I hate to miss a good party. Unfortunately I was hit by the flu so I could not attend the Seattle 100 event. What is the Seattle 100 you ask? It's a project by Chase Jarvis that showcases more than 100 people who are driving culture in/around Seattle. The two-year project is a photo, video and ethnographic study resulting in a coffee table book, gallery show(party), a website and a live broadcast.

Seattle 100 shares-via more than 300 stunning black-and-white portraits and biographies of each subject-a curated collection of leading artists, musicians, writers, scientists, restaurateurs, DJs, developers, activists, entrepreneurs, filmmakers, and more, all of whom are defining and driving culture in Seattle.

The private party was held Thursday, October 21 at Chase's new space. I really wanted to attend, as some of my friends were featured in the project. As well as how cool it would be to mingle and talk with Seattle folk making a creative difference. There were also public gallery showings on the following Friday and Saturday. I talked to a number of friends who attended and of course they told me it was a wonderful event.

If you want to buy the book, it's a 10x10", 240 page, hardback book available for sale on Amazon for just $26 bucks. The Seattle 100 isn't a finished product, but I believe an ongoing project that will continue to evolve and include more people. If you don't buy the book or didn't make it to the gallery events, check out the cool-and substantial-extension of the project via the website.

Posted by Gary at 2:38 PM | Permalink

I just got done reading a great book called REWORK, by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson, the founders of 37 Signals. 37 Signals is a small company with huge profits that develop web based apps to make your business more efficient like: Basecamp, Highrise, Backpack, Campfire and Ruby on Rails.

I once was a workaholic, who put in 80 hour work weeks. I thought the harder I worked the more I would get done. Not always the case. Now I'm all about working smarter, not harder. This book reinforced that notion.

This is a good read if you're one of those people constantly in meetings, talking about doing, but not actually getting things done because your always in those planning meetings. Or for the overly detailed person who feels like everything has to be written out in a business plan. Yes, there are certain aspects of a business plan that have to be well documented, but it's the concept or idea that's most important. The plan will continue to change and evolve, more often today than in the past, due to how fast technology and business environments are changing.

As I burned through its' pages, it was like a breath of fresh air. It reinforced many of my ideas about work, I just hadn't voiced them. I highly recommend it. It's a quick and entertaining read. It may not represent your current work atmosphere, but it's something we should all strive for.

Here's a little teaser video about the book.

They also have a great blog that I visit weekly called Signal vs. Noise.

Next up on the night stand, LINCHPIN, by Seth Godin.

Posted by Gary at 5:49 PM | Permalink