3-in-1 innovation

Who cares about my laundry experience?

Apparently, Purex does.
Detergent. Softener. These are heavy.
Anti-static sheets. More dryer sheets. I'll buy two.
3-in-1...wait a minute. That's genius!

Purex could make new lines of detergents, softeners, and anti-static sheets. That's their thing, but that's boring. So instead, Purex solves another problem by combining three separate processes. Brilliant.

Innovation is the determing factor that will drive us out of this economic ditch. What are you working on?

Scheduling

Lots of activity. Fall is around the corner.
To stay on track, I'll post weekly (Mondays work).

Talk soon.

Do not pet the bears

I leave from the side kitchen door every morning. That's my drill. One day on my way out, I met a momma bear and her cubs. Cute and cuddly? No. I froze.

My options were to: pet the bears or find preventative measures to keep them away. Fortunately, they ran off at the sound of the closing door. Hold that thought.

• The unemployment rate is at 9.7% as of today.
• Consumer confidence rose to 54.1% in August, coming back from 47.4% in July of this year.
• It's a buyer's market. If you're investing in real estate, diversify.
• The leading economic indicators show an increase in the fall

This is good. Trained bears are also good, so what's the point?

Do not pet the bears.

Regardless of a bear's demeanor, whether the market improves now, or fifteen years later, do not let it derail the good decisions you have made. If you are contributing towards savings, keep saving. Ask yourself first if the Gucci bag on sale is a practical move. Do you really need it? But hey, I'm no fashion expert.

These stats and indicators are good news. I am hoping for an economic rebound. But if I've learned anything, the best decisions are made early, based on facts, not just the warm fuzzies. Start with these links.

Dave Ramsey - studies and strategies on managing your finances
Andy Stanley - direction - not intention - determines your destination.
Seth Godin - If you're an entrepreneur, read up.
Patrick Lencioni - Common sense and simple wisdom

I bought new garbage cans. My bear encounters have lessened.

You've lost that lovin' feeling

You won a few of these. Remember best dressed, best looking, Valedictorian, or really close to it? Most athletic. Most likely to succeed and unique. A few years later, you meet people just as witty, talented, and brilliant.

Some are even smarter. You look at them and they stare right back. Time passes and that interview line gets longer. Don’t call us, we’ll call you. School debt looks larger, but your options get thinner (so does your hairline). All this thinking - time to eat.

You’re at a restaurant. Wait, cash is tight, so instead you jump in the car, and head home to make a sandwich. Then it happens, you accidentally tuned the dial to 106.7 Light FM. Cringe.

“You've lost that lovin' feeling, Whoa, that lovin' feeling, You've lost that lovin' feeling, Now it's gone...gone...gone...wooooooh”

If the song isn’t familiar, you are better off. Trust me. Whether it’s a personal favorite or not isn’t the point. What I am getting to is that at one point, you were important or at least felt that way. People paid attention. When you walked into a room, the knee-jerk reaction was of course - the princess wave. You arrived. For some, this is you right now.

Given a few exceptions (maybe you’re one of them); no one really knows who you are. Your 200+ Facebook friends are really only 20-30 people you talk to. You craft each status update so people notice, but they don’t. The dent you were trying to make fails in comparison to where your peers, family, and colleagues are at. So what do you do?

What do you when your individualism isn’t so unique anymore? In fact, you are in a room filled with individuals just like you. You wear uniforms. For some, construction boots. Others rock the business suit. I’m sure you’re smart, just not the smartest in the room right now. It’s true. Time is ticking.

“You've lost that lovin' feeling…” What do you do?

More next time.

Wax on, wax off

Daniel: When do I learn how to punch?

Miyagi: Better learn balance. Balance is key. Balance good, karate good. Everything good. Balance bad, better pack up, go home. Understand?

Getting advice from folks who have lived, breathed, and experienced life is a good thing. Sometimes it makes no sense, then clicks later on.

Constructive criticism goes a long way. It will force you to rethink designs, change your budget, and perhaps even challenge your current position.

Rule of thumb, if you don't know, just ask. You'll be surprised what you learn.

Room for improvement

Early on, completed projects produced a response I needed to be careful of. After all, I did spent several hundred hours slicing images and positioning pixels on table layouts. Have a critique against my design? Take a number. What's this I hear about divs and tableless designs? Seriously.

My knee-jerk reaction was to protect my masterpiece.

Looking back, I'm grateful I gave up that thinking. While it is good to maintain true to a unique style, change forces me to break and rethink my designs. That doesn't mean sell out and put a 2.0 gradient style on all your buttons. It does mean an ongoing evaluation. I think Jeffery Zeldman sums it up best,"If your old work doesn’t shame you, you’re not growing."

Keep at what you're doing, but remember that there's always room for improvement. CSS does work. Don't worry, tables (data grids) still have their place.

Here's a great list to start with.

• Jeffrey Zeldman
• A List Apart
• UX Matters
• Church of the Customer Blog
• UI Pattern Factory
• Smashing Magazine