Dan Roam schools me on creative process. His new book, BLAH BLAH BLAH, offers awesome tips on how to utilize visual and verbal concepts to refine ideas to their most pure state.
Selected by erandycox
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Most Topular Stories
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Creative Like a Fox! Dan Roam and I Compare Notes on Creative Process
Duarte Blog3 Feb 2012 | 6:15 am -
How do they know you're not a flake?
Seth's Blog8 Feb 2012 | 2:43 amBefore your link gets clicked or your proposal gets read, a busy person is going to triage it to find out if it's even worth glancing at. Since everyone is now connected, the new permeability has created a deluge of noise, and just about everyone worth contacting is taking defensive measures. Do I know this person? Did someone I trust send them over? Where does she work? (Ideo? the FDA? The New York Times?) Has she won an award? Is she famous? Are there typos and is the design sloppy? Are they pestering me? Do I already follow this person online? Does music play when I visit the website? Will… -
3 Ways To Deal With A No-Win Situation
Fast Company8 Feb 2012 | 12:41 pmIf you're a Star Trek aficionado, then not only have you heard of the "Kobayashi Maru Scenario" but you can recount it easily to others. For those of you who may not be familiar with it, the Kobayashi Maru Scenario is a no-win situation cadets encounter at the series' Starfleet Academy. In it, the cadet is in command of the Federation ship, responsible for rescuing another Federation vessel (the Kobayashi Maru) from attacking Klingon Warbirds. If the cadet chooses not to save the ship in distress, it will be destroyed with all hands. However, if he goes to the ship's aid, he will precipitate… -
Hans Rosling: The Jedi Master of data visualization
Presentation Zen26 Jan 2012 | 11:31 pmDr. Hans Rosling is one of my presentation heroes; he's been featured or mentioned in all my books and several times on presentationzen.com over the years. If there is a Jedi Master of presenting data clearly, visually, and simply, then it is Hans. He proves time and time again, that data are not dull—and when you are trying to change the world, there is no excuse for boring presentations. Most people are aware of Dr. Rosling through his popular TED Talks, but just in case you've never seen him present, below is a nice 5-minute piece he did on CNN's Fareed Zakaria GPS. At TED.com you'll… -
Raising Money: What Not to Say and What Not to Believe #OfficeandGuyK
How to Change the World20 Jan 2012 | 10:46 amOver the past two weeks via my partnership with Microsoft and Office Web Apps, I’ve provided templates of models for you to create enchanting PowerPoint pitches, Word business plans, and Excel financial models. They are all available for you to download from my SkyDrive account. I hope these documents and blog posts help you save a boatload of time and increase the quality of your efforts.I leave you with two sets of top ten lies: one of entrepreneurs and one of investors so that you know what not to say and what not to believe. Top Ten Lies of Entrepreneurs “Our projections are…
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Duarte Blog
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Creative Like a Fox! Dan Roam and I Compare Notes on Creative Process
3 Feb 2012 | 6:15 amDan Roam schools me on creative process. His new book, BLAH BLAH BLAH, offers awesome tips on how to utilize visual and verbal concepts to refine ideas to their most pure state. -
Are You a Fox or a Hummingbird? Dan Roam Explains Your Brain
2 Feb 2012 | 6:27 amDan Roam uses an animalistic metaphor to explain how your brain processes information, and reveals how to help facilitate communication between our verbal and visual minds. That and more in his new book, BLAH BLAH BLAH. -
Grammar Ain’t Just for Words Anymore
1 Feb 2012 | 8:58 amDan Roam used the rules of verbal grammar to build a Visual Grammar Graph that bridges the gap between verbal and visual concepts. Vivid Grammar is featured in his new book, BLAH BLAH BLAH. -
Quit Talking and Start Thinking
31 Jan 2012 | 4:03 pmDan Roam explains why we talk too much, and how we can use our predilection for vision to become better problem solvers. “Vivid Thinking” is one of the many gems in his new book, BLAH BLAH BLAH. -
Obama’s SOTU: What Is, and What Could Have Been
25 Jan 2012 | 3:46 pmLast night President Barack Obama delivered what could be considered the biggest presentation of the year. In outlining his vision for America and his legislative priorities for 2012, the President attempted to persuade a variety of different audiences – including the United States Congress, business leaders and 25 million members of the American public – that he has a plan to continue improving the lives of Americans. So how did he do? Leaving aside the merit of his proposals, did he tell a story compelling enough to convince such a broad audience? Graphic recording of the State of the…
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Seth's Blog
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How do they know you're not a flake?
8 Feb 2012 | 2:43 amBefore your link gets clicked or your proposal gets read, a busy person is going to triage it to find out if it's even worth glancing at. Since everyone is now connected, the new permeability has created a deluge of noise, and just about everyone worth contacting is taking defensive measures. Do I know this person? Did someone I trust send them over? Where does she work? (Ideo? the FDA? The New York Times?) Has she won an award? Is she famous? Are there typos and is the design sloppy? Are they pestering me? Do I already follow this person online? Does music play when I visit the website? Will… -
Horizontal marketing isn't a new idea
7 Feb 2012 | 2:09 amBut it is the new reality for just about every organization. Vertical marketing means the marketer (the one with money) is in charge. Vertical marketing starts at the top and involves running ads, sending out direct mail and pushing hype through the media. Your money, your plans, your control. It might not work, but generally the worst outcome is that you will be ignored and need to spend more money. Horizonal marketing, on the other hand, means creating a remarkable product and story and setting it up to spread from person to person. It's out of your control, because all the interactions are… -
Who is your customer?
