MeyerBros

i’ve been listening to an mp3 of Simon Sinek from Re:Focus giving a seminar on marketing. He talks about the ‘golden circle’ - with ‘why’ on the inside, then ‘how’ and ‘what’. the claim is most companies never get to that central why in their mission, research or marketing. the terms seem a bit fuzzy at first, but i think i’m picking up on how he uses them for each aspect.

to sumerize:

first - the organization should be defined from the inside out. the ‘why’ is your belief or philosophy. he suggests that for apple it is ‘iconoclasm’ - breaking the rules and being different. for southwest airlines it is ‘the common person’ etc. that leads to the ‘how’ - for apple it means inovative design (it just looks different) and interfaces. for southwest it means low and simple fares, and casual service (nothing elitist about it). then ‘what’ your company does is the last and least important. apple doesn’t even self define as a computer company - they can do anything and they do. small electronics? music stores? movie previews? it all fits their revolutionary image, so who cares what the product is - they do it.

in terms of marketing you go the same direction - but it’s all about your customer. not “we’re iconoclastic” but “join the music revolution”.
(more…)

i’ve been thinking. why should software users (me) always have to alternate between online and offline apps, importing this and exporting that - switching apps and learning new systems. why can’t i have the advantages of webmail and desktop mail without figuring it out for myself? i want a web calendar that i can look at and adjust off or on line. i want my backpack and writeboards available even when i don’t have web access. why not?

it doesn’t seem like too much to ask, does it? and think of the advantages of all your data being backedup by default within the application.

the more i don’t have to think about when i just want to write a note or check my mail, the better.

37 signals want’s a monopoly on my life. bastards.

I’m already paying $5 per month for backpack which i am completely adicted to. i already use it for lists and links and writeboards, and now they go and add a iCal friendly calendar for no extra cost.

i’m a sucker, but they’re competing with google on this one. I have an online calendar that I am fairly happy with. It seems what they can offer me is backpack intigration and a new level of simplicity - but is it too simple? google calendar can do a lot of nice things…

it comes on the heels of my own idea for a new web calendar system. i would like to see a calendar program stores your calendar locally and online. one program - potentially run within a browser. no more importing and exporting from master calendars and subscribed calendars in various applications with different interfaces and specs. why should i have to think about which calendar is more up-to-date and whether I’m online or off. that’s what computers are for. i simply want a calendar i can access from anywhere at any time without having to worry about it.

the other day i started teaching Michelle code, and from the start I went about it all wrong. “This is a DOM tree… This is a div tag…” i’m sorry. next time around i’m going to work on a new approach involving assignments layed out something like:

• draw your website using whatever medium you feel most comfortable in
• re-draw the same design using only straight lines and solid colors
• re-write the same design content using absolutely no graphics
• i haven’t worked this out entirely…

but really it just makes me want to build a better WYSIWYG editor that is actually user friendly following the philosophies of companies like humanized and 37 signals. An editor that doesn’t assume you want this to be a paragraph and that to be a line break, but makes symantics an intigrated part of the process, and naming and creating styles the easiest thing in the world. Something that treats you more like text edit and less like microsoft word. entirely unlike either dreamweaver or iweb. the one with too many buttons and lists and assumptions, the other with no option to even view the code. i want a program that will do it all for you, and teach you a new way of thinking all without breaking your train of thought. i think it’s possible and i think we should do it.

focus is the key word.

• focus on a specific service we provide best
• focus on a specific client group whos needs we know
• focus on your very basic overhead needs
• etc.

and, of course, services have to be talked about inbasic terms of the client’s life. “standards complient” doesn’t mean anything - though long term, low cost flexability might. handicap accessability and search engine optimization might - but even that might need to be boiled down to increased “sales” (as in dissemenation of product, services or even ideas - the basic goals of any web presence).

also comments on the expectations of most nfp’s - usually that products and services should be free.

a product makes better long term profit for less overhead: if we’re looking at nfp’s without money - we may need to cut our time costs by offering something we can more readily mass-produce like a CMS software package. more customization costs more money. generic web design is harder to sell to an organization on a tight budget.

ideal for best profit is smallest group of people (2?) building a strong, innovative app and maketing it. 37signals as an example starting that way. what are our personal goals? what sort of profit do we need?

learn to say no to projects. learn to cut out services that we offer. simplify client base, simplify products, simplify services, simplify overheard, you get the idea.

I am continually impressed with this company’s advice on business and marketing. Their re:Focus blog is quickly becoming one of my favorite feeds.

My other favorite marketing/design blog is 37signals Signal vs. Noise blog.

Both focus on simplicity, clarity and focus - in terms of software design, goal setting and advertising. Know what you stand for in simple terms and stick with it.

(or Blue Heron Web Development, as Eric recently suggested on the wiki page. I like it.)

Business2.0 can tell us How To Build a BulletProof StartUp. To begin, all we’ll need is a T-1 line, 20 employees, and several million dollars in venture capital to burn through. Apparently we shouldn’t expect to break even until we’ve thrown $20 million down the tubes…

But before you waste precious hours of your life reading through their crap, let 37signals’ David Heinemeier Hansson (creator of Ruby on Rails) tear it all apart. Much more entertaining, and way better advice. Hansson concludes:

People often ask us “what should I do to build a company like 37signals?”. I think we finally have a succinct answer now: Do exactly the opposite of what Business 2.0 tells you to.