Every business needs cashflow (and profit) to survive like the body needs oxygen, food, and air.  Just because a business has cashflow, doesn’t mean it’s a success, much like we aren’t a success in life just because we sat around and survived.

If you have to mislead to make a dollar, it’s like tricking a girl into liking you.  You might make some money/trick her for a while, but it won’t last.

The better the mutual fit, the better the relationship.  As is often the case it’s best to see if you can work well together.  The client, or the vendor, alone, can’t make the relationship work.  Both have to be present.

As for finding the right work..

Know your product.  Know the value you deliver.  Know the clients it will benefit.  Only sell to them and you’ll have a lasting business.

Always generate more value than which you are paid. Otherwise your client turnover rate after they feel “had” will be much higher than it needs to be.

It’s easy to try and be someone else in business.  The problem is it always comes back full circle.  If you like honesty, and integrity, and when people eat their own cooking before giving it to you as advice, do it yourself.

Not every customer values it, but not every customer is for you.  There’s a big difference between a good dollar and a bad dollar.  It’s tough in the start but it’s worth it.

Be a defender of keeping goodness and kindness fashionable.    Your startup is your declaration of your moral and professional independence.

Trying to start Apple Mail would leave me with a message of “Mail had quit unexpectedly.”..

A distant lightbulb went off in my head and I realized it might have to do with my Marketcircle Daylite software and it’s plugin to the Apple Mail, and the Daylite server, which syncs my calendar, todo, projects and contacts automatically over the air.

I switched over to Daylite which was running, and it had a dialogue which told me that Daylite needed to re-connect to the server (I guess the connection gets turned off when you put your computer to sleep).

I let Daylite re-establish it’s connection, and once it did, Apple Mail fired up just fine.  This lead me to believe that the Apple Mail Plugin was looking for something from Daylite that it couldn’t access.

How does Daylite accomplish it?  They have a Daylite Mail Integration plugin for Apple Mail that lets you link each and every email to any number of projects, people, etc.  Daylite, combined with Daylite Server and Daylite Touch is the real deal for productivity.  The more and more I use it (and let myself spend some time with it) the more I think I am forever hooked to it.  I just hope they come out with a version of Daylite Touch for Android and other devices.

For one of the original software development bloggers, at the center of the startup, micro-isv movement to make a decision like this, it seems a little strange at first..

Joel mentions a number of reasons that I think are interesting of what a startup may face, once a startup has.. started up.

1. Part of the reason he’s no longer writing is that he has so many customers that his blog posts seem to deeply offend one of his clients in one way or another.Plausible? Sure. But isn’t differentiation what a product is built on?  I think this could be the topic of a blog post on it’s own by Joel to see what kind of things others in startups have to look forward to when you get large(r).
2. Growth means there’s revenue for traditional advertising. I would think, though, that tools for developers are ultimately best directly connected to them instead of magazine ads?

Joel might be big enough and he doesn’t need to, or can’t benefit from blogging as he did prior…  With Stack Overflow taking on the answer / thought market and opening things up beyond him, maybe there’s room for a lot more voices, that can be found easily.

Maybe Joel was developing the best bug tracking software in the world, and attracting the best developers in the world, so that when FogBugz reached it’s sweet spot, he can go onto building the best software company in the world?

Who knows.

I do know that writing, and sharing doesn’t leave you once you start, and know the value of being shared with, especially after many years.

Joel’s posts have helped so many that I don’t think many will lose their value or relevance.  Whether it was the pay-scale matrix, or why the command and conquer or econ 101 management won’t work with software developers, it’s rare to have reasonably concise, applicable, exploratory rants that were sane as it’s readers most of the time, and willing to have it’s share of mind-stretching ideas like anyone being stretched by growth.

If this is the last of Joel blogging, thanks for doing it.  The fact that Joel replies to emails and shared what he learnt so others could join the movement to make the world a better place with better software.

Will it be the last we hear from him in books, conferences, articles elsewhere..?  Doubt it.  His recent introduction to mercurial at www.hginit.com is a prime example.

I hope Joel continues to create and write, and if not, we see his writing has inspired others to write and share.

Joel I know you read more than you ever let on, so if your eyes reach here, which I’ll do my best to ensure, remember that with our talents we have a responsibility to share what has been shared and taught to us by life and others.  No guilt trip intended, the world owes us nothing.

