December 2007

Dec

2007

What Christmas means to me.

I love Christmas time. It’s always a time I use to reflect on my life, where i’m at, what i’m doing, how i’m doing it. Christmas comes at a perfect time, just before the new year….thus a great time to resolve to be better, to adjust, to make positive changes.

So what exactly does Christmas mean to me?

First and foremost, it’s a great time to remember Jesus Christ. No doubt, our lives should be centered around Christ every single day of the year, not just Christmas. However, Christmas is a great time to put even more emphasis on His divine mission.

Christmas is also a great time of year to look to bless and serve others. This is another one that shouldn’t be done just around Christmas time. We should obviously try to serve, help and bless others….throughout the whole year. However, Christmas is a time that really opens people’s hearts as everyone spends so much more time with the people they love most, friends and family. It opens hearts and people are more willing to share, give and bless the lives of others. The Christmas spirit brings feelings of love, generosity, patience, kindness, hope and charity.

My parents have always been such great examples of charity and bringing the Christmas spirit into our lives. They are always so generous in their giving. And one thing that always goes to show that their heart is definitely in the right place is that they always give anonymously. They don’t need any recognition or credit for giving…and they certainly aren’t ever looking for something in return. They do it out of the goodness of their hearts. The kinda thing I blogged about last week.

I know exactly what it’s like to be on the needy end. I’m kinda there now (newlywed entrepreneur). And i’ve been there plenty of times before (much of my years growing up). That’s why it felt so good on Thursday night when Rachel and I got the pleasant surprise on our doorstep. We truly do appreciate it. It does mean a lot. It’s a feeling that’s hard to describe. Our hearts swelled with joy, gratitude, love and appreciation. It motivated us to be better and more charitable. To pass it on. Charity is so contagious. It really is.

As i’ve learned from my parents and how they are so willing to share….I’ve tried to emulate them as much as possible. Rachel and I don’t have a lot to give…but we try to do as much as we can. The main reason is because we know exactly what it’s like to be on the other end, like I describe in the above paragraph. We know it now and I felt it for many years growing up. And I think that’s why my parents are so willing to give of their blessings. They know the feeling. They know the other side. My father was an entrepreneur and had many struggling years while me and my brothers were younger. Tough, tough times financially. He was able to make it through those years and come out on top. Ever since then, my parents have always been so generous and willing to help others. Because they know. They know the other side. They know the feeling. They were able break through and get to the top. Ever since, they’ve always wanted to send the elevator back down to the bottom to help others come to the top and join them.

Like my parents, so many of us are “on top.” Even though Rachel and I aren’t rich, we are certainly “on top” in so many different aspects of our life. Our skills and talents. Our health. Our attitudes. Our knowledge and education. Our families and friends. Our accomplishments and opportunities. Our spiritual direction.

We can all still give….if not of our resources, at least of our time and talents. It feels good to share. It feels good to serve. It feels good to bless. Especially having been on the complete opposite side of “on top.”

To me that’s what Christmas is all about. Giving of your resources; giving of your time; giving of yourself….to make someone a little happier, to make someone’s smile a little brighter, to make someone’s day/year a little better.

Yup, it’s exactly what Christ did. Except he didn’t do it for just one day, one week, or one month. Rather, He did it his entire life!

Childhood/Family/Mormon View Comments

Dec

2007

Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!! This is a little something we at Zinch sent out to a bunch of people in the college admissions world (admissions officers, guidance counselors, partners, etc).

Zinch View Comments

Dec

2007

Thank you, anonymous person(s).

Whomever it was who left a generous gift on our doorstep last night, thank you. Rachel and I really do appreciate it. It means a lot to us. It couldn’t possibly have come at a better time. May God bless you with a wonderful holiday season and prosperous new year. You are awesome. Thank you!

Day to Day View Comments

Dec

2007

Will Smith the super hero.

I went and saw “I am Legend” last night with Rachel (using some holiday gift cards we received from an Auntie). I really enjoyed it. I’m kinda wanting to read the book now.

To me it’s quite refreshing to see movies like this because the story is unique. It’s somewhat unorthodox. For the most part, Hollywood keeps putting out the same old movies with the same old plots and stories….with minor tweaks from movie to movie. I like to see something different. I felt that “I am Legend” was different. So I really enjoyed it.

I love Will Smith. He’s a stud.

Speaking of Will Smith, I came across a trailer for another Will Smith movie. This one looks a little more light-hearted than “I am Legend” and perhaps not as unique. Nonetheless, it looks hilarious.

