Here was a cool one as well (from stickermule) - https://remote.co/company/sticker-mule/?utm_source=Sticker+Mule+Newsletter&utm_campaign=e7fa008165-July_Recap_Newsletter_2015&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_477e23426e-e7fa008165-416682141&mc_cid=e7fa008165&mc_eid=85200bc3fb

I’ve never sought out mentors or teachers, because I think they are plentiful and all around us. The person who you think has all the answers, probably has far fewer than you think.

I observe. When I walk into a small retail store, I observe how they do business. What’s working, what isn’t? How do they treat employees? Customers? Their merchandise? What can I learn from them at this moment?

When I get my hair cut I observe the salon. Who’s there? Why? If I had an appointment at 3:30, but it’s still 3:50 and I’m waiting, what’s that feel like? How does it feel to be on time and then have someone else who’s not on time? How does it feel to pay for something? To tip? When? How?

When I go to a restaurant I observe. How is the food presented. How does the server communicate? How’s the menu written? How’s the lighting? Is it sufficient to read the menu? Do I have to as twice for things, or do things just show up on time before I have to ask? What happens if I have a substitution request - how do they handle that? Is it a burden for them or a pleasure to serve?

Every moment is a teaching moment. You don’t have to wait to be taught anything. Don’t delay learning because you haven’t found that magic teacher yet. Everyone, and everything, is a teacher.

As far as being available to mentor/teach others... I try my best to be available for people as often as I can, but I also put a premium on my attention. It's misleading to tell someone you'll help them if you really don't have the time or attention to give them the focus they need. So it all depends on my current attention surplus. I try to be very upfront about this when people ask - I feel like it's the only fair way.

And BTW... Wow, flattered and humbled that you'd put my quote up in your office! So glad that resonated with you.

Sales… Like any skill, it takes practice. But how do you practice the sales cycle rapidly so you can get better quickly?

There are a few ways I’d recommend. One is - get a part time retail sales job. Sounds nuts, but do it. Nothing teaches you more about sales than selling to the public in a retail environment. Sales is so much about listening, and when you have to sell a dozen pairs of shoes a day in a shoe store, you’ll get way more experience selling than trying to sell software with a sales cycle that can range from days to months.

Here’s another thing you can do… I wrote about it in this Inc article called How To Get Good at Making Money:

Like I said at the outset, it’s all about practice. Whether you’re playing drums or building a business, you’re going to be pretty bad at something the first time you try it. The second time isn’t much better. Over time, and after a lot of practice, you begin to get there.

So here’s a great way to practice making money: Buy and sell the same thing over and over on Craigslist or eBay. Seriously.

Go buy something on Craigslist or eBay. Find something that’s a bit of a commodity, so you know there’s always plenty of supply and demand. An iPod is a good test. Buy it, and then immediately resell it. Then buy it again. Each time, try selling it for more than you paid for it. See how far you can push it. See how much profit you can make off 10 transactions.

Start tweaking the headline. Then start fiddling with the product description. Vary the photographs. Take some pictures of the thing for sale; use other photos with other items, or people, in them. Shoot really high-quality shots, and also post crappy ones from your cell-phone camera. Try every variation you can think of.

I love doing this, because there’s no real risk involved. If you already have a business, you don’t need to dream up a new product line or rock the boat with crazy experiments. If you don’t have a business, it’s a perfect way to work on your chops.

Good question Kevin.

There will always be more competition. Some stays, some goes, some things you don’t know you compete with that you do, and some things you think you compete with that you don’t.

Competition is a force you can’t control, you can only do your best for you and your employees and your customers and hope you’re doing it well enough to survive and thrive.

Basecamp… Basecamp is always changing. Always some big changes and then hundreds of minor improvements a year. Lots of stuff you don’t see too - shoring up infrastructure so it’s more reliable, faster, etc. There are no idle moments.

For the past year or so we’ve been very hard at work on an entirely new version of Basecamp. Every four years or so we’ve decided we’ll be redesigning it and rewriting it from scratch. New ideas, new challenges, always looking to beat ourselves. We ask ourselves “if we were competing with Basecamp, what would we build to take them down?” And then we build that.

In a few short months we’ll be releasing this all new version and you’ll see we’ve been up to quite a lot ;) Stay tuned.

Thanks Tyson! I still think Getting Real is the best thing we’ve ever written. I keep toying with the idea of re-releasing it somehow.

The current state of web design… I’d call it technically impressive, but feeling very me-too.