Let’s step back from this and see the general picture.

Does this decision by Joel mean blogging is ultimately useless for startups? I don’t think so. At all.

Most companies, indeed, do use their blogs for boring news releases is relevant.

Blogs are all about relevancy. Blogs, like products that provide relevancy thrive.

Blogs will always have their place to share information, and for us, resources for startups looking to reach their market through the public seeking their content.  If you don’t have the marketing money, a blog is a key way to demonstrate and share expertise and knowledge.

I can say that the last year of writing this blog has showed me that I need to write more, and often.

I put a lot of time on my 15″ Macbook Pro.  An average of 8-10 hours a day.  Every day.  The last 3 years since I switched back to Mac (since we all started on Apples in elementary school) have been incredible.  No longer have I been tied up dealing with Windows to do the smallest things like connect a new camera to get a photo to fight with drivers.  For the most part Mac just works, gets out of the way and let’s you focus on the task at hand.

Then, there was the day the music died.  November 16th, 2009, for me, to be exact.  I remember it, like it was yesterday.  I am working at the office, no problems.  Arrive at a clients, and the screen won’t turn on.  Try to reboot, no luck.  Everything seems to be turning on, except the screen.  Strange.

The HP/Compaq technician in me from the late 90’s speaks up and tells me this might be that nasty Nvidia chip failure affecting the Santa Rosa Macbook Pros, which I own.  But was it?  I’ve seen a video card or twenty fail in my life and its usually a graceful fit of annoying colors, lines, pixels not showing correctly that leads to an eventual death.

A screen just to go black with that?  I didn’t even get to say goodbye, or try to copy off my latest working files. What would I do if I didn’t have a recent backup?

Enter AppleCare.  You see, for years I was happy that Compaq (and then HP when they acquired Compaq) had nearly the world’s best extended warranty. They did, and likely still are very high.    AppleCare, I had heard was another beast.

I get on the phone and get booked into my local Apple store with an appointment 60 minutes later.  Total fluke, as they’re always booked up.  It was a cool feeling walking in and seeing my name as the next customer in line.  It was even cooler as the Apple concierge wondered how I hacked myself to the top of the list without having been in the store.  Nothing an AppleCare rep can’t put you on hold and get done, I guess.

After speaking with the knowledgeable rep, they ordered me a new system board.  Problem, I’m leaving town 2 days later.  They manage to pull it off and I make it rain chocolates at the store.  Everything is back and running.

Until it died again.  I got the dreaded spinning wheel on grey screen.  I felt like throwing my laptop into the water, pulling it out, and then throwing it in again.  But I didn’t.  Called AppleCare and they tried to help.  No luck.

On my way back to Edmonton, I was in Vancouver for the day.  I stopped by the AppleCare store and they had the part I needed.  And they would change it for me before my flight left!  Two flukes?  I doubt it.  There’s no way this kind of service is to be expected or reasonable, but I’m so glad they stepped up.

I’m tired, and fly back home. The repaired laptop awaits it’s glorious return to productivity. I turn it on in the next morning.  Same problem.  Did someone forget to turn on the computer fully?

My heart sank, to the bottom of my feet.  I could have just bought another Macbook Pro, smashed this one up, made a video for Youtube and mailed it to Apple stating I couldn’t handle 2 bad system board replacements in addition to my original failure.

I called AppleCare like someone might call an counseling hotline.  I spoke of the great help I received, but the poor results.  Brian, my original contact, quickly escalated me to a senior adviser.  He took a few minutes to read everything I had endured and at this point likely noticed I should have been screaming and foaming from the mouth, but wasn’t.  He got how frustrated and let down, and paralyzed I was.  Running a backup of your mac on a mac mini isn’t the same.  Yes, I didn’t lose anything, but I wasn’t gaining either.

The senior advisor said I had gone through enough.  He wanted to heal my shattered heart with the warmth of a replacement machine. I was skeptical.  I told him I had been hurt before.  What if this replacement had issues because it was the new macbook?  I might be crazy to turn down new equipment, but I like what I have and it works well.  He assured me he felt comfortable reccomending it so I decided to take the plunge to a new Macbook Pro, at a reasonable cost.

Now I wait.  Hurry up China.

Why your IT Sucks.

This was a follow up to the previous article of The unspoken truth about managing geeks and I must say it clearly presents some great points.