The Fresh Prince always seems to be the hero…and he knows how to put smiles on people’s faces. That’s a special gift. He’s definitely one of my favorite actors.

Day to Day/Film View Comments

Dec

2007

The Whale Hunt.

There was an interesting experiment done recently by a fellow Princeton dude, Jonathan Harris, called The Whale Hunt. It’s a “storytelling experiment” which documents his 9-day stay with a family of Inupiat Eskimos in Barrow, Alaska, the northernmost settlement in the United States. This “experiment” is a story of his whale hunting adventure captured through photography, but later “told” through technology. He goes with Andrew Moore (a Princeton professor) and together they capture an image every 5 minutes(at least) during their entire journey, from the beginning moments of in Newark Airport all the way to the end moments on the frozen Arctic Ocean. The pictures are quite stunning.

But that’s not even the best part, in my opinion. When he returned home, he built an amazing interface to display his 3,214 photos. Basically it allows you to view/filter the adventure the way you want. It can be by time, by image, by characters, by concepts, and by adrenaline (depending on how many pictures he took during a given sequence). He says “In moments of high adrenaline, this photographic heartbeat would quicken (to a maximum rate of 37 pictures in five minutes while the first whale was being cut up), mimicking the changing pace of my own heartbeat.”

I think it’s quite fascinating. Through the technology he has built, he has created a new way of sharing an experience and telling a story. Most importantly, it’s structured and organized in a way that gives the user the control to view it how they want. No other form of “story telling” gives the user this type of control.

I appreciate the adventure that makes it a compelling story. I appreciate the photography that captures the story. And of course, I appreciate the technology that effectively shares the story.

So overall, I liked the experiment. Check The Whale Hunt out or at least read his statement about it.

Web & Tech View Comments

Dec

2007

Learning from UPS. Efficiency!

There’s an interesting article in the New York Times that I ran into the other day that talked about how UPS drivers have eliminated the left-hand turn from their driving routes to make their delivery process more efficient.

I think it’s fascinating. Here’s a excerpt from the article:

It seems that sitting in the left lane, engine idling, waiting for oncoming traffic to clear so you can make a left-hand turn, is minutely wasteful — of time and peace of mind, for sure, but also of gas and therefore money. Not a ton of gas and money if we’re talking about just you and your Windstar, say, but immensely wasteful if we’re talking about more than 95,000 big square brown trucks delivering packages every day. And this realization — that when you operate a gigantic fleet of vehicles, tiny improvements in the efficiency of each one will translate to huge savings overall — is what led U.P.S. to limit further the number of left-hand turns its drivers make.

I love this line: “When you operate a gigantic fleet of vehicles, tiny improvements in the efficiency of each one will translate to huge savings overall.”

Small tweaks here and tiny adjustments there do add up, and can mean a lot of dollars saved.Sometimes it’s hard to find the what, wheres and hows of streamlining different processes (believe me, I know).

But nonetheless, I definitely think there’s something that can be learned from UPS. Eliminating left-hand turns is something that seems so different and so innovative…..yet in reality is something so simple. Any child who didn’t know left from right could’ve probably come up with the idea. How many years has UPS and Fedex been delivering packages? Many decades. Yet it has taken this long to figure out that simply by eliminating left-hand turns makes the process more efficient. Wow.

Sometimes we beat ourselves up and bang our heads against the wall trying to find answers for different efficiency problems. I think the solutions are a lot closer (and simpler) than we might expect.

Just ask UPS. 28.5 million miles off delivery routes, three million gallons of gas saved and 31,000 metric tons reduced in CO2 emissions. All it took was to kill left-hand turns.

Startups & Business View Comments

Dec

2007

Design in business and what it means.

It’s so interesting to see the relationship between great design and great products/companies. So many people just don’t get it. Or should I say, so many managers/CEOs don’t get it. Design separates mediocre products from great products.

Every day I visit new websites, check out new gadgets and learn about new products. It sickens me to see some of the ugly stuff out there. Yes, people might still buy it. But usually someone else will come out with the exact same thing but prettier…..and that’s the one that will have mass appeal.

Myspace was the early front runner (and still is), but facebook is quickly gaining ground. They both do the same thing. One is just easier to use, simpler, cleaner design and more elegant. More and more people are recognizing it. Facebook’s growth rate is outpacing Myspace’s. Design is a driving factor.

Ask Steve Jobs. Apple has set themselves apart from so many others simply because of their design. People like to look at pretty things. Girls. Cars. Burgers on the drive-thru menu. It’s all the same.

