Dave Lee

Got Things Done

Mon, 05 Nov 2012 15:00:00 -0800

(This is a guest blog post by Ludvig Ericson.)

People seem so stressed out today, yet we live in the era of automation where you can actually buy a pair of shoes on your morning commute while taking care of business. Odd, isn’t it?

Think about three things you did prior to reading this, how did you end them? Chances are you didn’t properly, “alright that’s 90% of the job - I’ll deal with the rest tomorrow.” In the words of Ronan Keating, what if tomorrow never comes?

Those 10% are often harder than the 90% you think you already did. Why this is and the psychology behind it is an interesting question in itself but let’s not get caught up in details.

Get things done and be done with them. Learn to love the word *closure*, “the act or process of closing something” or “a sense of resolution or conclusion at the end of an artistic work.”

As they say, when one door closes another one opens. This is true of your employment, marital status and other big things in life but also the small ones.

When your agenda is without end you’ll be prone to cut corners in a meaningless struggle aganist an enemy you’ll never beat.

How will you ever have a productive day if what you have on your desk is always leftovers from yesterday? In the words of Reinhold Niehbur:

God, give us grace to accept with serenity
the things that cannot be changed, courage
to change the things which should be changed,
and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other.

Close things. Be done with them. Say goodbye.

(Read more posts on Productivity Tips. Check out my other series too.)

Four Devices Apple Doesn't Make Yet

Sun, 04 Nov 2012 12:10:13 -0800

Here’s the computer setup I wish I had. Too bad they’re all devices Apple doesn’t make (at least yet).

1. Retina 27” iMac.

Apple recently announced their lineup of new iMacs, but they’re non-retina displays. The 27” iMac display is 2560 x 1440. Apple usually doubles the resolution to make it retina. So, the retina iMac 27” should have 5120 x 2880 resolution and it would be a beauty to read from. (Currently I use a 21.5” iMac and find it a bit too small. I’ll probably upgrade to the new 27” iMac, reluctantly wishing it was a retina display.)

2. Retina 13” Macbook Air.

I currently use a 15” Macbook Pro Retina and it’s a great machine. The screen is amazing and I’m surprised that I’m able to read Kindle books (read.amazon.com) with comfort. I put it in full-screen mode and can view two columns easily.

However, the 15” Macbook Pro Retina (though lighter than the other 15” Macbook Pros) is still too heavy for me. It’s heavy to carry around and it’s heavy on my lap. For me, the best form factor of a notebook I’ve ever used is the Macbook Air 13”. But again, the Macbook Air 13” is non-retina.

Apple recently announced the 13” Macbook Pro Retina… but after trying it out at the Apple Store, it feels too heavy for my needs. I think the ideal notebook for me would be a 13” Macbook Air Retina. But I might be waiting for a while.

3. 5” iPhone.

I’ve been using an iPad mini for the past few days and while I think it’s a neat device, I find myself using my iPhone 5 still the most because it’s always on me. I’m constantly checking email, websites, and apps. However, I find my iPhone 5’s 4” screen a bit too small. I wish Apple made a 5” iPhone screen. Sure, the phone would look a bit big but if they could make it super light and thin (thinner than the iPhone 5), then it would be fine.

I think this is why the Samsung S3 and Galaxy Note 2 are selling so well. People appreciate the larger screens. And this is probably the largest weakness of the iPhone; namely, it comes only in one screen size (or two if you count the previous 3.5” screen) and doesn’t accommodate for those with different tastes or needs in screen sizes.

4. As a final note, I think there’s an opportunity for Apple (and other manufacturers) to make a wearable device like a watch or necklace. The device would communicate with your phone and show alerts, messages, emails, tweets, etc. Also, you could take pics and videos from the device. The device would also track heart pulse and steps. You could dictate messages/emails/tweets, and also make calls from the watch. You could also also voice search/siri from the watch and ask “Hey, how far is the next Starbucks?” or “When’s the Houston Rocket’s next game?” and Siri would speak back from the watch. If you want to see more info, you just pull out your iPhone and the info is already showing there.

(Read more about my Thoughts on Apple. Check out my other series too.)

Moving to where the puck is

Fri, 26 Oct 2012 11:36:17 -0700

Apple’s new iMacs (21.5” and 27”) are quite impressive - much thinner, less glare, much lighter. (I’m thinking of getting the 27” version.)

The most interesting “addition” to the iMac is actually the missing DVD/CD optical drive slot. It’s been a standard feature for years and Apple has decided to completely remove it. You’ll need an external drive if you want to access a DVD/CD.

What’s interesting to me is that though while most people don’t use the DVD/CD drive that much, it still appears to be a feature most people appreciate. I occasionally rip a DVD or use the optical drive to reinstall the OS. I’m sure others use it sometimes to.

But you’ve got to give credit to Apple. They’re thinking ahead and imagining in a few years if optical drives make any sense (they don’t unless for the few people who could opt for an external drive). And though it will cause inconvenience for some right now, it’s where things are headed and that’s where Apple is skating to. They’re going to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been in the past.

Figuring out what to do next is crucial. In fact, it’s probably the most difficult skill in business and it’s likely to be worth the most. Seth Godin writes:

The new high productivity calculation, though, is very different: Decide what you’re going to do next, and then do it. Make good decisions about what’s next and you thrive. Innovation drives the connection economy, not low cost. The decision about what to do next is even more important than the labor spent executing it. A modern productive worker is someone who does a great job in figuring out what to do next.

