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It is on this day, the thirtieth day of January (actually usually about the 24th day of January through the first day of February) that we celebrate the birth of one of the greatest individual people I have had the honor of knowing in my 26 years of Earthly existence. It is this person who was… smart enough to show me that anything can be learned if you want to bad enough, strong enough to show me the way through a difficult family situation, artistic enough to show me that I should learn how to design rather than just build, forgiving enough to make me feel loved even though I abandoned her in times of need, and caring enough to show me that life isn’t about getting yours but actually giving yours.

She is the person I want to be… a perfect combination of left-brained analytical intelligence and right-brained artistic genius. Someone so capable of get anything they want but with so little concern for anything that does not result in the greater good of the world. It is so funny that the few people I have ever really met in my life that I think are this amazing have either your same first or middle name.

Happy birthday today to my baby sister… hopefully I can grow up to be just like you. I am soooo sorry I can’t be there in Nebraska to help put on a birthweek for you, hopefully Lindy is around to help make up for it. I can’t wait ’til we start saving the world together one day… don’t ever let anything stand in the way of that. I know what you can do, you know what you can do, and everyone else knows what you can do. Whenever a distraction arises, it will be hard to do, but really consider whether it will enable you or disable you and most importantly what would your grandma say. She is looking down today so very proud of the woman you have become.

Love you kid.

May I recommend a great book. I heard the author of a book called the “No Asshole Rule” a while back on the Harvard Business Review podcast I listen too each week. Turns out “No Asshole Rule” is a great book, very applicable to Corporate America’s “Office Space” environment, I highly recommend it for anyone who lives their day to day life in that environment.

But something reminded me of that book the other day… and I hate to say it, I think I fully agree!. To quote Bill Maher from his book “New Rules”:

New Rule… The more complicated the Starbucks order, the bigger the ass hole. If you walk into a Starbucks and order a “decaf grande half-soy, half-low fat, iced vanilla, double-shot, gingerbread cappuccino, extra dry, light ice, with one Sweet-n’-Low and one NutraSweet,” ooh, you’re a huge asshole.

Funny, yes… but seriously, consider for yourself if you are really that damn concerned and controlling about your morning coffee, how do you treat your peers and, ESPECIALLY the people who work for you in the office everyday. So yes, Bill Maher is funny, and yes, I think there really is a good chance that if you are a “Starbucks Asshole” both the baristas and your co-workers are talking behind your back about how absolutely unpleasant you are.

By the way… sorry for the lack of blogs lately but if you get bored and want some Dan’isms on business and technology you can always also check out www.trimtab.com/blog

I heard on the news today that today is in fact “Blue Monday” and I thought that was interesting given my day today. Blue Monday is apparently the third or fourth Monday of January every year. It is Monday, a crappy day anyway since you have to go back to work right… but by the this point in January the stress is fully mounting from holiday season debt (that first payment is due!) and most of you’re New Years resolutions have failed by this point too.

What this all amounts to is the highest suicide rate of ANY day of the year, year after year. Super sad huh? Well today, Blue Monday, is my first official day of self employment which I think is perfect! The day that is typically the country’s most terrible day is the day that I begin living yet another dream. I can’t believe how lucky I am everyday, but I am especially feeling it today!!

And on that self employment note… my website is up and we are about ready to rock and roll. Check it out if you get a minute, www.trimtab.com is the address. This is a first draft really but there is all kinds of information on there about what we’re about, what we’re doing, etc. Any feedback is greatly appreciated of course…

HAPPY BLUE MONDAY EVERYONE

So I am in the middle of a crazy few weeks. This week is my last week at E&Y so as of Friday I will be on my own. It is starting to actually set in that I am not coming back in next week and that is a really wierd feeling. I have been working with these people for almost four years now (I know its no 30 years like the baby boomers seem to often go with one company but outlasted all of my friends in their first post-college jobs), and it will be hard to let that go.

But you know what was the wierdest thing? Quitting. In 26 years, this was the first time I had ever “quit” a job. What a strange experience it was. I didn’t even know how to do it until I talked to my boss and told me I had to write a notification to HR. Then, you go on and on about how great your job was and how much you will miss it; which is true… but if that is the case why is it you are leaving?

Anyway, a mjor first for me (and all goes well it will be the only time I ever do that!). I am finishing up the website (or at least the first draft/version of it) for my new business tonight! I’ll post a link tomorrow after its done. This is the first time in a long time I have been so nervous and felt this kind of uncertainty… AND I SECRETLY LOVE IT!

What is it with kids these days… it seems kids in there 20s think they know everything. We know all the answers to political problems, we know all the answers to business problems, social problems, etc. Well, I am a kid and I recently decided I have the answers to a couple of important problems and am going to take action on them. These problems include:

1. Baby-boomer small business owners “don’t get it” when it comes to technology. This is not their fault, no one has really talked to them about the role of technology in business in their language yet.
2. Big corporations move too slowly… they think standardization and homogenization is the key to consistent quality across a global empire. Yet when they converge a navy small, agile, and fast moving ships; they create an aircraft carrier that is impossible to turn in the face new attacks.
3. In climbing a corporate ladder, you take direction and execute on it as fast possible to make yourself look good. Process is repeated over and over and over in hopes of making another $10,000 or even another $100,000. With this focus, there is no way to innovate, build something amazing, and make $10,000,000.
4. Companies still don’t embrace Blue Ocean Strategy (SIDENOTE: I highly recommend reading the book Blue Ocean Strategy). They still think that competing with other firms for business is an established market or industry is the way to win. Rarely is there a realization that through an innovation process you can CREATE a new market, thereby making competition irrelevant.

Well, being 26 and knowing everything, I have made the decision to solve these problems. As anticipated by this point probably, HERE IS MY BIG NEWS… I am ending my days at E&Y and starting a business. A business that is small, quick, and agile that will create new market space (a Blue Ocean) and will change the small business technology industry if all goes as planned. I actually don’t think I know everything. In fact, my philosophy is that I really know very little but am an excellent learner. And I plan to take what I know, learn very fast, and build something great.

I can’t wait tell everyone about the details of my plan; I am so excited and so nervous. The great part is that never have I felt more alive than I do now. My last day at my current job will be the 18th of this month and then we are off. Much, much more to come but wanted to let everyone it’s official for now. So, it’s official, and I cannot wait to do this!