Repost from Matt Mullenweg:

1.  Understand what people need.
2. Address the whole experience, from start to finish.
3. Make it simple and intuitive.
4. Build the service using agile and iterative practices.
5. Structure budgets and contracts to support delivery.
6. Assign one leader and hold that person accountable.
7. Bring in experienced teams.
8. Choose a modern technology stack.
9. Deploy in a flexible hosting environment.
10. Automate testing and deployments.
11. Manage security and privacy through reusable processes.
12. Use data to drive decisions.
13. Default to open.

That sounds like a list anyone creating something online should follow. Would you guess it’s actually from the US government Digital Services Playbook?

i subscribe to the Brain Pickings weekly newsletter. this week:

David Ogilvy's Timeless Principles of Creative Management

"If you ever find a man who is better than you are – hire him. If necessary, pay him more than you pay yourself."

Advertising legend David Ogilvy endures not only as the original Mad Man, but also as one of modern history's most celebrated creative leaders in the communication arts. From The Unpublished David Ogilvy (public library) – the same compendium of his lectures, memos, and lists that also gave us Ogilvy's 10 no-bullshit tips on writing, his endearing memo of praise to a veteran copywriter, and his list of the 10 qualities of creative leaders – comes a chapter titled "Principles of Management," based on a 1968 paper Ogilvy wrote as a guide for Ogilvy & Mather managers worldwide.

In a section on morale, he admonishes that some companies "have been destroyed by internal politics" and offers seven ways to curtail them:

1. Always be fair and honest in your own dealings; unfairness and dishonesty at the top can demoralize [a company].
2. Never hire relatives or friends.
3. Sack incurable politicians.
4. Crusade against paper warfare*. Encourage your people to air their disagreements face-to-face.
5. Discourage secrecy.
6. Discourage poaching.
7. Compose sibling rivalries.

* Though Ogilvy was writing decades before email, the same applies with equal urgency to today's electronic warfare.

Echoing Dickens, who advised his son to "never be hard upon people who are in your power," and presaging the modern science of autonomy, mastery, and purpose as the key to motivation at work, Ogilvy adds:

The best way to "install a generator" in a man is to give him the greatest possible responsibility. Treat your subordinates as grown-ups – and they will grow up. Help them when they are in difficulty. Be affectionate and human, not cold and impersonal.

Italo Calvino cautioned in his collected insights on writing that "one cannot say a priori that a writer just because he is a writer is more capable of handling ideas and of seeing what is essential than a journalist." Similarly, Ogilvy notes the democratic nature of ideas and urges managers not to subscribe to siloed stereotypes:

Senior men and women have no monopoly on great ideas. Nor do Creative people. Some of the best ideas come from account executives, researchers, and others. Encourage this; you need all the ideas you can get.

Reflecting on mastering the pace of productivity, he argues:

I believe in the Scottish proverb: Hard work never killed a man. Men die of boredom, psychological conflict and disease. They do not die of hard work. The harder your people work, the happier and healthier they will be.

Writing shortly after Arthur Koestler's famous treatise on the relationship between humor and creativity, Ogilvy affirms the importance of that link in cultivating a creative environment:

Kill grimness with laughter. Maintain an atmosphere of informality. Encourage exuberance. Get rid of sad dogs who spread gloom.

In a section on respect, he calls for creative integrity:

Our offices must always be headed by the kind of people who command respect. No phonies, zeros or bastards.

In a section on hiring, he offers the two essential criteria for recruiting talent:

The paramount problem you face is this: advertising is one of the most difficult functions in industry, and too few brilliant people want careers in advertising.

The challenge is to recruit people who are able to do the difficult work our clients require from us.

1. Make a conscious effort to avoid recruiting dull, pedestrian hacks.
2. Create an atmosphere of ferment, innovation and freedom. This will attract brilliant recruits.

If you ever find a man who is better than you are – hire him. If necessary, pay him more than you pay yourself.

He adds a note on equality in hiring (though, on the cusp of the second wave of feminism and shortly after the Equal Pay Act, he makes no mention of equal opportunity for women):

In recruitment and promotion we are fanatical in our hatred for all forms of prejudice. We have no prejudice for or against Roman Catholics, Protestants, Negroes, Aristocracy, Jews, Agnostics or foreigners.

In a section on partnership within the company, he offers four points of advice:

It is as difficult to sustain happy partnerships as to sustain happy marriages. The challenge can be met if those concerned practice these restraints:

1. Have clear-cut division of responsibility.
2. Don't poach on the other fellow's preserves.
3. Live and let live; nobody is perfect.
4. "Why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considers not the beam that is in thine own eye?"

