The best teams I’ve ever worked on have had a peculiar vibe of “mutual awe”. When I saw what my colleagues could pull off, I was dazzled. When I pulled off something cool, THEY were dazzled.

At the same time, I think it’s tremendously valuable to be a hobbyist in the areas where your partners are experts. I’ll never be a programmer, but I’ll always dabble– it helps me know what CAN be done. I’ll never be a salesguy (though I’ve been one), but I read books on how to sell. I’ll never be a writer, but I like to read about the art/science of writing good copy.

One of the blog entries that has stuck with me for a while is Guy Kawasaki’s post on workplace assholes (it even comes with a handy self-exam! (Are YOU one? Uh-oh. Am *I* one?!).

The main reason that the post/test stuck with me was one of the characteristics of workplace assholedom is this belief:

“I could do your job better than you’re doing.”

I’ve already sung the praises of small teams, but I’ll add this to the heap. The smaller the team, the greater to potential for mutual respect and/or awe. The larger the team, the greater the likelihood that SOMEONE on the team is thinking (or even saying) that they could make better design/coding/sales/biz decisions than the person who is currently making them.

Ironically, the larger the team, the greater the likelihood that they might be right.

http://bokardo.com/archives/design-is-not-art-redux/

Great blog entry about design by one of my favorite bloggers.

With much pageantry and fanfare, the 2012 Olympics logo has been unleashed upon the world, and it appears to be a disaster. It reminds of another logo debacle back in my home town.

My favorite bit of coverage on the logo is (predictably) from Seth Godin, who talks about the accompanying quote on the press release:

“This is the vision at the very heart of our brand,” said London 2012 organising committee chairman Seb Coe.

“It will define the venues we build and the Games we hold and act as a reminder of our promise to use the Olympic spirit to inspire everyone and reach out to young people around the world.

“It is an invitation to take part and be involved.”

What the HELL does that even mean?

It reminds me of the book I’m reading (and continue to be bowled over by)… “Made to Stick” by the brothers Heath. One of the stickiest passages in the book is when they talk about John F. Kennedy saying “”I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the Earth.” The Heaths suggested that nowadays a statement like that would’ve gotten thoroughly mangled by corporate wordsmiths to read more like “The United States will leverage our aeronautical expertise and our commitment to scientific excellence to achieve what we feel is a laudable goal for this decade. Our actions need to reflect the promise of our established national brand. The support this brand, we invite the world to watch us and be inspired as we begin the 10-year process of getting to the moon.”

When you start throwing around big money for branding and having your corporate spin doctors pile on the double-speak, it can feel pretty damn manipulative. And now that anyone can voice their opinion on these wonderful intertubes of ours, the people who feel manipulated can let you know how they feel. Well, as London 2012 organising committee chairman Seb Coe says, “It is an invitation to take part and be involved.”