Ryckbost

Ava Rose on Vimeo (via Vimeo)

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 10:53:45 -0500

Espresso, Intelligentsia on Vimeo (via Vimeo)

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 09:31:53 -0500

Espresso, Intelligentsia on Vimeo (via Vimeo)

Total Quality Management

Fri, 08 Jan 2010 16:51:26 -0500

We talk a lot about continuous improvement at work and in our personal lives, but how often do you hold yourself or your organization accountable for making any improvements?

Here’s a few of my favorite tips from W. Edwards Deming on building a culture that endorses continuous improvement:

Build quality into the product; stop depending on inspections to catch problems.
Build long-term relationshops based on performance instead of awarding business on the basis of price.
Continuously improve product, quality, and service.
Emphasize leadership, not supervision.
Institute a vigorous program of education and self-improvement
Put everybody in the company to work on the transformation

Ava (via nsain)

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 09:17:23 -0500

Ava (via nsain)

What Should We Teach New Software Developers? Why?

Thu, 31 Dec 2009 18:12:11 -0500

What Should We Teach New Software Developers? Why?:

Fundamental changes to computer science education are required to better address the needs of industry.

Idea Foundry 2009

Thu, 31 Dec 2009 17:53:52 -0500

Idea Foundry 2009

"What’s worse is that most of these addicts know intellectually that plowing through 14 hour work..."

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 11:27:39 -0500

“What’s worse is that most of these addicts know intellectually that plowing through 14 hour work days is not actually a very productive way to get ahead. That more time doesn’t mean more valuable work done.”

- Step one is admitting you have a problem - (37signals)

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2009-12-6)

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 23:10:25 -0500

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2009-12-6):

Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2009-11-29)

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 21:39:05 -0500

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2009-11-29):

Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2009-11-22)

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 12:26:07 -0500

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2009-11-22):

Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2009-11-15)

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 12:46:49 -0500

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2009-11-15):

Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz

"People are tempted to tell you everything, with perfect accuracy, right up front, when they should..."

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 09:33:56 -0500

“People are tempted to tell you everything, with perfect accuracy, right up front, when they should be giving you just enough info to be useful, then a little more, then a little more.”

- Made to Stick

Xcode Alias

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:15:39 -0500

Add ‘alias xcode="open -a Xcode"’ to your bash profile.

cd into your project directory and then it’s as simple as ‘xcode .’

Sleeping like a baby (via nsain)

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 22:33:00 -0500

Sleeping like a baby (via nsain)

"Books have the same enemies as people: fire, humidity, animals, weather and their own content."

Tue, 01 Sep 2009 08:40:22 -0400

“Books have the same enemies as people: fire, humidity, animals, weather and their own content.”

- Paul Valery

Entrepreneurship in West Michigan

Wed, 29 Jul 2009 12:23:38 -0400

Do We Have What it Takes?

Paul Graham has a great essay on what he thinks it takes for a city to be a Silicon Valley.

Check out the article, it’s a great read and well worth your time.

Here’s a quick overview:

rich people and nerds
not buildings
- “So if you want to reproduce Silicon Valley, what you need to reproduce is those two or three founders sitting around a kitchen table deciding to start a company. And to reproduce that you need those people.”
universities
personality
nerds
youth
- “liberal cities tolerate odd ideas, and smart people by definition have odd ideas.”
time
- “startups beget startups… you need time to grow a silicon valley”
competing
- how do you compete with the real Silicon Valley?

Is there anything else to consider besides Paul’s points? How about a general infrastructure that supports startups? In the TechCrunch50 video, The Role of the Angel Investor, Ron Conway says that Silicon Valley has the infrastructure and depth to support these startups (skip to 46:00-48:00):

hi-tech accountants
hi-tech lawyers
hi-tech PR firms
hi-tech ad agencies
conferences, events

With the above infrastructure in mind, how does West MI compare?

Cultivating the Climate

I’m excited to see what affect Momentum MI has on the community. I’m particularly interested to see how the investment community reacts to Downstream, Revetto, and Public Collections. Can local investors make the jump from manufacturing/product based companies to high-tech, internet based, software as a service business models?

In a study of the entrepreneurship climate in West Michigan, the Seidman College of Business concludes that “West Michigan has a shortage of venture capital sources and the current business climate does not promote venture capital investment.” Furthermore, “Most respondents feel that the business climate in the West Michigan area is not supportive of the entrepreneurial companies and does not foster the growth of such companies.” Quite a dreary outlook, right?

It’s no surprise that action needs to be taken to make some progress. H. James Williams, Dean of the Seidman College of Business, acknowledges this when he writes, “What we need is a coordinated strategy for mobilizing the resources we do have to achieve maximum impact, along with a plan for enhancing our capacities, over time, to promote and support entrepreneurship.”

So, my question to you is, what are you doing to promote and support entrepreneurship in West Michigan?

Russ’: The “Home Made Goodness People” (via...

Fri, 24 Jul 2009 08:41:15 -0400

Russ’: The “Home Made Goodness People” (via nsain)

"An idea is not an innovation until it reaches people."

Fri, 29 May 2009 18:05:54 -0400

“An idea is not an innovation until it reaches people.”

- Scott Berkun

"Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it...."

Tue, 26 May 2009 18:35:25 -0400

“Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now.”

- Goethe

Boxed Water (via nsain)

Wed, 06 May 2009 22:42:14 -0400

Boxed Water (via nsain)