Source: http://www.inc.com/magazine/201202/jason-fried/starting-over-get-real.html

Starting Over
Sometimes, the best way to improve something is to begin again from scratch. Even if it’s your top-selling product.
By Jason Fried |      @JasonFried       | Jan 24, 2012

In 2004, 37signals, the software company I co-founded, released a Web-based project-management and collaboration tool called Basecamp. At the time, we mostly did Web design; Basecamp was a side project that we developed in our spare time to make it easier for us to work together.

Back then, project-management software was mostly about charts, graphs, statistics, and one-way broadcasts. Basecamp was different. It provides team members with a consistent place to work on projects and tools to swap ideas, share feedback, make revisions, and deliver the final project online. Millions of people across nearly every industry have used Basecamp to manage more than eight million projects; 96 percent of users say they would recommend the software to others.

That can mean only one thing: It’s time to start over.

Why mess with something that has proved so successful? There are a couple of reasons. For one, eight years is a long time. Consider the ways in which the world has changed over the past eight years. We’ve learned a lot about collaborating in that time. We’ve received tons of feedback from users, many of whom have shown us the ways in which they work. Plus, there are technologies available that didn’t exist back then.

But that’s only part of it. About a year ago, we began discussing how we might improve our best-selling product. The more we talked, the more it became clear that the only way to significantly improve Basecamp was to start over.

Think about a product’s life span. When something new is released to the public—and this is especially true of software—it’s hardly set in stone. You get feedback from customers and make modifications. You add features, refine existing ones, and make things better over time. If you really listen and do it right, the product earns its success.

But paradoxically, that success makes it harder to change. As time goes by, people get used to things the way they are. And the more someone is accustomed to doing something a certain way, the harder it is to ask him or her to change. When it comes to introducing ideas, the years have a way of boxing you in.

And that’s where we found ourselves with Basecamp—a successful product that was tough to change in major ways. Of course, it has evolved; over the years, we’ve made thousands of incremental improvements to the software. But now we have ideas that are more revolutionary than incremental. We think these ideas will dramatically enhance Basecamp’s speed, power, and flexibility.

The problem is that we cannot make these kinds of changes in the existing product. Over time, software builds up legacy. The old technology is baked in, and the roots of the product are so knotted that simply unwinding them becomes a massive undertaking. Think about trying to uproot a 250-year-old oak tree versus a two-year-old one.

The easy thing to do is nothing. But continuing on the current path is a time-tested formula for complacency.

Of course, customers have a way of building up legacy, too, and there’s bound to be some grumbling. We’ll deal with any such issues as they arise. But one thing is certain: Starting over doesn’t have to mean forcing change on existing customers. We’ll have two versions of Basecamp—the Classic version and the new version. Users will be able to switch to the new Basecamp or stick with the Basecamp they are already comfortable with.

After a year of hard work, this is all set to happen soon. How will our customers receive it? In an upcoming column, I’ll let you know.

A few comments:

• Am I asking “how might I improve” enough?  Am I getting complacent?
• Do I have the guts to say it’s time to start over?
• Is starting over the only way to have revolutionary change?  Maybe.  Obviously 37 signals believes so.
• I love the image of uprooting a 250 year old oak tree vs. uprooting a young tree.

Dec. 16, 2011

A TRIBUTE TO ROBERT M. CAMPBELL

Gifted Entrepreneur, Industry Leader, Devoted Husband, Father and Humanitarian

Robert M. “Bob” Campbell, one of the most influential leaders in the California commercial real estate industry for more than four decades, passed away on December 15, 2011 in Newport Beach, California. He passed peacefully at home surrounded by his wife, children and grandchildren.

Bob founded CT Realty Corp., along with U.T. “Tom” Thompson, III, in 1994 and served as president of the company from 1994 to 2009, becoming chairman in 2009. During Bob’s tenure, CT Realty completed more than 200 transactions valued in excess of $2.5 billion. Prior to establishing CT Realty, Bob was general partner of Birtcher Campbell Properties for 20 years. While at Birtcher, he was responsible for the development of commercial real estate projects involving more than 11.5 million square feet of space. He was also a founder and past Chairman of the Board of Pacific National Bank in Newport Beach.

Bogey and the Grandkids (Nov 2011)

Over the years, Bob was the recipient of numerous awards for his business and philanthropic achievements. In 2003, he received the UC Irvine Graduate School of Management’s Lifetime Achievement Award, which is presented to an individual who has exhibited a long period of positive influence over the real estate industry in Orange County, California. In addition, Bob was honored with Ernst & Young’s prestigious “Entrepreneur of the Year” award in 2003 in the category of Real Estate Services. He was also presented with a proclamation by the city of Newport Beach that same year in recognition of his service to Orange County business and the general community.

Over the decades, Bob volunteered thousands of hours to nonprofit organizations and community activities. He was an original member of the “Teahouse Gang,” a group of prominent commercial real estate professionals who recognized the need to do more for the local community. The group held their first annual charity event in 2001 to benefit KIDWORKS, a Santa Ana-based nonprofit organization dedicated to educating and nurturing at-risk youth.

