the strangers who feel like old friends are gone. Replaced with cold concrete and steel. Replaced with the sound of horns and subways. Replaced with $10 beer and $20 burgers.
Life replaced by...something else.
Every Christmas, my mother goes to great pains to create the perfect holiday home. Everything has its place, from the pictures to the placemats to the candlesticks. The centerpiece is the eleborately decorated tree. The details are meticulous - the colored balls go on the inside of the branches so the soft white light shines just so off their shiny surfaces. The same patterned cloth bows are used each year, lovingly packed with paper towel rolled up between the loops. The red beads and the gold beads criss-cross in a precise and consistent manner. And the ornaments are painstakingly placed in the perfect location - nothing is where it shouldn't be. It's a labor of love, and she's extremely proud of the end result.
A few years back, the men of the house decided to rebel. We picked up a cheap fake tree, grabbed pop cans and toy cars, and threw the whole thing together in five minutes. The tree topper was a roll of toilet paper. It was truly a work of art.
The tree has only improved with the seasons, as our carelessness has consistently reached new highs. These days, the brances are placed in improper spots, with the longest branches at the top. Some spots we just leave bare. The lights are thrown on the tree in a big clump, and the tree topper hangs off to one side.
Honestly, I'm not sure how we're going to beat this year's effort - I'm open to ideas:
Seth Godin had a very introspective moment yesterday as questioned what exactly blogs are. He has historically prided himself on using his blog to inform and excite its readership - not to contstantly push his books, businesses and other endeavors at us. Interestingly, he views his books as the beginning of a conversation - he's writing about topics and ideas that he admits he hasn't fully thought out yet, and the point is to start a dialogue where we hopefully all learn from each other.
If these books represent the starting point, the beginning of conversations which he hopes to continue (with his blog serving as a big tool for such dialogue to take place,) then would it be prudent of him to make sure as many new folks are reading his books as possible? Otherwise, the risk is that they join a conversation taking place midsentence - lacking the context that the books are meant to provide.
I wonder how often that's truly the case though. I think one of the things that makes Godin's work unique is his effectiveness at getting the mind to work. It's difficult to read his books or his blog and not immediately be compelled to find out more. I imagine that most people who stumble upon his blog are infected by the Godin ideavirus and promptly begin seeking out more info. It seems the Seth Godins and Tom Peters of the world are effective and compelling on the web because they focus on being remarkable, not on selling their products. As a result, people read what they have to say, become interested, and end up investing significantly more time and energy digesting the ideas they present. Their message is one of authenticity, and I think people appreciate that.
So, while one could make the argument that there are more people who would conceivably be compelled to buy books or go to seminars if one were to use their blog as a marketing medium, I think it comes back to the old ideas about what works in marketing, many of which were made mainstream by Seth himself.
- Never lose focus on making something worth talking about.
- Make your idea easy to spread (via blog posts and handy books one can take on the train or give as a gift.
- Obsessively cultivate influencers or 'sneezers' to spread the word for you in a way no marketing plug could.
- Spend time to milk your current success, but focus much more time on the next remarkable innovation so you avoid getting stuck.
- Remember that current customers are 8 times more likely to buy from you than newbies.
- Most importantly, be true to yourself and what you value. If it's important to you that you be an idea person who makes people think, don't worry about the fact that you're losing out on a few sales.
I'm a marketer by background, but I realized a while ago that I buy from people who aren't busy trying to market at me. How about you?
My freshman year in college, I started a painting business. I was spectacularly successful at making sales, racking up $50,000 in paint jobs before the summer began. I was also spectacular successful at planning, purchasing my paint sprayer, my power washer, and other equipment in anticipation of the windfall of referral business I was sure to receive.
Unfortunately, there's a yang to every yin, and what I possessed in salesmanship I lacked in management chops. As a result, I had a sloppy, slow crew and a less-than-stellar track record of execution. The referral business dried up and some of my contracts backed out on me. I learned Business Rule #1 - it's difficult to lead when no one's following you.
All in all, it was a great experience, and I learned a ton about my weaknesses in the world of business that I've worked hard to improve upon since. However, it also burned an enormous hole in my wallet, and I spent the rest of my college career in debt.