Businesses live and die based on whether they make the right decisions on what to do next.

Zynga is an interesting case. They were riding high on the desktop social gaming movement and didn’t expect the environment to change so quickly. They ramped up with acquisitions, people, offices, etc. But the desktop social gaming field has been drying up of late and not growing much. Zynga didn’t expect it. As a result, Zynga’s forecasts are getting crushed. They keep on lowering estimates and revenue forecasts, and this has put major downward pressure on their stock.

RIMM and Nokia were on top of the world 5 years ago but Apple stole their lunch and now they’ve got to figure out what to do next - something they should have figured out years ago.

The bigger question is how do you get good at figuring out what to do next. Just like a hockey player headed to where the puck is going to be… you’ve got to be ok with leaving your current position. You’ve got to be okay with failing at times (ie., maybe the puck doesn’t go where you thought it would be). You need to look at all the other players in the game because each person affects where the puck could end up. In other words, you’ need to be good at reading the field. You need to put an end to indecision which will cause you to stand still and miss the opportunity.

And maybe most important of all, you’ve got to want the puck really bad.

(Read more about my Thoughts on Apple. Check out my other series too.)

Why the iPad Mini Matters

Tue, 23 Oct 2012 13:00:21 -0700

Today Apple announced the the 7.9” iPad Mini (starting a $329). I want to take a few minutes to share why I think the announcement is a big deal.

First, it’s surprising that Apple didn’t price the iPad Mini closer to the Nexus 7 (which starts at $199). I was expecting the iPad Mini to come in at $299 or lower. But Apple pricing the iPad Mini at $329 shows that they’ve made a decision to not compete on price with the cheaper “plastic” Android tablets like the Nexus 7 and others. Rather than making a cheaper iPad Mini by cutting corners, Apple went all-in and created a tablet with the same precision as their new iPad or even their new iPhone 5. Apple is clearly making a statement with the iPad Mini - all other tablets are cheap in quality and lacking in user experience (ie., not as many tablet-designed apps).

Part of me wishes that Apple would have been more aggressive with the pricing and start the iPad Mini at $299 or even $279. But I think Apple is smart here and has a strong positioning statement. People trust the iPad. They know it as the best tablet with the best apps. Apple is leveraging this with the iPad Mini and is basically saying, “Sure the iPad Mini is pricier than other small tablets, but you’re getting quality and the best.”

If the Android tablet experience was close to the iPad’s experience, I don’t think Apple’s positioning would work well. However, Apple knows that 1) they can build an exceptionally better tablet than any Android manufacturer and 2) the iPad’s user experience is much better than any Android tablet, especially with the plethora of iPad-designed apps in the AppStore. So, I think Apple’s $329 price for the iPad Mini is smart and gives them enough margin to be significant to their profits.

Second, the iPad Mini gives schools an opportunity to buy iPads at a lower cost than the current $399 iPad 2. Apple is already making huge inroads in selling iPads to schools, giving them discounts as well as financing options. At $329 retail price Apple could offer a discount of at least $30 to schools (if not $50 or more) and also offer some very attractive finance and payment options. I recently was on a plane talking with a very large school board member and I asked him if schools have enough money to buy iPads. His response is that they all have budgets for textbooks and that money can be used to buy iPads.

The iPad Mini gives Apple an even greater advantage in the education space. Add iBooks Author (free textbook authoring software) and Apple’s aggressive textbook partnerships with publishers, it’s not too difficult to see Apple extending their dominance in schools.

Third, today’s iPad Mini announcement matters because it’s Apple first new product category announcement in 2.5 years. Sure, Apple has had a ton of announcements recently but almost all their products are improvements of current and existing product lines. However, the iPad Mini is Apple introducing their first product in the “mini” tablet market. Expect Apple to iterate like crazy on the iPad Mini. I wouldn’t be surprised for new versions to be introduced at least once a year. And it’s in the iterating of the iPad Mini where Apple will seek to try to dominate the mini tablet market. Some have described it as how Apple rolls.

Make no mistake. Apple’s introduction of the iPad Mini today was not a passive move by Apple to just grow iPad sales. Apple has clearly thought this through and is seeking nothing short of dominance in the mini tablet market. They have a strong positioning argument - the best mini tablet with the best user experience. And they will iterate like there is no tomorrow to make the iPad Mini better and better each year.

On a closing note, I think Apple still has a lot of room to introduce new product lines with their iOS platform. I would personally enjoy a 13” or 14” iPad to browse the internet at home, as well as a 20+” iPad to do presentations in front of small groups. And I think they would make a killing introducing an iOS watch.

(Read more about my Thoughts on Apple. Check out my other series too.)

Dear Tiny Post, please stop the shady practices.

Wed, 19 Sep 2012 19:52:00 -0700

I signed up for Tiny Post about 10 months ago. I created three posts and then haven’t gone back to the app. Just never found the use for it.

Then on August 31 TinyPost starts sending me emails. The first one is an announcement, “Brace Yourself: Filters and Fonts are here” and the second one on Sept 7, “Best Tiny Posts of the Week.” That’s alright. I’m not interested, so I just delete them.

Then on Sept 8, TinyPost sends me an email, “Nick Thomas liked your TinyPost”. Are you serious? Like the one I posted several months ago? So, I just ignore it.