Today’s marketplace is more competitive than ever, it is very tough to differentiate yourself from competitors. Your product is just like the dude’s next door. The iPod and the iPhone are just like the rest of ‘em. They all perform the same functions and can do the same thing. The difference is simply design. Not just the aesthetics of the hardware itself, but the user interface and the way people engage and interact with it. That’s the difference.

Another example is Ulrich Bez, CEO of Aston Martin. Before becoming CEO of Aston Martin, he oversaw the design and development of Porsche’s 911 Turbo, 968, 963 models. Since Bez became the CEO of Aston Martin, they have celebrated their most profitable period in the company’s 93-year history. “Under Dr Bez, the Aston Martin brand has reached unprecedented levels of global recognition, winning the UK’s prestigious CoolBrands Award for two consecutive years in 2006 and 2007.” The dude knows what looks good and it’s been emphasized from the top. It has clearly paid off.

Great managers and CEOs understand the importance of design and emphasize the critical role that aesthetics play in public appeal. They create products that are both functional and elegant.

What prompted this entry was an interesting blog post I read the other day called Deconstructing a Struggling Start-Up: MyCarpoolStation.com from the co-founder of the company. The company is clearly struggling…pretty much bound to fail. This co-founder shares his story.

…So we began recruiting friends of mine who were “good with computers”. One was a software engineer and the other was a web designer, but neither could commit full-time or buy in 110% into the vision we had. So we decided to outsource our coding to India. In our subjective experience, Indian web design shops are intelligent and cost-effective, but are not creative nor are they on the leading edge of web 2.0. Most importantly though, they are contractors by nature and therefore build websites for their clients, not for the end-user….

Looking at their site almost made me puke. However, after reading their story and learning about some of their struggles, I feel for them. Aside from all their other struggles however, their site never had a chance to thrive, or even survive, with that kinda design. It started from the top, a “non-tech-savvy CEO” who didn’t recognize the importance of design.

Ouch.

There’s a really interesting piece by Bruce Nussbaum that was in Business Week a while back called “CEOs Must Be Designers, Not Just Hire Them. Think Steve Jobs And iPhone.”

Design is popular today also because Design Thinking—the methodology of design taken out of the small industrial design context and applied to business and social process—is spreading fast. Hate me if you will, but I am a believer in Design Thinking. In the world of business, there is no value proposition left for most companies in controlling costs or even quality. All that outsourcing has leveled this playing field. Cost and quality are commoditized today, merely the price of entry to the competitive game. Design and design thinking—or innovation if you like–are the fresh, new variables that can bring advantage and fat profit margins to global corporations. In today’s global marketplace, being able to understand the consumer, prototype possible new products, services and experiences, quickly filter the good, the bad and the ugly and deliver them to people who want them—well, that is an attractive management methodology. Beats the heck out of squeezing yet one more penny out of your Chinese supply-chain, doesn’t it?

Let me emphasize this. I think managers have to BECOME designers, not just hire them. I think CEOs have to embrace design thinking, not just hire someone who gets it. I think many business schools have to merge with design schools, not just play poke and tickle with them.

That’s all I have to say.

P.S. Check this washing machine out. Sexy. Very sexy.

Startups & Business View Comments

Dec

2007

More ink for Zinch…

Salt Lake Tribune did a nice piece the other day. Nice work Paul.

There was a mention in this article featured in the Colorado Springs Gazette.

And of course….if you haven’t already checked out the press section of our website….there you’ll find a bunch more press we’ve received in the last few months. It still needs to be updated. There’s a handful of other stories that aren’t on that page yet. New York Times. Washington Examiner. And a bunch more.

Anyway, it’s always fun to get pub.

Zinch View Comments

Dec

2007

A life’s journey: not being afraid to fail.

Ever since I can remember, i’ve always “played up.” It started with basketball. My dad knew that one of the best ways for me to improve at basketball was to play with the older kids…play with people better and stronger than me (he was definitely right). Through elementary school, I always played on my older brothers’ teams. In 6th grade, I played on the 8th grade team. In 9th grade, I made the varsity team but got most minutes playing in the JV game. Playing up. As a sophomore, I was a starter on the varsity team, playing against the big bad seniors. Again, playing up.

Then I went on my religious mission. I was the new guy still learning the language so I was put with more experienced, older and wiser missionary companions. Playing up. We were blessed with success, so then I was called as a leader. I changed companions and was put with the more experienced leader, “playing up” again. It followed that same pattern for most of my mission. Always “playing up.” I felt blessed to be playing ball with the big boys, yet I was most always the “young one” eating at the big people’s table.