6 Feb 2012 | 2:26 amRule one: You can build a business on the foundation of great customer service. Rule two: The only way to do great customer service is to treat different customers differently. The question: Who is your customer? It's not obvious. Zappos is a classic customer service company, and their customer is the person who buys the shoes. Nike, on the other hand, doesn't care very much at all about the people who buy the shoes, or even the retailers. They care about the athletes (often famous) that wear the shoes, sometimes for money. They name buildings after these athletes, court them, erect… -
In search of a timid trapeze artist
5 Feb 2012 | 2:01 amGood luck with that, there aren't any. If you hesitate when leaping from rope to another, you're not going to last very long. And this is at the heart of what makes innovation work in organizations, why industries die, and how painful it is to try to maintain the status quo while also participating in a revolution. Gather up as much speed as you can, find a path and let go. You can't get to the next rope if you're still holding on to this one. -
Will energy consumption stay private?
4 Feb 2012 | 11:45 amIt's clear that the consumption of energy has external effects that impact more than just the person who is paying for it. Geopolitical, health and economic issues come to the neighbors and nearby citizens of entities that are using a lot of power. It was always straightforward to see who was burning a lot of wood or drove a huge car. It's easy to see when a company has a huge smokestake belching carbon. What happens when sensors make it easy to see how efficient a machine is, how much of a resource is being consumed and how much exhaust is being spewed? What happens when Google maps shows…
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Fast Company
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3 Ways To Deal With A No-Win Situation
8 Feb 2012 | 12:41 pmIf you're a Star Trek aficionado, then not only have you heard of the "Kobayashi Maru Scenario" but you can recount it easily to others. For those of you who may not be familiar with it, the Kobayashi Maru Scenario is a no-win situation cadets encounter at the series' Starfleet Academy. In it, the cadet is in command of the Federation ship, responsible for rescuing another Federation vessel (the Kobayashi Maru) from attacking Klingon Warbirds. If the cadet chooses not to save the ship in distress, it will be destroyed with all hands. However, if he goes to the ship's aid, he will precipitate… -
Amazon Inks Deal With Viacom, Sprint Announces iPhone-led Q4 Highs And Lows, Japan Targets 30% Cut In Rare Earth Use
8 Feb 2012 | 12:41 pmBreaking news from your editors at Fast Company, with updates all day.Amazon Inks Deal With Viacom For Video Streaming. Amazon has plumped up its Prime Instant video streaming catalog with a pile new TV shows, courtesy of its new agreement with entertainment hub Viacom. The deal brings up its video count to over 15,000, putting it in a stronger position to compete against the recently formed Redbox/Verizon double act and traditional TV destroyer Netflix. --NS --Updated 9:50 a.m. ESTSprint's Q4 Sees iPhone Led Highs And Lows. Sprint is announcing results coming off its first… -
How To Find Your Next $140 Million
8 Feb 2012 | 11:26 amI recently spent the day with author Andrea Kates, who was challenged to connect the relevance of the working philosophy found in her best-selling book, Find Your Next, with real solutions that can help move businesses forward. Working with the executive team of a national restaurant chain on this particular day, Kates asked herself, "Which single metric could they focus on to yield the most growth for the company?" Her conclusion was that of all the metrics and contributing factors, it all boiled down to a dogged pursuit of increasing guest frequency. She learned that an increase of one… -
New Details On Redbox-Verizon Streaming Service, Netflix Competitor
8 Feb 2012 | 8:33 amYesterday Coinstar, the parent company of Redbox, the 35,400-kiosk-strong movie-rental service, announced a joint venture with Verizon to provide a subscription-based streaming video service, thus positioning the companies in direct competition with Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon. Coinstar also announced that it would acquire NCR's entertainment business, which includes its former rival Blockbuster Express, adding more than 9,000 kiosks to Redbox's roster around the country. Now new details about the combined companies' plans have emerged. First, it's clear the companies are adamant about bringing… -
Why Facebook's Daily Active Users Is Not The Number That Matters
8 Feb 2012 | 7:25 amA fracas emerges over the fact that not all daily Facebook users visit the company's website. Advertisers tell us why that's missing the point. More Facebook Coverage Be sure to read about the Facebook investors poised to make billions from the social network's impending IPO. And take a deep dive into our earlier profile of Mark Zuckerberg: Hacker. Dropout. CEO. Then compare the Zuck of yesterday with the Zuck who just penned a letter to investors. Plus, dig into all of the revenues and user numbers. Check back here for more to come in the days ahead. In the new world, however, brand…
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Presentation Zen
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Hans Rosling: The Jedi Master of data visualization
26 Jan 2012 | 11:31 pmDr. Hans Rosling is one of my presentation heroes; he's been featured or mentioned in all my books and several times on presentationzen.com over the years. If there is a Jedi Master of presenting data clearly, visually, and simply, then it is Hans. He proves time and time again, that data are not dull—and when you are trying to change the world, there is no excuse for boring presentations. Most people are aware of Dr. Rosling through his popular TED Talks, but just in case you've never seen him present, below is a nice 5-minute piece he did on CNN's Fareed Zakaria GPS. At TED.com you'll… -
New: Presentation Zen (2nd Edition)
18 Jan 2012 | 10:36 pmFour years ago my first book Presentation Zen was published by Peachpit Press. Since then I wrote two other presentation books and a sketchbook/storyboard book and a DVD (plus an additional DVD/Book just for Japan). Although a lot of time had passed, I was still happy with the original Presentation Zen. And yet, the original Presentation Zen book could benefit from a little freshening up in the form of a 2nd edition for 2012. This 2nd edition of Presentation Zen has the same look and feel as the original book and I still did all the design and layout myself. The biggest difference is the book… -
10 great books to help you think, create, & communicate better in 2012
