syncPEOPLE Welcomes Pete Lasko and Jeff De Cagna

With all small businesses, one, if not the, most important criteria for success is a strong, committed team. In the past 8 months or so that I have been tentatively at the helm of our little adventure, I’ve brought many people inside the fold.

When we started, I went really wide with the folks involved. Why? I generally believe that taking any 10 people to start something (you choose what it is), about 2-3 will survive the duration and prove not only enthusiastic but dedicated. When we started syncPEOPLE, I assumed the same. Now it’s 8 months later and the team has certainly shrunk to the right size.

The 37 Signals folks are know for promoting teams of 3. We’ve fallen on that magical number with the addition of Pete Lasko. Our core team now includes myself on Business and UI matters, Pete on Design and Development, and Duane on Development. There’s tremendous overlap there, so please excuse the liberal application of labels. If you don’t believe it, stop by one of our sessions in Provo and see for yourself.

The hardest thing to take, however, is advice. Good advice often never comes in the form you would hope for - it’s frank, direct, and most importantly, unselfish. I take our advisors very seriously. Why? They are there to help and are fortunate enough to not have their heads in the muck all the time.

We’ve had Stowe Boyd on board since the beginning - partly due to my friendship with him, but mostly stemming from his wide experiences and insight into the worlds we’re converging on.

Today, I’m proud to include Jeff De Cagna on our list of advisors. I met Jeff at a conference recently, but that was just the first real meeting. I’ve been lurking on his blog for months now. He’s one of the few individuals from the industyr that is blogging yet and that was a huge plus for me in terms of getting to know him. After a good deal of discussion, and eventually his own evaluation, Jeff decided that he 1) like what we were doing and 2) felt he could contribute in a way that would be beneficial to us both.

I’ve just updated the site, but here’s his bio:

Jeff has spent his entire career working for the advancement of associations and membership organizations, mostly by poking those organizations with a stick! He is the association community's leading voice for innovation, and recognized by his peers as one of the field's preeminent thought leaders. In 2002, Jeff was elected a Fellow of the American Society of Association Executives & The Center for Association Leadership.

He is founder or co-founder of two association community consultancies, Principled Innovation LLC and Association Renewal LLC, both located in the Washington, DC area. A graduate of The Johns Hopkins University, Jeff earned a master of education degree from Harvard University. Jeff’s personal interests include the NHL’s New York Rangers, collecting fine writing instruments and playing with Wilbur, his devilish dachshund.