ReWork - Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson
Change the Way You Work Forever
Many people see “the real world” as a fixed place “where new ideas, unfamiliar approaches, and foreign concepts always lose.”
[bq] But “the real world is not a place, it’s an excuse. It’s a justification for not trying.”
Failure is highly priced in startup circles, but it turns out that people actually don’t learn much from failure. Entrepreneurs who’s previous company failed are barely more likely to succeed than first time founders. Successful ones on the other hand are more likely to succeed with their new companies too [study p. 17]
Long-term business plans are “a fantasy”. We should call them guesses instead, because that’s what they really are.
Plans let the past drive the future, whereas we should actually constantly make decisions based on an ever changing present.
[bq] “Plans are inconsistent with improvisation.”
Workaholism is stupid and creates more problems than it solves.
[bq] “Make up for intellectual laziness with brute force [and] create crisis.”
Make others feel inadequate and decrease morale.
“Ass-in-seat mentality”: Staying in the office just for the sake of being there and being seen.
[bq] “To do great work, you need to feel that you’re making a dent in the universe.”
Scratch your own itch! Then you also know exactly how to improve your product instead of stabbing in thew dark trying to guess someone else’s problems.
Start making stuff as early as possible. It’s all about doing! Ideas only go so far.
No time is not an excuse. Even with half an hour a day you can start something. And if you really want it, you’ll make time for it. Busy is a choice! And there will never be a perfect time.
Stand for something and have strong opinions! Aim for a few superfans and ignore the haters. If everyone kind of likes you, what you’re doing is boring.
It’s easy to write a mission statement, but less than useless if you don’t actually stand for it.
Focusing on the exit strategy is dangerous, doesn’t lead to building an actual long-term successful company, but just one that looks as good as possible for exit. Should focus on a commitment strategy instead.
Use constraints to your advantage. E.g. many forms of poetry use very strong constraints (e.g. 5-7-5 haiku) to get creative results. Constraints can help you be leaner and understand the restricted space you operate in better.
[bq] “It’s hard enough to do one thing right. Trying to do ten things well at the same time? Forget about it. […] You’re better off with a kick-ass half than a half-assed whole.”
Ignore the details in the beginning and focus on the big picture instead. If you focus on the details straight away you get delayed and make plans that need changing later on anyway.
Make decisions! Don’t delay them waiting for the perfect opportunity to come along, or more information. Decision can easily pile up and paralyze.
Be a curator! Look for things to simplify and remove. What stays will be all the more powerful.
Don’t focus on the newest trend, focus on things that don’t change!
Sell your by-products! More obvious for manufacturers, e.g. lumber mills can sell sawdust. But even knowledge workers produce by-products that can be turned into e.g. books or blogs.
Remove as much obstruction as possible! Often we spend hours making written plans, charts, specification, … but they are quickly forgotten and no one looks at them really. If you can make it more real, e.g. drawings or mockups, it’s much more impactful and wastes much less time.
Keep asking: Why am I working on X? What and who for? Maybe it’s better not done at all!
Enthusiasm does not equal usefulness!
[bq] “Cool wears off, useful never does.”
What could I be doing instead? Especially important if resources are constrained.
[bq] “Don’t throw good time after bad work.”
Meetings are toxic!
Usually about very abstract ideas, not concrete things
Tiny amount of information per minute
Vague agendas without clear goals
“Meetings procreate” Lead to follow up meetings
Rarely schedule the time it actually takes, but 30 or 60 minute blocks
A 10 person 1 hour meeting wastes 10h productivity (not including attention switching case etc). That’s a huge amount! Rarely worth it.
Should instead
Set a strict time limit and stick to it
Invite only who’s necessary
Very clear agenda
Begin with specific problem
Talk as concrete as possible
End with clear tasks and responsibilities
Look for paths of least resistance for problems and be happy with “good enough” instead of great.
Aim for quick wins. Momentum fuels motivation!
Break long projects down into smaller part to get more frequent sense of progress and accomplishment.
[bq] “What distinguishes people who are ten times more effective than the norm is not that they work ten times harder, it’s that they use their creativity to come up with solutions that require one-tenth of the effort.”
Results of lack of sleep:
Stubbornness
Lack of creativity
Lower morale
Irritability
We suck at estimating! Waste a lot of time on long term/big project estimates that are totally useless. Either don’t bother at all or break down into shorter/simpler timeframes.
Make many tiny decisions instead of one big one. It’s easier.
Don’t copy. Be influenced but don’t steal. Won’t lead to true understanding either.
Make yourself part of the product so no one can copy it.
Picking an enemy and branding oneself as the “anti-…” can be very effective marketing strategy.
[bq] “Do less than your competitors to beat them.”
If they have 4 features, doesn’t mean you need 5. Do a fe simple things and do them well.
Don’t focus too much on competition. Time spent worrying about them is time spent not creating, and you’re also less likely to come up with fresh ideas.
Say no by default! Short discomfort of confrontation far outweighs the negatives of dragging things on.
Let customers outgrow you. Scaring away potential new customers is worse than losing some old ones. If product gets too specialised to a few existing customers, gets very risky.
Don’t confuse enthusiasm with priority. Let a new idea settle for a while before dropping everything else for it.
Enjoy obscurity. It allows you to take greater risk and experiment.
Build an audience. Put out quality content. Much cheaper and more effective than traditional marketing or ads.
Use teaching as a way to build direct bonds and strong following.
Share your ideas. Many businesses too paranoid. If you think people can beat you at your own game, something is wrong.
Let people look behind the curtain. Forms a deep bond with them.
Be genuine, don’t fake something you are not. Be open with your flaws.
When aiming for publicity, go for smaller more niche media outlets or bloggers. Lower barrier and more genuine interest.
Emulate drug dealers: Give a way something for free you really believe in so people get hooked and want more.
Hiring too fast can lead to a “strangers at a cocktail party” situation where everyone is too polite to really say their opinion or call out bullshit. Need to integrate people and make them feel comfortable with each other.
“Delegators”, people who only make top work and delegate it to others are dangerous. They prevent others from doing real work, make up unnecessary work, and love meetings.
Hire “managers of one”, people who set up their own goals and execute them.
Working in different time-zones (as long as there is some overlap in working hours) can actually be a big benefit, leading to more alone time and deep thinking.
Own your bad news! Don’t try to sweep issues under the rug, they will come out eventually, so you might as well reveal them yourself instead of having someone else do it.
Stick with a new decision/feature for a while if you believe in it, even if you get negative feedback. It might just be a natural resistance to change.
Decisions are temporary. If circumstances change, decisions can be adapted. So don’t be afraid of making them or overthinking them.
Trust in your employees is key. Treat them like 13 year olds and they’ll produce work like 13 year olds.
[bq] “Policies are organizational scar tissue.”
If one person does something wrong once, often react by creating a policy forbidding that.
[bq] “Inspiration […] has an expiration date.” Should act on it immediately.