10 Jan 2012 | 4:54 amIn the spirit of personal kaizen, I have listed below a few books that I read (or reread) over the past year that you may want to read as part of your own continuous improvement journey. (Clicking on the book's icon takes you to Amazon.com.) (1) Your Brain at Work: Strategies for Overcoming Distraction, Regaining Focus, and Working Smarter All Day Long. Over the last 10-20 years scientists have made many remarkable discoveries concerning the brain and how it works. David Rock is not a neuroscientist but he is a good "neurotranslator" of the scientific evidence and does a good job of… -
Progress and the intentional selection of less
30 Dec 2011 | 5:26 pmMany people today talk about presentation technology as if it were a panacea for boring lectures and ineffective presentations. Technologies such as our laptops, iPads, and cool software packages are wonderful tools that can, when used well, increase the quality of communication and engagement. This is especially true when we need to engage with people live on the other side of the planet via tools like video conferencing, webinars, Skype, and so on. However, while technology has evolved in dramatic ways over the last generation, our deep human need for visceral connections, and personal… -
Steve Jobs: "People who know what they’re talking about don’t need PowerPoint"
20 Dec 2011 | 5:12 amOne thing we need to constantly remind ourselves is that slides and other forms of projected visualization—no matter how "cool" they may be—are not appropriate for every context. Multimedia is great for presentations before large groups such as keynote addresses or conference presentations, but in meetings where you want to actively discuss issues or go over details in depth, slides—especially the snooze-inducing bulletpoint variety, which are never a good idea—are almost always counter productive. I stressed early on in the first version of Presentation Zen four years ago—and ad…
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How to Change the World
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Raising Money: What Not to Say and What Not to Believe #OfficeandGuyK
20 Jan 2012 | 10:46 amOver the past two weeks via my partnership with Microsoft and Office Web Apps, I’ve provided templates of models for you to create enchanting PowerPoint pitches, Word business plans, and Excel financial models. They are all available for you to download from my SkyDrive account. I hope these documents and blog posts help you save a boatload of time and increase the quality of your efforts.I leave you with two sets of top ten lies: one of entrepreneurs and one of investors so that you know what not to say and what not to believe. Top Ten Lies of Entrepreneurs “Our projections are… -
Design a Sam Adams beer
20 Jan 2012 | 8:24 amNow this is a fun project. I’m helping Sam Adams “tap” the knowledge of beer drinkers and crowd source its next brew. Join the party by getting the app and designing your beer: The final brew will be released in Austin in the first week of March. #sponsored -
How to Create an Enchanting Financial Forecast #OfficeandGuyK
17 Jan 2012 | 1:52 pmThis is the third post in my Microsoft partnership, and it’s all about numbers. The topic is crafting your financial forecast to include in your pitch. Bill Reichert, my partner at Garage Technology Ventures, created an Excel model and wrote this blog post. There’s a lesson in this too: Get the best person for the job. His grasp of financial models and how to present them exceeds mine by two orders of magnitude. The Purpose of Financial Projections When it comes to financial projections, there are two types of entrepreneurs: first, the “visionary entrepreneur” who… -
How to Create an Enchanting Business Plan #OfficeandGuyK
12 Jan 2012 | 8:16 amHere is the second post in my series about planning, pitching, and launching a new business venture. In partnership with Microsoft and Office Web Apps, I’ve created a Word document that outlines a good business plan. It’s saved to my SkyDrive folder here. Feel free to download it and use it as inspiration. And if you’re working with a partner, you can use the free Word Web App to stay in sync. I provided the PowerPoint document before the Word document because a good business plan is an elaboration of a good pitch as opposed to a good pitch being a distillation of good business plan. -
How to Create an Enchanting Pitch #OfficeandGuyK
9 Jan 2012 | 8:01 amWelcome to the first in a series of blog posts I’ll be doing as part of a partnership with Microsoft and Office Web Apps. Over the next two weeks, I’ll cover everything a budding entrepreneur needs to turn an idea into an enchanting investment opportunity—from the perfect pitch to a killer business plan to financial forecasts. I’m going to start with a little dissertation on creating effective PowerPoint pitches for your company. I embedded the sample deck for you to click through by using the PowerPoint Web App. When you’re ready to get started, you can download the…
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@ProBlogger
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How to Succinctly Report a Blog Issue to Tech Support
8 Feb 2012 | 6:07 amThis guest post is by Matthew Setter of Malt Blue. How often do you find it happening to you? You discover an issue with your site, or one of your community members emails you to tell you about it, and soon you start to see tweets about it too. Maybe it’s as simple as an error message that detracts from the professional appearance of your site. Perhaps the contact form doesn’t send messages to your contact email address. Or is it that the whole site just displays as a blank page, otherwise known as the white page of death? You’re not a programmer, a software engineer or a seasoned… -
Make Your Blog Load Faster than ProBlogger: Part 2
7 Feb 2012 | 12:05 pmThis guest post is by Devesh of WP Kube. A few months ago, I wrote a guest post here called How to Make Your Blog Load Faster than ProBlogger. Today, I’ll go into some more detailed advice to help you speed up your site even more. If you’re a blogger, you already know about the importance of blog loading speed, and the role it plays in search engine rank and marketing your blog. But if this is new territory for you, here are three quick reasons why you need to speed up your blog: Google includes website loading speed as an important metric in their ranking algorithm. If you want… -
How I Beat my Best Month Ever by Doing Something Good, Better [Case Study]
7 Feb 2012 | 6:04 amMid-December 2010: on my photography site, we launched a new campaign—our first ever 12 Days of Christmas promotion. The result was my biggest month of earnings ever up to that point. The idea was simple: offer discounts on 12 products over the 12 days leading up to Christmas. I used a mix of my own ebooks and products from other photography sites with affiliate commissions. The result was massive. Not only did we see some great revenue generated, it created some lovely buzz on the site. Due to the success of the 2010 campaign, in mid-December 2011 we launched our second 12 Days of… -