And now with work, i’m the co-founder to one awesome company. It has been an amazing experience. Yet, i’m surrounded by people many years older than me. Dozens of them. In fact, i’m the youngest one in the entire company, a company that I partly own. Again, i’m “playing up” in a sense. I’m “inexperienced” and “unproven.” Yup, i’m the young dude. I’m the “freshman,” the “greenie,” the “rookie.” Again, like so many other instances in my life, playing up.

So this is the bottom line: As a result of always playing up and being the “young one,” one of the toughest battles i’ve had to overcome (and am still trying to overcome) is the fear of taking the big risk; the fear of rising to the occasion (when the “seniors” won’t); the fear of stepping up to the plate when the team needs a home run; the fear of becoming the leader (when no one else will); the fear of being special, being great.

You’re probably asking why. Why would I have these fears?

Let me explain.

I remember my freshman year in high school on the varsity basketball team. There was a senior on the team who was an absolute jerk. Every time in practice that i’d be aggressive, take it to the rack or take a shot, he’d get on my case. He wasn’t a very good leader at all. But because I was the little freshman, and he was the big, experienced senior, I was yelled at for every little mistake or missed shot. Unfortunately, as a result, I developed a tendency to differ, to be submissive and passive. It got to a point where I became so bad that this same senior started calling me “not a factor.” He knew I wasn’t gonna do anything on the court and all I was doing was taking up space. Every time i’d catch the ball, i’d look for a place to pass it. Little did he know that he was partly the cause.

My mistake was that I let him get to me, just like thousands of others around the world who try something great (yet fail) and then let their bosses, their coworkers, their whatever….get to them. If you aren’t careful, you can develop a fear of becoming great or doing something great. It happens all around us. The younger/newer guy goes on somewhat of a limb to make a positive contribution, to do something great. He takes a risk. He thinks out of the box. Something unorthodox. Unproven. In the end, he makes a mistake. He fails. The “seniors” (a boss, a coworker, a teammate) reprimand him. They get on his case. The younger guy becomes discouraged to ever take a risk again. He becomes unlikely to innovate and create something extraordinary, simply out of fear of failing.

This happens everywhere. Frats. Sports teams. Families. Beehives. Workplace. It’s sad. Any environment where creativity, innovation and calculated “risk taking” isn’t welcome (even by the “freshman” or rookies) is an environment ripe for endless mediocrity. No progress. No movement. Just static nothingness. 9 to 5. Small cubicles. Paper pushing all day. No innovation.

Through the years of “playing up,” i’ve lived this sad tale. Many times. I’ll take that shot. I go for the gold. I step out on a limb. And ya know what, something goes wrong, and I certainly “hear it” (as a nice way of putting it) from the “seniors.” Then I develop this horrible tendency of being afraid to fail, so I don’t try for something great at all. As a result, I become much too passive to the “seniors.” I find myself differing a little too much. I find myself “respecting” the seniors to the point where it’s at the detriment of the team/organization/company (I won’t voice my opinion or take a stand for something). I find myself not wanting to ruffle any feathers or seem overly ambitious. Even when the team needs a leader to step up, I find myself hesitant because of what the “seniors” will do or think. I don’t wanna step on any toes as the young dude. So my internal “course correction” goes to the other extreme: just taking up space and becoming a “non factor.”

It’s an issue i’ve been working hard to overcome for my entire life. I’ve always been the little kid at the big person’s table. So I heard a funny joke the other day, do I have the cahunas to share it? What will the rest of the table think? Will I get the laughs? Or will it fail miserably? There’s only one way to find out, and that’s to go for it. Ding Ding Ding Ding, “Everyone at the table, I have a funny joke I’d like to share….”

The only way to completely overcome this challenge is simply just to keep going for it. Keep innovating. Keep creating. Keep trying new things. Keep making something happen. Don’t let the “seniors” get to you. Don’t let anyone hold you down. Don’t let anyone limit what you can do. You may not be the oldest. You may not be the most experienced. You many not even be the smartest. But the only way that something great can be created…is…well…..if you try. If you go for it. Ships are safe at harbor, but that’s not what ships are built for.

My dad puts it best. He gave me something that I still look at every single day when I open up my scriptures because it’s my bookmark. What he gave me was a white piece of paper with the following words:

“Don’t be afraid to fail. Don’t be afraid of being special.”

Startups & Business/Zinch View Comments