Rework - Jason Fried [0]
“In typical 37signals fashion, the wisdom in these pages is edgy yet simple, straightforward, and proven … Read this book multiple times to help give you the courage you need to get out there and make something great.”
—Tony Hsieh, CEO, Zappos.com
“The brilliance of Rework is that it inspires you to rethink everything you thought you knew about strategy, customers, and getting things done.”
—William C. Taylor, founding editor of Fast Company and coauthor of Mavericks at Work
“For me, Rework posed a new challenge: stifling the urge to rip out each page and tape it to my wall … Amazing, powerful, inspirational—those adjectives might make me sound like a fawning fan, but Rework is that useful. After you’ve finished it, be prepared for a new feeling of clarity and motivation.”
—Kathy Sierra, co-creator of the bestselling Head First series and founder of javaranch.com
“Inspirational … In a world where we all keep getting asked to do more with less, the authors show us how to do less and create more.”
—Scott Rosenberg, cofounder of Salon.com and author of Dreaming in Code and Say Everything
“Leave your sacred cows in the barn and let 37signals’ unconventional wisdom and experience show you the way to business success in the twenty-first century. No MBA jargon or consultant-speak allowed. Just practical advice we can all use. Great stuff.”
—Saul Kaplan, chief catalyst, Business Innovation Factory
“Appealingly intimate, as if you’re having coffee with the authors. Rework is not just smart and succinct but grounded in the concreteness of doing rather than hard-to-apply philosophizing. This book inspired me to trust myself in defying the status quo.”
—Penelope Trunk, author of Brazen Careerist: The New Rules for Success
“[This book’s] assumption is that an organization is a piece of software. Editable. Malleable. Sharable. Fault-tolerant. Comfortable in Beta. Reworkable. The authors live by the credo ‘keep it simple, stupid’ and Rework possesses the same intelligence—and irreverence—of that simple adage.”
—John Maeda, author of The Laws of Simplicity
“Rework is like its authors: fast-moving, iconoclastic, and inspiring. It’s not just for startups. Anyone who works can learn from this.”
—Jessica Livingston, partner, Y Combinator; author, Founders at Work
INTRODUCTION
FIRST
The new reality
TAKEDOWNS
Ignore the real world
Learning from mistakes is overrated
Planning is guessing
Why grow?
Workaholism
Enough with “entrepreneurs”
GO
Make a dent in the universe
Scratch your own itch
Start making something
No time is no excuse
Draw a line in the sand
Mission statement impossible
Outside money is Plan Z
You need less than you think
Start a business, not a startup
Building to flip is building to flop
Less mass
PROGRESS
Embrace constraints
Build half a product, not a half-assed product
Start at the epicenter
Ignore the details early on
Making the call is making progress
Be a curator
Throw less at the problem
Focus on what won’t change
Tone is in your fingers
Sell your by-products
Launch now
PRODUCTIVITY
Illusions of agreement
Reasons to quit
Interruption is the enemy of productivity
Meetings are toxic
Good enough is fine
Quick wins
Don’t be a hero
Go to sleep
Your estimates suck
Long lists don’t get done
Make tiny decisions
COMPETITORS
Don’t copy
Decommoditize your product
Pick a fight
Underdo your competition
Who cares what they’re doing?
EVOLUTION
Say no by default
Let your customers outgrow you
Don’t confuse enthusiasm with priority
Be at-home good
Don’t write it down
PROMOTION
Welcome obscurity
Build an audience
Out-teach your competition
Emulate chefs
Go behind the scenes
Nobody likes plastic flowers
Press releases are spam
Forget about the Wall Street Journal
Drug dealers get it right
Marketing is not a department
The myth of the overnight sensation
HIRING
Do it yourself