working in a new place

A while ago I realised that it was 11 years since I had worked anywhere new. So I thought it might be good to go and be the new boy somewhere. I talked to the people at method and made a plan to go and work at their place in San Francisco for a short while. I figured this would be a good idea for a number of reasons:

1. They're a smart business. Surely they had spare ideas that I could steal?

2. They are based in San Francisco.

3. They're quite similar to innocent, so there were some parallels that could be interesting.

4. Being the new boy would give me a different outlook than my default grizzledoldhack position.

5. They are based in San Francisco.

So I did it and now I'm back home, back at innocent, thinking about what I learned. It was a bit of a wrench to leave. My new American friends were fond of the idea of having an exchange student and made an attempt to kidnap me (see photo), but whilst they were doing crazy finger pointing, devil horns and posing for the camera, I quietly slipped away unnoticed, off to the airport. For all I know they may still be standing there, in that exact same pose.

Anyway, what did I learn? Well, I learned that whether you make laundry detergent or smoothies, you need to have a strong purpose behind what you do, or you are screwed (American word). I learned that having a bunch of people who believe in what they do is a much more powerful weapon that a bunch of people who are thinking about maybe joining the company down the road that makes cat food. And I learned that maybe I should just try saying these things straight, without having to load them up with irony or inverted commas.

I had a great time, they are a great business and it was very kind of them to let me stay for a while.

Comments

[Tom]

I think you should have stayed at home and observed your responsibilities as a father. Next time you get these bloody stupid ideas just think of that. Sometimes, the way it happens with these things is that you go off - maybe just for half a day - and when you come back they've gone. Had an affair. Been whisked off by the plumber or just a neighbour or a good friend. And THEN you stop to think. But then it's too late, and you only have yourselkf to cut your lawn for. And you only have to tidy the kids' toys up one last time. because they're not there to play with them again. Not even a forwarding address.

[james]

so would you do the same kind of exchange thingummy at innocent?

[dan at innocent]

We would do if it was the right person/company. We will be hosting method's Head of Design later this year in order to return the favour.