Honestly, no one really likes a visit to the dentist’s office. Certainly not me. But as I was lying there on my back, mind wondering, it occurred to me there were a few lessons I was not expecting to find.
 

Trust the Professionals

If you’re going to outsource anything, make sure it’s to someone you can count on. Referrals make this easier. Ask a friend. Find a good review online. Do whatever research it’s going to take for you to have confidence in the person.

If you do this right you’ll stop worrying and quickly get back to more important things. If you don’t, you’ll be micromanaging and distracted the entire time (which defeats the point). Do you’re homework and build trust with the professional, then stand back and let them do their thing. What you’re really paying for is piece of mind.

Dental Wisdom: Find a good dentist that people you trust, trust. You’ll sleep better at night.

Read More

Today’s demo was exciting.

At BigDoor, the developers (myself included) demo to the entire company everything we worked on during last week’s sprint. 

Honestly it’s one of my favorite parts of the job. We move so fast that the demo has become a greatest hits list of killer features that makes our platform so great.

With so many awesome things coming down the pipe weekly, we set the bar pretty high. So to demo something truly impressive it’s got to break the mold of normal awesome and become uber awesome.

Today, Harley Holt gave us that opportunity.

Read More

One of the things I really like about working at BigDoor is just how right on our culture can feel at times.

Last week’s development sprint was a good one. The team cranked out a ton of quality code in a short period of time.

As we reflected back on the body of work the team decided I should wear “the horns” - some stupid hat that’s recently become a badge of honor.

No one told us that we needed a badge of honor. The team created the idea organically, because it just felt like the the right thing to do.

In other words, we celebrate our wins.

In terms of culture, it doesn’t get much more right than that.

Ultimately that dinky little hat means very little. It’s hard to wear headphones around it and it itches. But for the team it signals a job well done and the camaraderie the goes with it.

Do the right thing, and celebrate your wins!*

*hat optional

Startup Weekend is a great kick in the pants that pushes you to your limits regardless of skill set. Want to see what you’re made of, try creating a startup in 54 hours. Here’s my tips for success.

1. Prepare yourself: You don’t have to spend sleepless nights before Startup Weekend, but make sure you are ready for the event. If you want to design graphics all weekend make sure you’ve got Photoshop installed and ready to go. The clock may start Friday night, but you don’t want to waste it with stupid stuff you could have figured out earlier.
2. Shop around: After the pitches Friday night you’ll have a big choice of which team to join. If you pitched yourself, you might even have to make the tough choice of abandoning your idea and joining forces with others. Either way take the time and walk the room and talk to the presenters. Once you dig deeper and hear the details of the “how” and “why” of their idea you may change your mind.
3. Surround yourself with a solid team: You’ll be spending the next few days with these people. Make sure they’ve got the chops you need, are going to be easy to work with and don’t smell too bad.

Read More