LongStation

Photo courtesy of Deneyterrio 

Now I am trapped by the power chords, and must be a wallflower for the next set of speakers. I am very excited about listening to the 37 Signals developments. Below is the live updates on their 10 revelations:

1. The Great Unknown: Don’t worry about the things you don’t know (maybe he didn’t hear Jenkins?). Who knows who cares... worry about what is happening and not what might happen. Optimize for now.
2. Red Flags: Things you should pay attention too. Red flag words are words like “need, can’t, easy, only, fast”. These are words that cause things to derail. (I wonder how they deal with clients that use Red Flag words?) Red flags are loaded and can make projects late.
3. Be successful and make money by helping other people be successful and make money I love this one… it is an old school Schipul value and can make the difference between succeeding and failing. I know we lived through the dotcoms….. We did it by producing more value than cost and getting work for our clients. In other words “hunt”.
4. Target nonconsumers and nonconsumption: Keep it simple. Like Highrise - just want to keep contacts, what you say, and what the next action is. (good for tickets)
5. Ask yourself questions: Whay are we doing this? What problem are we solving? Is this actually useful? Are we adding value? Will this change behavior? Is there an easier way? What’s the opportunity cost? Is it really worth it?
6. Read your product: The biggest sin online is “shitty text”. Pay attention to the words.
7. Err on the side of simple: Start with the easy way. Hmmmm? Things are easy by default we screw them all up. You lose motivation as things stretch out over time. You should resist the urge to do more the next time around.
8. Invest in what doesn’t change: What will work 10 years from now? What are the things your clients will always want. Customer service, fast service, etc.
9. Follow the chefs: Build your empire by sharing your empire. There is a huge audience that is listening to you and you get attention from giving yourself away.
10. Interruption is the enemy of productivity: Talk less and do more. Focus on opportunities for passive communication.
11. Road maps send you in the wrong direction: Don’t spec things out in advance because they lock you into decisions you may or may not want to do.

I like Jason’s list. It reflects many of our current values.