In a section on comers, exploring the management of talent, he reiterates some his 10 criteria for creative leaders and advises:

The management of manpower resources is one of the most important duties of our office heads. It is particularly important for them to spot people of unusual promise early in their careers, and to move them up the ladder as fast as they can handle increased responsibility.

There are five characteristics which suggest to me that a person has the potential for rapid promotion:

1. He is ambitious.
2. He works harder than his peers – and enjoys it.
3. He has a brilliant brain – inventive and unorthodox.
4. He has an engaging personality.
5. He demonstrates respect for the creative function.

If you fail to recognize, promote and reward young people of exceptional promise, they will leave you; the loss of an exceptional man can be as damaging as the loss of an account.

The rest of his principles go on to explore such intricacies as the perils of leadership, the art of cat-herding creative people, and how to know when to resign a client. It's worth reiterating just how excellent and timeless The Unpublished David Ogilvy is in its entirety.

part of me knows that it will get redundant to talk about this, but this is where i write, so i'm going to write. one of the directors from my company called to check in on me today. in the hustle and bustle of business, i couldn't even fully express my gratitude that one of my bosses would offer to bring me groceries or to give me a ride to the doctor's office. even though he knows i most likely have friends and family taking care of me, he assured me that all of the executives were willing to help me if i needed it.

call me cliche, but i can't stop smiling these days. someone asked me why i was smiling when i had such tragedies happen recently, and i just couldn't even find the words to explain the gratitude that i feel for being alive, for the people around me, for the love i feel.  even the people i work with, especially people like directors who don't even work directly on my project, even they have shown me how people make all the difference.

the director ended the call with a pause, and he said, "i am so happy you are on our team, Rose. you are such a joyful person, and it makes everyone's day brighter to hear your laughter even when we are just in a weekly status meeting."

and that, that is the sort of thing that makes me happy to be alive.

Every day I face the sound of the dilemma around my life's purpose, and I hear it beat louder as time passes.

I sit at my desk surrounded by corporate, legal, and technical documents. I read all the art, photography, and travel blogs from my RSS feed. I sift through all the "how to succeed" and "how to start a business" articles on LinkedIn. I read blogs on design concepts and music. I write restaurant reviews. I take notes on different forms of exercise and how to eat healthy. My Facebook feed is literally a running news source of what is happening in my local dance community. I bookmark poetry websites.

Which leads me to what they call the #1 biggest career mistake that "capable" people make.  In The Pursuit of Less, Greg explores the concept of the "highest point of contribution." I frequently explore the theme of being a "jack of all trades." I have written in my journal about various ideas I have to incorporate all of my passions. How do I find the intersection?

I can take two different looks at different parts of my life:
1) Career
2) Dance

1) Career- I definitely tripped over the "biggest mistake." I started off with a HUGE pool of opportunities, and I got ping ponged back and forth between projects in different industries. Instead of standing firm in my vision for what I wanted to, I allowed myself to be pigeonholed into an industry that is stable but one that I have very little passion for. Am I bad at what I do? No.  Would I work harder if I did work that I was passionate about? Absolutely, 100%.

2) Dance- This is where I let my passion dictate my path. I dabbled in everything, from hip hop to salsa to ballet to modern to country western dancing. My fascination with Argentine tango was immediate, and I stuck with it. It was incredibly difficult and different from anything I had ever done. Five years later, it is still the only dance that I can participate in every night without feeling restless.

From the article: "If success is a catalyst for failure because it leads to the 'undisciplined pursuit of more,' then one simple antidote is the disciplined pursuit of less. Not just haphazardly saying no, but purposefully, deliberately, and strategically eliminating the nonessentials. Not just once a year as part of a planning meeting, but constantly reducing, focusing and simplifying. Not just getting rid of the obvious time wasters, but being willing to cut out really terrific opportunities as well. Few appear to have the courage to live this principle, which may be why it differentiates successful people and organizations from the very successful ones."

A note from a different article:

"Your schedule makes you dumber. Force yourself outside of your daily schedule. Be curious and take time to learn about worlds outside of the one you live in. Watch the news, read the paper, educate yourself. Don’t be afraid to call people you don’t know, start a conversation, and ask for things you need. At the very least, you’ll be more interesting. At the most, you’ll take your business in new and bigger directions."

The best thing about not knowing what I will actually do  is that I spend every day immersed in relationships. I spend every day learning and dreaming about other worlds so that I can incorporate parts of them into my own. I have learned that it's true- it's the people you know. The relationships you make will give you more paths to what you want to do, and even help discover what that is. I ask questions, I offer my time and skills for free, I listen, I show up. I practice showing up. I practice being present with whoever I am talking to. I practice being present to hearing what it is that excites others.