Six Steps to Make Sure Your Site Is Ready to Go Viral
6 Feb 2012 | 6:00 amThis guest post is by Nancy Sathre-Vogel of Family on Bikes. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Surely Google Analytics was confusing my site with another, way more popular site. There was no way my visitor numbers could be so high! And yet they were. One of my posts had taken off and was spreading like wildfire. Those viral post phenomena that happen to others were now happening to me. The first day, 17,000 visitors came to my website. The next day we topped out at 56,000. Readers were coming in droves. It was exciting. It was exhilarating. My site, viral! Wow! And then I took a… -
How to Handle Criticism: a Practical Guide
5 Feb 2012 | 12:03 pmImage by Stuart RichardsAs bloggers, each of us has to deal with criticism. Blogging is a very public activity—almost all of us has the goal of gaining readers to our blogs—and the more people you reach, the more likely it is that you’ll hear criticisms. “You’re wrong…” “How can you say that? You don’t know what you’re talking about.” “I couldn’t disagree more…” “This is the last time I read this blog!” These are just some of the criticisms bloggers regularly face—I’ve received versions of…
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zenhabits
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The Thousand Cuts Fitness Program
6 Feb 2012 | 9:43 amPost written by Leo Babauta. I’ve trained for marathons, triathlons, 10Ks, a 13.5-hour challenge, Ubanathlons, and more. But my favorite fitness program isn’t one where you train for a major event. It’s where you get fit by a thousand little actions. When the actions are tiny, they are easy. You have no excuse. You can do them anywhere, all day long. I fold fitness into my life, like blueberries into batter, and it becomes a part of the recipe, not just a topping. If you haven’t found a way to get fit, try the Thousand Cuts Fitness Program. There is nothing better for… -
The Two-Headed Beast of Successful Habit Change
2 Feb 2012 | 8:20 amEditor’s Note: This is a guest post from Tyler Tervooren of Advanced Riskology. I used to have a lot of bad habits. I still do, but I used to have a lot more. Here’s just a small sampling: I woke up late and went to bed early. I procrastinated on my most important work. I neglected my relationships. I drank too much. I bit my fingernails. I slouched a lot. I picked my nose (no joke). I bought worthless things I didn’t need. I chewed with my mouth open. I dressed like a slob. I ate tons of junk food. I could go on, but none of that’s incredibly important. What’s… -
Create the Habit of Meditation, & the Zen Habits Premium Membership
31 Jan 2012 | 2:03 pmPost written by Leo Babauta. It’s something I should have created a long time ago: the Zen Habits Premium Membership, and a mini-course that’s included with it called Create the Habit of Meditation. The membership is a monthly subscription of $19.99, but really it’s a commitment to changing your life, and the tools needed to do that. If you’ve been looking to simplify, get healthy & fit, become more effective, do work you’re passionate about, eliminate debt, find contentment, declutter, create new habits … this new program is meant to show you how to… -
Creating Silence from Chaos
27 Jan 2012 | 2:20 pmPost written by Leo Babauta. We are often afraid of silence, because its emptiness feels idle, boring, unproductive, and scary. And so we fill our lives with chaos, noise, clutter. But silence can be lovely, and therapeutic, and powerful. It can be the remedy for our stress and the habits that crush us. If we want quiet in our lives, how do we create it? I’ve been exploring this myself. As a father of six kids, I have to admit that I don’t always have silence in my life. That’s not a complaint — I love the messy noise that my family brings — but silence can be a… -
The Habits That Crush Us
23 Jan 2012 | 10:26 am‘Don’t panic.’ ~Douglas Adams Post written by Leo Babauta. Why is it that we cannot break the bad habits that stand in our way, crushing our desires to live a healthy life, be fit, simplify, be happier? How is it that our best intentions are nearly always beaten? We want to be focused and productive, exercise and eat healthy foods, stop smoking and learn to get rid of debt and clutter, but we just can’t. The answer lies in something extremely simple, but something most people aren’t aware of: We don’t know how to cope with stress and boredom in a healthy…
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The Tom Peters Weblog
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Off the Cuff #2
7 Feb 2012 | 8:17 amOur Off the Cuff video series is a direct response from Tom to your questions. This is the second video in the series, which poses the question, "What is the greatest piece of advice you ever received that has made you a better writer or communicator?" It's a terrific question for Tom, and he discusses not only writing influences, but touches on public speaking as well. Don't miss the Dan Pink technique at the end; it may feel excruciating in practice, but there's no denying the improvement gained. -
TLBT Video #73Strategy: Measure Innovation
3 Feb 2012 | 8:46 amWe've posted the latest video in The Little BIG Things series on YouTube. Do you think it's impossible to measure innovation? In this video, Tom offers a brilliantly simple, easy-to-implement method for ensuring that a good portion of your work meets the mark on innovation. You can find the video in the right-hand column of this page or watch it at YouTube (time: 2 minutes 3 seconds). Or, get a PDF transcript of the video's content: Strategy: Measure Innovation. -
MOAP #4
30 Jan 2012 | 7:53 amThe latest installment of Tom's "Mother of All Presentations," or MOAP, is now available at ExcellenceNow.com. You can download the PowerPoint version or a PDF. We'll be releasing a section every other week throughout 2012. Part 4 introduces Tom's conviction that encouraging your people to make friends in other functions of the organization should be a top priority. Tom says you should reward such behavior, make it an agenda item. Download Part 4 of Tom's Mother of All Presentations, and learn how and why cross-functional socialization (read, idea-sharing) is essential to business excellence. -
Race to Nowhere
27 Jan 2012 | 4:51 amTom has said, "We tell our kids to 'be still,' then tell them to 'read history books'—which are replete (100%!) with tales of people ... who never sat still." This is obviously not the ideal way to cultivate a talented workforce. The education system in the United States still seems to be attempting to churn out well-behaved factory workers. With the enormous pressure placed on teachers to produce sufficient test results, the classroom becomes more about test preparation than exploration and discovery. Albert Einstein, long since deceased, had this to say: "It is nothing short of a… -
Advice, For What It's Worth ...
