J. Timothy King’s Blog

What Should I Read Next?

When Pam Slim posted a link to a summer reading list of small business books then said, “I will not buy one more book until I make it through the stack on the edge of my bathtub,” that rang true for me. Happiness is a cup of Earl Grey, a book, and a bath.

As you know, I’m currently reading . Despite all the interruptions I’ve had while reading this book, I’m almost done. But I honestly don’t know what book to read next. Maybe someone else can help me out. Here’s the stack of books on the edge of my bathtub. Two stacks, actually. One for fiction and the other for non-fiction.

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Must-Read Blog: Matt Inglot

Thoughts, Stories, Insights… of an entrepreneur on the web.

Matt Inglot is a website solutions provider, student, entrepreneur, and programmer. And he reads several great blogs that are also on my own must-read list:

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Does Google Think It’s Bigger Than the Market?

John Carlton wrote recently about Google’s latest change in AdWords. This change has upset a lot of people, because now suddenly their AdWords ads don’t make money. It’s also pleased a lot of people, because they believe the change will thin their competitors. Regardless, no one should be relying completely on AdWords (or on any single service) for your business, and if you are, you deserve to be put out of business. Because we have to expect Google will upset its customers in perverse ways. It’s only a matter of time. And maybe the time is now.

We saw it with IBM, a once innovative company. Yes, IBM was actually once innovative. This was before my time, but I can read it in the history books. Peter Drucker even uses them as a shining example in his classic Innovation and Entrepreneurship (which you can buy individually or as part of The Executive in Action):

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Why I Hate Microsoft

Back in the Windows 95 days, I was a huge Microsoft proponent. When Netscape sicked the U.S. DoJ on them, I was on their side. What happened since then?

I’m a Linux user. That is to say, all of my home computers run Linux. The one at work doesn’t, but that’s a long story, which only serves to convince me that I want no Windows box at home. To say that I “hate” Microsoft may be a little hyperbole. But sometimes it does describe the way I feel. But not because Bill Gates is rich, as Bill Hilf is quoted as implying. On the contrary, the story of Bill Gates and MS-DOS and IBM is one of the most inspiring tales I’ve ever encountered. I dream of being a Bill Gates.

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Top Ten Reasons to Remain a Wage Slave

Steve Pavlina’s recent posts 10 Myths About Self-Employment and 10 Reasons You Should Never Get a Job inspired me to create my own top-ten list.

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Five Things Software Teams Can Learn From Build-A-Bear Workshop About Customer Relations

I never would have bought this book for myself. I won it in a drawing at InBubbleWrap.com. I’m not sure what made me enter the drawing. Maybe it was, Eh, it sounds moderately interesting, and it’s free. Or maybe it’s that I have a soft, cuddly spot in my heart for Build-a-Bear Workshop. And as I read through, I recognized lessons I had learned in developing software, especially from Agile development.

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How DeMarco, Lister, and Cockburn Helped Me Find a Better Job (Part 2)

How DeMarco, Lister, and Cockburn Helped Me Find a Better Job (Part 2)

(Part 1 was posted yesterday.)

After four months of teamicide, Peopleware-style, I was ready to die. And when HR or my manager asked me, I told them the truth.

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How DeMarco, Lister, and Cockburn Helped Me Find a Better Job (Part 1)

Two years ago, I was enthusiastic, energized, and about to plunge into depression. I was enthusiastic and energized because I had started a new job two months before, and I was in a position where I could make choices, and I knew I could make the right choices. I was stretching myself beyond what I had done before, and I wanted to prove myself. Within two more months, that would change.

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Dreaming the Dream Supreme

Matt Inglot wrote recently about Developing a Detailed Vision and Having it Become Reality.

The forces of the universe must be aligning for me. Because this sounds awful similar to what Maxine Clark, the founder of Build-A-Bear Workshop, talked about in her book The Bear Necessities of Business: Building a Company with Heart:

I challenge you to think about what your ideal business would look like if there were no obstacles—financial or otherwise—in your way. That’s what I did in the planning stages for Build-A-Bear Workshop… I imagined, down to the smallest detail, everything I would need to build a successful brand and company.

It was a grand vision indeed, and although I wasn’t able to do all the things I dreamed about immediately, I knew the possibilities that were out there. My vision and the resulting business plan provided me with the ultimate blueprint of goals to work toward as the company (and our profits) grew.

In other words, a dream is not a pie-in-the-sky feeling. It’s something you can see and hear and touch and smell and taste. It’s clear, and it’s possible. But these possibilities are not limited by outside forces. A dream is a manifestation of your faith, something you believe in; otherwise, you won’t put your best into it. And it’s something only you can make happen.

-TimK

Must-Read Blog: UIE Brain Sparks

Designing a good user interface seems to be part intuition, part magic, and part focus group. How do you even know if you’ve got your user interface right?

These were some of the issues I was struggling with, on a project some 8 months ago, when I discovered User Interface Engineering. Unlike most think tanks, UIE publishes papers that are enjoyable to read and useful. If you attend local user-group meetings, you may have seen Jared Spool, Christine Perfetti, or Joshua Porter give an engaging talk on Web 2.0 or some other topic. (I recently saw one of Josh’s talks. I have to admit, however, that I went out of my way to attend, having recognized his name on the announcement.)

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