Earlier this summer I spent an hour or so wandering through a gallery specializing in Navajo rugs. Actually, it was even more specialized that that. The collector, a curious guy named Jamie Ross, liked to collect Navajo rugs with English words, letters, or language woven into the designs.

I was intrigued by some of the designs so I asked him about the history of some of the pieces. Jamie is the kind of guy who turns a quick ten second question into a slow ten minute answer. That was fine by me, I had nowhere else to be.

He explained a lot of things. He talked about his fascination with letters and words and why he especially liked them when they showed up on Navajo rugs. He also talked a bit about crazy quilts, another one of his obsessions.

But there was one thing he said that really stuck with me. I asked him why a lot of the rugs seemed to have mistakes woven into the patterns. Obvious distortions in the patterns, stray lines, or a shape that was just a bit off compared to the other shapes in the piece.

He said there are many explanations. One popular one is that the Navajo intentionally weave mistakes into their rugs to remind them that man isn’t perfect. That sensibility can also be found in the Wabi-sabi art of Japan.

But he preferred another explanation. He said the mistakes weren’t intentional. What was intentional was the desire not to go back and fix them.

He said the Navajo saw mistakes as moments in time. And since you can’t change time, why try to change a mistake that already happened? The mistake is already woven into the fabric of time. It’s good to be reminded of it when you look back.

Further, he compared it to climbing a mountain. If you climb a mountain you are sure to have a few missteps along the way. But you keep going. You don’t stop and start over if you trip here or take the wrong path there. You keep going. You can’t remove that step. It happened, it’s part of the climb. And when the climb is done, you’ve finished. As long as you made it to the top, you don’t call the climb a mistake. Likewise, the Navajo don’t call a rug with some off stiches a mistake. If the rug is finished, it’s a successful rug. More importantly, a rug with a few off stitches is an honest rug.

Now, I don’t know if this is Jamie’s own personal intrepretation, or something other’s Navajo scholars (or Navajo themselves) can back up, but it doesn’t matter to me. I love the idea regardless.

Here are a few rugs from his collection:

This fall I’ve been taking the Rails for Designers class at The Starter League here in Chicago.

My classmates come from as far as South America and as close as a few desks down (fellow 37signals designers Jamie, Mig, Jonas, John, and Shaun are also taking the class). One student, not in our class, came over from Hong Kong.

My classmates also come from a variety of backgrounds. Some are designers with no programming experience. Others are programmers who work in languages other than Ruby. There’s also a lawyer and a couple Chicago Public School teachers, too. There’s a good 30 year age range spread as well. It’s a diverse and dedicated group. They’re inspiring people.

Class ends in a few weeks, and applications for the next quarter close in a few days, so I thought it would be a good time to reflect on the experience.

Was it worth it? Absolutely. Would I do it again? Absolutely. Would I recommend it to someone else? Absolutely.

I’ve been around Rails since the beginning. At 37signals, designers and programmers work together on the same codebase, so every 37signals designer has seen plenty of Rails in their time. And I’ve tried to pick it up on my own over the years by reading books or getting a few crash courses from co-workers. But it never clicked like it does now after taking this Starter League class.

I think the magic is in how Jeff and Raghu, the two teachers, understand how to teach absolute beginners. Teaching beginners is a unique skill. It requires a ton of patience and a truckload of empathy. You really have to start right at the beginning and assume nothing about what people may or may not know. You have to think like a beginner again. That’s really hard.

Am I a fantastic programmer now? No way. Would I hire myself as a programmer at 37signals? No, I wouldn’t. But that wasn’t my personal goal.

However, after just a few months I have a solid basic understanding of Ruby, Rails, and what programming is all about. I can build a database-backed web app on my own. I can pull in data from external APIs, manipulate it, and return it formatted the way I want. I can read and understand a bunch of code in the Basecamp code base that was complete greek to me before. I know what this code does, why it is where it is, how to manipulate it enough not to break the basics, and how to make changes without having to ask for help. That’s a huge leap forward for me, and it means fewer “hey, can you do this for me?” questions for my co-workers.

I can’t tell you how liberating it is to be able to find my way around our codebase now. It makes me a better designer, too. I can quickly prototype new ideas without having to get someone else involved. Big win. Further, I know where to go from here if I want to dedicate myself to getting better.

And on top of all of this, I feel like I’ve gained an invaluable skill: The ability to see problems from a new angle. Learning how to program has introduced me to a new perspective on problem solving, a new way of thinking. That doesn’t come around often and I’m thrilled to have found it at The Starter League.

If you’re interested in learning Rails – even if you don’t have a single bit of experience – check out The Starter League’s Web Development Class. Just want to learn HTML/CSS? Check out the HTML/CSS class (and there’s an advanced HTML/CSS class, too). There’s even a User Experience Design class. Want to learn visual design or how to improve your current design skills? Our very own Mig Reyes is teaching the Visual Design class.

Applications for The Starter League Winter session are due by Sunday. If you’re on the fence, hop off and apply. You will not regret it.

(Disclosure: 37signals is a minority investor in The Starter League)

This past spring we decided to prune our product line.

We stepped back, took inventory, reviewed how things were growing, considered which products mattered most to us, thought about which direction we wanted to go, talked about what we were proud of, and made some decisions.