25 Jan 2012 | 7:20 amI was asked to contribute (a very few words) to a family page offering words of wisdom to a graduating high school senior. That's a serious challenge—and I literally spent days on the task. Here, for better or for worse, is the result: Rules For Living Life to the Hilt Nothing will turn out the way you thought it would. There is no bigger waste of time than making plans. Any success you have will be the byproduct of having thrown yourself headlong and without reserve into what you were most passionate about—and then ridden the wave you created wherever and at whatever speed it…
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Signal vs. Noise
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Behind the scenes: Reinventing our Default Profile Pictures
8 Feb 2012 | 9:34 amMister Default Here he is: our default profile picture. You may know him as “Generic Avatar”. He’s the picture you get when you create a new account and profile on Basecamp, Highrise, Backpack, and Campfire. Mr. Default is a standard guy. He’s found everywhere on the web (in variations): message boards, comments, activity streams. He forces everyone to look like him regardless of gender, race, and physicality. He’s also very boring. Time for a change People don’t usually have a picture on hand to change the default avatar. What happens is none of the… -
What's your answer?
8 Feb 2012 | 9:00 am“If a customer asked you why, how would you answer?” This is a question I’ve been asking a lot lately. Why could be “why does it work this way?” or “why can’t I do that?” or some variation on that theme. I think your answer to those questions is a great way to measure your product. Are you happy with your answers? Are they fair answers? Are they clear answers? Would you be happy with the answer if you were the one asking the question? The goal isn’t to get to “Yes” on every answer. The goal is to listen to your answer and ask… -
No framework needed
8 Feb 2012 | 7:42 amIt goes without saying that we use Rails a lot here at 37signals. Often times, when we look at a problem, we turn to Rails or something similar, because when you have a high-performance precision screwdriver, everything starts to look like a finely engineered screw. Sometimes, what you really need is a big hammer, because what you’re looking at is a nail. Our public sites – sites like 37signals.com and basecamphq.com – are a perfect example of this. Let me tell you about our journey with these sites over the years, and how we’ve landed on a simple solution that boosted… -
SaaS: Change starts easy and then gets really hard
7 Feb 2012 | 12:58 pmBasecamp just turned 8 years old. Here’s the launch announcement right here on this blog back on February 5, 2004. That’s a long time ago. We’ve learned a ton since then. One of the most interesting lessons has been the increasing degree to which time influences change. When we first launched Basecamp, we could iterate rapidly. We were incredibly prolific those first few months. We launched a bunch of new stuff and made rapid improvement every few weeks. Eventually it plateaued and slowed down. Why is that? Part of it is because many of the improvements we wanted to make… -
Lessons from Moneyball: don't get left behind
6 Feb 2012 | 7:32 amI recently read and watched “Moneyball”, and enjoyed both greatly. It’s a great story in and of itself, but I also found it to be an interesting parallel to the state of the “web software” industry today. Moneyball starts in the week before the 2002 baseball draft, with a set of meetings that pit Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane against his team of scouts. The scouts’ primary mechanism of evaluating players was visual – did the guy look, walk, and talk like a major league baseball player? On the other hand, Billy, with his assistant Paul…
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Andy Sernovitz | Damn, I Wish I\'d Thought of That!
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The Home Depot’s case study: How to bring your culture to life through an online community
8 Feb 2012 | 1:00 pmCome to our upcoming BlogWell: How Big Brands Use Social Media conference in Dallas to hear brands like Farmers Insurance, Rogers Communications, Target, Yahoo!, NVIDIA, Hitachi Data Systems, Verizon, and Autodesk share 8 great case studies on corporate social media. You’ll get practical, how-to advice on developing your social strategy, scaling your program, driving sales, engaging internal and external audiences, and measuring it all — and you’ll see some brilliant presentations like this one from BlogWell Atlanta: One of Tia Robinson’s big ideas: Don’t be afraid to let your… -
Why would a music industry visionary be writing passionately about a turtleneck?
