It’s been a hot minute since I’ve blogged on the LexBlog. I wanted to post some general soft-knowledge lessons I’ve picked up with my time here about life at a small company. Many of these I’ve learned from others directly, but many of them are from my observations. They are also good little quips that seem to float around the office as a sense of daily culture. Be proactive: If you see a problem, fix…

Once you’ve seen what one billion looks like, every number under is just peanuts. I’ve worked with over $1 billion in the course of a week and held over $1 million in my hands. Both experiences were within a few months of each other and at two separate companies, but both are rare in and of themselves. I’ve thought long and hard about the meaning of those experiences, especially considering the realization that I would…

The platitude is gratitude is all about attitude I’m a big fan of reflection. It’s a way for me to either understand new situations or to feel gratitude. Let’s admit the platitude, gratitude is a good feeling to have. So, as I  come up on my 6 months with LexBlog, I thought it would be beneficial to reflect back on my time. Here are some quick facts: Designed a membership tracking sheet Emailed nearly 300…

The first half of my life was spent in rural Idaho. At one point, my family lived down the street from a slaughter-house and my father worked for one of the biggest farms in the state. I would sometimes go with him to work. I can still remember the smell of mint fields, the taste of a fresh picked onion on my tongue, and hear the sound of leaves rustling in an apple orchard. Back…

If you’ve ever seen a rocket pre-launch cycle for NASA shuttles, then you’re in for a surprising treat. The energy, the anticipation, is overwhelming to anyone watching. Really, the multitude of technicians running last minute diagnostics are just listing off every detail that needs approval before the launch. “Power, check. Systems, check. Fuel, check”. All the different systems and sub-systems get a last good look through before we hear the glorious words, “Ready for liftoff”.…

Every job has its benefits. I don’t mean 401k or paid sick leave. No, I’m talking about the unforeseen side effects of working in various industries. I remember getting free pizza at my first job as a dishwasher and I felt exceedingly blessed. I also remember getting free books from my time working at Eastern Washington Univ., but again I digress. So the question, what is the side benefits for working at a company filled…

Lately, I’ve been think a ton about lead theory and how it concerns all of our jobs. In manufacturing, lead time is the amount of time between initiation and action. For example, you press a button on your coffee maker and 10 minutes later you have a full pot of coffee. For a full moving process like making a car, there can be hundreds of initiations within one major one. Look at Rube Goldberg machines…