The first few years out of school weren't any kinder - as someone who stubbornly insisted on starting my own enterprise, I was consistently walking a very tight line - I didn't really get deeper in the hole, but I wasn't making much progress digging out either. In fact, because I was so insistent on having fun with my friends, I didn't keep nearly enough money in the business - when things got tough, I didn't have a reserve. I learned Business Rule #2 - cash truly is king.
Now older and wiser, I've become much better at managing (well, at least motivating) people. I've also become much better at controlling my spending - in fact, as you know, last July marked the first time in years that I had been out of debt. But this morning, I discovered that paying off your balance doesn't give you license to ignore your statements. Apparently, they put a 50-cent charge on my card for paying it off. That amount went unpaid for three months, and they decided (without notifying me) to close my account about a month ago. With about 10 days remaining before Christmas, not the best time for such a discovery.
I've learned Business Rule #3 - mind your business! Pay attention to what's going on around you. If I'm to be successful the next time I decide to start a venture, I'm going to need to be much better about staying on top of things.
I guess it's good to get these important lessons out of the way early, while the mistakes only cost me a few thousand dollars instead of much much more. But that cruise I was going to send everyone on will apparently have to wait until next year. Sorry guys...
The transition to my new role has been fairly smooth so far. Our list of projects looks as daunting as ever, but I've got a good team of guys working on them with me. They're hard working, talented and eager to learn.
In the next month or so, I think we're going to get this process down to a pretty good science. I've been largely been playing 'pitch-in guy,' helping out wherever I'm needed. Since I know a good amount about both web standards and Flash, I've been able to close bugs and take care of issues for most of my team - which has freed them up to do what they do best. In the past 10 days we've managed to launch 11 sites, which is pretty remarkable given how little time we've spent as a team.
The biggest challenge so far has been finding outside talent. I'm looking for a bunch of solid freelancers that I can add to my team, and while I've been bombarded by resumes and portfolios, the number of exceptional people is pretty slim. I've looked through close to 350 of these by now, and have earmarked about 30 for follow-up. A few really impressed me, and I'm they'll be able to work within my budgets - they'd be fantastic to have around.
So all in all, it's been fun so far. I'm overwhelmed and I'm working every day from the time I get up until the time I go to bed, but it's definitely a new challenge. I will say that Christmas break couldn't come at a better time - eggnog and a fireplace sounds a lot like heaven right now.
Barcamp
December 14, 2005
Barcamp is coming to New York in about a month, and it should be a lot of fun. Amit Gupta is putting it together, and if his track record is any indication (I first heard of the guy when he was working on the phenomenal ChangeThis with Seth Godin,) I'm sure it will be fantastic.
Everyone in attendance is supposed to demo, present or help in some way. I wonder if stand-up counts....
I have something of a dilemma - I don’t know what to buy people. In the midst of the bustle of New York, with the faint din of cash registers ringing incessantly around street corners, I haven’t the slightest idea what to give anyone this year.
I used to be very good at this sort of thing. I used to be able to make a plan, to collect information and notes and thoughts and ideas about everyone who was close to me, and then work to identify the ideal gift for each of them. It was something I took tremendous pride in (surprise, surprise) – and now, like so many other things, I feel as though I’ve lost it.
I’m sure part of it has to do with the fact that my mind is preoccupied with work for much of the day. I’m sure that part of it is a visceral revolt on the part of my body to the crass materialism that is constantly on display in the city. Whatever the cause, scouring catalog after catalog wondering whether so-and-so would prefer the bath salts or the wax footbath is excruciating.
More...
After three embarrassing losses, a good man and a good coach leaves the alma mater.
Got promoted last week - I'm no longer the ambiguous 'Director of User Experience' but a full-fledged Creative Director. It's a pretty cool feeling - since college, I knew that if I were going to bite the bullet and work for someone else, this would be the kind of position I'd want.
Whatever creative faculties I possess will have to wait to be flexed temporarily, however - the downside of being a growing company with an ever increasing client base is that someone has to produce all that work - and I'm now the lucky gent managing the guys who make that happen. The fact that they're able to create over 200 sites a year is pretty amazing stuff - my job is to make that process even more efficient, and to push the proverbial envelope of what we do even further. A pretty daunting task - but I've never been one to back down from a challenge. We'll see what happens.
As an aside - if you're an amazing designer looking to add some unversity clients to your portfolio, feel free to email me at sean DOT johnson AT gmail DOT com. As the great Tom Peters says, it's always the right time to look for great talent.