Perhaps my way is unconventional, or! too conventional. but from all of these avenues I try to soak in the lessons that will be applicable when I finally find my "highest point of contribution."

People make fun of me because I don't carry Louis Vuitton or Coach or any designer leather handbags to work. I carry handmade canvas bags to work. Most of the time, people in the corporate world assess how I dress and the accessories I carry and assume that I'm an art-loving bohemian hippie, and I think I am okay with that assessment. I'm also okay with blowing their expectations out of the water when I open my mouth to speak about technology and business and streamlining work processes.

The handmade bags that I carry are made by Moop, which is a small business run by a lovely woman named Wendy. She started making these incredibly sturdy and useful bags, and I fell in love. I own more Moop bags than I care to admit. The only ones I've had to replace are the ones I have lost. I tell all my friends about Moop.

Today, Wendy wrote a post about her "breakup" with AdWords. It describes everything I feel about doing business and living life. And how the whirlwind pace of online technology can affect all of that, if you're not careful. 

I did not start Moop to master the art of SEO.  Someone else can take that on as their life's passion.  For me, I'll take everything listed prior to that.  The truth is, somewhere along the line, I lost sight of the most important things that make me love the business I have built.  At the very core, I am interested in relationships.  I value more than anything the relationships I have with everyone around me.

Thanks, Wendy, for reminding us of what matters.

I used to be very confused about my objective for blogging. Did I want to increase my pageviews? Did I want to encourage people to comment? Did I want to ask people to link to my blog?

In the end, I realized that what I cared about for this space here was freedom. Freedom to be myself, freedom to be thoughtful, freedom to take notes on the things I find important in life. I didn't want to erect any boundaries around the writing I did in this particular forum. Later down the line, I found avenues for other trains of thought. The mediums to express yourself now seem endless, and I think it is worth it to look back and start revisiting how each medium helps you realize your goals and dreams. I think it's okay to reinvent yourself. I think it's okay to express different sides of your personality in the places you've set aside for that expression. And, like Wendy, I think most of all, I am interested in keeping sight of the most important things that make me love doing the things I have created. I am interested in the relationships that are borne from that love.

To this day, I don't talk much about my writing here. I don't advertise it, because that's not the point for this particular blog. The reason why I feel like I can exercise my freedom here daily is because this is my sanctuary. Once I went back to find that sentiment that I had lost along the way (when I started counting pageviews or simultaneously hoping and fearing an increase of readership), I felt free.  

My friend Kristan asked for the link to the Personal Diversity Indicator test that I mentioned in this post.

Equilibria provides a quick way to find your results.

If you're interested in reading about all 12 e-Color descriptors (including the ones that I need to work most at working with, Reds), you can find that information here.

PS- Oh, and if you feel so inclined, I would love to hear about your results in the comments or via email.

fascinating.

for work, I took a "Personality Diversity Indicator" test.

Below are my results.

Yellow/Blue - The Relating Socialiser

I am a person who enjoys and thrives on having people around me. My focus, though, will be on the others, not me. I have a naturally warm disposition and people are generally comfortable opening up to me. I have a natural desire to help others, even doing volunteer work for organizations that allow me to aid others. I love parties.
I am creative and in some cases, musically oriented. I am adept at starting and sustaining harmonious relationships. I am tolerant, understanding, supportive and a natural listener. I love life and I love people.
I have an inherent desire to help people and I have to be aware that this in-built need could get me hurt or even killed. I find it virtually impossible to stop myself from jumping in to help someone else.
My tendencies include:

• I project a warm and caring attitude and prefer the same from others
• I enjoy displays of affection and approval
• I dislike aggression and conflict
• I get turned off by complexity and confusion
• I have a tendency to be more expressive or emotional under pressure
• I am a challenge for RED / GREENS - GREEN / REDS, as my focus is generally on people, not tasks and objectives

My Potential Limiters:
With tasks: Because I am so people-oriented, my improvement opportunities are mostly associated with tasks. I especially need to work to strengthen my problem-solving and decision-making skills. These skills can help me deal better with complex and unwieldy tasks.
With people: I need to monitor the balance between pleasing myself and pleasing others. I tend to expend so much energy on others that I sometimes neglect my own needs.

• I need to be more fast-paced when dealing with REDS, especially when there are time pressure deadlines
• I should start to think about what personally satisfies me, independent of the pleasure I get from helping other