Then on Sept 9, TinyPost send an email, “Amanda Good is following you on Tiny Post”. Strange, I think. Part of me is flattered but part of me wonders if it’s a bot.

On Sept 18, Tinypost sends an email (remember I haven’t posted anything in 10 months), “Tony Veralrud liked your Tiny Post.” I’m thinking, “Man, these guys are creating fake accounts and suck.” But I let it go.

Today, “Kate Bernstein liked your Tiny Post.” I’m thinking this is getting out of hand… Tiny Post, why are you playing with me with fake accounts?

Again today, “Luke Smith liked your [your post]” and “Tony Veralud started following you”. This is getting out of hand. So, I start to investigate who all these people are that are “liking” my post from 10 months ago and even following me.

So here are the profiles of the 5 people liking my posts. These are definitely fake accounts set up by Tiny Post and is a flat out shady practice. They’re tricking users into thinking these are real people, and that real people are liking and following them. Not cool. I even gave them the benefit of the doubt thinking maybe these 5 people are the founders, but they’re no where to be found on their team page.

Notice all these fake accounts have around the same number of posts, likes and following. It’s obvious Tiny Post is running these fake accounts as bots in order to fool their users. (see update below)

I understand it’s difficult to get off the ground as a social site. It’s the classic chicken and egg problem. Without activity, users don’t find value. But without users, you get no activity. I even understand Reddit’s approach of creating fake accounts when getting started. But I’m more understanding of Reddit because there’s an anonymity that’s promoted on Reddit. People are allowed fake/anonymous/throwaway accounts. That’s Reddit. But Tiny Post is clearly different. They’re going for your real identity with your first name and last name. And that’s where it becomes uncool.

Tiny Post, please stop the shady practices. It’s not cool. And I’ve lost my respect for your team until you publish a public apology to your users.

Update: There’s a lively discussion on Hacker News regarding this post. A couple users pointed out that I shouldn’t jump to the conclusion that Tiny Post is orchestrating this themselves. It could be a third party who’s set up a bot to follow users so they can gain more followers. I think this is a valid point and something worth considering. However, it’s difficult to believe that 3rd parties would be that interested in Tiny Post to set up bots. But maybe I’m wrong. I would love to hear directly from the Tiny Post team on this. If I hear from them, I’ll update this blog post with their response.

Update2: Ingrid Lunden wrote a story about this on TechCrunch and got a reply from one of the founders basically saying that they’re sorry, they’ll stop, and that they were doing it to “test” user engagement. I’m glad they’re stopping it but I’m not totally sure I buy the just “testing user engagement” narrative. You create 20 fake users and have them like 3000 posts each (total 60,000 posts) and have them follow 7000 users each (total 140,000 users)… and only stop when caught? First, when would they have stopped, if they didn’t get caught? I’d like to know what their actual plans were (of course, they don’t have to share this but I’m curious). Second, do you really need to follow 140,000 users to do a “test”? I imagine using a couple of the founders accounts and following a bunch of people (ie., a few thousand each) and seeing the response is fine for testing. But following 140,000 users… sounds more plausible that they’re trying to gain traction vs testing. But again, I could be wrong. I’ve tweeted @tinypostapp and will update this post if/when I hear from them.

Update 3: Just got an email from Dick Brouwer (founder, Tiny Post) and he says that they did two 1-week tests to measure re-engagement based on different types of actions and users. He said they’ve removed the test users and halted the tests. I emailed him back expressing my concern about them misleading and manipulating their users with fake user accounts of models with changed names (ie., finding attractive models online, cropping their pics, making fake user accounts with those pics, changing the models’ names, creating a script for these fake users to follow a bunch of users, then sending email notifications to all those users notifying them that this attractive/hot user is now following them). This brings up a bigger issue about growth hacking ethics and what’s the line where it goes too far.

(Read some of my other Thoughts on Startups)

I Respectively Disagree (with Jeff Bezos)

Fri, 07 Sep 2012 12:15:00 -0700

Jeff Bezos is a fantastic presenter and innovator. Yet, yesterday at the Kindle 2012 lineup event he made two major arguments that I have a difficult time agreeing with. (Watch full event on YouTube)

First, Jeff Bezos argued that Android tablets haven’t taken off because they’re “gadgets,” while the Kindle Fire sold well because it had better “services”. Bezos spent a large majority of his presentation describing the current and new “services” for the Kindles and Kindle Fires (all which are quite impressive: tons of content, exclusive books, whisper sync, dual-sensory reading, x-ray for movies, FreeTime for kids, etc).

In essence, Bezos is saying that Amazon’s Kindle Fire has better services than Android tablets and that’s why Amazon is winning.

But if you take a look at the Google Play store, you’ll notice that Google has been doing an impressive job of amassing a lot of content themselves. Also, Google has tons of services that Amazon can’t offer (search, gmail, calendar, docs, maps, google+, single sign on to all google services, etc).

I just don’t buy that Amazon has better services than Google and that’s why Kindle is winning. I think a better narrative is that there’s been a lack of a strong market leader in the 7-8” tablet space and as a result consumers have reluctantly purchased the Kindle Fire more than other android tablets, but it’s not a sign that the people are happy with the Kindle Fire or that it has better services. Maybe it’s because of price and convenience (ie., amazon.com). (note: I purchased a Kindle Fire 2011 when it first came out and was disappointed at it’s clunky and choppy software. It basically was unusable to browse the web compared to an iPad.)

