”Like Thoreau and the band Devo, psychology professor Schwartz provides ample evidence that we are faced with far too many choices on a daily basis, providing an illusion of a multitude of options when few honestly different ones actually exist. The conclusions Schwartz draws will be familiar to anyone who has flipped through 900 eerily similar channels of cable television only to find that nothing good is on. Whether choosing a health-care plan, choosing a college class or even buying a pair of jeans, Schwartz, drawing extensively on his own work in the social sciences, shows that a bewildering array of choices floods our exhausted brains, ultimately restricting instead of freeing us. We normally assume in America that more options (“easy fit” or “relaxed fit”?) will make us happier, but Schwartz shows the opposite is true, arguing that having all these choices actually goes so far as to erode our psychological well-being.”
Every interview in Jessica Livingston’s Founders at Work is full of interesting perspectives from successful people who had no guarantees when they started and probably claim to have no secrets of success. This is not a “success” book or a “how to” book, but simply an interesting book. Yet a read between-the-lines exposes secrets of success.
They are summed up in the interview with Paul Buchheit, creator of GMail and Adsense. Here is Buchheit on the idea for and the first implementation of Adsense:
”It was an idea that we had talked about for a long time, but there was this belief that it wouldn’t work. But it seemed like an interesting problem, so one evening I implemented this content-targeting system, just sort of as a side project, not because I was supposed to. And it turned out to work.”
Two Secrets of Success
In this quote we see two secrets of success common among folks that rise to the top of their industry:
They work on what they find interesting. Not just on what they are told to or supposed to.
They pursue ideas not generally expected to work.
Success and the micro-ISV
I suspect many micro-ISV owners have these traits and see themselves in this approach. To micro-ISV owners, it’s no secret.
In fact there are not really any “secrets of success” – it’s a simple risk-reward formula. Yet if this JoelOnSoftware thread is any indication, it is one that is too easily forgotten.
Success and the Employee
Work on what other people assign to you and you will likely complete the task, but will not find career-changing success. Work on something you find interesting and others find unlikely, and your chances for breakout success are increased almost immeasurably.
This advice is for everyone – not just company founders. For example, Paul Buchheit who I quoted above, is not a Google founder but an employee who practices these non-secret but too easily forgotten “secrets of success”.
It’s all the little things. For example, while other people are buying extra laptop cord wraps and ties, MacBooks have one built right into the power supply. Simply flip in the outlet prongs, flip out the wrap feet, wrap the cord, and you have it nice and neat and ready to go. Just another little touch that, when all put together add up to a great experience with the product I use all day, every day.
LeadsOnRails.com now has a reports to help users measure marketing results. Details here. Next up: we are tying these effectiveness reports directly to lead capture web forms to help users develop effective web campaigns.
Computer World’s Top Five Technologies You Need to Know About in ‘07 includes Ruby on Rails as one of the “core technologies that may have the greatest effect on the world of computing over the next 12 months”. In his overview of Rails, the author includes shorter development timelines as one advantage of the framework.
Using Ruby on Rails has meant we can deliver new products and changes to existing products more quickly than we ever did before making the move. To users, this development speed manifests as responsive customer service.
I predict Ruby on Rails adoption will grow at an even faster rate in 2007 so am happy to say “stay tuned” for more details and an official announcement of a new Ruby on Rails training class we will be offering in partnership with another Rails firm starting this fall.
This is Synap Software's blog on Marketing, Software Design, Small Business, Management, Technology, Productivity, and other topics of interest to new small businesses.
Scott Meade is the author and an entrepreneur, corporate refugee, father, husband, and small business owner living near Denver, CO. After a successful stint leading large, corporate IT efforts, Scott co-founded Synap Software to bring well-designed web apps to small businesses.
is full of interesting perspectives from successful people who had no guarantees when they started and probably claim to have no secrets of success. This is not a “success” book or a “how to” book, but simply an interesting book. Yet a read between-the-lines exposes secrets of success.
