Sit back on your comfortable American, European, Chinese, British, or perhaps Canadian sofa, and read the story of TWG’s very own CMS – The Comfortable Mexican Sofa – which began back in March of 2009, on our annual winter work retreat down to Mexico.

The original comfortable mexican sofa

Our annual trip to Mexico has a few purposes. It gives us a light at the end of the tunnel through the long, cold and wet Canadian winter. It provides us with a new environment to live and work in, letting us stretch our creativity and energy. It replenishes our vitamin D, and it rewards everyone for doing so much to make TWG succeed throughout the year.

Our 2009 trip was an amazingly productive week (although we only realized that many months later). The idea once we arrived, was for each of us to have a concept to pitch to the team, with the goal of convincing one or two other developers or designers to join forces with you and make it happen. On that particular trip, we worked on two main ideas:
1. PostageApp.com – which has since been launched as a successful email management system for developers.
2. Our own CMS.. a simple cms, built for developers, by developers, with the twist that it can be added into any Rails application, rather than the usual set up which requires you to build your application around an existing CMS structure (like the excellent Radiant or Refinery)

This amazing CMS was in fact coded mostly by Oleg. And where did he code it you ask? Near the TV, and dining room (nachos and coke), on a giant sofa. In fact, so comfortable was this sofa, that Oleg slept on it most nights. I have included a photo of us watching episodes of Firefly on the Comfortable Mexican Sofa, and of us eating a meal on the Comfortable Mexican Dining Table, which was on the patio near the sofa.

The comfortable mexican dining table

Moral of the story?
Go somewhere different at least once a year.
Don’t try to over-structure things.
Let things happen.

We are 2+ weeks into February, and yet I feel no shame in finally knocking off one of my New Year’s resolutions: posting a TWG photo highlight-reel from 2010.

2010 was a pivotal year for TWG, including:
- the adoption of Scrum-Agile development methodology;
- a fantastic (3rd) team retreat to sunny Mexico;
- solidifying our Wine and Good People events at the studio;
- the graduation of 4 team members; and
- the launch of our first software product, PostageApp.com.

But enough words… to the memories of 2010:

Bonus Points: an animated .gif from Stephen’s first day at TWG.

I thought I’d add some important context for everyone who will be attending the TEDxToronto Salon at our studio this Friday Feb 11th.

“Something magic happens when you believe that your big goals are achievable and you make those goals public. You start thinking, plotting, and doing all the little steps that are going to take you there.” – Signal Vs. Noise

You guessed it! The theme for this salon is ‘The BIG Goal’, and we want YOU to share your goals and ideas.

Please don’t come to the TEDxToronto Salon expecting be a wallflower. Plan on participating.

It’s your opportunity to take the first step and state your BIG goal to an amazing group of people. Come prepared to briefly share your big goal, your ideas, your entrepreneurial dream, or what drove you towards your existing work. This gathering of like-minded, connected, and smart people will become a great resource and inspiration for all, and it’s membership into a group of people who will make big differences. Don’t miss this chance. Please participate.

The Plan. From 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm:

1. Wine and Food – In the spirit of TWG’s periodic ‘Good People Drinking Wine and Talking to Each Other‘ events, we’ll be opening the event with a quick introduction to some favorite Ontario wines. There will also be a table of delicious appetizers and finger food.  This is time to say hello to people around you, and quench your thirst after a long week.

2. The Speakers - The music will rise to a crescendo and and TEDx speakers Drew Dudley, and Neil Pasricha will stand to talk about their Big Goal, or a moment in their life that was a turning point to something greater.

3. Feedback – You’ll get to ask Drew and Neil your own questions, offer feedback, connect with others.

4. Your Goals – Drew will work his magic to encourage us all to stand up and state our own BIG goal or  BIG idea. Inspiration, perspiration, hillarification ensues.

Tickets:

Free, but space is limited…in fact it’s already full. If you’ve RSVP’d but can’t make it, please let us know so that those on the waiting list can get in.

We’re looking forward to meeting you and hearing all the entrepreneurial dreams Toronto has to offer. See you Friday.

- Your friends at TEDxToronto & The Working Group

Tweet this with: #TEDxToronto

Logistics: http://www.meetup.com/TEDxToronto/events/16381661/