There was a wonderful burst of innovation a few years back, but so many things look the same today. It reminds me of advertising in the 60s (which I love studying)… The big photo at the top, the catchy headline, and then columns of text below. Not that current web sites look like that - but that there was a formula that sorta took off and then everyone just emulated it because it appeared to be successful. It took years before someone broke out and did something original again.

So many sites today follow this pattern: A nearly full-screen hero image up top (often a photograph shot from above of a desk with a coffee cup and stuff nearly arranged, or a looping video). Over that is a superimposed headline. Below that are either full-width horizontal blocks or staggered blocks left and right and left and right. Or you’ll see a grid of 3 to 6 blocks, each talking about a specific feature of the product. Sometimes you’ll see parallax scrolling, sometimes not. But there’s a clear formula. Sound familiar?

BTW, I’m not suggesting it’s a bad formula, only that it’s a formula. And when everyone’s solving the same formula, there aren’t many new discoveries. So I really admire people/companies who have the courage to break out. Those who say “come on, there’s got to be another way.” And they go for it.

We did that when we launched the original 37signals site back in 1999. This is what it looked like. No other web design company’s site looked REMOTELY like this. Not sure any other site period did. It was black and white. It was only words, only ideas. No portfolio images, no obvious client list. We presented our minds - this is how we feel, this is what we think, this is how we see. If you like that, then let’s talk and we can show you all the pictures you want.

So, break out! Do something original!

1. We did, and I think more people should do it. I think it’s a very lucrative idea because it speaks directly to what clients want. They don’t want huge expensive long-term projects where they don’t really know what they’re going to get. They want quick (in a week or two), clear (I know exactly what I’m going to get), and affordable (a few thousand bucks).

2. Whatever works for you is what you should do. Some blog, some speak at conferences, some post videos every day, some do drip campaigns, some do webinars… We don’t really do any email marketing, but we should and we plan to down the road.

Opportunities I can't get to for one reason or another.

Moving slowly.

Bureaucracy.

The systematic destruction of nature.

Incredible people who haven't had the opportunity to be incredible yet.

Someone else executing better than we are at something we thought we were good at.

Ignorance.

Thanks much! Very kind of you.

Writers I admire… I think Andrew Sullivan is/was one of the best writers out there. He stopped writing on his site (the one I linked up) earlier this year, but you’ll be impressed by ability to write his mind if you go through the archives.

John Gruber of Daring Fireball, obviously. He knows how to make his point.

I really enjoy reading anything by Camille Paglia. She’s hard to agree with sometimes, but I can’t think of anyone I agree with all the time anyway. I just love the energy in her writing. She isn’t afraid of anything or anyone and her words are hers alone. She’s provocative and I like people like that.

Louis CK is another person who comes to mind when I think of great writers. He’s a comedian, but read the way he writes (see the link above). Casual. I love casual writers. I’m not much for academic writing. Write like you speak, write to be read. Louis CK is a great writer.

Paul Ford is a wonderful writer. So thorough and tight and clever without being cute. When you write such long pieces it’s easy to get sloppy. He’s not sloppy.

I haven’t read anything else by Maciej Cegłowski, but I think this presentation is exceptionally well written.

Hope that’s a good list to get started with!

Great question!

Impossible for me to know for sure, but it sure appears that design has taken a bigger seat at the table over the last few years. People are paying more attention to the value, however loosely that is defined. People who may not have cared that much about it in the past still aren’t entirely sure how much they care about it, but they know it’s important which is a big leap forward. I think that’s the right direction ahead.

That said, everything that’s valuable can be less valuable too. Very few things go up forever. And there’s a point of diminishing returns. One thing I’ve noticed is that there’s a bit too much design for design’s sake going on right now. Everyone’s trying to be Apple. Trying to be the most polished diamond in the world. I’m not sure there’s as much value in that level of fit and finish as designers often think. I think there’s a point where that becomes standoffish - too museum like. People like comfort, people like things they can relate to.

So I guess my somewhat murky point is this… Design can do itself wrong as well. So while things are pointing up for design right now, I don’t think designers should take that value for granted. That value can go away, too. Design as a thing on its own has very little value. But design in the service of communication, in the service of utility, in the service of progress - that’s valuable.

Hey Mike! Thanks for the kind words. We love that you love Basecamp!

