Friction vs. Tension

What is the difference between friction and tension? Aren't they the same thing? Stop being so pedantic! First, let's start with the formal definitions. Friction [frik-shuh n] - noun 1. Surface resistance to relative motion, as of a body sliding or rolling. 2. The rubbing of the surface of one body against that of another. 3. Dissension or conflict between persons, nations, etc., because of differing ideas, wishes, etc. http://www.dictionary.com/browse/friction Tension [ten-shuh n] - noun 1. The act of stretching or straining. 2. The state of being stretched or strained. 3. Mental or emotional strain; intense, suppressed suspense, anxiety, or excitement. http://www.dictionary.com/browse/tension I believe you need tension in a team, group, division, or organization in order to survive … Continue reading Friction vs. Tension →

Holiday Break

I try to do monthly posts (emphasis on try). I'm taking this month off to enjoy the holidays. You should too! I thought this was funny. haha.

We did it!

Holy shit! The entrepreneurial journey is a crazy one. <insert generic platitude about ups and downs, yada, yada>. It's now public that Follett Higher Education Group has acquired Valore Inc. Official presser here. Lots to celebrate and reflect on, but damn it feels good to reach a milestone like this. So many people contributed to … Continue reading We did it! →

Implementing scrum for non-software teams

When we hired a new CTO at Valore, we rolled out agile/scrum with our product and engineering teams. We had been in the waterfall dark ages. We predictably experienced every bad outcomes one could expect from a misaligned development process. It took some time for the team to understand it, get comfortable with it, and … Continue reading Implementing scrum for non-software teams →

Accessibility

The World Health Organization estimates that 15% of the world population is disabled. After the initial shock about that statistic sets in (that is a lot more than I expected), you may ask why I'm writing about it. People with disabilities are on the web every day, trying to use your product, just like their non-disabled … Continue reading Accessibility →

Practice

Why don't business people practice? Sports and business are always compared. There are an endless number of analogies used every day - teams, winning and losing, star players, competitors, etc. The comparison holds, for the most part. Except for practice. Why? Athletes at all levels know that they will need to practice their ass off … Continue reading Practice →

Major Release – eCommerce Upgrade

Our new e-commerce site at http://www.valorebooks.com is finally live! First, a huge shout out to the team that worked on it for getting it over the starting line (see what I did right there). We are quite far along in our agile implementation at this point. Me and my team always think about how to … Continue reading Major Release – eCommerce Upgrade →

coach.me

Sticking to new habits is always hard. I often find myself experimenting with new tactics to increase my learning, be more productive, or save myself time (so I can focus on more 'valuable' things). Notice, I don't call them habits. They are deliberately experiments. Only if they prove effective would I continue to focus on … Continue reading coach.me →

Speed Wins

Speed wins. Startup dogma. Silicon Valley platitude. Dangerous concept that is often misinterpreted. People hear this and think of the mythological developer who just cranks things out at lightning speed. Working all night, crushing Red Bulls, typing furiously on their laptop. There are many flaws with that mythology that I won't go into here, but … Continue reading Speed Wins →

Unbundled Consumers in Education

Education is a tough market to crack. One of the big reasons that it is such a difficult market is the unbundled consumer. Typically, a consumer does one of three things. They decide to buy something, they then buy that thing, and they then consume that thing. Many things go into each one of those … Continue reading Unbundled Consumers in Education →