I think when Apple enters the 7-8” market, there will be a clear and strong market leader: Apple. Then, we’ll see if Kindle Fire’s great “services” can compete with Apple’s complete package: beautiful hardware, great UI, the best apps, etc.

Also, I think Google is just getting going in the tablet market. The Nexus 7” is an impressive tablet and Android 4.1 with project butter is a vast improvement over all other android versions. I also think Google’s purchase of Motorola will allow Google to produce some impressive devices in the future. I was skeptical of the purchase initially, but was super impressed that Google hired Regina Dugan (formerly of Darpa) to head innovation at Motorola (check out Regina Dugan’s TED talk and be blown away).

Case in point: Kindle Fire might be the market leader in the 7” tablet space, but it’s not a strong market leader and Apple has yet to enter the market… and Google is just getting going.

The second Bezos argument that I’m having a difficult time digesting is his critique that Amazon is better aligned with customer’s interests than Apple because Amazon is making most it’s money on the ongoing use of the Kindle (ie., purchasing ebooks, etc) vs Apple is making most it’s money on the initial purchase of the device.

I appreciated Bezos laying out the Amazon Doctrine: “Above all else, align with customers. Win when they win. Win only when they win.”

To paraphrase Bezos: ”We want to make money when people use our devices, not when they buy our devices. If someone buys one of our devices and never uses it, we don’t deserve to make any money.”

That’s a noble goal but it doesn’t necessarily mean that Amazon is better aligned than Apple, which Bezos asserts. Apple also is motivated to have customers use their devices because if they don’t continue to user their devices they aren’t going to upgrade to the next, newer device. So Apple has a vested interest in making sure that users enjoy their current experience and receive value. Apple also has interest in ongoing usage with the AppStore and iTunes stores. (side note: I do find the pay-for-what-you-use is a really interesting business model)

Overall, I think Amazon’s ambitions are noble but they’re going against two companies that alsoa very aligned with the customer. So, it’s going to be tough. I don’t think Amazon is going to overtake Apple in the tablet market any time soon. And I’m not sure if then can fend off the upcoming Android tablets in the 7-8” or 9-10” tablet space either. But I think Amazon will have it’s place. I still buy most of my ebooks on Amazon, am a huge Amazon Prime fan, and have a lot of loyalty toward Amazon. Amazon has proven it’s Amazon Doctrine through amazon.com, EC2, and it’s other services. They give good value to the customer without trying to take advantage of the customer. And customers appreciate that kind of treatment.

That said, it’s going to be an interesting next few years in the tablet space - Apple vs Google vs Amazon… and Microsoft trying to get into the game.

Who do you think has the best chances?

(Read more about my Thoughts on Amazon. Check out my other series too.)

I propose an iOS AppStore Fast Track app approval process

Wed, 15 Aug 2012 17:46:22 -0700

Andrew Chen wrote an interesting blog post, Mobile app startups are failing like it’s 1999.

I think the root problem is that the AppStore review process takes too long to encourage rapid, iterative development. If you need to wait 10 days for your update to get approved, it breaks the feedback loop that you need to have to iterate quickly for new products.

I’d like to propose a Fast Track approval system for app updates to the iOS AppStore. Here’s how it would work. If you have an update to your app that you’ve submitted to the AppStore, as a developer you can pay $300 to get that update reviewed (and approved or rejected) within 2 days. You can use this privilege as many times as you want, as long as you pay $300 each time.

The reason I think this would work is because many of the app updates are from developers that aren’t making enough money to really want to pay $300 for a speedy approval. They’re okay with waiting 1-2 weeks. However, for an ambitious startup trying to find product/market fit each day that you can save is worth a lot of money. Ambitious startups would surely pay $300 to get their update out quickly. This would encourage more updates and would encourage startups to have more of an iterative development process.

For Apple, the $300 would cover any additional app processing costs, and again I don’t think it would bog down their system as 95% of developers wouldn’t pay for Fast Track. But for those who do, it will really matter. And it would make a lot of startups excited to get out their update a lot quicker.

Ten million users is the new one million users Insightful blog post by Chris Dixon. I’ve been...

Fri, 03 Aug 2012 11:30:10 -0700

Ten million users is the new one million users

Insightful blog post by Chris Dixon.

I’ve been saying that the scale of mobile/social (ie., ios, android, facebook) has increased the distribution 10x for apps/services. It’s truly incredible what’s happened in the past 5 years.

But saying that, there are major challenges of mobilizing a non-transactional app… namely, usually your user experience suffers as you add more advertising. And on top of that, advertising is increasingly being ignored in mobile apps. It definitely makes in-app purchase, subscription and freemium appealing options to think about as a startup.

Where is David Pogue’s iPhone? Entertaining story of David Pogue (tech writer from NY Times)...

Thu, 02 Aug 2012 23:10:20 -0700

Where is David Pogue’s iPhone?

Entertaining story of David Pogue (tech writer from NY Times) losing his phone in the NY Subway and Find My iPhone, Twitter and the police helping him to track it down.

"Questions are places in your mind where answers fit. If you haven’t asked the question, the answer..."

