It’s been exactly two years since we launched dotherightthing.com to connect people with the companies they care about. This time has gone by quickly but looking back now it was all part of the journey that made this latest re-launch possible. Once again I have been lucky enough to be surrounded by extremely talented people most of whom went above and beyond to make the impossible possible… isn’t that always the case? (particularly Loren Baxter, Ryan Daigle, Ryan Mickle, Carsten Lindstedt, Peyman Pakzad, Robert Hoekman Jr., Jarkko Laine, all our clients and partners, and support from the original dotherightthing.com community)

Here are some key “notes to self” I discovered personally and professionally the last two years, I will undoubtedly refer to and stay mindful of these going forward:

1. Passion and momentum are the only requirements – when the unknowns mount and things get out of hand (which is standard for most entrepreneurial endeavors) it is key to continually communicate passion for what you are trying to solve or deliver and encourage the same from those around you, this builds the momentum required to stay motivated and stay in motion; it’s not enough to set goals, product requirements, and agendas (although these are important) but rather to keep telling yourself and the world around you what you are driving toward regardless of the perceived risks at the time
2. Help others take on new responsibilities and be true to your own – when taking on an audacious project it’s important to let those around you step up and be accountable for things outside their comfort zones, of course you should do the same but always stay accountable and get it done, experiment and draw outside the lines but always find a way to deliver
3. When you think it’s easy enough make it easier – creating good products is about solving real-world problems in innovative and elegant ways. The original dotherightthing.com for example was innovative but intimidating for companies and the community at large… the expectations were tough to overcome for most people, making it difficult to get started let alone get engaged; stripping everything to the core components not only ensures a solid user experience but it can also be very empowering and the more empowering it is the more engaging it will be (twitter is a good example of simple yet empowering)
4. Stay lean but not mean – stay lean but, more importantly, stay compassionate; things will likely unfold naturally and there will be many tough decisions that need to be made but do this without being shrewd or losing focus
5. Cultivate patience and persistence, it’s best done together – things will never get done fast enough but staying persistent ensures that things will happen and there will be movement toward the objectives, don’t sweat the small stuff but push on and remember it’s all small stuff (from this great book)
6. Engage the world openly and transparently – in many ways this is what dotherightthing.com is all about, transparent and genuine discussions with the companies/organizations you care about

New changes that are worth noting:

1. more empowerment with less of that activist edge – dotherightthing.com now focuses on what can and should be done, not on the good or bad; this new focus creates an environment that encourages action from the community and participation from companies/organizations; the flower metaphor helps visualize this
2. the community can engage directly – we’ve added a basic follow feature that allows community members to follow the activities of others (thanks Robert; there is also mention of it in his new book)
3. smart email notifications – you will now be notified of activities on the site through email notifications that are delivered more or less frequently based on your clicks and interest, you can disable these anytime but we think you will find them useful
4. new extra usable and sexy design – as always we did a good deal of research, prototyping, and design to ensure that this latest release is both functional and extra sexy

We look forward to implementing your ideas too. Please don’t hesitate to post them here. We would like to empower the community to help shape dotherightthing.com’s future. What do you think?

Go post an idea!

Fortunately, by maintaining their relevance, they quickly blew by their competitors. It’s the best way to build trusting relationships with your users (or anyone else).

I hope I can continue to stay relevant. It’s definitely a high priority

Recently, I posted about caffeine and innovation with the post “get wired and innovate smarter“. After coming across a post about the psychology of wine over at MindHacks, I wanted to share it as a follow-up.

According to the original article, the Ancient Persians used wine to facilitate decision-making and creativity. Solutions crafted while under the influence that later stood strong even in light of sober scrutiny were chosen over other solutions.

It is too easy for people to find information about you and your company online. But if you are not participating in the creation of that information someone else will because it is also very easy for people to publish information online. The earlier you participate in the creation of this information the better the results.

Others like Tom Peters say “Blog As If Your Life Depended On It!” Although I don’t necessarily believe everyone should maintain a blog (it is an amazing thing if you can), I do however believe everyone should actively maintain their online identities. Don’t let the web or search engines determine what information is important about you.

Fred at A VC for example, claims to have established many virtual relationships that later turned into real relationships. He goes on to say “I have rarely sized someone up incorrectly who I consider a friend online.” Something to consider when you are doing what you do online.

Here are 3 practical techniques I use to create and maintain my online identity:

1. Use an online id claim or professional network service to maintain a credible public profile – I maintain an updated LinkedIn profile as well as a ClaimID profile with related links about me. Both services are worth considering because they are regularly indexed by search engines which means your information will end up ranking higher and more quickly on Google than a site you create yourself (without the details, you will have to just trust me). These sites are also considered trustworthy, as compared with a site you may maintain yourself. Try to avoid the sites that found your name by crawling the web for people and pressure you to complete an empty profile (I really disagree with this tactic). Of course, I also maintain profiles on other sites like Facebook and, of course, DoTheRightThing but these typically do not rank as high. Maintaining too many online profiles is a waste of time so I have picked the most valuable ones that support and communicate my personal and professional interests; the association alone can communicate a lot about you.

2. Set up a Google Alert for your name -
The Google Alert beta service notifies you by email when your name, or anything else you want to follow closely such as your competitors or company name for example, is updated online someplace. Below is a snapshot of a recent Google Alert for my name:

In this example, the alert found my name on a reunion site that I never signed up for. A great example of the unethical crawling tactic I mentioned above. Although I would not rely on these alerts 100%, they are a good passive way of keeping tabs in the web world.