Designers mostly use pen/sharpies, paper, Photoshop, various iPad-based sketching tools (GoodNotes, Paper), Sublime Text, and Illustrator. Sometimes we use Framer for interactive iOS mocks as well. The tools aren't that interesting - just basic tools. Whatever works. There are no rules on what tools you can, should, or must use - you just use what works best for you. 90% of my mockups are on paper, drawn with the fattest Sharpie marker I can find.

In the end, what's important is communicating an idea and whatever tool works best for you to do that is the one you should use.

I think it all comes down to the same things - human things... People need to be intrinsically motivated by the work they do, they have to enjoy the people they are working with, they have to feel like they are doing meaningful work, they have to feel appreciated and powerful, they want a comfortable combination of autonomy and support, they want to be treated fairly and respected thoroughly, and of course they want to be fairly compensated. I feel like we've done - and continue to do - a good job on these fundamentals.

We've experimented in the past, but we prefer to work with full-time employees. Software and design is never done - it's a forever iterative, long-term process - so we prefer more permanence than shorter-term engagements.

Back in high school my dad started collecting old American watches. Elgin, Illinois, Hamilton, etc. He’d pick them off of eBay purely based on the way the dials and cases looked. They had such cool looks. That’s when I fell for watches.

I’ve been an on again off again collector for a while, but have really gotten back into it strong recently.

Watchmaking has a lot to teach. There’s so much talk about how Apple makes these amazing consumer products with incredible tolerances and fit and finish. And they do! Apple is amazing - no one does mass market products better at they scale. But high-end watch makers like Patek, Vacheron, A. Lange & Sohne, Laurent Ferrier, FP Journe… They really set the bar for what’s possible in terms of material finishing, attention to detail, mechanical craftsmanship, art, science, and design. I think a lot of tech/designer people would be floored by the attention to detail and the wonderful combination of disciplines that go into modern mechanical watchmaking.

There's no good answer here. It's hard. But the thing is... When you find that thing, it's all you want to work on. So that's sort of how you know. If you bounce from opportunity to opportunity it may be because you aren't really into any of them.

A lot of it just comes down to what holds your attention, what's challenging and stimulating, and can you use the thing you're building?

Thanks Mike!

My involvement is as a fan first, investor second. As an investor, I’m available to help in any way I can. I’m a very minority investor so I don’t have (or want) any power in the relationship, I just want to help if/when when called upon.

They are in very capable hands. I love their plans and where they’re headed. Very fun to watch from courtside seats.

Favorite watch at the moment… Instead of a watch, I’ll give you a brand: I love everything Laurent Ferrier is doing. I think they make the most beautiful modern watches today.

What’s your favorite?

Thanks! The "37better" series was a really fun thing to do.

We don't take on client work anymore, but we've considered jumping back into the game. Not for the money, but for the experience of using Basecamp with clients. Lots of client services firms use Basecamp and we should fully understand that experience again to make sure we're making the product better for them.

It didn't go anywhere, unfortunately. I'm still interested, but just don't have the free attention at the moment to really dive in. And this is one of those things you have to dive into. Tip toeing around a new skill doesn't really get you anywhere. You can tip toe around something you're already great at, but if you aren't yet good, it requires a deep focused dive to get there.

It wasn’t hard since it wasn’t forced.

We continued to do client work until Basecamp (the product) was earning more money than our client work was. Then the switch was easy. There was no risk in that switch.

We were also a company of 4 people back then - me, David, Ryan, and Matt. That’s it. We were all on board.

Hey Michael!

Thanks for your question.

First to be clear, we’ve been adding a ton of great stuff to Basecamp and making it better all the time. Here’s a list of just some of those things. They may not be the items on your list, but there are thousands of people with different lists and demands and requirements and we continue to make Basecamp better for as many people as we can as often as we can.

As to your list… We have a few of these things coming up in this all new version of Basecamp we’re working on now. I think you’ll like what’s coming. No Gantt charts at this time though, sorry.

I don't think one is more important than the other. Both are essential. A great team with a bad idea doesn't get anywhere, and will likely disband at some point because there's no reason to continue. A bad team with a great idea probably can't execute and will also fall apart. Both are required. And still, there's so much more.

I had been working on my own as a freelancer for a while, and wanted to work closely with other people with complimentary skills. I was doing the same kind of work on my own - same ideas, same philosophy - but it was all me and I was tired of that. So I'd known a couple guys for a while who had similar ambitions. Eventually the timing was right, the stars aligned, we each put in $10,000 of our own savings to get the business started, and we went for it.

