Maeda's SIMPLICITY

Manga on the Web

My friend has launched an online service for publishing manga on the Web called MangaNovel.com. The site is unique for its ability to let you look at manga in different translations that are user-generated in a WIKI-like fashion. If you're curious about the future of manga, it's an interesting platform to checkout.

Reebok Emoretion

My new limited edition shoes for Reebok will launch March 31. I'm certainly getting emoretional about the launch date.

Haiku Remixed

Clifton Burt from Mississippi writes, "I just wanted to let you know that our design resource center recently used letters from a discarded sign to construct the haiku from your Simplicity blog post of April 21, 2007." Thanks Clifton!

E15 Continues

It seems that every time I see my guys working on E15, something new feature has been added or refined. The guys are currently setting up my machine to program in this new system. Staying in pace with the times is certainly a full time job.

Past and Future

Last week in Los Angeles I had the pleasure of seeing the past and also the future. Today I am in the present, I think.

Representation and Participation

In academia there are many committees as compared with industry. Committees enable the sharing of viewpoints in an open forum of members who are committed to the cause of the committee. If you turn that around however for someone who is not on the committee, from the outside it appears like a closed forum and makes those that are not inside the committee feel less committed to the cause of the committee.

A committee is usually formed of representatives for particular constituent groups. It is the responsibility of the representatives to provide representation, and more importantly to report back to their constituents how they did with enough details such that they feel properly represented but also they know how to become more committed, albeit indirectly.

Minutes are an important tool for sharing the issues discussed in a meeting, knowing who went or didn't go, and when shared openly provide for greater accountability. Starting the meeting with an agenda is important; sharing the agenda ahead of time for feedback is even more important. Finally, executing the meeting in the promised allotment of time is critical.

Even and fair participation is important. Otherwise the viewpoints become skewed and the outcome fails to benefit from the strength of diverse opinions. The leader needs to be careful to solicit opinions from quiet constituents, and at the same time ask for more vocal constituents to grant some extra room for the less vocally-gifted.

A committed core needs to connect with the uncommitted masses. Otherwise the committee has no meaning to exist. Communication in every which way is everything for the leader. Without communication, she is the leader of a team of one -- her own mind.