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The post isn't a tribute to the freedom to fail. It's about having an idea, not complicating it, and executing the basics that matter in 24 hours. There's so mu

The post isn't a tribute to the freedom to fail. It's about having an idea, not complicating it, and executing the basics that matter in 24 hours. There's so much you can get done in 24 hours if you don't make it take longer than that.

danilocampos 16y ago
Of course you don't see it that way, you're just doing what you want to do, because you can. "It's about having an idea, not complicating it, and executing the basics that matter in 24 hours" ... which is the freedom to fail. Three things bought you the freedom to fail: You're the President, so you have deep influence on the allocation of resources. You value minimalism, so you limited the scope of the project to make it manageable. This decreased risk (while maximizing ROI, bravo). You're open to an outcome that entirely invalidates the tool since you'll learn something either way. Failure (and success) requires resources, investment and tolerance of risk. You demonstrated all three. That's the value of the freedom to fail and it's solid gold. You don't see it that way, perhaps, because it's just how you roll at 37signals. Ask a puppy: are you trying to be really, really cute when you're yawning or are you just yawning because you need to? It will insist, as you have, that it's just doing what it needs to do. The thing to keep in mind is that, sadly, not everyone can access the resources or commit to the investment required to get things done. Even if they do, cultural risk aversion may still paralyze them. I looked at your post and what immediately struck me was "Damn, that's good stuff. Some places are incapable of delivering this kind of thing. Why? Oh. No freedom to fail." I guess the best luxuries are the ones you don't realize you've got. :)
- danilocampos 16y ago
  It also occurs to me that committees add complication to things all the time. Being able to process an idea into a product while bypassing a committee is important factor in the investment component.

danilocampos 16y ago

Of course you don't see it that way, you're just doing what you want to do, because you can. "It's about having an idea, not complicating it, and executing the basics that matter in 24 hours" ... which is the freedom to fail. Three things bought you the freedom to fail: You're the President, so you have deep influence on the allocation of resources. You value minimalism, so you limited the scope of the project to make it manageable. This decreased risk (while maximizing ROI, bravo). You're open to an outcome that entirely invalidates the tool since you'll learn something either way. Failure (and success) requires resources, investment and tolerance of risk. You demonstrated all three. That's the value of the freedom to fail and it's solid gold. You don't see it that way, perhaps, because it's just how you roll at 37signals. Ask a puppy: are you trying to be really, really cute when you're yawning or are you just yawning because you need to? It will insist, as you have, that it's just doing what it needs to do. The thing to keep in mind is that, sadly, not everyone can access the resources or commit to the investment required to get things done. Even if they do, cultural risk aversion may still paralyze them. I looked at your post and what immediately struck me was "Damn, that's good stuff. Some places are incapable of delivering this kind of thing. Why? Oh. No freedom to fail." I guess the best luxuries are the ones you don't realize you've got. :)

danilocampos 16y ago
It also occurs to me that committees add complication to things all the time. Being able to process an idea into a product while bypassing a committee is important factor in the investment component.