I’ve found myself mostly listening to Pandora on random. I’ll set up stations but then play them randomly. This way I’m still drawing general boundaries around the things I like, but I can still be surprised by things I haven’t heard. I find it’s a great way to discover music.

Re: bands… Beck, Wilco, Calexico, The Black Keys, and anything Jack White is doing. Also a big fan of early blues, bebop jazz, 60s stuff, Zeppelin, Hendrix, that era. Really getting into solo piano music right now - Eric Satie, specifically. It’s just so relaxing and enlightening.

Growing up, I was all about Public Enemy. I still think Chuck D is the best rapper that ever lived.

Occasionally I’m playing Beats 1 to hear what’s current - stuff I’ve never heard, artists I wouldn’t normally be into. While it’s often not my taste, I like to know.

Lastly, I really love Tom Petty’s Buried Treasure radio show on Sirius XM. He plays the stuff he loves - old rock, rhythm and blues. Lots of stuff form the 50s through the 70s. Rare stuff, stuff you’d never heard anywhere else on the radio. And he’s such a fun DJ to listen to - drops really interesting tidbits, you get a sense he’s loving listening to his own programming. Like you’re hanging with him just listening to his old records. It’s great.

What I’m listening to does affect my mood and focus, so I tend to reach for certain things at certain times, but often I just sort of zone out and work and let music reach me subconsciously.

I'm not a podcast guy currently. I've tried to get into them, but I don't often find myself in situations that benefit podcasts.

The only don't I have is don't stop. I don't mean go 24/7, I mean don't put down your craft. Drop it and you lose it. I know this first hand - I've lost some of my touch with HTML/CSS because I hadn't been doing it consistently for a while and new stuff comes along and you fall behind. It's a lot harder to pick it up again than to never let it go.

Not much a fiction reader. I’m 95% non-fiction.

Next question is why… Mostly because I find reality so fascinating. The world is full of amazing stories about amazing people and things and ideas and inventions and cultures and natural wonders and you name it - I want to know about these things, I want to learn about these things, I want to be able to visit these things for real.

I know this sounds anathema to a lot of people, but when I read fiction I feel like I’m wasting time. I know, it’s weird. But I just feel like I’d rather spend my time digging into a wonderful story or biography or research or experience that is real, not fictionalized or imagined. My imagination is more stimulated by saying “wow, I didn’t know that!” rather than “wow, imagine that”.

I do read great fiction from time to time - and there’s so much wonderful fiction writing out there, obviously - but, personally, non-fiction just speaks to me at a whole different level.

As far as favorite authors go... I don't have a favorite author, I have favorite subjects.

Not personally, no. Mine are usually junk which might explain my lack of interest in the idea.

Thanks James!

Another edition of Getting Real would be great fun, but honestly we don’t have a whole lot more to say about the topic than what we said in Getting Real. That’s still what we believe and try to practice as often as possible.

We might write another book down the road, but we’re not on a book writing schedule. When we find we have something new to say about something new, and we have enough new stuff to say about it, we’ll likely put it in book form. Right now nothing specific comes to mind where we could fill 200 pages.

Process questions are always fun!

It’s pretty simple really…

The idea will start as a crude sketch. Very crude, often. Just a few lines, boxes, squiggles, nothing more. I’ll post it to Basecamp along with the backstory, how I see it working, additional sketches if there are additional flows, etc. Then we’ll discuss it - sometimes in Basecamp, sometimes in person, sometimes via Skype or Hangouts or whatever.

Then we’ll go to HTML/CSS/JS (or native if it’s iOS or Android) and get real with it. Then we’ll share some screenshots or start using it and evolve it from there. Sometimes new sketches come out of it, sometimes we just work in HTML/CSS/JS/Native at that point, it all depends. The goal is always to use the thing as fast as possible so know if it works, what needs tweaking, etc.

Programmers are involved early as well to debate the viability of the idea. They may suggest modifications like "Yes, we can do that, but if we tweaked it a little bit here we could get it done 3x faster" etc. Or maybe they'll have an idea the designers didn't think about and we'll incorporate that.

It’s a very fluid process. I’ll share more about how we do it when I start talking more about the all new Basecamp.

I found that it's easy to have a bias against things that are foreign to you, but that the opportunity to get familiar with the unknown is always valuable. I still feel like we're a little behind on iOS because we didn't get comfortable with the platform early enough. Catching up fast - we have a great team in place today - but we're definitely playing some catch up here.