Behind the Scenes at Global-Roam

After the internal restructuring of global-roam, somehow I ended up with responsibility for managing the deSide product (and ez2view Ontario, ez2view Australia and ez2update Australia). This means that I am now responsible for understanding everything about energy users. How they think, what they do, what keeps them awake at night and what brand of toothbrush they use. This means attending the occasional conference that is put together for energy users.

The first of these conferences was the EUAA Climate Change Briefing. Now I have attended a number of climate change briefings before (mainly around the time that the government told Tarong to switch off because Queensland was running out of water), but this was the first one that I had been to that was tailored for energy users.

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“Quit whingeing, whining, wailing, nagging, grieving, griping, grumbling, groaning, moaning, fussing, fretting, faulting, bellyaching and criticizing you sniveling bitch!”

Ah good ol’ parents. Constantly reminding me that my input is not welcome. They are doing the best they can and if that’s not good enough for me I can find some other parents.

That works for parents because other parents as good as my parents (hi mom I’m on the internet!) are hard to come by. But when other companies are more than happy to take your business this may not be the best policy when dealing with complaints. More importantly: how will you ever improve if you don’t know what you are doing wrong?

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37signals is one of those companies that you have to love. They’re a small business making kick ass web apps. They emanate a “no-bullshit” culture and give back bigtime. In fact, you can read this book for free (yes, the whole thing absolutely free) at http://gettingreal.37signals.com/.

Getting Real is a guide to creating a great software company with an emphasis on web development. It covers a huge range of topics including (but not limited to) hiring, marketing, design, development and productivity. It gives practical and philosophical advice so you come to understand the foundation of 37signals and then discover how to take action. It is one of the easiest reads ever (2-4 hours) so I would recommend you stop reading this dribble and get the book.

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Following the great  Business Autopsy of 2009, we identified the opportunity presented to us to restructure to better utilise people’s individual strengths.

Subsequently, I wrote more about the need for everyone to set their sights on becoming a guru in their chosen area.

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For us, it’s that time at the end of a week (generally Friday afternoons) when it’s pens, mouses, keyboards away – and when (over a beer – or a ginger beer) we collectively sit back to think more strategically about where we want the business to head.

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If the thought of working 9-5 until you’re over 60 scares you even a little, then don’t panic because Timothy Ferris presents in “The 4-hour Workweek” an alternative lifestyle option. Using both himself and friends as examples, Ferris explains how to create your ideal lifestyle and become a member of the so called ‘New Rich’ – where your currency is not gold, but time and mobility. read more »