17
Feb
2012
5

Where would you rather work: 37signals or Zappos?

The 37signals office vs the Zappos office

I took both of these shots: the photo of 37signals was taken when I visited in 2010, and the picture at Zappos from my recent visit in early 2012.

My latest visit reminded me of Ryan Carson’s post that compared photos he’d seen from both offices. He wondered which approach was better, in terms of developing happy employees. Here are my thoughts, having spent an entire day at both companies.

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5
Jun
2011
2

I worked at day at 37signals, and I liked it

The 37signals office - photo by justinjackson.ca

Recently 37signals opened their new office. It’s beautiful and functional… [but] I now believe Zappos’ chaotic and messy offices are much more effective at promoting happiness and innovation. – Ryan Carson, Think Vitamin blog post

In February, Ryan Carson of Carsonified wrote a post that compared photos from two offices: 37signals and Zappos.  His conclusion was that the flamboyant Zappos office produced happier employees.

This was timely for me; in November I was in Chicago and was invited to spend the day at the 37signals office.  Jason Fried gave me a tour, I spent time hanging out with the team, and I had the opportunity to do some of my own work in the office.

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11
May
2011
0

The sex and cash theory

I’m a big fan of Hugh MacLeod’s sex and cash theory:

The creative person basically has two kinds of jobs. One is the sexy, creative kind. Second is the kind that pays the bills.”

This is true in almost every industry:
  • If you’re a photographer, you can look for the “sexy” job of shooting art photos (cool job, but not high paying), or you can shoot weddings (drag job, but lucrative)
  • If you’re into food, you could start your own restaurant (high risk but sexy, potentially low paying), or you could get a management job at Sysco.
  • If you’re a graphic designer, you can design band posters or you can design brochures for a bank.

Are you a creative person looking to make a living?  It’s OK to do cool projects in your spare time; but when it comes to making money, start thinking differently.  Matt Linderman says: “Instead of working with a thing you love, think about how to work in a way you love.”

Download Macleod’s whole essay here.

6
Dec
2010
0

This is a classy move

After two outages on their chatting app Campfire, 37signals sent out this tweet:

Nobody will be paying for Campfire this month. We didn’t earn a dime after two outages within one week. So sorry for the disruption.

A great example of good customer support.

29
Jun
2010
1

Review of 37signals’ first app for the iPad: Draft

37signals caused quite a commotion this past week when they released their first app for the iPad, called Draft.  Draft is a simple sketching tool, that allows you to draw in white or red (only two colors) on a black canvas.  You can then share the sketches via email or directly to your Campfire account.

On their blog, and elsewhere, there was a lot of push-back on the features (or lack of) and the price ($9.99).  We’re not talking about a few comments; we’re talking about a lot of people who were really riled up.

I decided to cut through all the noise and buy the app. I compared it to another, free, app from Adobe called Ideas.  Here is the video review:

My conclusion? Draft makes a lot of sense if you use Campfire.  You can share sketches instantly to any Campfire room.  If you’re a designer, or company, that uses Campfire, the $10 price tag is irrelevant; the app will definitely pay for itself in saved time.

Copyright © 2012 — Justin Jackson | Site design by Trevor Fitzgerald