#rule 37

A recent order in the case Innovation Ventures, LLC v. Aspen Fitness Products, Inc. et al., No. 11-13537, (E.D.Mich. April 7, 2014) examined when a default judgment as sanction is warranted in the 6th circuit

For default under Rule 37 sanctions, the court considered a four-part test from Harmon v. CSX Transportation, Inc. 110 F.3d 364, 366-67 (6th Cir. 1997):

1. If the failure was due to bad faith or willfulness;

2. If the other party suffered prejudiced as a result;

3. Whether the party had been warned that failure to produce would result in default; and

4. If lesser sanctions were considered before entry of default.

The people around you are a bigger influence than you expect. That’s why it’s important to surround yourself around high-quality people. Sometimes quality people are hard to find like finding a frozen 20 dollar bill in the parking lot. However, that’s not the case at Awesome Inc. In fact, Rule #37 at Awesome Inc is to “Surround yourself with Awesomeness." I’m always surrounded by great people at Awesome Inc and they have definitely influenced me for the better during my time here. I walked into Awesome Inc a skinny high school senior with little experience. Now I’m a skinny college freshman hardened by the tough world of startups. It wasn’t always like that.

Being a super chill guy, assertiveness was very foreign to me. So one time after working on 5spot, I got a text from Garrett that basically told me to be more assertive. It reminded me of a classic Spongebob episode where Plankton teaches Spongebob to be more assertive. At one point, someone sits on Spongebob but he’s too nice to do anything about it. Here’s a link to the scene. I was in the same unassertive boat as Spongebob. I used to have trouble with little things like giving my opinions or telling the waiter that I didn’t want tomatoes on my sandwich. Now my sandwiches are happily tomato-free thanks to Garrett’s advice.

I feel more comfortable sharing my opinions now. Becoming assertive is still a work in progress but I’ve been looking towards role models such as Kanye West and Mitch McConnell for inspiration. This change wouldn’t have been possible if I wasn’t surrounded by positive influences at Awesome Inc. Contrary to what they said in high school, peer pressure can work wonders to your productivity. You just have to make sure it’s the good kind.

Rule #37: Surround yourself with Awesomeness