Getting Real, by 37signals, gave our team common language for a bunch of ideas that we’ve always had in our head, but just never knew how to verbalize. And for that we’re truly grateful.

In fact our team was so inspired by the publishing of the book that when Matt announced they were looking for translation help, DBoost saw an opportunity to bring the Realness to our mother country, India.

A little background…

India, a country that absolutely adores education, has some of the brightest and most capable engineers in the world. And with the rise of outsourcing, India has made a real name for itself in the world of web technology.

However one of the challenges the tech industry faces is that the shops are run more like factories than places of strategy. Even though most of the country is Hindu by religion, when it comes to technology Microsoft is god and functional specs are the average engineer’s bible. Forget Ruby on Rails, most people haven’t even heard of PHP.

But we’re not discouraged. We here at DBoost remain optimistic because we know this anti-agile strategy is simply a de facto plan. Once mother India has a chance to Get Real they’ll never turn back. And although most engineers already speak and read English, we feel a Hindi version of Getting Real has the power to give our Indian brothers an even better understanding about the benefits of going agile (Hindi is still the prominent language). In addition, by taking the effort to translate the book we are also sending a clear signal about our intentions to be a driving force in promoting agile-ness in India.

DBoost just started on the translation so we only have a few pages done, but we expect to be complete in the next 5 weeks. As we complete major chunks of the book, we’ll send pages over to Matt and in turn he’ll update the Getting Real subsite.

Theek hai?

Featuring our very favorite, William McDonough. In theaters, August 17th in selected cities. Check out more information at the official movie site …

Purpose: To bridge the gap between online technologies and purpose-driven conscious businesses.

Intentions: Be compassionate, be honest, and serve the green and socially responsible community.

Goal: To be not the largest, but the most effective and impacting green technology firm in the world.

About 4 days ago, the House of Representatives announced and approved $16 billion in taxes on oil companies. The bill also provides billions of dollars in tax breaks and incentives for renewable energy and conservation efforts. Thats great news and we’re happy to see our representatives working (as they had to come into office on a Saturday to pass this bill)!

We are not gung-ho environmentalists nor do we consider ourselves activists. But it puts a smile on our face to see that the U.S. is changing in its stance on fighting Global Warming and the overall climate crisis. Though things are happening slowly, the intentions are out there to make the world cleaner and a better place to live in. And the power of intentions is strong enough to bring upon change.

Full Article from MSNBC News: House slaps $16 billion in taxes on oil industry

Power of Intentions by Dr. Wayne Dyer

Laws of Attraction: The Secret

We like to take the opportunity and be radically honest about being a green company and living an environmental lifestyle. What does it mean to be green and what does DBoost do on a very real level?

Well for starters, we rarely use paper. Not on purpose, but because we found web and technology solutions that worked out better. Such things as online credit card and account statements, web/PDF receipts for purchases, online invoicing, a web application that holds all files and scope material, etc. We also have PDA phones (Blackberry, iPhone) so that we can travel with our documents and news updates. But in case we do need paper for sketches or for printing purposes, we purchased one pack of New Leaf brand paper (100% post-consumer waste made) and split the contents between our team.

We also don’t drive that much. Though we use a Prius and own a motorcycle, our biggest contribution is not using them at all. Besides the occasional drive to the community food co-op or gym, we keep ourselves to our office or home. It’s not that we don’t want to drive, we just plan our days without it.

Since everyone on our team is health conscious, we eat primarily organically grown fruits and vegetables. Though we don’t compost (we gotta be honest), we eat foods that have the least amount of packaging and degrading rate.

And on the energy front, we simply try to use less electricity. We’ve all bought florescent light bulbs instead of the incandescent bulbs, we open the windows alot because we like fresh air, and we turn appliances and computers completely off after we’re doing using them.

Out of everything stated above, we haven’t really tried to be green. And many may tell us we’re not green. At least we found simple practices that are positive and that work on a level higher than being environmental. That means the choice we made benefits us more than choosing the alternative. So if you’re thinking about how to be more green, think about the simple adjustments you can make. Keeping it simple and real makes you feel good and honest about what you’re up to.

Our team gets motivated in very different ways than most companies. We love challenging ourselves and making life a game. So this week, we’ve set up a series of outcomes to hold ourselves accountable to the aspects of our lives that mean most to us right now:

Health: Each member of our team has to make it into the gym for atleast a 30 minute workout per day of this week, weekends included.
Hobbies: We’re responsible to each constructing 2 unique blog posts by the end of the day on our respective web logs.

What happens if we don’t succeed? Well thats the fun part!