1. GIGO GIGO GIGO.

Can’t say it enough.  It’s so true.

Garbage

Back in the fifth grade, I was in a school musical, The GIGO Effect, in which the evil Glitches attempted to corrupt a computer named Mabel with “dirty power.” The point of the show was that technology is unable to produce intelligent results without intelligent direction, a truism encapsulated in the formerly popular computer acronym GIGO, “garbage in, garbage out.”

So, if you don’t begin with the end in mind, you will fail.

Doesn’t make sense?  Let’s start with this passage from the article.

Information technology is the art of managing an organization’s processes by establishing and maintaining computing frameworks.

If we can agree on that definition of “IT”, that means IT touches and deals with the entire business.  It is the electricity, the power, the force, the connector, and the enabler of achieving your business goals much, quicker, better, and more profitably.

For an IT strategy to succeed, everyone needs to see the use of Information and Technology in Business, what I call Business Technology as a critical enabler and vehicle for delivering the results of the business.  Gone are the days of “my mouse isn’t working.”  The more integrated the view of IT with the rest of your business, the further IT will help you succeed.  IT alone is not a magic bullet.  Technology needs business.  Business needs Technology.

Getting all parties, executives, IT, staff, managers to see one strategy that IT is meant to help everyone succeed at getting more done with less effort, and not offset workload from one person or group or another is the foundation of a great IT presence.

Check out the article, I’m sure you’ll find it to be great.

Opinion: The unspoken truth about managing geeks

on ComputerWorld.  It’s not a site that I frequent very often but this opinion peiece hasd some excellent points.

1. My currency is respect.

Anyone who knows me how often these words come out of my mouth.  Whether it pertains to family, friends, or clients, the secret to getting me and keeping me on your side, quite happily going out of my way to help you succeed is respect.

In my line of work, there will be emergencies, rushes, unexpected items, and deadlines.  They are guaranteed.  How we handle and make them most enjoyable and productive is critical.  How many times have we gone through a trying moment with someone and hesitate a bit in the future when dealing with them when an unknown may come up?

As to be expected, everyone can have their own definition of respect. Successful people, however, in any position, in any field inherently understand the universal connection of respect, and look to connect with others that “get it” the same way they do.

It’s all about respect

Few people notice this, but for IT groups respect is the currency of the realm. IT pros do not squander this currency. Those whom they do not believe are worthy of their respect might instead be treated to professional courtesy, a friendly demeanor or the acceptance of authority. Gaining respect is not a matter of being the boss and has nothing to do with being likeable or sociable; whether you talk, eat or smell right; or any measure that isn’t directly related to the work. The amount of respect an IT pro pays someone is a measure of how tolerable that person is when it comes to getting things done, including the elegance and practicality of his solutions and suggestions. IT pros always and without fail, quietly self-organize around those who make the work easier, while shunning those who make the work harder, independent of the organizational chart.

Next the article touches on the personalities of geeks.  There are some gems here to consider.  While it’s not safe to assume these are present in every technically inclined person, truly becoming aware of them for when they may exist is a helpful tool to have.

The elements of the stereotypes

Ego — Similar to what good doctors do, IT pros figure out that the proper projection of ego engenders trust and reduces apprehension. Because IT pros’ education does not emphasize how to deal with people, there are always rough edges….

The victim mentality — IT pros are sensitive to logic — that’s what you pay them for. When things don’t add up, they are prone to express their opinions on the matter, and the level of response will be proportional to the absurdity of the event. The more things that occur that make no sense, the more cynical IT pros will become…..

Insubordination — This is a tricky one. Good IT pros are not anti-bureaucracy, as many observers think. They are anti-stupidity. The difference is both subjective and subtle. Good IT pros, whether they are expected to or not, have to operate and make decisions with little supervision. So when the rules are loose and logical and supervision is results-oriented, supportive and helpful to the process, IT pros are loyal, open, engaged and downright sociable. Arbitrary or micro-management, illogical decisions, inconsistent policies, the creation of unnecessary work and exclusionary practices will elicit a quiet, subversive, almost vicious attitude from otherwise excellent IT staff…..

Credit whoring — IT pros would prefer to make a good decision than to get credit for it. What will make them seek credit is the danger that a member of the group or management who is dangerous to the process might receive the credit for the work instead. That is insulting. If you’ve got a lot of credit whores in your IT group, there are bigger problems causing it….