8 Feb 2012 | 7:00 amBob Lefsetz is a well-know music industry guru who covers critical issues for industry insiders. So why did he write 625 words about a turtleneck from Uniqlo? And then email it to his thousands of email subscribers? And why did my friend Josh Dorf email it to me? Not because he was paid. Not because he was part of some cheesy word of mouth advocacy program. Not because the company asked him to. He did it because true word of mouth, driven by authentic enthusiasm for amazing products, is an unstoppable force. Read this classic example of word of mouth in action: Uniqlo Andy couldn’t stop… -
Save the Date: Word of Mouth Crash Course, May 10, Austin
7 Feb 2012 | 1:00 pmBig news: We’re bringing back the world’s greatest word of mouth marketing conference: The Word of Mouth Crash Course in Austin on May 10. It’s the original “How to be great at word of mouth marketing” conference: 12 Real-world case studies 12 How-to classes 6 Amazing authors 1 Fast day (Yes, this is the event formerly called Word of Mouth Supergenius. We changed the name to better reflect that you’re going to learn a ton, really fast, while having fantastic fun.) Learn more here: http://wordofmouth.org/crashcourse Important: The first 100 registrants will get 50 copies of new… -
It’s not over when you turn in your homework
7 Feb 2012 | 7:00 amSome advice for recent college graduates entering the corporate world: In college, you finish a paper, you take the test, you get to the end of the semester — and you’re done. You can walk away and move on to the next project. No looking back. At work, it’s the opposite. You win when you take and keep responsibility. You own a project, you see it through, you take responsibility, and you make sure it works great for the long term. When it’s time for you to move on, you are responsible for handing off your knowledge and work to the next owner, and you’re not done… -
Pull up a chair around the fire
3 Feb 2012 | 7:00 amThe purpose of a trade show booth or tabletop is to get prospective customers to come in an talk to you. You want to have a conversation. But most exhibits do a lot to block that conversation: big TV screens, laptops between the exhibitor and the prospects, or having conversations standing in front of the table so your back is to people walking past. That’s why I like this simple tabletop by Sprinklr. The fireplace catches your attention. The furniture encourages you sit down and have a deep conversation, and the whole arrangement visually draws people in.
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Better Living Through Design
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Rustic Storage Console
8 Feb 2012 | 7:09 amI’ve been looking for a table for my entry for things like mail, keys and other remnants from a long day of work. At the time, I wasn’t able to find anything, so I had something made by a local craftsman for under $300. It’s a nice sturdy piece, but it doesn’t have drawers, and that would definitely keep that area tidier than it is looking now. This piece by WestElm is actually almost exactly the same size, but it has the drawers that I’m now wishing my custom console had. Constructed from solid mango wood, the piece has a nice muted look. -
Review: Ari Marcopoulos Incase Camera Bag
8 Feb 2012 | 6:42 amI’ve finally found the perfect bag for both day-to-day commuting and air travel. Here are a few of the things I love about it: 1. Interior side pocket fits both my MacBook Air & Kindle perfectly. 2. Exterior side pocket allows for easy and secure access to wallet, keys, phone. 3. Comes with a waterproof cover(!) 4. It’s a perfect carry-on sized bag. 5. Side handle makes it easy to pull in and out from under airplane seats 6. Bag interior lined with soft material to keep all your gadgets scratch-free. 7. Configureable interior compartments with velcro dividers–perfect… -
Nic Box
8 Feb 2012 | 4:04 amThe Nic box by Christopher Dela Pole is an elegant way to keep things close by but out of sight. The lacquered aluminum shell alternates nicely with the solid Ash wood drawer. -
I am not a doormat
7 Feb 2012 | 7:22 amBut you are, Sir, and a very good one at that. Designed and made in England by Rebecca Chitty, this 100% Coir mat has a fitting proclamation with pleasing-to-the-eye big block letters. Materials: 100% Coir PVC Backed Mat Dimensions: 70 x 40cm -
Unique Nail File
7 Feb 2012 | 6:20 amNail files aren’t a favorite subject in design, for obvious reasons. They’re throw away items that we wouldn’t give a second thought, or at least they were before this little item. It’s made from natural stone from the Pyrenees Mountains and will never wear out. That’s right, never. There’s three smooth sides for finishing and one coarse side for shaping and filing down. Let’s face it, if you have to file your nails, it’d be nice to do the job with this rather than a flimsy pink thingamajig. Size: 2.75″ L x .375″ W x .375″ H
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Six Pixels of Separation - Marketing and Communications Insights - By Mitch Joel at Twist Image
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How To Get Started As A Business Leader
7 Feb 2012 | 1:04 pmYour life and your success is not obvious. It's not a given. It's not a direct path. I often say that the best careers in marketing (specifically the ones that have a digital/new media slant) are very squiggly. They involve everything from stumbling through university and very crappy jobs to bad choices and decisions that were driven by financial debt instead of personal opportunity. Every year, I do my best to attend the TED conference. A couple of years ago, the name Chris Sacca was bandied around as someone who everyone wanted to not only meet, but hang out with. He was (and still is) a… -
Digital Tumbleweeds And Virtual Crickets
7 Feb 2012 | 6:51 amIf you publish online get ready for a lesson in humility. Brands quit publishing content for the exact same reason that many individuals stop publishing content: the brutal reality that nobody cares. As someone who creates and publishes a lot of content online (roughly six Blog posts and one audio Podcast every week), there is both a certain humility and instant humiliation that comes along with the process. The cream rises to the top. Even in a world where two hundred billion videos get viewed every month, the cream still does rise to the top (as the saying goes). It's just that we seem to… -
CTRL AT DEL - The Business Book