Thu, 02 Aug 2012 19:06:39 -0700

“Questions are places in your mind where answers fit. If you haven’t asked the question, the answer has nowhere to go. It hits your mind and bounces right off. You have to ask the question – you have to want to know – in order to open up the space for the answer to fit. (paraphrased from Clay Christensen)”

- http://37signals.com/svn/posts/3225-what-are-questions

"Our goal absolutely at Apple is not to make money. This may sound a little flippant, but it’s the..."

Wed, 01 Aug 2012 13:56:56 -0700

“Our goal absolutely at Apple is not to make money. This may sound a little flippant, but it’s the truth. Our goal and what gets us excited is to try to make great products. We trust that if we are successful people will like them, and if we are operationally competent we will make revenue, but we are very clear about our goal. - Jony Ive”

- http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/apple/9438662/Apple-design-chief-Our-goal-isnt-to-make-money.html

Wow, this iPhone (5) video looks legit. Can’t wait until...

Mon, 30 Jul 2012 12:06:54 -0700

Wow, this iPhone (5) video looks legit. Can’t wait until the next iPhone comes out. iMore is saying that Apple will announce next iPhone, 7” iPad and new iPod nano on September 12

Btw, my guess is the next iPhone will not called the iPhone 5, but rather the “new iPhone”. I think Apple is realizing the sequential numbers are too predictable and causing people to not buy iPhones during the months leading up to the next launch. And sequential numbers aren’t helping at keeping multiple models in the market (iPhone 3gs, iPhone 4, iPhone 4s). They’ll figure out a better way to distinguish their multiple models.

"Some people seem to think that getting acquired should be the highest aspiration for an entrepreneur..."

Sun, 29 Jul 2012 22:47:06 -0700

“Some people seem to think that getting acquired should be the highest aspiration for an entrepreneur in Silicon Valley. I disagree vehemently. - Vinod Khosla”

- http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/13/khosla-the-silicon-valley-vision/?src=recg

Definition of Zynga Fatigue

Thu, 26 Jul 2012 21:16:00 -0700

Zyn·ga fa·tigue noun \zin-ga fə-ˈtēg\

1. When users spend an insane amount of hours playing Zynga’s addictive games but gain little or no meaningful lasting value; as a result, they are repulsed at the idea of playing another Zynga game or anything that resembles the dozens of lame games they’ve wasted thousands of hours on. Some people describe it as waking up from a bad dream.

The "Net Loss" Clause to Excellent Customer Service

Tue, 24 Jul 2012 21:32:00 -0700

In order to give great customer service you need to be willing to take a net loss on certain transactions. For many this is difficult to accept.

Yesterday I dropped off my car at the dealer for a repair and they called today saying that the repair will cost an additional $300 because they broke a part. I thought, shouldn’t they pay for a part that they broke? After 90 minutes of back and forth calling and talking to their manager, I managed to haggle a slight discount. But they had me by the balls… my car was in disrepair and I needed it fixed.

What struck me was the service advisor and the service manager’s absolute refusal to lose any money on this transaction. They should have just covered the cost of the part they broke but that would mean a net loss on the transaction. I would have been a happy, loyal customer, but instead I’m an angry, dissatisfied customer unlikely to go there again.

Companies that do great customer service understand that it’s okay to take a net loss on a transaction if it’s going to change a bad customer experience into a good one.

Amazon loses money when I return items. They change a bad experience into a good one, even if they lose money on the transaction.

A few weeks ago, my wife and I waited 40 minutes for our pizza at California Pizza Kitchen. The manager covered the entire bill without us asking (she also asked us if we wanted wine, appetizers, extra entree… all free of charge). It changed a bad experience into a good one.

Starbucks will take back (and throw away) any drink you don’t like and will remake one to your exact desire. And they do this without making you feel bad.

If I don’t like the food in a restaurant, I shouldn’t have to pay. Or I should be given a choice of another entree for free. Sure, some people might take advantage of it, but if you let the customer leave your restaurant having a bad experience the chances are they are never coming back. But if you take a net loss on one meal because the customer isn’t happy, you might have won them over for life. In other words, take the net loss of $20 in exchange for the possibility of winning that customer over as a lifetime happy customer ($1000+ value).

But it’s not just about the money.

Being willing to take a net loss in a transaction shows our customers that their satisfaction is more important to us than making a quick profit. It shows that we care about people first. And people appreciate that.

(Read some of my other Thoughts on Startups)

The "Just look at it" hack to problem solving (Productivity Tip #4)

Fri, 20 Jul 2012 22:54:00 -0700

This past week I was faced with a difficult problem. A really difficult problem.

In fact, it was painfully difficult. And I was struck with a flood of emotions: fear, anxiety, despair, etc.

I just wanted to sleep and not deal with it.

But instead, I did the “Just look at it” hack.

The “Just look at it” hack is something I’ve been thinking about the past few weeks. The essence is that if you just face a challenging problem by looking at it, then your brain will naturally respond with creativity and ideas to overcome and solve the problem. In other words, you don’t need to try to solve the problem with your raw effort. Rather, just stare at the problem and let you brain do the work for you.

I printed out all my notes regarding my difficult problem onto two 8.5 x11 pieces of paper. And then I went to the couch in my living room, and just stared at it. I told myself, “you don’t need to solve it or fix it right away. You don’t need to do anything but just look at it and let your brain think about it.” So that’s what I did.

