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Kymberlee
Weil
Interviewed
by Mark Sylvester
Kymberlee was interviewed at the end of
the MAX
2003 Conference in Salt Lake City. Her firm,
Mixed
Grill, produced intro™ for the attendees
and Mark Sylvester had a chance to talk with
her after a very successful installation of
the software. Mark is also her partner at Mixed
Grill. |
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| Passion
Q: In
your profile earlier this year on flashgoddess.com
you talked about passion. Can you tell us exactly
what you mean when you say passion?
A: Passion
has many meanings. I am passionate about martial
arts, which means I am dedicated, I am excited
by it, I can't wait to go to class and I practice
it in everything I do. It doesn't stop when
the class stops.
You can't turn passion
on or off. It is a lasting feeling. It is a
feeling that drives you. Being passionate about
your work causes you to be excited to wake up
in the morning. Being passionate about your
significant other allows you to smile, all the
time. Just the idea of being passionate about
what you do or who you do it with or how you
do it affects everything in your life.
Even if you are not the
best at something, if you are passionate about
it, you will get there – eventually. |
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| People
Q: It
is obvious as soon as someone meets you that
you are as passionate about people as you are
about your work. How does this passion for people
affect your daily life?
A: In
life you never stop learning and by surrounding
myself with people whom I can learn from and
who challenge me in all aspects of my life,
I am learning new things every day. From my
technology career to sports to social activities,
I strive to be around people who inspire me.
In the technology industry
especially, seeing work that others are doing
and interacting with the people who are doing
amazing work, or using technology in a unique
way is something that stimulates my passion
and keeps me excited about my career in a very
tangible way.
On the other end of the
spectrum, I enjoy being the one who inspires
people, such as the people who attend talks
I give or who read my books. I am thrilled when
I hear how my book has helped a career, or changed
a career. Just recently, a gentleman bought
a book for a friend of his that was going into
the hospital and when he saw me at the MAX conference,
he asked me sign the book for his friend. Although
I feel shy about it, I am always honored when
people ask me to sign my books.
Inspiration is a two
sided card – I like to give back and inspire
other people and I look forward to being inspired
by those around me every day. In my career I
do both every day, not only with the books I
have written, but by the work we are doing.
Over and over, people say,“What a killer
app you have written (Intro).” I remember
at DEVCON last year being in awe at some of
the applications I saw. And now a year later,
being on the other side where people come up
to me and say the same things about the application
we have developed is hard for me to believe.
It can be overwhelming. |
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| Projects
Q: You are involved in a lot
of projects, including Flashforward,
Mixed
Grill, Macromedia and community work. They
are all very different, how does your passion
impact these projects?
A: My passion for business
certainly comes out at Mixed Grill and at Flashforward.
The intro™ project is clearly an example
of the fact that you can do anything if you
are passionate enough.
By being passionate about an idea and being
so confident that I would share the idea with
someone else and that others would believe in
it and others could see the vision in it proves
how powerful this commitment can be. Intro is
a product that is held in such high regard it
is hard to imagine how much we have done since
February, but yet, it is proof that you can
do anything; you really can, especially if you
are passionate about it.
To go from an idea then turn that idea into
a project and then into a viable product is
fulfilling. So, by believing in the project
over 100% from the very beginning has brought
us to the position we are in now with intro
and our company. It is an example of putting
your heart into something.
My passion for the technology that changed
my life is what I bring to the Flashforward
conference. I have respect for Macromedia, since
I first was exposed to them late 1999. At the
very first Flashforward in 2000, Macromedia
was one of the premier sponsors. I was so nervous
even to shake hands with someone from Macromedia,
and yet I wanted so badly to be at a point when
I could work with them, or they would actually
ask my opinion of something. To go from that
to now knowing many of the executives by name
and being able to work with them is incredible.
I was just honored at MAX for being voted number
one on the Macromedia/INTO
campaign. This is huge. People voted for me
because they liked what I had to say and what
I talked about was how following my passion
changed my life.
My passion for technology is what drove me
to write two books – this goes back to
my passion for people. Having the opportunity
(thanks to Lynda Weinman of Lynda.com
and Flashforward) to write two books was amazing.
She was my mentor and having her to look up
to and work with was an invaluable experience.
I remember the day Lynda and Stewart McBride
offered me the job of director of Flashforward.
I was so honored. The progression from late
1999, my first computer conference, to two years
later, being asked to run the preeminent conference
on Flash has been pretty amazing.
Now because of my involvement with Macromedia
and the people that I work with on projects
like intro, I can use those experiences as a
good influence on the Flashforward conference
as a whole. At Flashforward, I enjoy working
with all the people involved with the conference
including the speakers and the Flash Film Festival
judges and finalists. With the connections I
have made, I have been able to build great relationships
that can last my whole career and beyond.
The Flash Film Festival at Flashforward deeply
affected me the first time I saw it. Watching
it for the very first time at the very first
Flashforward in 2000 was so inspiring that I
remember having goose bumps as I viewed the
finalists on the huge screen.
I still remember
what that felt like and in every single Flash
Film Festival, my goal is to instill that same
feeling in every person that watches it. |
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| Performance
Q: You started performing
when you were very young, as a fast-pitch softball
pitcher, and now you speak to international
audiences about Flash and Business, what is
it about your passion that relates to your performance?
A: Well, I have been an athlete
all my life and much of what I learned as an
athlete I have carried to my professional and
personal life. This includes goal stetting,
determination, dedication, ambition, competition
and positive attitudes. All those values or
skills I can relate to even now.
Business is like a performance - at a very
basic level you have to show up. One of my favorite
quotes which I learned from my partner is,
“The world belongs to those that show up.”
And that is where it starts. The first thing
you have to do is show up. In business you have
to begin by showing up – it doesn't stop
there – you have to show up, have a plan,
follow through, meet your commitments and strive
to be better in every thing you do – all
the time.
To balance my business life, I still have the
opportunity to engage in sports such as martial
arts and hula dancing. Both of which I am extremely
passionate about.
Q: What is it about performing
that captivates you so much?
A:
Performing is an adrenaline rush, whether it
is testing for a belt in marital arts, when
all eyes are on you and it is up to you to demonstrate
a mastered skill or in business when you are
giving a presentation, you are front of a crowd
of 1000 or more. All eyes are on you and it
is up to you to deliver a compelling message
that the audience can hear and be affected by. |
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Pink
Q: You
are well known for your sense of style, your
wardrobe and your design sensibility in your
projects. What is it about you and the color
pink?
A: As
a woman, we have more challenges in business
than men do and particularly in the technology
industry, there are far fewer women than there
are men. This can act to our advantage as women
stand out more than men do. If you are a woman
programmer, that is a rarity and people may
pay attention to you even more. When I show
up to business meetings as a woman, I like to
go out of my way to look as professional as
possible, I enjoy wearing suits, so that the
people I am doing business with will take me
seriously. As for the color pink, in my suits,
I wear black, but I like to accent with pink.
My career is so serious and intense and competitive
and fast paced – pink is the opposite
of all of that.
Pink represents playfulness,
femininity and it is nice to have a visual balance
between black (seriousness) and pink (fun).
Q: Do
you have any final thoughts about passion and
what you would like people to take away from
this interview?
A: Well
it is like what I said in the Macromedia/INTO
campaign. My thoughts were: Follow
your passion; it can change your life. |
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