5 Feb 2012 | 11:30 amCTRL ALT DEL is the title of my second business book. It will be published in Spring 2013. Following is the official press release and some media mention of the pending project... BUSINESS PLUS To Publish CTRL ALT DEL by Mitch Joel Author of the best-selling business book, Six Pixels of Separation, and President of award-winning Digital Marketing agency, Twist Image, signs with Business Plus for the release of his sophomore book. NEW YORK, February 1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ - Business Plus, an imprint of Grand Central Publishing (Hachette Book Group USA), has announced it will publish CTRL ALT… -
Madison Avenue And Mountain View Collide For The Future Of Marketing
5 Feb 2012 | 10:41 amEpisode #291 of Six Pixels of Separation - The Twist Image Podcast is now live and ready for you to listen to. This is also episode #20.20 of Across The Sound. Joseph Jaffe is widely regarded as one of the top Marketing Bloggers (Jaffe Juice) and Podcasters (both Jaffe Juice in audio and Jaffe Juice TV in video). He is the author of three excellent books (Life After The 30-Second Spot, Join The Conversation and Flip The Funnel). A long-time friend (and one of the main inspirations behind the Six Pixels of Separation Blog and Podcast), we've decided to hold monthly conversations, debates and… -
Six Links Worthy Of Your Attention #85
3 Feb 2012 | 8:40 amIs there one link, story, picture or thought that you saw online this week that you think somebody you know must see? My friends: Alistair Croll (BitCurrent, Year One Labs, GigaOM, Human 2.0, the author of Complete Web Monitoring and Managing Bandwidth: Deploying QOS in Enterprise Networks), Hugh McGuire (The Book Oven, LibriVox, iambik, PressBooks, Media Hacks) and I decided that every week or so the three of us are going to share one link for one another (for a total of six links) that each individual feels the other person "must see". Check out these six links that we're…
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TEDTalks (video)
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TED: Sheikha Al Mayassa: Globalizing the local, localizing the global - Sheikha Al Mayassa (2010)
8 Feb 2012 | 8:28 amSheikha Al Mayassa, a patron of artists, storytellers and filmmakers in Qatar, talks about how art and culture create a country's identity -- and allow every country to share its unique identity with the wider world. As she says: "We don't want to be all the same, but we do want to understand each other." -
TED: Stephen Coleman: The moral dangers of non-lethal weapons - Stephen Coleman (2011)
7 Feb 2012 | 8:08 amPepper spray and tasers are in increasing use by both police and military, and more exotic non-lethal weapons such as heat rays are in the works. At TEDxCanberra, ethicist Stephen Coleman explores the unexpected consequences of their introduction and asks some challenging questions. -
TED: Neil Burgess: How your brain tells you where you are - Neil Burgess (2011)
6 Feb 2012 | 7:58 amHow do you remember where you parked your car? How do you know if you're moving in the right direction? Neuroscientist Neil Burgess studies the neural mechanisms that map the space around us, and how they link to memory and imagination. -
TED: Mike deGruy: Hooked by an octopus - Mike deGruy (2010)
4 Feb 2012 | 12:14 amUnderwater filmmaker Mike deGruy has spent decades looking intimately at the ocean. A consummate storyteller, he takes the stage at Mission Blue to share his awe and excitement -- and his fears -- about the blue heart of our planet. -
TED: Danny Hillis: Back to the future (of 1994) - Danny Hillis (1994)
3 Feb 2012 | 8:06 amFrom deep in the TED archive, Danny Hillis outlines an intriguing theory of how and why technological change seems to be accelerating, by linking it to the very evolution of life itself. The presentation techniques he uses may look dated, but the ideas are as relevant as ever.
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David Allen Company Updates
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GTD Connect: How Might You Calculate ROI For GTD ?
8 Feb 2012 | 3:06 pmHey there everybody, I have created a project to determine "Return On Investment" (ROI) for GTD. And then it hit me...I have no idea how to go about that. So my next-action, is this posting. Can anybody out there share some thoughts about how to determine ROI for GTD seminars, coachings, and /... -
GTD Times: Webinars on Keys to GTD, and GTD & Outlook
8 Feb 2012 | 12:10 pmWhat's your level of GTD expertise? No matter what it is, these interactive and concise 90-minute webinars will deepen your mastery of the GTD best practices. David Allen Company offers these on an "a la carte" basis, giving you the flexibility and affordability to choose just the ones that work for you. Keys to Getting Things Done® This live Webinar will give a fast & fun overview on the keys for Getting Things Done, led by a Senior Coach. Learn about the best practices and tools for managing the five phases of your workflow: Collect, Process, Organize, Review & Do. -
GTD Connect: Work As It Appears, Oops!
8 Feb 2012 | 8:51 amprecocious ram lamb + late weaning last September = Oops in February Coming backwards but now out and ok. Oops! -
GTD Connect: What Context Lists Do You Use?
7 Feb 2012 | 3:46 pmWhat are your contexts? -
GTD Times: How do you get people to do what they said they would do?
7 Feb 2012 | 12:18 pmPeople who are starting with GTD often ask how to handle delegation, especially when a "waiting for" from another person doesn't get delivered as agreed. Here's a question and answer with David Allen on this topic. Question: I just finished the "Getting Things Done" book and I know the methods you have expressed will for sure help me! I was wondering if you can help answer one of my questions? For Actions, let's say you have to delegate work to someone. If that person doesn't do the work that they volunteer to, how do you act in a stress-free way which doesn't decrease your productivity and…
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GTD Times
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Webinars on Keys to GTD, and GTD & Outlook
8 Feb 2012 | 12:10 pmWhat’s your level of GTD expertise? No matter what it is, these interactive and concise 90-minute webinars will deepen your mastery of the GTD best practices. David Allen Company offers these on an “a la carte” basis, giving you the flexibility and affordability to choose just the ones that work for you. Keys to Getting Things Done® This live Webinar will give a fast & fun overview on the keys for Getting Things Done, led by a Senior Coach. Learn about the best practices and tools for managing the five phases of your workflow: Collect, Process, Organize, Review &… -
How do you get people to do what they said they would do?
