Published in Robin Powered·Jun 30, 2015You have to unbreak before you can invent“You want to make things better? Here’s a mop.” The vision is to build something new — something that makes a difference. The reality? You’re spending more time crushing bugs instead of “it”. If your life was a movie, this would be the 30 second montage between good parts. Someday…Product Managment3 min read
Published in Robin Powered·Mar 27, 2015The Five Minute CultureA draft of this article was originally published on Robin’s team blog, where we write more on product design, startups, and the future of work days. If I spent five minutes alone with a random person in your company, would I get the right impression? Earlier this week I spoke…Culture2 min read
Published in Robin Powered·Mar 26, 2015Lies, damned lies, and startup adviceThe first 10 suggestions are easy. It’s the next 100 that get you. — In the early days of a startup, you rarely know exactly who your product is best for. You’ll know the rough industry, and a vaguely empowering statement about the audience. “We’re changing the way [Insert booming market] companies manage themselves!” So you set out with a rally cry, and try…Startups4 min read
Published in Robin Powered·Mar 19, 2015Sensors, Switches, and Screens: The Future of Invisible DevicesThis article was originally posted Feb 2014 on Robin’s team blog, where we write more on product design and the future of work days. There’s a good reason why self-hosted web and mail servers are a rare find in 2014. If cloud computing did one thing well, it’s that it…Internet Of Things4 min read
Published in Robin Powered·Jan 13, 2015How companies unwittingly let interns run their facilitiesHow interns with clipboards lead to incomplete data and unnecessary buildings. If you give an intern a clipboard, they’ll take notes. If they take notes, you’ll end up with a new building… at least, that is if you’re not careful. One of the weirdest office behaviors we’ve encountered at Robin…3 min read
Published in Robin Powered·Dec 31, 2014How designing an invisible app almost killed usLessons learned from building automation products that give good feedback. Without looking up, how many lightbulbs in your office are out? How strong is your phone’s signal? Unless you’re sitting in darkness or dropping calls… why would you want to know? “Nobody notices when things go right.” …8 min read
