Spent the past week with the Sphere team at the COD ranch outside Tucson, AZ. It was a great opportunity to get to know all the members of a team that's been working closely together over the past 6+ months. When you're a virtual company, personalities don't play as strong of a role in the functioning of the organization. It's more about the task at hand and raw performance. I think this is one of the reasons we've been so successful at Sphere. It's all about personal accountability and this puts pressure on each of us to perform. I'll always be curious to know how our performance would have been affected if we shared the same office space. I'm guessing we're better off in our virtual structure, and our friendships are probably better off for it as well:)
Anyway, last week was a great few days on the ranch, getting to know the team better, and drinking a few beers around the campfire. We coded a few new features and even pushed a new product or two out the door. Our founder/CEO, Tony Conrad, turned me onto some new bands, a nice surprise and thereby fulfilling his status as all-around groover.