7 Feb 2012 | 12:18 pmPeople who are starting with GTD often ask how to handle delegation, especially when a “waiting for” from another person doesn’t get delivered as agreed. Here’s a question and answer with David Allen on this topic. Question: I just finished the “Getting Things Done” book and I know the methods you have expressed will for sure help me! I was wondering if you can help answer one of my questions? For Actions, let’s say you have to delegate work to someone. If that person doesn’t do the work that they volunteer to, how do you act in a stress-free… -
GTD and Goal Setting
1 Feb 2012 | 3:08 pmHave you wondered whether goal setting works? The February issue of Productive Living has David Allen’s answer to that question. “Yes, but not the way most people seem to understand goal setting. In my experience, the real value of defining desired futures is not so much in the world they describe, but the change in perception the process of setting goals fosters.” DAVID’S FOOD FOR THOUGHT THE VALUE OF GOALS What we focus on changes what we notice. Our brain filters information, seeing one thing in a situation instead of something else, based on what we identify with,… -
Getting your Startup Under Control
30 Jan 2012 | 8:28 pmIn this Dorm Room Tycoon interview on huffduffer, David Allen, author of Getting Things Done, explains how entrepreneurs can be in control, and why planning and having an overall purpose are keys to success. David Allen: Getting Things Done Interview – Getting your Startup Under Control: Business Listen to the complete interview here. -
A Writer’s GTD Journey
26 Jan 2012 | 7:52 pmGTD Times reader Jenna contributed her ideas on how to adapt GTD to writing. A Writer’s GTD Journey About a year ago I was beginning to feel overwhelmed with my list of unfinished projects. I’m a writer and had about a dozen scripts, stories, and article ideas backlogged on my computer. Not only I was not completing any of the projects, I was adding new ideas every day. Each new idea, rather than filling me with excitement at the prospect of undertaking a new creative project, instead filled me with dread and anxiety because I felt like I was looking at corpses—great concepts…
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Notes on Productivity
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DominoPower: Getting Things Done with Lotus Notes
9 Aug 2012 | 8:20 pmOriginally posted on Notes On Productivity -
What if computer problems were real?
28 Sep 2011 | 12:06 amOriginally posted on Notes On Productivity -
Take the 14 day GTD Challenge and Get More Done
21 Sep 2011 | 9:00 amOriginally posted on Notes On Productivity -
Invitation: Super Productivity Tools for Superwomen
11 Sep 2011 | 11:17 pmOriginally posted on Notes On Productivity -
Why some users only see Notes as email
30 Aug 2011 | 5:05 pmFor some users of Lotus Notes, that's all they can see, access, or use. What an extraordinary waste of resources to pay well for talent and expertise, give workers and extraordinary tool to support them, and then lock it down so all they can use is email. Today, I worked with a senior executive at a large organization. He had transferred from a global organization that used Outlook. Now, he has Lotus Notes. Like many highly productive executives, he's involved in a GTD community (this one happened to be on LinkedIn) where he learned that Lotus Notes could be transformed into a highly…
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Augmented Reality Blog & Research
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Introduction to Augmented Reality – Book
3 Feb 2012 | 9:33 pm“The scientific definitions are unnecessarily complicated. An anthropologist is surely interested in the philosophical difference between augmented reality and augmented virtuality; however we are interested in how we can put the technology at our own use.” – reads the foreword of Introduction to Augmented Reality, a freshly published Kindle-exclusive e-book from digital agency Karmamedia. Being an “AR 101”, the book is a short but comprehensive, up-to-date look at the marketing aspects of augmented and virtual reality applications in around 35 printed pages. Full of practical tips… -
Battle Angels: INTERACTIVE Game
1 Feb 2012 | 6:29 amSTART GAME HERE! A choose your own adventure video, the first of three epic sci-fi videos about a guardian angel who fights demonic robots on earth. official title: AEON ANGEL XAPHAN Created by: Young-H. Lee Starring: Heen Sasithorn ศศิธร พานิชนก Lead CG Artist: Young-H. Lee Lead 3D Character Animator: Conrad Turner 2D Titles and Graphics Animator: Adam Lee 2D Effects Artist: Lang Yip -
Ken Block vs You!
24 Jan 2012 | 3:35 amWithout putting someone in a car or doing a physical stunt is there a way that you can demonstrate that engines created to be more efficient and eco–friendly can be just as powerful and exciting to drive as any other? Ken Block vs You! is a physical interactive experience at the 2012 NAIAS Autoshow in Detroit which uses Augmented Reality to put you in a video with rally driver Ken Block. While you stand in a prearranged spot the AR Ken Block drives on in an Ecoboost and donuts around you. It\’s a lot of fun and it goes live to the public on Saturday 15th January 2012 at the Ford… -
NBA: King of the Court Official Trailer
24 Jan 2012 | 3:33 amNBA: King of the Court is the world’s first location-based, augmented reality sports game. Compete to become the “King” of virtual basketball courts placed in real-world locations wherever you are! Available for Android & iPhone! Free to play! Available on the App Store: http://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/nba-king-of-the-court/id426754996?mt=8 Available on the Android Market: https://market.android.com/details?id=com.ogmento.NBA “Like” NBA: King of the Court on Facebook: http://facebook.com/NBAKingoftheCourt -
DELL Augmented Reality Badge
12 Jan 2012 | 1:40 amWatch your name become the Dell logo! Enjoy the seasonal themes. Record your tomfoolery and share with the world… For more information visit http://dellgruesse.de/
