3 ms·

Tips from 37signals' book Rework

20 points by grantgrant 16y ago

rewind 16y ago
I think one thing to be careful of is the "we did this so it must work" theme vs. "this is what we're going to do and will prove that it will work" theme. I'm a fan of 37S as entrepreneurs, and those guys come across really well in their posts and in interviews, and they're obviously smart guys. But look at how much advice is out there these days, whether in books or in blog posts about "how we did it". How many are after the success has already been achieved? Can they REALLY tell you the secrets to their (duplicable) success? Or was it just a specific set of circumstances than might not be as easily repeatable as everyone would like to think will come from buying a $10 eBook? Can you give an example of a company who laid out all their big ideas BEFORE they launched and made it work? How many vs. the companies that did A, B, X, Y, & Z and then told you "this is the way to did it to become successful" AFTER they were a hit? It's a bit like the stock market sometimes: anyone can see trends and patterns when looking at old charts. It doesn't (necessarily) mean anything. Hindsight is 20/20, and it's sometimes blinding.
- chmike 16y ago
  The advices they give are not recipes to guaranteed success. Every startup, product, market and founder are different and the optimal approach varies thus a lot. I consider these books as pertinent hints to be used as source of inspiration. Most of the advice are common sense but it is good to remind them because we often have the nose in the driving wheel, pedaling at full speed, and easily forget about these rules and start to diverge. There are also many false assumptions circulating around or many inexperiences startup founders that take the hardest or longest path to success. i.e. less is more, is counter intuitive but so true.
adriand 16y ago
One problem with this book is that much of it does not make sense for companies who are not already like 37Signals, either in terms of success or business model. For example, the book says meetings are toxic, and that you should avoid having them. But it does not contain any advice on what to do in the many situations where clients insist on a meeting, even when you know that the meeting is a pointless waste of time. The reason for that is obvious: they are not in a fee-for-service business dictated by a relatively small client roster. They're a mass market company where irritating a single client (or even dozens) only means alienating a minute section of their client base. For many businesspeople, however, this is simply not an option. That's just one example of several. The bottom-line: if you have a business model where you can dictate virtually every parameter of your business, and you're already super-successful, it becomes easy to act like rock stars.
- iaskwhy 16y ago
  I always thought the "meetings are toxic" part was about meetings inside the company to discuss features, etc.

20 points by grantgrant 16y ago

I think one thing to be careful of is the "we did this so it must work" theme vs. "this is what we're going to do and will prove that it will work" theme. I'm a fan of 37S as entrepreneurs, and those guys come across really well in their posts and in interviews, and they're obviously smart guys. But look at how much advice is out there these days, whether in books or in blog posts about "how we did it". How many are after the success has already been achieved? Can they REALLY tell you the secrets to their (duplicable) success? Or was it just a specific set of circumstances than might not be as easily repeatable as everyone would like to think will come from buying a $10 eBook? Can you give an example of a company who laid out all their big ideas BEFORE they launched and made it work? How many vs. the companies that did A, B, X, Y, & Z and then told you "this is the way to did it to become successful" AFTER they were a hit? It's a bit like the stock market sometimes: anyone can see trends and patterns when looking at old charts. It doesn't (necessarily) mean anything. Hindsight is 20/20, and it's sometimes blinding.

chmike 16y ago
The advices they give are not recipes to guaranteed success. Every startup, product, market and founder are different and the optimal approach varies thus a lot. I consider these books as pertinent hints to be used as source of inspiration. Most of the advice are common sense but it is good to remind them because we often have the nose in the driving wheel, pedaling at full speed, and easily forget about these rules and start to diverge. There are also many false assumptions circulating around or many inexperiences startup founders that take the hardest or longest path to success. i.e. less is more, is counter intuitive but so true.

adriand 16y ago

One problem with this book is that much of it does not make sense for companies who are not already like 37Signals, either in terms of success or business model. For example, the book says meetings are toxic, and that you should avoid having them. But it does not contain any advice on what to do in the many situations where clients insist on a meeting, even when you know that the meeting is a pointless waste of time. The reason for that is obvious: they are not in a fee-for-service business dictated by a relatively small client roster. They're a mass market company where irritating a single client (or even dozens) only means alienating a minute section of their client base. For many businesspeople, however, this is simply not an option. That's just one example of several. The bottom-line: if you have a business model where you can dictate virtually every parameter of your business, and you're already super-successful, it becomes easy to act like rock stars.

iaskwhy 16y ago
I always thought the "meetings are toxic" part was about meetings inside the company to discuss features, etc.