Jeremy Goodrich's Blog

Last week we had major issues on our site. Ugh. Nine days later, we still have an issue or two, however, those aren't "customer facing" as those all got licked in about five days. Things this outage has taught me (arguably, the worst in our history for a few reasons):

1) Have a plan to get things back on track
2) Over communicate what's going on with the site
3) Be polite, because not everybody reads the message the first time
4) Be honest, if you don't know the answer, don't give people a time line, as invariably, you'll guess wrong.

Everybody makes mistakes. We're human. However it just occured to me after a particularly bad incident this last week something very profound: if I make a mistake, I get to share with my team, so they don't repeat the mistake. Not saying it's good for the "boss" to mess up, however, if the team takes advantage of the knowledge, and avoids repeating the same mistake, then there is at least some value there.

So, do you pass on your failures? Or do you sweep them under the rug?

It's a funny thing when a plan comes together. Case in point: outreach, aka, promotion efforts. For our site, we've been doing outreach for more than two years. As I have a fair bit of experience, it's relatively easy to put in an hour (or two) and get somewhere. However, after eight years...well, I should have a clue, right?

Believe it or not, you sell a lot of stuff, everyday. Sure, it's not all for money but that doesn't change the fact that you're selling.

Examples:
"You look so young"
(my hair is going more gray, daily, so, NO)

"You're still so slim, why are you worried about what you eat?"
(I've gained more than 16 pounds since I started working from home nearly 3 years ago. However, due to the stress of starting the business, I lost 14 pounds when we began, so my "swing" has been a grand total of 30 pounds...that's not good.)

"No, it's not spicy at all"

Now, let me start by saying clearly: I don't gamble. I do start companies, which is a form of gambling, however for the pure sport of it, I don't play poker, blackjack, etc. That being said, I have played a ton of card games for fun, including 500, hearts, spades, rummy and yes, five card draw poker.

The first in their country, he'll be sworn in on November 11th. However, I won't be able to make it, my wife will be there, along with her sister & brother.

Not only is he the first ever Vice President in Maldives history, he's also the first person in the country to get an academic doctorate. From Stanford, no less - and two Master's degrees, also from Stanford.

Hmm...well, what can I say? He's an amazing guy.

One of those things, you know? It might be while driving (don't write & drive, bad, bad idea), you may get some inspiration whilst having your morning coffee (or constitutional) and who knows, the lightening that struck might just be the thing.

Just yesterday while reading books at the local B&N, I was flipping through the marketing section. I think at this point, having read dozens of books with similar case studies over the same businesses, each with it's own unique angle, I have a solid grasp of what I don't know: a lot.

Some marketing concepts are classics, they'll never change, alter or be improved upon. Sure, you can rephrase them, rehash them and remix them into new fandangled jargon...but, at the core, those concepts are still there. Seen "the dip" by Seth Godin? Or the Crossing the Chasm, by Geoffry Moore? I've read one of the two, but from the description of "The Dip" my gut says that it's the same message, same concept, with new jargon and different case studies. That's OK, in fact, that's awesome.

The longer I do things, the more I'm convinced it's a limit of your personality that determines the heights (or depths) to which you travel. From hiring dozens of people now, I'm convinced that it's the personality, the attitude, rather than the resume, background or degree that makes people great employees.

For the past six months, we've known a few things were "high priority" however, we've gotten everything *but* those high importance tasks done. Who's to blame? Well, the guy that makes the priority list, of course. (That'd be me). Sitting down to figure out what's the most important thing to do, followed by the second, then third, is crucial to building things. However, sitting down to figure out where to go from here is only have the battle.