Continued from Part 1...

Matt
Trevor Turk 23 Jan 07 Mark: What’s your favorite part about hosting the GEL conference?
Mark
re Gel – tough to name just one favorite aspect, but
Seth
it’s the groupies!
Mark
one great thing is meeting & seeing the speakers – and i should note that both Seth and Jason gave fabulous talks last year at Gel ‘06 (thanks to both)
Mark
another is meeting the attendees – being an attendee myself, really – learning from everyone else in the room, whether on stage or not
Mark
...(to tie it into the previous thread) i’m there to create an environment, and hope that the experience that emerges is good
Matt
How do you decide who to invite to speak at GEL?
Mark
i try to find a good mix that will "gel" well together – i also like to see if a theme emerges – there’s a lot of research but a good bit of intuition and gut feel as well
Mark
though
Mark
one thing i learned from richard saul wurman years ago was one way he invited speakers to the TED conference – "invite your heroes." so often i go after people i admire (see prev. comment re seth & jason)
Matt
The TED conference always gets a really amazing roster.
Mark
TED and PopTech are titans – Gel is a very different kind of event (at least i think so)
Matt
Seth, what are zoomers and why are they important?
Seth
A zoomer is someone who changes without stress.
Seth
Human beings evolved to resist big changes. So, change triggers stress.
Seth
But we built a world that keeps changing faster and faster
Seth
SO, how to win?
Seth
Easy, teach yourself to view changes as little things, not big ones.
Seth
If you change faster than the competition, you will, by definition, be more ‘fit’ for
Seth
the new environment.
Seth
Sometimes it comes from the top, of course, but more often, it’s an individual’s choice.
Seth
and if you work with non-zoomers, get out!
Mark
all sounds good to me!
Seth
Good, but difficult.
Mark
indeed
Seth
It’s interesting to watch google
Seth
they desperately want to zoom
Seth
but as they get bigger, sooner or later they hire non-zoomers
Seth
hire enough, fail to prune, and the next thing you know…
Seth
you’re AOL.
Matt
so what’s the solution? don’t get bigger?
Seth
which is a fine solution, imho
Matt
prune ruthlessly?
Seth
also a fine solution
Seth
and the third choice is to do what msoft should have done
Seth
let the justice department split them up!
Matt
is not getting bigger a real option for Google though?
Seth
why not? what’s the point of going to work every day? to have more co workers?
Matt
Don’t shareholders expect growth?
Mark
i prefer small teams, but then that’s been my whole career
Seth
it’s a mythical man month problem.
Mark
growth of what… not employee count!
Seth
Shareholders expect growth, but always end up bitterly disappointed when the growth
Seth
fades.
Matt
Obvs we here at 37s agree small is great.
Matt
Just seems like a diff ballgame when you’re a public company.
Seth
Google could set the bar higher. Higher on what it takes to be hired, higher for what it takes to stay there, and higher for what it takes to be a viable project.
Seth
And yes, being public is a problem, but that’s not a good excuse. They’ve done a fantastic job of avoiding most public company problems… largely by completely ignoring the shareholders
Jason
Google could go private. I actually think we’ll see more companies making that move over the next 10 years.
Mark
i think another pertinent question is what people should do who are at non-Google companies
Mark
again re the Apple example – i think the Google example is instructive, but it’s a very special case
Matt
We talked about underrated earlier. How about the opposite…Is there a company you think really does NOT "get it"? One you just shake your head at?
Seth
There are industries that astound me. Airlines sure, but they’ve got problems they can’t fix. I mean folks like the cellular companies.
Seth
why do they establish expectations so aggressively and fail to meet them? Why don’t they lay a framework for their future? why don’t they reinvent the systems while the cash flow is there to support it?
Mark
health care
Matt
MH, what specifically about health care?
Mark
just listing another sector that is well-established, makes lots of money, and is comically uninterested in the user experience
Seth
Healthcare is a great example of the problem with distributed problem solving. It gets you partway, but sooner or later, you need really clear leadership
Seth
For example: who will decree electronic prescriptions? How will we finally deal with iatrogenic problems in hospitals?
Seth
or my fave, kidney transplants.