If you miss making it to the gym, you have to call someone in your life that you haven’t been completely honest with and tell them the absolute truth. Be radically honest. It could be a girl you have a crush on, someone who you dated in the past but it didn’t end well, or a family member or friend where the relationship has gotten a little salty. But you have to be completely honest and lay all the cards out on the table. Its a scary concept!

If you miss making a post, you own each of your team mates $125. This one’s more monetary, but its perfect as we’re all low on cash. Gotta strike the weak points so you know there is no option but to win.

Though we didn’t get a chance to see the concerts live, we love the celebrity support and the buzz it got for such a great cause. Make sure you check out the videos at the Live Earth website.

Our personal favorites are:

There are lots of things you can do to help the environment. I personally like the simple things where I don’t have to expend much mind energy into. Things that just make sense and I can’t figure out why I wouldn’t do it.

Just this week (thanks to Joel Makower), I came across the GE Earth Reward program. It lets you invest your cash back savings from your credit card into carbon offset projects. I generally spend about $2,000 on my credit card on a monthly basis. That means that GE would invest $20/month, $240 annually into making the world more green.

According to GE: “If 100,000 cardholders spend $750 per month, the annual offsets retired would total approximately one million metric tons, equivalent to removing more than 175,000 cars from American roads for one year. If those 100,000 cardholders receive their statements electronically, they could save more than 50,000 pounds of paper, sparing 600 trees and more than 500,000 gallons of wastewater associated with paper production collectively.”

I might lose my 8 free movies from blockbuster a month (Discover Card Rewards), but I’m happy to let that go to feel I’m giving back. Its not a grand gesture, but its simple and easy …

I’d like to admit that I lose momentum quite frequently in the work environment. I’m not talking about huge shifts, but days in which I feel like my productivity has just gone down considerably. And when I lose work momentum, its hard to get back in the zone. I’ve tried reading a few excerpts from my favorite spiritual or business books, watching an inspirational movie, and even going back to hear a Tony Robbins CD (he can get a person pumped!).

So its definitely hard to swing back, I will admit that. And I will also admit that what has helped me the most is putting my attention into simple non-work tasks. Tasks that require little creative and thinking power. Here are a few examples of what I do:

Cleaning - Whether its my office, bedroom, or kitchen - I dive into the clutter head first and start putting things away. And if I feel that work is still on my mind, I place my direct attention into the scrubbing or dish washing. Make the task that I’m doing the most important and hard thing I have on my plate.

Cooking - If you only know how to make one dish, make it. And if you know more, pick the one you like the most. Even if you’re at the office, making a small salad or cutting up some fruits is perfect.

Fixing - My absolute favorite is fixing. I generally have a list of things that my family has compiled since they have deemed me the handy man. So I start with the top of the list and work my way down. It doesn’t matter how much I get done, as long as my attention is directly on the drilling, wiring, etc.

All these items are great for me because I have to place very little thought into it. Its just a remedial task. Some people like gardening, others like walking, and my friends like playing sports. Regardless of what it is, tasks like this can actually provide alot in return: appreciation for stillness and feeling of accomplishment.

Momentum is something that comes in swings and when its not flowing your way, it feels like an eternity before you feel its coming back in your direction. So admit to yourself that momentum is lost, dive into some thoughtless tasks, and then try getting back into work.

Check out these great blog posts by some of our mentors and friends:

Steven Pavlina: 33 Ways to Increase Productivity

37Signals: Get Off

There are hundreds of software solutions available for businesses. Most of them are bloated with functionality and a majority have absolutely terrible interfaces. After a while of using such software, you simply get tired of not being able to do things simply and quickly. And if you’re a desktop user, tough luck carrying that around everytime you travel or want to work outside of your office.

We like web applications way more than software for this reason. They are more portable and multiple users can have access to it without having to purchase additional licenses. There is also no upfront fee for setting it up and you can dump the application if it gets old or doesn’t work like you want it to. We like having the option to change our mind and not getting penalized for it.

If you run a small business, we prescribe that you move over to something that is more affordable and gets the job better than enterprise solutions. Each of these are not only incredible applications in what they do, but they are also impossible to beat on the price front:

Backpack: Just updated, backpack helps you keep a track of your To-Do’s, manage multiple lists, and jot your notes down. The modern day notebook. Cost: Free
Basecamp: The god of project management systems, it will help manage any type of project no matter the context or size. We even had HP Product Development team switch over to this for daily communication and management! Cost: Free - $150/month
Blinksale: Simple invoicing which will manage your receivables. Cost: Free - $50/month
GMail: Best email application with the most effective search system. Cost: Free
GTalk: Simple chatting application with clean interface. Cost: Free
Google Docs: Shareable documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. Cost: Free
Highrise: Manage you contacts and keep track of communication. Cost: Free - $150/month
Strongspace: Quick and simple web storage. Cost: $15-$100/month