This process reminded me a lot of pruning a tree. Before you start pruning, you circle around the tree and take in the shape. You have to step back and get a wide view in order to see the whole thing.

Then you start making some observations.

You notice this branch crossing and rubbing that branch. You see suckers shooting straight up taking energy from the healthy limbs. You see dead wood, you see thriving wood, you see leaders, and you see future problems. And depending on when you’re looking, you might see next season’s buds.

It’s always hard to cut something you grew from scratch. You feel a fundamental obligation to see it blossom and continue to grow strong. You know how long things take to grow, so cutting things back is an emotional process. “Man, this branch has been growing for 10 years and I’m going to cut it down in 10 seconds…”

But you also know that cutting things back means that you’ve favoring what’s left. You pick the winners, you help the tree grow up strong. And most importantly, while pruning gets rid of a lot, it also opens up new opportunities. Light gets in where it couldn’t before. Air circulates better. And new growth comes to life.

Now let’s get back to software.

Initially when we decided to prune our product line, we did it because we felt we had too many products to maintain. We’re bigger than we used to be, but we’re still a small company. It’s so easy to create (because creating is fun), but it’s also easy to ignore (because ignoring doesn’t involve work). Over time, if you create too much and don’t clean it up, you can lose control over quality. Quality, like time, is a limited resource. We felt like we might be on the verge. Hence the pruning session.

So we decided to stop accepting new signups for Ta-da List, Writeboard, and Backpack. We also stopped selling our Draft iPad app. We sold Sortfolio, stopped selling the Getting Real PDF (we’re giving it away for free now), and pruned some internal non-customer facing tech, too.

But an interesting thing happened. Not too long after we pruned, a couple new product ideas started bubbling up. Before pruning, the last thing we were thinking about was adding more products. Now, with some breathing room, new ideas are getting light, getting fresh air, and coming to life.

Not only are we thinking about a few new products, but we’re thinking very differently about these new products. One is a variation on an existing product. And one is entirely new for us. But both are also attached to a new business model.

I feel like our exploration into new business models would have never happened had we not cut some old growth back and let some new light in.

We’re finishing these two new products up now. We aren’t ready to announce release dates or talk much about them yet, but hopefully it won’t be too long now.

So, while it’s hard to cut back, it’s good to remember that subtraction can lead to addition. New shoots, new sprouts, and new ideas often need new room to grow. They’re waiting, but you need to clear the way.

I’m looking to hire an “iOS Prototyper” for one year. This is a full-time, 1-year contract. You must be in Chicago. Pay starts at $100,000 – I’m all ears if you want to make an alternate pitch. After the year is up we may decide to work together some more, but that’s a discussion for another time.

The role is clear: You’ll work with me on a daily basis to explore a variety of iOS app ideas for 37signals. We have a good half dozen ideas in the idea closet already, and more will materialize as time goes on.

This is a distraction-free position. Your only job will be exploring iOS ideas for 37signals. Ideas include new apps, new interface concepts, and a healthy helping of crazy ideas. You’ll report directly to me. We’ll riff, review, and spend time together nearly every day.

This position is for one person. You have to have the Obj-C chops and the design/ui/ux chops to be a one-person-iOS-shop. You have to be strong – and already up to speed – on both.

This is a perfect position for someone who knows how to work fast and smart. You know where the rabbit holes are and you’re good about avoiding them early on. You know which details make all the difference, and which ones don’t make any difference. You know the difference between spending time wisely and wasting time.

You’ll teach me a few things and I’ll teach you a few things. We’ll both gain great experience.

This job is primarily about prototyping, not shipping. Some ideas may ultimately ship, but the main goal here is to explore. You have to be OK with that.

If you’re interested, please email me directly. [email protected]. Since we’ll be working together closely, you must live in Chicago or be willing to relocate to Chicago for at least one year. Creative applications are encouraged.

I’ll be accepting applications until November 30th. I’m looking forward to working with you.

Some people get excited about building something new that the world has never seen.

Others get excited about making something more beautiful than it was before.

Others like making things faster.

And some others get off on making something less expensive.

To differing degrees, these are all personal driving factors of mine as well. But the one that stands out above all the others is the drive to make things easier. I like to make things easier for people. I love competing on easy.

I find easy to be the most personally rewarding, too. It has such direct impact. When something is easier, you feel it. You’ve done it the hard way before, so when you experience the easy way you immediately know the difference.

Easy feels like a cold Coke on a hot day. It’s just so satisfying. The harder it’s been – the thirstier you are – the better it tastes, too.

Another thing about easy – it’s personal. “Thank you” is often a response you hear when you make something easier for someone. Easier is appreciated.

Easy could mean faster. Easier could mean more obvious. Easy could mean a lot of things. But the part of easy I like is when you take an existing problem, study it until it becomes clear, toss out everything that makes it blurry, and carefully polish what’s left over.

I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately because we’re finishing up a brand new product. In some ways it’s entirely new territory for us, but in other ways it’s familiar.

This new product eliminates the hassle of one thing in particular. After that it’s about the same as anything else it competes with. In some ways, it does significantly less than the competition.

Plus, the other products are totally free. Ours won’t be.

We’re charging – betting, even – on easy. I like our chances.