Antisocial behavior — It’s fair to say that there is a large contingent of IT pros who are socially unskilled. However, this doesn’t mean those IT pros are antisocial. On the whole, they have plenty to say. If you want to get your IT pros more involved, you should deal with the problems laid out above and then train your other staff how to deal with IT. Users need to be reminded a few things, including:

• IT wants to help me.
• I should keep an open mind.
• IT is not my personal tech adviser, nor is my work computer my personal computer.
• IT people have lives and other interests.

Like anyone else, IT people tend to socialize with people who respect them.

Well said and worth looking out for.  My favorit e part of the article, however is this one great truth:

How to fix it

So, if you want to have a really happy, healthy and valuable IT group, I recommend one thing: Take an interest. IT pros work their butts off for people they respect, so you need to give them every reason to afford you some.

In it he covers his typical day and mindset.  What’s interesting is his focus on basing all of his decisions around eliminating one thing, that I’ve been a huge fan of.

Interruption is the enemy of productivity.

Here’s the deal.  When creating anything, be it creative, abstract, or analytical, there’s not a lot of space to leave your thinking and attention in auto-pilot mode.

You have to be present.  You have to be immersed.  You have to be deep into what you are doing. You have to be swimming in the deep end of the pool.

You have to be flowing, effortlessly, with all your might, at the same time.. as per The little book of flow

In software development, and startups especially, our time is prone to interruptions.  For me, interruptions are poisonous to productivity.  Developers are paid to deliver, not spin their wheels, and confuse activity with results.

It’s been long established that a block of 2-3 hours, uninterrupted, is the best chance you have to get 5-6 hours of work done. The more you’re behind the steering wheel and driving intently, the quicker you will reach and pass the challenges that lie ahead.

In Jason’s article, every aspect of his day shares a creation and use of insulation around his time and accessibility, as well as for  everyone on his team.

I spend another good portion of my day thinking about how to make things less complicated. In the software world, the first, second, and third versions of any product are really pretty good, because everyone can use them. Then companies start adding more and more stuff to keep their existing customers happy. But you end up dying with your customer base, because the software is too complicated for a newcomer. We keep our products simple. I’d rather have people grow out of our products, as long as more people are growing into them.

This leaves them to do what they do best.. create.  Everyone is accessible, but it’s opt-in.  Whether its reading time, coding time, or design time, it’s just that, and it stays just that.  He tells his tale of working interruption free, far more than the majority of folks.  Does it mean he’s interruption free? No. But he seems to manage what he does.

What’s the benefit of doing it this way?  Well, at any given moment, we really can’t say what might come our way.  Often when we are chasing our work, or it is chasing after us, another fire comes our way.

I remember something I learnt during my Network Engineer days.  I was good at being thrown down a well, into any situation, and  coming out successful.  The client was happy and we didn’t really have to look at it again.  Tiring, yes.  Stressful, of course. Exciting, yeah.  Learn to learn quickly? Absolutely.

That is, until I realized what it was doing to me.  I was getting a reputation of being a star who could be thrown into any messy situation and come out on top.  Guess what I started getting more of… messy situations!   So, by being good at cleaning up messes, I attracted more. The only problem was, I didn’t get to perform or create at my highest level when I was dealing with problems that I was inheriting.

So I started refusing to participate in the emergencies of others that were preventable either by time, or by frequency (the same people often have the biggest fires) that I started building — and keeping the highest creative part of my time to myself.  This lead me to my second major rule of interruption.

Poor planning on your part, does not make an emergency in my part.

Wishful thinking?  Perhaps, to those hopelessly lost.  Concepts of managing your manager, and managing expectations are often things we all need to learn painfully, personally in ways that we will never forget.

How to slay the interruption dragon?  Find what works for you.  Keep searching until you have your fit. Here’s some of what I practice.

