Seth Neal (dotCom) » business

Two Good Friends

Seth Neal — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 20:16:31 +0000

On Friday I was reminded of two very dear friends of mine that have recently been on the outs… in fact, it seems like things are turning from bad to worse. It makes me so incredibly sad. In 2006 they almost got married! Or at least that’s what myself and their other mutual friends all thought–or more accurately–what we all hoped! But it looks like any chance of that is just laughable now. I’m guessing I’ll be lucky if I see them ever on talking terms again. Sad.

The whole situation makes me wonder what I’m supposed to do. How do I deal with this as someone who loves them both? Will I have to choose sides? I honestly don’t know…

I’ve known Google since the Fall of 1999 when I was introduced by one of my favorite English professors who was an avid technologist as well as a scholar. Google was so simple, so Zen (but with colors and flare), so nerdy girl how could we not hit it off right away? And like many awkwards do, Google seemed to transform into a stone cold fox as maturity came. I still see Google everyday. I get directions. I find old college professors. And Google works at my business a lot too (Voice, Apps, etc).

But I’ve known Apple longer. I grew up with Apple. In my tiny little elementary school in rural MT sat an Apple II where I learned simple math and how to play the Oregon Trail. And with any mature relationship its had its ups and downs. In fact, when it came time for me to spread my wings and leave the house to buy my first personal computer I left Apple for something called Windows 95. Its a mistake I still regret. But it was the first and last time I ever made it. And of course Apple welcomed me back 3 years later when I bought my Blue and White G3. And today Apple lives with me. In my living room, in my pocket, in my office and even in the bedroom (that’s AppleTV, iPhone, MacBook and iMac).

I can’t imagine choosing. Please don’t make me. You two really are better together than apart. Google, with your amazing web services and Apple with your incredible design and commitment to excellence. You inspire me and make me better at what I do. I need you both… and I need you together.

Creative Conflict

Seth Neal — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 17:13:13 +0000

Its funny, when I first signed up for Twitter I was fairly convinced it was worthless. So worthless in fact that I ended up completely deleting my account! 18 months later Twitter was still there and growing and I knew I had missed something so I signed back up and even was able to get my old username and everything. My re-entry into the world of Twitter pretty closely corresponded with our move from SLC to Boise, and as I was determined to make some use out of twitter so one of the first things I did was follow everyone I could find who was from Boise. I probably follow 100 people (or more) from Boise and know maybe 10 of them. But now, in a small way, they are apart of my life (and if they followed me back, I’m apart of theirs).

One of the guys I’m following is Tony (@Schlanghole). He owns a successful business here in Boise (don’t bother heading over there if you’re on an iPhone… the whole site is Flash, except the footer. Boo, I know.). Tony recently started a blog to share some of his thoughts and musing on life and business. Last night he posted a great, uh… post on his staunch “No Prick Rule“. I loved it! Basically Tony believes that the people you hire matter. Not just what they do (which is important) but who they are (which matters more). I think we should all adopt this rule.

But it got me thinking about how different people interact with one another in team environments. My personality type has been known to cause more than a little conflict on teams. And I’m no exception. Playing devil’s advocate comes very easily to me and I have to keep my desire for conflict in check at times.

Having said that though, I know that I do my best creative problem-solving when I have 2 or 3 or even 4 divergent views being advocated for vigorously by invested parties. I call those times of discussion–those times of conflict, creative conflict. I love creative conflict. Its a tight rope though. It can easily just become conflict with winners and losers, victors and… well, you know. Creative conflict isn’t about winners and losers. Its about solutions and win-win. Its about that 5th way (in this case) that brings everyones ideas to the table and finds the best way to move forward for everyone.

I know… it sounds ridiculous. There are always winners and losers. And I suppose that’s true. But when you work somewhere that has a “No Prick Rule” you’ll care less when you lose… and more importantly you’ll care less when you win. And that’s when “creative conflict” can happen. I wish there were more business owners who followed Tony’s philosophy.

Running a Small Business

Seth Neal — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 19:54:16 +0000

For about the last 3 years my wife and I have run a small business that helps individuals who work for non-profits and have to raise their own support with their marketing (newsletters, websites stuff like that). Whenever I tell someone that I “own a small business” they get all dreamy eyed and usually say, “that’s great!”. Unless of course they are a small business owner themselves in which case they ask how business is doing and usually 100 other relevant questions. This has led me to believe there are really only 2 kinds of people, the entrepreneur and the worker.

Now, before I go any further, I could be totally wrong. This is a simple hypothesis I’m chewing on. In fact, there’s a pretty good chance by this time tomorrow I’ll think something completely different. But, until then, this is what I’m going with.

The entrepreneur believes in tomorrow. Tomorrow holds even greater possibilities and profits than today did. The worker believes in today. Today put food on the table and helped pay the bills.

The entrepreneur believes in rocking the status quo and risking his security. The worker believes in putting in a honest days work for a honest days wage.

The entrepreneur believes in himself. The worker believes in others.

Now, for the record, I don’t think the entrepreneur is better than the worker, or the worker better than the entrepreneur. In fact, one without the other is dangerous for the sanity of all those around him or her. And I think for any small business to succeed you need both the entrepreneur and the worker. The entrepreneur gets all the street cred, but its the worker who makes the world go round.

My 2 cents on this fine winter day.