In 2002, the Teahouse Gang held a benefit that raised roughly $1 million for KIDWORKS. Bob and the other Teahouse Gang members established the Building Block Foundation Fund, which supports programs that encourage at-risk, underprivileged but deserving youth in Orange County to achieve more rewarding lifestyles. Campbell was honored for his leadership with this organization in 2005 by the Orange County United Way, which presented him with the Dan Donahue Award at its annual Keeping Kids on Track luncheon.

In 2007, Bob was recognized for turning “real estate success” into “real success for at-risk youth” with the Keys to Success Award. The award is presented each year by Project Access, a nonprofit organization that assists residents of low-income housing apartment communities with achieving self- sufficiency through access to onsite health, education and social services. The organization was founded in 1999 by Foundation for Social Resources, a nonprofit provider of affordable housing in California.

Bob was born on Sept. 5, 1940, in Oakland, California, and received his bachelor of science degree in engineering from Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, California. He is also a two-time graduate of UCLA’s Business School with a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in business administration. Both degrees were earned while working as a research analyst for Planning Research Corp. and as an assistant professor at California State University, Los Angeles.

In addition to his business career and dedication to helping others, Bob was a passionate golfer who loved to travel with his wife of 37 years, Jean. Bob was deeply devoted to his Christian beliefs and was a member of Mariners Church/South Coast Community Church in Irvine, California, for nearly 30 years. Bob’s commitment was nurtured by his weekly participation in a Christian Men’s Covenant Group which offered guidance, comfort and prayer for members facing personal and professional challenges. He served as an intermediary for many of the group’s challenges, using his extraordinary leadership talent, willingness to listen and quiet, thoughtful manner to resolve even the most difficult situations.

Throughout his career, Bob built strong business relationships that not only made him successful in his career, but hugely successful in life. Evidence of this is the many lives he touched, bringing joy, encouragement and hope. To some, Bob was an entrepreneur, a gifted leader and an inspirational mentor. To others, he was a talented partner and business associate. Most importantly, he was a true humanitarian and a devoted husband, father and grandfather. He will truly be missed by all. We thank him for the legacy he leaves which will continue to help others long after our own time has passed.

In addition to Jean, Bob is survived by his daughter Kristen and son-in-law Rob Venick and their two children, James and Katelyn; daughter Kelly and son-in-law Michael McFadden and their three children Campbell, Piper and Makayla, of Denver, Colorado; and his sister Rae Nash of Alamogordo, New Mexico.

A memorial service for Bob is planned for Wednesday, December 21, 2011 at Mariners Church at 11:00 AM in the Community Center located at 5001 Newport Coast Drive, Irvine, California 92603 (corner of Newport Coast Drive and Bonita Canyon Drive). In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Building Block Foundation Fund (www.buildingblock.org) or Kure It (www.kureit.org).

And that principle goes for maintaining healthy rhythms in life.  So I’m off to revisit my daily, weekly, monthly and annual routines. 

PS Below is a link and some excerpts to the blog post that recently spurred me on.

How to Recover Your Core Rhythm – The Energy Project

Exercise also positively influences our cognitive functioning, and our mood. We ought to be exercising nearly every day, ideally for at least 45 minutes, including strength training at least twice a week. Less than half of Americans exercise even three times a week for as much as 30 minutes….

The secret to optimal well-being and effectiveness is to make more rhythmic waves in your life. To build the highest level of fitness, for example, it’s critical to challenge the heart at high intensity for short periods of time, and then to recover deeply….

Paradoxically, the most effective way to operate at work is like a sprinter, working with single-minded focus for periods of no longer than 90 minutes, and then taking a break. That way when you’re working, you’re really working, and when you’re recovering, you’re truly refueling the tank.

The Giving Tree
By Shel Silverstein
(Classic)
A young boy grows to manhood and old age experiencing the love and generosity of a tree which gives to him without thought of return.

Just the other night I teared up reading this classic story to my kids as they crawled over me.  There was something that just moved me inside.  I guess knowing that my kids were at the age of climbing up the tree, swinging from the branches and enjoying life in its purest form.

It’s hard to think of them growing up, moving on and not needing us all the time.  I feel like I’m a little kid experiencing an emotion for the first time.  I’ll try to soak up these moments because I know they go fast.

Thanks Uncle Shelby.

BTW, Did you know Shel Silverstein wrote the Johnny Cash hit A Boy Named Sue? Impressive.

Liked this quote that was read by the father of the bride at a wedding my sister attended this weekend.

Day 5 challenge:

Travel by Chris Guillebeau

(Author: Chris Guillebeau)

If we live truly, we shall see truly. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Not everyone wants to travel the world, but most people can identify at least one place in the world they’d like to visit before they die. Where is that place for you, and what will you do to make sure you get there?

My Response:

I would like to visit our friends the Ochoa‘s in Argentina — spend some extended time there and reconnect with old friends and learn Spanish.  What am I doing to make sure this happens?  I’m emailing this blog post to them now … maybe we should go down in Dec/Jan of 2012/13.

+++++++

What happened to day 4?  I’ll post after I’ve completed it. The challenge is the Post-it Question by Jenny Blake