I sat for about an hour, just staring at the two pieces of paper and letting my brain do it’s work. Then, it started to happen. One by one ideas started to form and I began jotting them down. No magic moment of epiphany, yet.

I kept going and in another hour or two, I was getting epiphany. I had the solution to my really difficult problem. And my fear and despair turned to ecstatic relief and confidence.

So the next time you’re faced with a really difficult problem and you want to run away and not face it, try the “Just look at it” hack.

1. Jot down all the notes regarding your problem/challenge and print it out.

2. Just look at the printed notes and let your brain mull it over.

3. Keep at it. It’s ok if you start dozing. Just wake up and keep looking at the printed notes.

4. When inspiration comes, start taking notes. But keep going until you get the creative solution you need.

(Read my other posts on Productivity Tips. Check out my other series too.)

Great discussion on Hacker News regarding this post.

Empathy is what makes Amazon different

Thu, 19 Jul 2012 21:36:50 -0700

Slate.com ran an article last week titled I Want It Today: How Amazon’s ambitious new push for same-day delivery will destroy local retail. If you haven’t read it, it’s a good read. The gist of it is as follows:

But now Amazon has a new game. Now that it has agreed to collect sales taxes, the company can legally set up warehouses right inside some of the largest metropolitan areas in the nation. Why would it want to do that? Because Amazon’s new goal is to get stuff to you immediately—as soon as a few hours after you hit Buy.

Whether or not Amazon can pull it off is up for debate.  But I’ve got a lot of respect for Amazon.  Sure, they have great prices and selection.  And I love Amazon Prime.  But what stands out is their user empathy.  They make the process of shopping as painless as possible.  They try to provide objective customer reviews.  They make returns easy.

But most of all, they respect their customers’ privacy.  Amazon doesn’t sell my address or info to other 3rd party retailers.  They don’t fill my mailbox with catalogs and junk mail.  They understand I don’t want that.

Contrast that to Crate & Barrel.  Sure, they’ve got great products.  But when my wife buys something online, they put her on two mailing lists: one for the Crate & Barrel catalog and another called the “Rent List”.  The “Rent List” is where they basically sell (or rent) your mailing address to other retailers.  So, after buying something online at Crate & Barrel, we start getting catalogs from a bunch of retailers.  That sucks.

The same thing happens for a lot of online retailers.  I can’t buy stuff online at GAP or Banana Republic because they sell my mailing info.  Lucky Brand as well.  Probably most of the top online brands do that.  Again, that sucks.

Sure, I can understand.  They’ve been “monetizing” their customers info for many decades.  Imagine, if you can make an extra $5 per person who buys something from your site by just selling their info to other retailers.  That’s a significant profit margin.  Why wouldn’t you do it?  Well, the reason you wouldn’t do it is if you respected the customer’s privacy and had empathy.  That’s what a lot of retailers are missing.

But for some reason Amazon’s got it.  They’ve managed to build a successful business without selling their customers mailing info, and they make sure even if you buy in their Amazon Marketplace that third party retailers don’t mail you unsolicited catalogs or junk mail, or spam email.

If Amazon is successful at disrupting local retail, it will be because they’ve got user empathy in a retail world where it’s sorely lacking.

Google as an "operating systems" company

Fri, 13 Jul 2012 11:56:00 -0700

Google is slowly but surely becoming an “operating systems” company.

You can understand Google as a search company. But I think that’s where Google was at and maybe is where they’re at currently. But it’s not where they’re headed. Sure, Google will be in search for many years (and maybe decades) to come. But what is more important than search to Google is the operating systems that will run the platforms for tomorrow.

If Google can control the OS for mobile phones, then they can add all their services (search, maps, local, media, apps, mail, Youtube, google+, etc) into the OS on a deep level and ensure that they won’t become irrelevant. They know if they can control the OS, they can find a way to make money. That’s why they’re so fiercely dedicated to Android.

The same goes for Chrome OS. Google knows the web is advancing and that in the future the web will be 100s if not 1000s of times more powerful and capable than today, and will rival if not overtake existing desktop operating systems. Why go head on with Microsoft Windows when you can go in early on the next big operating system of the future, the web.

Google wants people on desktops and laptops to eventually do everything in the browser (run apps and services, access files and docs, etc). The Chromebook (which I didn’t find userful last year when I got one for free from Google I/O) is an early version of what Google sees for the future. Sure, it’s not that impressive. But so was the first Android phone (I had that one too and wasn’t impressed). But look at what Google did with Android. And now we can all watch what Google does with Chrome and Chrome OS.

Google knows that if it can achieve dominance in the browser market and eventual dominance is the browser-based OS market (ie., Chrome OS), then it will ensure that it’s relevancy to the user. In other words, if people are relying on Google for the OS/browser and all the services too, surely Google has a bright future ahead.

It’s obvious that Apple’s is Google’s biggest competitor in the mobile space. However, in the web space I’d say their biggest competitor is Facebook. Facebook is the closest thing to an operating system for the web. Sure, they’re not there yet but tons of the internet flows through the Facebook ecosystem. Facebook could go into Search (or search-related) fields and threaten Google’s cash cow. Facebook also could release a browser and integrate search more directly in the experience, making Google more irrelevant. Already Facebook has shown its intent by not letting Google index Facebook users and posts.

