I've had a lot of conversations about blogging in the last 6 months, in particular with thought-leaders in the space like Jason Davis, Penelope Trunk, and other people who are much smarter than I regarding this topic.
Everyone told me that the key to blogging and getting read is to write often. I knew right away that wouldn't happen, particularly given the fact that I have 2 young children, a demanding job, a long commute, a personal life that involves a lot of reading and some motorcycling when I can swing it, but I convinced myself that I could at least do 2 posts a week. When I looked around, I saw a lot of bloggers writing much more than that, but many of the posts were not that substantial. Because of that, I swore I wouldn't ever write a "Jason's Top Ten" post or something trite along those lines. I'm not really that concerned with SEO or extending my reach in every way possible. Mostly I write just for for me.
So now it's been a week or two since my last post, so I'm breaking my own rule, but part of the reason is that I've been commuting from Seattle to Mountain View, CA every week for the last couple of weeks until I relocate permanently down to sunny California.
In no particular order, here is my list of 'top things' from the last 2 weeks, in no particular order. Lame, I know.
- Always rent a car using a Visa Credit Card. By doing so, you gives you car insurance up to the replacement value of the car. Thelma and Louise come to mind. This link gives you the skinny. I know this because recently I've been renting cars like there's no tomorrow and inadvertantly provided Hertz with some free customization to one of their Gold-colored Pontiac Grand Prix's (there is nothing Grand about this make and model of automobile incidentally). I swiftly and cleanly removed the driver's side mirror from the vehicle while trying to navigate the parking garage in building #43 at Google on Day #2.
- The food at Google is ridiculous. Because it's so good. Here's the deal with this benefit that unless you've worked here you might not understand: Yes, the food is gourmet. Yes, it's fantastic and there are 12 different cafes on campus serving everything under the sun (I'm enjoying the fresh sushi a lot, and they were also serving Kangaroo one day but I didn't go for that). But the really great benefit is it allows me eat healthy without having to be organized. Yes, I can eat like a King and turn myself into a much larger Jason, but I can also easily grab healthy snacks whenever I want and it makes it easy to eat right. This morning for breakfast I had fresh steel cut oats, an organic banana, some fresh grapes, and these really great healthy protein bars. At Starbucks, I was never organized enough to pack a fresh lunch, and as a result, always ended up eating at the cafe on the 3rd floor (usually at Taco Del Mar - ugh). Best of all, at Google it's free. People of course will draw their own conclusions that it is a 'secret' tactic to make us all work long hours and never leave work. I call it a brilliant value proposition for today's busy lifestyle, and one that lets one live in congruence with one's values (everyone values being healthy, right?). Very cool.
- Relocation is a very busy process, and not much fun at all. I would say it's right up there with college admissions preparation and mortgage loan processing. Those of you who know me understand that 'attention to detail' and 'planning and organizing' these sorts of things are not my strong suit. I am renting lots of cars, so Hertz loves me though. Or did love me, until I wrecked their Grand Prix.
- Spending a significant amount of time at one company really shapes you as a person. It is remarkable how my 5+ years at Starbucks has shaped my perspective on leadership, talent, business culture, and values. This is a very positive thing. I've been reflecting on this topic a lot recently. There's an interesting dichotomy though: while you are at a company, it really serves to define a lot of your approach to getting the work done. Once you leave however, you realize that most of the paradigms, guidelines, and rules were really self imposed. This is worth thinking about in regards to one's own personal and professional development.
- Bicycling is probably a good thing to start doing at my age. A good friend of mine is formerly in the bike business and is friends with the Cannondale rep, and was able to score me a smoking deal on the Ferrari (or Corvette since Cannondale is made in the USA) of road bicycles, the SystemSix. I used to ride road bicycles in my teens and early twenties, and have been pretty big into mountain biking for about the last 10-12 years, so it's cool to think about getting back into riding on the road. I'm really looking forward to getting on this new bike - the technology is amazing these days - think titanium and aluminum and carbon fiber and complex frame geometry and you'll get the idea. I cannot believe the craftmanship that went into this bicycle. It's a work of art, and weighs next to nothing. I have to admit I am a sucker for buying more gear than I need. I just love well-made stuff.
