I probably haven’t ever noted this, but these Random Observations are a running project for me. In ways, they prove a respite of sorts from my otherwise lengthy posts. As I observe some kind of a rule or occurrence, I make note of it as succinctly as I can. (Some I admit, are contradictory—as is much in life, it seems.) Here are the latest:

I’ve never claimed to be a good boss; nor, have I ever said that I’m good at hiring. Doing so is one of the hardest things that I’ve had to, and I struggle to find a set of consistent rules that work. We’ve hired people who worked well here, and others who haven’t. Still this topic has been floating in my mind for a few months.

Sorry for the lack of posts as of late. As we work to complete Speak Human, I find myself wrestling with footnotes, nitpicking over commas, and obsessing over every last detail. As a result, I’ve been a bad blogger. (Still, I think this is preferable to a bad bladder.) In the meanwhile, here are some random observations:

It’s hot at smashLAB today, probably much like at your studio. We’ve finally pushed Speak Human through its first set of hard edits and it’s getting closer to release, even though it has been delayed somewhat. Additionally, we’re working on a few new projects that will launch this fall. In the meanwhile, here are a few more random observations.

Last week’s post resulted in a number of lovely emails and positive feedback. Thank you for all of your kind words! Writing these articles is a lot of fun, but getting little notes from you makes it even more enjoyable! It’s a beautiful day here in Vancouver, and what better way to start it than with a few random observations?

Things remain interesting around smashLAB. (Interesting is code for “really great and also really fucking hard”.) Lots of new lessons for us, including some that have taught us a little humility, which I’ll talk about in a future post. That being said, here are a few more random observations.

Last night I tweeted that I had achieved and maintained “inbox zero” nirvana. I’m sure there are countless posts on the topic, but thought I’d briefly share how I made sense of the communication barrage that I was once drowning in.

Robert is the finest pastry chef in the city. He is so because he loves his craft. Every ingredient is of the highest quality, his kitchen is pristine, and he spends countless hours working to nurture staff that care as much he does. As a result, his bakery has become well renowned for mouthwatering delights.

The past few months have been full of wild ups and downs. My wife has been privy to me coming home and looking like I’m going to fall down from exhaustion, freak-out completely, or dance on the ceiling. (Oh, what a feeling!) I’ve made note of some points for myself, and thought I’d share them with you (you can also read #1, #2, and #3). Here goes…

It’s a September Friday and it looks as though the sun may make an appearance. I’m in one of those “places” where everything seems to be moving along pretty nicely. As such, I thought I’d share another set of random observations (there are others here and here).