We want to create important, impressive, new things, but as we look around everything seems so crowded. So competitive.
Highrise, the company I run, was originally a software product created in 2007. It was one of the first web based CRM tools around. Now, the market is littered with competition. I took on a daunting task when Highrise spun off from Basecamp last year. So what do I do?
Michael Cera was staring at me through the reflection on the elevator doors
A couple years ago, after my daughter was born, my wife had a followup visit with her doctor. As we were coming out of the office, we found ourselves waiting for an elevator with another guy. At a sideways glance, he looked oddly like Michael Cera (Juno, Arrested Development). Instead of making an overt gesture to look, I glanced at the shiny surface of the elevator doors, and saw him staring at me 🙂 Confirmed; it was him. There was a television production company on the same floor. When the elevator opened it was packed with people. So my wife, Michael, and I crammed in shoulder to shoulder. It was an odd bonding moment with this complete stranger and celebrity. As we neared the lobby he pulled out his cell phone and I noticed it was probably what you’d expect from Michael Cera… an old-school flip phone.
At first I would tell friends a quirky story of me “meeting” Michael Cera and his unusual choice of phones, but I realized the phone is also an important reminder of how to compete…
