Rework

More Praise for
Rework

“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 first

Hire when it hurts

Pass on great people

Strangers at a cocktail party

Resumés are ridiculous

Years of irrelevance

Forget about formal education

Everybody works

Hire managers of one

Hire great writers

The best are everywhere

Test-drive employees

DAMAGE CONTROL

Own your bad news

Speed changes everything

How to say you’re sorry

Put everyone on the front lines

Take a deep breath

CULTURE

You don’t create a culture

Decisions are temporary

Skip the rock stars

They’re not thirteen

Send people home at 5

Don’t scar on the first cut

Sound like you

Four-letter words

ASAP is poison

CONCLUSION

Inspiration is perishable

RESOURCES

About 37signals

37signals products

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS