1- Synergy
2- To build on that
3- Mission Critical
4- Put all the cards on the table (Open the Kimono)
5- Take this to the next level

I know this is only the “tip of the iceberg” (had to throw that in there), but I want to know which of these you’re tired of hearing. Please post in the comments below.

Steve Johnson of Pragamatic Marketing‘s presentation (see below) at Business of Software offers direct insight into a developer’s work struggles. His points border on the edge of pessimism, but I can attest many of them are very real. If you’re on the business (especially sales) side of a company you may want to initially resist his points and humorous digs directed at non-tech roles and actions. However, Steve hit on several points that are worth highlighting.

• There is a perceived and sometimes real divide between your technology group and the the rest of the company. Specifically, between those selling, supporting and building the product.
• Communication reigns supreme. Many of Steve’s issues could be resolved with better communication (i.e. – give the dev team access to all parties involved).
• Even if you don’t assign a project manager/leader… someone is still doing it.
• Software/product development cycles don’t have to be adversarial, but it does require time.
• Salespeople need to consult the dev team BEFORE making promises to clients.
• Developers understand quantitative data. Show them the numbers or dollars for feature requests not one solitary prospect’s wish list.

I realize an hour is a long time to watch a video online, but if you work or plan on working with developers it’s worth some review. Steve also has some helpful files on product frameworks and gap analysis.

Personally, I have never operated, worked at or even wanted to open a restaurant, but I have had businesses fail (yes more than one) and it’s tough. It’s tough on your pride, your wallet and your confidence. I recognize a business closing isn’t life or death, but I do think we as customers forget how much it takes to provide a great meal, service or product, so support the ones you truly like.

For those of you who prefer to read, click below to see the primary points in text.

Here’s the top three things I think we could all do to support our favorite restaurants.

1. Tell them they’re your favorite – I know running a business is tough and from what I hear running a restaurant takes an extreme amount of hours, so let them know their hard work is paying off.
2. Put your money where your mouth is – Its quite cachet to say this is my favorite restaurant, but the reality is sometimes we talk more about having a favorite spot than actually patronizing the business with our pocketbook.
3. Bring, not tell a friend – Sure, it’s great to spread the good word about a business, but its even better to help reinforce #2 by introducing your network to the business.

After watching this video, check out a few other interviews with some great people I met at Blog World.

Stephanie Agresta and Sam Harrelson on Performance (affiliate) Marketing
Chris Brogan on The Importance of New Media

Revver Video Permalink

In this interview we discuss his previous jobs, how Mint.com can help millions and how Tim Ferriss‘ book, Four Hour Workweek is having a huge influence on the cubicle worker, Noah and myself. If you want to make a difference, Noah tells you what impact you can make at a big or small company.

After seeing the successes of AM, I took some personally time-consuming and worklife-altering steps to create a web show. I bought a Mac, a camcorder and found a host to start shooting what we called Moxy TV. The learning curve was just insane! The Mac wasn’t and still at times is not intuitive, but I flew to LA and shot my first show with my AM guys’ help (good idea). I waited until I got back to Kentucky to start editing (bad idea) and after 15 hours of trial and error, I edited the first show. The result… not very good. I quickly learned audio was very important, which meant buying more equipment. I scoured many forums for how to shoot, edit and publish video. Since everything was new, there was no quick tutorial that solved all my issues. I learned by trial and error and many, many hours.

Four months later, Rob and I decided there were opportunities with a daily web show and after considering many options, we decided Daily Idea was our best concept (think lifehacker meets video with more fun). We knew the quality level had to be raised and while I enjoyed working on the videos, it wasn’t the best role for me to play. We set out to find a director that could execute our vision with creativity and efficiency. Finding videographers was easy, but finding a director you want to work closely with who can share in our vision and still be creative was seemingly impossible. Most startups need some luck and this time it bounced our way by finding Jay. After we found Jay, we snatched up two great writers (Chad and Jason). We auditioned several people and Jay picked Nikki Key to be our host and that’s been a great fit as well.

Fast forward to today, we’re in week four of being “public” and we’ve quickly passed the four figure mark of viewers. We’re happy with the growth of viewers and this week we have our first episode featuring a fast-rising name in the valley.

Here’s a few things you can do to get involved.

1. Watch the show below about how to ace a job interview
2. Leave a comment below on what you think
3. Grab our iTunes feed
4. Add us as a friend on MySpace
5. Join our Facebook group
6. Suggest an idea for the show