Google has other significant projects going on as well like Google+, Youtube, Local, Google Apps, Maps, Knowledge Graph, Google Now, etc. But it seems like they’re the most interested in the operating systems of the future and the key services that will support those operating systems. TV, @home, driveless cars, goggles, etc. will add need operating systems. Google wants to own the operating system and the key services, and they know if they can do that they will ensure their relevance and they’ll find a way to monetize.

Google’s transformation is a gradual, yet dramatic one. Welcome to Google, the operating systems company.

The Timer Knows Best: Why I Love the Pomodoro Technique

Sun, 01 Jul 2012 19:21:00 -0700

(This is Part 5 in a series about My Productivity System.)

The Pomodoro Technique has become an essential part to my focus management system. If you haven’t used the Pomodoro Technique, I encourage you to do so. And if you’ve tried it in the past but have given up on it, I encourage you to give it another try as part of a more comprehensive focus management system like the one I’m writing a series about currently.

WHAT’S THE POMODORO TECHNIQUE?

The Pomodoro Technique is described by Francesco Cirillo:

1. Choose a task to be accomplished.
2. Set the Pomodoro to 25 minutes (the Pomodro is the timer*)
3. Work on the task until the Pomodor rings, then put a check on your sheet of paper.
4. Take a short break (5 minutes is OK)
5. Every 4 Pomodoros* take a longer break

*Francesco seems to call the timer a Pomodoro and also a 25 minute session a Pomodoro. For my purposes, I’ll call the timer a timer, and a 25 minute session a Pomodoro.

Here’s how I sum up the Pomodoro Technique: Use a timer to work in 25 minute sessions followed by 5 minute breaks.

1. GET SET UP WITH A TIMER

You can use a physical timer, or your phone, or whatever. I personally use My Little Pomodoro (mac app) which allows me to see the timer on my Mac desktop at all times.

To get the Pomodoro Technique really working, in my experience you really need to commit that you’ll use Pomodoros for all the work that you do (or at least for as much of the work day as possible).

Now that you’re set up, you’re ready to go.

2. START THE DAY WITH A POMODORO

It’s tempting to start the day by jumping into email and all the urgent tasks at the moment. Resist the temptation. Start your work day with your first Pomodoro (25 minute work session). During your first daily Pomodoro, the key is to organize your 3 Desired Outcomes of the day. This will allow you to get focused and will keep you accountable. I like to review my current notes regarding my daily focus area. For example, if I’m working on Product Features for Monday, I’ll review all my notes regarding Product Features. And then I’ll start listing out various tasks and things I want accomplished that day. I use a pen and pad for this. After I have about 10-15 tasks, I’ll then start to draft my 3 Desired Outcomes for the day. I’ll write them in past tense form; for example, “Login/Registration workflow drafted”. Usually a Desired Outcome ends up taking about 1-3 hours. Three Desired Outcomes usually takes me about 6 or so hours to do.

3. KNOW THAT GETTING STARTED IS ALWAYS THE HARDEST

I find this interesting phenomenon at work: the first 2-3 Pomodoros of each daily are usually the hardest to get through. This is when I have the most distractions. I want to reply to email, visit Hacker News & MacRumors, do other things, or just give up. The first 2-3 Pomodoros of the day I find myself fighting to keep focused. Without writing down my 3 Desired Outcomes of the day, I don’t know how I could break through this wall on a daily basis. The 3 Desired Outcomes gives me a goal that if I don’t reach by the end of the day, I’ll have to face my failure and the reasons why.

But here’s the other phenomenon: sometime after the 2^nd or 3^rd Pomodoro (roughly), I break into an extended time of extreme focus and productivity that surprises even myself. It’s like runner’s second wind. I feel like I can go on and on and on. And it feels great.

4. FOCUS ON YOUR 3 DESIRED OUTCOMES FIRST

I make sure to that my first 10-14 Pomodoros for the day are focused on my day’s 3 Desired Outcomes. And then toward the end of the day I’ll do another 3-4 Pomodoros on less important items like replying to email, organizing my desk, admin tasks, and other things unrelated to my daily focus area. Sometimes it’s a battle to keep focused on your 3 Desired Outcomes, but remember this: once you’ve finished your 3 Desired Outcomes of the day, you’ll know that you’ve finished the most important tasks for that day and you’ll feel great.

It’s a great challenge to know really what the most important tasks you need to be doing at the moment. I find that once I get started in my day, I start to inevitably face the challenges of the important tasks. Often, it’s discouraging and I’ll be tempted to do something less intense or less challenging. However, this is where the combination of the Pomodoro Technique and the 3 Desired Outcomes works miracles. I just keep plugging away. The 3 Desired Outcomes gives me my goal and the Pomodoros give me the means. If I just do one Pomodoro after another and keep focusing on the desired outcomes, I do some serious damage (in a good way). And before you know it, this behavior becomes a habit.

(Note: If something urgent comes up or I need to do something unrelated to my daily focus area, I might do less than 10 Pomodoros on my 3 Desired Outcomes, but this is rare. Also, if there’s an urgent deadline for a project, I might put in more than 14 Pomodoros on my 3 Desired Outcomes, but this is rare too.)

5. DON’T STOP THE CAR

Last month I was teaching my wife to drive manual (stick), and it’s amazing how easy stick shifting is if the car is already moving (ie., in 2^nd gear). However, when the car is stopped and you need to get into 1^st gear, it’s extremely difficult - too little gas, too much clutch, etc. Case in point: it takes a lot of energy to get something moving from a standstill.

