The Soul Sorority

Words of wisdom from Craigslist founder...

Craig Newmark. Newmark is the Internet entrepreneur who founded Craigslist, was recently interviewed for an article in The Boston Globe. Here are some snippets:

**ON SELLING THE COMPANY FOR A RIDICULOUS AMOUNT OF MONEY:

"Jim and I know some of these really rich guys," Newmark says. "They're not happier than anyone we know. So what's the point?"

**ON PUTTING ADS ON CRAIGSLIST TO MAKE A RIDICULOUS AMOUNT OF MONEY:

"There's nothing noble or altruistic or pious about what we're doing," Newmark says. "Once you make enough money and provide for your future, it's more satisfying to change the world a little bit."

The one thing to remember, here, is that Craigslist is expected to bring in $81 million this year. So...Newmark has already made a ridiculous amount of money. ;) But, to his credit, the genesis for Craigslist was, essentially, an emailed list of events in San Fran that Craig would send to his friends. That's the beauty of ideas, sometimes. They are so simple, but when they're right, and you see them through to their potential, ideas become dreams.

Slow down...

My dad told me something very wise a few years ago.

"Sharon," he said, in his broken English. "Good ideas never come when you're busy. They come when you have time to think, when your head is clear and they can find their way to the top."

He meant (I think) that when you stay busy, busy, busy, and you fill your mind with to-do lists and schedules, you're so exhausted by the end of the day that you have no time to grow or explore. You just...exist. Every day bleeds into the next, and suddenly, it's five years later and your to-do list is longer and your days are shorter and you've been running the same race for as long as you can remember, crossing the finish line and turning right around to run it all over again.

This comes from my dad, who doesn't believe in vacations. He believes in Work 24/7. He doesn't know how to relax or rest. I think that was his way of telling me to slow down. His way of telling me that I can't figure out what I need, what makes me thrive, if I am always running, running, running.

I'm trying, dad.

All work and no play...

First of all, Happy Father's Day to everyone :)

My dad immigrated to the United States from Israel when he was 21 years old, armed with nothing but a vision of the American Dream. He struggled -- a lot -- before starting a company that proved to be successful after years of perseverance.

His motto goes something like this: Work, work, work and more work. And then work.

He worked, and still works, 24/7. No rest for the weary. His DNA is partly to blame -- some people, no matter their age, size or education level, are prone to be workaholics -- and his generation also bears some of the responsibility. For Baby Boomers, "finding your dream job" is a load of crap. BS. Your dream job is the one that brings home the bacon, you know?

But for OUR generation, the generation of introspective, philosophical, speak-your-mind Generation X-Yers, not living your dream is preposterous. Nonsense! We will never be satisfied with working just to work. We want passion. We want fulfillment. We want bacon AND heart.

I don't know exactly where I'm going with this. I guess I wonder which generation is more on target...

Why work sucks.

Best Buy was the guinea pig for a corporate experiment, where employees were given free range to come and go as they please and work from wherever, so long as productivity goals were met...meaning, as long as job performance didn't suffer, employees could work from home or office, or take four-hour lunch breaks or start work at noon.

Read the article here.

The experiment is part of a new book, set to hit stores next week, titled: "Why Work Sucks and How to Fix It." Ahh, yes, gotta love that title. The Best Buy experiment was successful and found that productivity increased, and turnover decreased, due to this "results-oriented work environment," or ROWE.

I wish everyone would adopt this method. I have "X" goals every day, and besides meeting deadlines, could do most of these from home or on an adapted schedule. I know what times of day I'm most productive, and it's not always between the hours of 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. Plus, just knowing a company trusts me enough not to mother me with set hours would make me a better employee all around. I realize it's not the norm for every job, but with gas prices rising and the economy in turmoil, this method just makes sense. Or, cents. ;)