- Exercise is critical for success on the job. I really fell off the workout bandwagon the last 6 months, gained about 8 lbs, but recently have started back in the gym in the mornings. There are lots of things that can get in the way of regular exercise, but I believe exercise is a force-multiplier when it comes to professional achievement. Any time you spend exercising is repaid with interest when it comes to focus, quality of work, and getting stuff done. You cant' afford not to exercise. It's part of being successful in life.
- Simplicity forces value creation. This is a doosie, but I am becoming more and more convinced that the key to successful companies, recruiting organizations, and other people-filled dynamic entities is their approach to simplicity. As humans, we overcomplicate things which really erodes our chances of success in our efforts to truly create something of value. As a leader, I think one of the keys to being succesful is to break things down into simple components, and then evaluate those efforts by asking, "what economic value is this creating?" This separates the activity from productivity. When I'm not being lame I will probably write a post on this topic to further my thinking.
Google is a great company, and I really think I'm going to like it here in Northern California.
You shouldn't tell people you got a good deal on a bike from a rep. It hurts the company and the rep and pisses off the bikeshops big time. have fun on your 6.
Posted by: bike rider | January 30, 2007 at 08:32 AM
I recently toured the Best Buy worldwide headquarters in the Richfield, Minnesota, which is a suburb of Minneapolis. They also have a wide variety of food choices available and the person who showed me around told me that many of them were healthy and delicious. I saw lots of people snacking on fruit, but also lots of people with french fries and pop. It is nice to see that Google isn't forcing healthy eating on its employees but is making it easy and enjoyable for its employees to eat well. There are many benefits to Google, but it seems to me that it is simply smart business to have healthy employees as they're going to be more productive.
Posted by: Steven Rothberg, CollegeRecruiter.com | January 31, 2007 at 07:15 AM
Steve:
You hit the food thing right on the head with Google. I can eat gourmet UNHEALTHY food until the cows come home (strange metaphor to use when we are talking about food I suppose) if I wanted. Google actually offers a wide diversity of food choices, many ethnic options, Vegan options, and everything in between. I could write a whole post on this topic which would be way off the map for this blog. I'm a bit of a health nut, and consider this: the human body works better and most efficiently when consuming calories over the course of a day through 6-8 smaller meals than with 2-3 big meals (which is the typical norm). When one only eats 2-3 big meals, one's metabolism slows way down, which must have an impact on productivity (think 10 am bonk at the office or 2 pm sleepy "I wish I could take a nap" effects). Now this is a little out there, but I bet Google people are more productive than an average sample of non-Google people because they are simply consuming calories more effectively during the course of their days, because food is free and readily available. I'm not sure what the economic value of a boost of even 1% productivity might be, but it's a lot.
Bike Rider: I actually got an email routed to me from the Marketing Director of Cannondale who was thankful for my post. But to be really transparent, I didn't approach the Cannondale rep trying to get a deal, he had a demo SystemSix that he was looking to sell, and my friend put me in touch with him, because it happened to be my size. :-)
Posted by: Jason Warner | January 31, 2007 at 07:57 AM
Life transitions create a flux. Taking time to reflect and re-crystalize can anchor observations and learnings. The one observation I find most curious is defining 5 years as a significant amount of time. Its all a matter of perspective I guess. Regardless of time horizons, the bike sounds sweet! Crank it.
Posted by: Joseph P. Murphy | February 05, 2007 at 07:06 PM
Nice post Google-Man (wow, so strange not to call you Coffee-Man).
Glad to hear you are eating your steel cut and exercising - that's what allows you to eat the good stuff (translated as the "bad stuff") whenever you want!
Hey, so what gives here...I get an email from a recruiter at Google about a job? Then, find out that it's not even a recruiting job! C'mon dude - where's the love for the recruiting jobs? :)
Dennis
Posted by: Dennis Smith | February 22, 2007 at 02:51 PM
Hi Jason
Welcome to Google Recruiting! Yes....watch out for the Google 15...thank God for the 2 gyms to balance it all out.
Cheers
Christie
Posted by: Christie | February 23, 2007 at 10:32 AM