1. Batch Work: Compartmentalizing my day into business tasks, development tasks, design tasks, etc, has helped me a lot.  When I try to be a hero, it only lasts so long.
2. Surprise Time: I leave 1-2 whole hours a day un-scheduled every day for surprises.  If no surprises come, great, I get ahead on other items.
3. Email and Voicemail can wait. Turn off all voicemail and email indicators on your screen, in sound, etc.  They are all distractions and interruptions.  There is no problem big or important enough that it can’t wait an hour or two.  If the problem really is that large, let it be — you will get repeated calls.  People will be jumping out windows.  I have a 3 call rule.  If I don’t answer the first two times because I’m working on something, the third time someone better be dying or something better be on fire.  It has worked well for me.
4. Communicate in batches. Either you are someone who asks the majority of questions, or answers them.  Blackberries, et al., benefit the the folks asking questions, not the answer givers.  Too often, when people get busy doing other people’s jobs via dreaded blackberry dialogues, they’re not doing their own work.
5. Reward thoughtful interruption. Anyone who sends you a request, thought out, laid out, with supporting information to minimize back and forth deserves to be rewarded.  Anyone who emails you in advance deserves to be rewarded.  It doesn’t mean punish the last minute or late requests… their self-chosen stress will be enough and you don’t need to add to it.  But do reward those who set you up to succeed and are mindful of your plate as much as their own by getting to them sooner, faster, and more consistently.  Let the thoughtful people know of the times that you schedule your communicating.
6. Manage interrupters. Anyone who stops you, for more than 30 seconds to give you a heads up, is essentially saying through their actions that whatever they are interrupting you with is more important than what you are working on.  It also means, they are saying what you do isn’t important, to you, or them.  We can say it might not be that intentionally disrespectful. It’s far better to cultivate mindfulness between people both ways.  When someone interrupts you, religiously say “I only have a minute right now and have to finish something. If we need more time we can schedule it in, is that okay?”  This asks the visiting message to be clear, concise, and get to the point.

I build a Web application when I don’t want to:

- be supporting a thousand environments each with their own quirks. Specifically, viruses, trojans, software interfering, and making it work the same everywhere.

- worry about applying upgrades and taking lots of calls

- dealing with clients who lose their data

I pick a thick client when the computation is intensive per transaction, that would be simultaneous, or there is significant data transfer per transaction.

I like fixing everyone’s problems with one upgrade. It might not be for everyone, but it’s where the quality of my life and those I work for goes up. Making a web app work on a few different browsers may be easier than a ton of different operating systems in different conditions.

With the advent of Flex/Air you can provide an entire application experience in the browser. The browser is becoming the universal interface, whether it’s installed locally or in the cloud.

Web apps have their cons too. I just am more motivated to build web apps as the pro’s seem to outweigh the cons for the projects I am choosing.

Crafting software is like.. building a house.

You can try building it without a blueprint or plans or an architect or qualified tradespeople and it will almost always cost you much more and you will have constant issues.

Second, just because you can build a shed without a blueprint, doesn’t mean you should build a house without a blueprint.

Would you buy a house, or want to work on a house that was built without a blueprint?

Ok, Ok.  But startups are different.  You can’t get caught up in analysis paralysis.  True.  You shouldn’t also go without a rough map.  Don’t stand still, and don’t run like a madman in 10 directions at the same time.

Pick a path, a philosophy and why you’ll be making certain decisions.  And let it guide you.  You’ll know when you’re overdoing a room in the house or spending too much time on a closet when you still need to build a bathroom or a kitchen.

Ideas are a dime a dozen. Building them is what actually creates success.

In real partnerships, if one of the partners is working as an employee, his time gets paid for at a fair wage. This is because the other partners are earning money elsewhere in that time that you would be earning nothing. Is months of your time is equal to a $x-dollar investment?

Success doesn’t come without hard work and if someone isn’t contributing equally in their own way as much as you are, an imbalance will always happen.

You don’t get something for nothing and there is no get quick rich scheme. Partnerships are about adding value and leverage ultimately. Also, most friendships aren’t setup for business, much like you couldn’t be roommates with just anyone. Partnerships can be harder than marriage or any relationship.

Marketing, Copy writing, building buzz about your app on blogs, and learning how the app store world works to get and stay noticed is something these guys should be experts in.. as much as you are in coding.

I would be weary of such an arrangement based on what you’ve shared so far. You may end up feeling worn out and put in way more than them. $x dollars isn’t much for a computer and you could probably make do with a used mac mini and build it yourself.. If vegas took bets, I would place a sizeable wager on this.

Check out the forums of Business of Software..

http://discuss.joelonsoftware.com/?biz

Other great startup sites are (not limited to)

www.onstartups.com www.softwarebyrob.com