Matt
Cell companies def seem to be one area everyone can agree on as sucking.
Mark
i’d say most big sectors are like this – which is why being a leader in customer-centered business is often a matter of clearing a very low bar of service
Seth
Mark is exactly right. the bar is low, and still no one jumps it
Mark
like banking: remember the Commerce Bank speaker at Gel ‘06 last year? they’re a huge success in large part because, drum roll, they have weekend hours. what a concept
Mark
i can’t tell you how many bad – comically bad – experiences i’ve had, or directly heard about, in banks in NYC
Jason
You guys are so right about the low bar.
Jason
I see low bars everywhere.
Jason
It’s hard not to trip over them.
Mark
there are plenty of good, well-meaning people at all these banks – it’s the lack of customer-centered leadership (re the question at the beginning of this chat)
Seth
except, wait
Seth
what about the great bank manager who makes THAT bank better?
Mark
i actually saw that happen
Seth
we’re still talking about human beings interacting with other human beings
Seth
and some people refuse to blame their boss
Seth
they just do it. they treat people with respect
Mark
at bank X i had a great bank manager
Mark
but the system didn’t reward customer-centered bank managers
Mark
and so in the next re-org, out she went to another division, with another job entirely
Mark
next bank manager was standard-issue
Jason
I continue to believe the reason more bars aren’t raised is because people don’t think it’s sexy to execute on the basics beautifully.
Jason
That’s what it comes down to. Don’t give me the airplane with the fancy screens in the seats, give me the airplane with a comfy seat and more legroom. Those are the basics.
Mark
basics basics basics – but jason, it just doesn’t make for sexy press pieces :)
Jason
It has for us ;)
Mark
i’m doing something wrong then ;)
Jason
But yeah, you’re right. It’s generally not sexy.
Seth
If I had to close this thing with one message to the 37s reader who is reading at work when she should be reading, and who is busy blaming her boss for the low bar and lousy service and the Dilbert world she lives in, it would be this:
Seth
TAKE RESPONSIBILITY! If there’s a problem, fix it. If your job can’t be fixed, quit. How dare you waste your life in exchange for a paycheck. You have high speed internet access, bub, you’ve got no excuse. You don’t live a hovel in Ghana. Go do it!! Pick up the phone and call someone.
Seth
There.
Seth
I feel better now.
Jason
I like it Seth.
Mark
watch this to see seth give that message http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4…
Matt
Good stuff. How about you Mark…If you could give our readers only one piece of advice, what would it be?
Mark
oh, for me…
Mark
i’d say just try to become more aware of experience – whether at work, while using technology, while in a store, in a bank, or wherever. i think the more people are aware of good and bad experiences, the better they are at taking responsibility (re seth’s comment) for creating good experiences where they can
Matt
I think Paco Underhill’s book Why We Buy is a great example of this.
Matt
Nothing to do with web sites yet teaches you so much about how to think about experiences.
Matt
Mark
SVN teaches you a lot
Matt
Great stuff in this chat guys. Thanks so much for participating. Any final thoughts to share or should we wrap up?
Mark
this was fun! campfire worked great
Seth
Thanks for having us. And even better, thanks for showing the way. The stuff you guys do raises the bar every single day.
Jason
Go to GEL would be my recommendation. And that’s not ass kissing.
Jason
GEL is the best conference I’ve ever attended.
Mark
thx
Matt
JF, for readers, why do you think GEL is great?
Jason
GEL is great for a variety of reasons… Here are a few
Jason
1. High production values. It’s taken seriously and tastefully executed.
Jason
2. A wide variety of speakers from a wide variety of industries.
Jason
3. Information and education and entertainment all in one. There’s no better way to learn.
Jason
4. Inspiration abound. The speakers and the attendees are fascinating.
Jason
5. It’s comfortable, kind, and focused on the things that I think really matter.
Mark
thx, j!
Jason
That’s enough. ;)
Mark
whew
Jason
But really, it’s a great show and you’ll hear things at GEL you haven’t heard anywhere else.
Jason
You’ll actually learn something. You’ll be inspired.
Jason
And inspiration and motivation is everything.
Jason
Seek out inspiration and motivation and you can go far.