Journal: The Troika of Buttons

Tuesday location: Seven || 7:35 am – 10:55 pm

Press: Emailing with Graeme Fife today about a book project that he and Gerard Brown are doing; happily, the project may include Seven Cycles. I haven’t worked with Graeme before and it turns out that he’s quite the character. I can’t wait to see what they put together.
Production Management: Working with Matt O. at Seven Cycles on Q4 production planning. The old adage, you focus on what you measure holds true. Working on some visual controls, cross-training, and people management. We have big goals for the quarter. And for the start of 2013.

Project: Working on a new client order process and tracking system for the Ride Studio Cafe. So many customers in process. And a small staff at the Studio to manage it all. Process, process, process. I think it’s coming along. We have a lot of great tools; the trick is employing all of them – in the right order.
Product Development: D2D bike: Working on a hard-case laptop pannier with a built in charger. I’m not an electrical guy but I’ll figure it out. I’m mainly working on a suspension system to isolate the laptop from road vibration and impacts. I have a few ideas I think will work.
Note: The other day at Ride Studio Cafe I was talking with a customer that just had his bike stolen. It was a nice bike to be sure. Bike theft happens. My friend is a smart, sincere, and very well adjusted adult. What struck me is that my friend came to tears as he talked about his bike. He connected with his bike in a way I haven’t seen before. He was devastated that he would be riding with it anymore; he’d put so many miles on the bike and had so many memories with the bike. That bike was a catalyst for change in his life. That bike helped him to connect with friends in a new way. He said it was too sad to think about. I found his attachment touching. It could have been trite but it wasn’t. He lost a friend.