3. Maintain a website or blog about you and your work -
Of course one of the best ways to communicate your personal and professional interests is by maintaining original content about you and your work. I started not too long ago myself with this post entitled “finally bringing it online” which also outlined my early hesitations. Today, I can’t believe that these silly concerns had kept me from blogging for so long.

What do you think?

My experience has been mixed but I typically indulge most when the task at hand is tedious and/or boring; this is because I read a scientific study, similar to the ones outlined in the post above, that concluded caffeine enhances performance of tedious and repetitive tasks. In moderation however, I have also found caffeine to be a good catalyst to great conversations and, as a byproduct, creative thinking. Try it at home sometime with a cup of Cuban espresso, a personal favorite of mine…

I agree (without philosophical or religious leanings of any kind): plans can be really funny. So instead… experiment vigorously then… fail. fast. forward.

These are just a few things advocated by business “guru” and management thought leader Tom Peters. Over the course of this year, I have directly applied many of Tom Peters’ insights. Tom just gets it. More importantly, as an entrepreneur, I find Tom’s views truly inspirational.

He emphasizes (and again re-emphasizes) the obvious and subtle nuances of modern business. In my opinion, his blog isn’t as powerful as his raw presentations but it is worth a visit nonetheless if not only to find his other materials.

* Solid introduction to his ideas are available here
* More insights can be dug out of this somewhat lengthy presentation (MS Powerpoint required)

I think so much about doubling my failure rate to the point that it has now become a part of my daily “routine”. Getting over the hump of “failure” isn’t easy but it is an essential ingredient toward innovation, progress and other amazing outcomes.

For as long as I can remember (no joke), I have been fascinated by people, consciousness and the brain. Why do people do the things they do and the critical role our brains play in making these experiences all possible. So, not surprising to those who know me well, I went on to study Cognitive Science. The decision scratched a personal itch but like many other things it has proven to be practical too.

One of the many fascinating facts about your brain is that it is extremely “plastic”. This neuro-plasticity has nothing to do with the human brain’s jello-like consistency and everything to do with how our brains learn and behave. I am proud of my plastic brain and you should be proud of yours too. Size may matter for some things but number of connections matter a whole lot more when it comes to all things brain-related. Train your brain as much as possible in order to take advantage of this unique property of the brain.

This means your brain can adapt and grow (not exactly literal) on-demand. Babies brains for example, can recover from significant physical trauma through re-wiring by way of this kind of neuro-plasticity. Children who are born with a physical disability like blindness are often more capable than average in their hearing or other senses because of this re-wiring. Ahhhw, the amazing brain…

Recent findings from scientific research sponsored in part by the Mind and Life Institute and Santa Barbara Institute of Consciousness Studies has found that your thoughts can physically re-wire your brain too. This isn’t the “think happy thoughts” kind of research. The team of scientists are rigorously exploring the effects of meditation on the brain to alleviate ADHD, depression and other conditions. Check out their year in review for 2007.

Here are 3 ways I will train my brain in 2008:
1. Read about and practice things I know nothing about and have little current interest in – one good way I have found of breaking out of my current thinking is to explore them from a totally different perspective. Art and design is another arena I have not yet had an opportunity to explore further. This technique is also a great way to innovate.
2. Meditate – alone time with my thoughts is a scary and difficult task, more so even than strenuous physical activity. But with a week-long retreat planned this upcoming year, I hope to make meditation a regular part of my day.
3. Listen to new genres of music – the current theme songs playing in my mind are getting old, any suggestions?

Happy new year.

In a world where transparency is the new golden standard for all human interactions, passion will always trump product. If it doesn’t get you excited and make you want to tell all your friends, it’s probably not going to engage others either. A great product is really just bottled passion anyway, right? In college I remember being struck by passion and inspired with Howard Schultz and the whole Starbucks story. This emotional appeal turned me into that loyal customer and evangelist every company wants more of. In this case, emotion definitely trumped my reason, which is exactly what makes it possible for me to spend $4 dollars for a coffee drink at the ‘Bucks.

My good friend and colleague Robert Hoekman Jr. recently put his passion for design and social responsibility to work with the launch of Miskeeto. Their team’s passion: maximizing their positive social impact while changing the world through design. This was the foundation for which Miskeeto was built. Robert and his team wear their passions, alongside their hearts, on their sleeves. An activity that’s worth taking note of.

The world’s most admired companies embody this passion for what they do, who they are and what they stand for. It leaks from every pore and you can “feel it”. Remember, your customers (or users) are always smarter than you give them credit for.

In the case of CSR, there exist the usual suspects in terms of academic and industry definitions. Frankly, I don’t think it matters what the agreed upon definition is or ends up being. A good functional definition is useful insofar as everyone believes the concept to be real and worth their time. And luckily, today most people already agree that social responsibility is a real and very important concept particularly within the corporate world.

Just as science begins with inadequate models and theories knowing that they will be replaced with more accurate ones in the future, ideas of social responsibility are in their early infancy. Although there are plenty of examples for what social responsibility could be in practice outside of these existing models and theories. Extreme transparency as practiced by Timberland, Google’s foundation and kiva.org come to mind off the cuff (there exist many, many more). This idea of corporate social responsibility, in my humble opinion, extends our notions of personal social responsibility, where people who are open and honest with others about who they are and what they do are considered by most as socially responsible human beings (people like the Dalai Lama or Ghandi come to mind). To me, social responsibility in practice is really as simple as that.

Today, information about you and your company are easily accessible regardless of how much control you may think or would prefer to have over it. If people want to find it, they will one way or another.

Transparency, through open and honest communication, is the future.