The same is true with the work day. Once you get going, you want to avoid coming to a standstill and having to get yourself moving again. Even if you don’t know what you need to be doing, just start the timer and do your 25 minute work session. Sometimes (especially during the first few Pomodoros) I find myself just thinking about the task at hand for the entire 25 minute Pomodoro. And that’s ok. Actually that’s great. After I spend enough time thinking, I’m bound to find some kind of breakthrough.

Here’s the key to making the Pomodoro system work: Keep the timer going.

Don’t stop the timer, if possible. The timer is either counting down from 25 minutes (for a work session) or from 5 minutes (from a break)… or from 15-20 minutes for a longer break. Here’s a sample of from a typical day of mine:

9:00am - 1^st Pomodoro (set daily 3 Desired Outcomes). 5 minute break.
9:30am - 2^nd Pomodoro, 5 minute break.
10:30am - 3^rd Pomodoro, 5 minute break
11:00am - 4^th Pomodoro, 5 minute break (prep lunch)
11:30am - 5^th Pomodoro, 20 minute break (lunch)
12:15pm − 6^th Pomodoro, 5 minute break
So on.

The key though isn’t to schedule your Pomdoros. Rather, you let your Pomodoros schedule your day for you. Just follow the timer - 25 minutes work, 5 minutes break, 25 minutes work, 5 minutes break, etc.

If you do it right, your engine won’t reach standstill and you’re be in constant forward motion.

Hemingway had an interesting quote regarding how to avoid writer’s block:

The best way is always to stop when you are going good and when you know what will happen next. If you do that every day … you will never be stuck. Always stop while you are going good and don’t think about it or worry about it until you start to write the next day. That way your subconscious will work on it all the time. But if you think about it consciously or worry about it you will kill it and your brain will be tired before you start.

I think a similar principle applies here with Pomodoros. By taking forced 5 minute breaks after every 25 minute work session, you’re usually ending your work session in the middle of something. You might be in the middle of a design or a deep thought. And then you take a break. Part of you doesn’t want to take a break because you want to finish what you’re working on. But this is where you need to obey the timer, and just take the break. By taking a break in the middle of something, it will naturally help you get started easier in your next work session.

(Read more about My Productivity System. Check out my other series too.)

The Daily Focus Area is a simple habit that helps you focus better.

Tue, 19 Jun 2012 21:39:00 -0700

(This is Part 4 in a series about My Productivity System.)

A Daily Focus Area is an area of your business or job that you focus on for the majority of the day. It’s a great way to harness more focus for critical parts of your work.

I first started having a daily focus back in college where I would set aside one day of the week to study for each of my classes. For example, I would set aside Monday to study for Class X. I usually would have a 4-5 window of study time during the afternoon. I made it a priority to not study during the evenings or weekends. The scarcity of study time for Class X encouraged me to take that time seriously and to pack in my study efforts. I was incredibly productive.

Setting aside days or even parts of days for specific focus areas is a smart habit.

The Example of Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs would set aside different days or parts of days for different focus areas. According to Isaacson’s biography, Monday morning Steve would meet with his top management team. Wednesday he would meeting with marketing team. Friday (before he sold Pixar) he would drive up to Pixar’s headquarters and spend the day working on Pixar. And Sunday evening (according to Walt Mossberg’s accounts) he would frequently set aside to call up his contacts in the press. (I’m not sure about the other days of his week, but I’d assume he had some day(s) set aside for product and meeting with Jony Ive… as well as other days or parts of the day for other aspects of the business.)

The Benefits

Daily Focus Areas are smart because they create a weekly habit to work on the most important aspects of your business. Eventually this bears great fruit as these important aspects get the attention they deserve.

Another reason the Daily Focus Area is a great idea is because it creates a sense of order and purpose to each day. Without a Daily Focus Area, you might have some unrelated daily desired outcomes or a list of tasks. But nothing brings your day together better than having a singular daily focus.

Focus Area vs Task

Some people advise on focusing on one task for the day, but I like the Daily Focus Area to be a general area or aspect of your work. As a startup founder, my main areas are Product (2 days), Distribution, Engagement, and Monetization. Under each of these areas, there are various tasks and projects I’m working on. But as long as I keep the Daily Focus Area in mind for each day of the week, I am confident that I’m not forgetting or ignoring regularly anything very important.

I don’t think the Daily Focus Area is for everyone because some people have jobs where everyday is the same kind of work. The Daily Focus Area works better for people who multi-faceted jobs. However, even if you’re working on the same thing every day, I still think it’s possible to set one day a week for a special focus. For example, if you’re coding Monday-Thursday the same project, you could set aside Friday to focus on a special aspect of the project like backend optimization. Let your team know that Friday’s you’re focusing on that aspect. You don’t need to spend the whole day doing just that, but having a daily focus can get you at least a few focused hours diving deeply into it.

A Weekly Habit

The Daily Focus Area is simply a weekly habit to focus on one aspect of your work each day. Try it out together with the Week Chart and my alternative system to productivity, and let me know how it goes.

Hint: If you’re using the Week Chart, try drafting 3 Desired Outcomes each day that are directly related with the Daily Focus Area.

(Read more about My Productivity System. Check out my other series too.)

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