March 12, 2010
BOOK REVIEW: 'Rework': Software Company Founders Author a Radically Different Kind of Business Book
Reviewed By David M. Kinchen
Huntingtonnews.net Book Critic
If you hate business books -- the kind that give advice to entrepreneurs interested in being their own bosses -- as much as I do, you'll welcome a completely different kind of business book by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson, founders of the Chicago-based business software company 37signals.
"Rework" (Crown Business, 288 pages, $22.00) doesn't even look like a business book, with its short, to-the-point chapters and creative bold graphics and illustrations. It lacks an index, which I've criticized in the past, but don't mind here, because the authors obviously want you to read the book, not peruse an index for items to study. They do include a large number of resources, including the web site of the company they founded in 1999, which is based in Chicago's West Loop neighborhood.
Speaking of "entrepreneurs" Fried and Hansson hate the word; they prefer the word "starter":
"Let's retire the term entrepreneur. It's outdated and loaded with baggage. It smells like a members-only club. Everyone should be encouraged to start his own business, not just some rare breed that self-identifies as entrepreneurs."
Fried, a Chicagoan and Hansson, from Denmark, spring from two down-to-earth creative cultures. Chicago from its Fort Dearborn start in the early 19th Century has exemplified creativity and a can-do spirit...it's in the water and air. Denmark is a tiny country with big companies and creative small ones. Think Bang & Olufsen, to name just one Danish company. Or LEGO, a privately owned company founded in 1949.
Forget about the trappings of business, the two thirty-something (Fried is 35 and Hansson is 30) authors say:
"Today, anyone can be in business. Tools that used to be out of reach are now easily accessible. Technology that cost thousands is now just a few bucks or even free. Stuff that was impossible just a few years ago is now simple. That means anyone can start a business. And you can do it without working miserable 80-hour weeks or depleting your life savings.
"You don't have to think big -- think real, they say. Don't give up your day job: You can start it on the side while your day job provides all the cash flow you need. Forget about business plans, meetings, office space -- you don't need them."
Most business books tell you to work your butt off, pulling all-nighters and making people who don't put in 80 hour workweeks feel guilty. Jason and David -- I'm willing to bet that's what they want people to call them -- say if you can't get the job done in 10-40 hours a week, working 80 hours won't cut it. (But I'm also guessing that they didn't follow their own advice when they began their company!)
With its straightforward language and easy-is-better approach, Rework is the perfect playbook for anyone who's ever dreamed of doing it on their own. Hardcore entrepreneurs, small-business owners, people stuck in day jobs who want to get out, and artists who don't want to starve anymore will all find valuable inspiration and guidance in these pages. It's time to rework work.
Experience? It's overrated, say Jason and David. Of course you need people with a certain amount of experience, but five or ten years in the same job doesn't necessarily make Jack or Jill a better employee than a brilliant college drop-out with kick-ass ideas and a work ethic that demonstrates independent thinking.
I like the concept they propose -- and follow at 37signals -- of "underdoing" the competition:
"Conventional wisdom says that to beat your competition, you need to one up them. If they have four features, you need five (or fifteen, or twenty-five ). If they're spending $20,000, you need to spend $30,000. If they have fifty employees, you need a hundred.
"This sort of one-upping, Cold War mentality is a dead end. When you get suckered into an arms race you wind up in a never-ending battle that costs you massive amounts of money, time and drive.
"Furthermore, you're on the defensive and defensive companies can't think ahead: 'they only think behind'".
For example, they cite the growing popularity of single-speed basic bicycles (like my fat-tire coaster-brake beach cruiser?), as opposed to expensive feature-laden multi-speed ones -- and they also cite their own software products that are designed to be user friendly and do specific jobs. I follow this in my own computer use, using basic word processing programs like Bean and TextEdit on my iMac. I don't do footnotes, so why do I need a word processor that has these bells and whistles?
Meetings? A waste of precious time. Work, don't talk. Don't create a bureaucracy if someone violates your work rules, talk to the violator. Resumes? Lies, lies and more lies. Face and butts in the cubicles time? 37signals has employees from around the world. They get together periodically for brainstorm sessions, but they don't have to show up at an office every day.
I like these guys! Strike that: I love these guys!
I read the book in one sitting, that's how good it is. I'm going to keep this book handy and reach for it when I attempt to accomplish a simple task with complicated tools and ideas.
For more information, go to 37signals.com
Publisher's web site: www.crownpublishing.com
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BOOK REVIEW: 'Rework': Software Company Founders Author a Radically Different Kind of Business Book
Reviewed By David M. Kinchen
Huntingtonnews.net Book Critic
If you hate business books -- the kind that give advice to entrepreneurs interested in being their own bosses -- as much as I do, you'll welcome a completely different kind of business book by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson, founders of the Chicago-based business software company 37signals.
"Rework" (Crown Business, 288 pages, $22.00) doesn't even look like a business book, with its short, to-the-point chapters and creative bold graphics and illustrations. It lacks an index, which I've criticized in the past, but don't mind here, because the authors obviously want you to read the book, not peruse an index for items to study. They do include a large number of resources, including the web site of the company they founded in 1999, which is based in Chicago's West Loop neighborhood.
Speaking of "entrepreneurs" Fried and Hansson hate the word; they prefer the word "starter":
"Let's retire the term entrepreneur. It's outdated and loaded with baggage. It smells like a members-only club. Everyone should be encouraged to start his own business, not just some rare breed that self-identifies as entrepreneurs."
Fried, a Chicagoan and Hansson, from Denmark, spring from two down-to-earth creative cultures. Chicago from its Fort Dearborn start in the early 19th Century has exemplified creativity and a can-do spirit...it's in the water and air. Denmark is a tiny country with big companies and creative small ones. Think Bang & Olufsen, to name just one Danish company. Or LEGO, a privately owned company founded in 1949.
Forget about the trappings of business, the two thirty-something (Fried is 35 and Hansson is 30) authors say:
"Today, anyone can be in business. Tools that used to be out of reach are now easily accessible. Technology that cost thousands is now just a few bucks or even free. Stuff that was impossible just a few years ago is now simple. That means anyone can start a business. And you can do it without working miserable 80-hour weeks or depleting your life savings.
"You don't have to think big -- think real, they say. Don't give up your day job: You can start it on the side while your day job provides all the cash flow you need. Forget about business plans, meetings, office space -- you don't need them."
Most business books tell you to work your butt off, pulling all-nighters and making people who don't put in 80 hour workweeks feel guilty. Jason and David -- I'm willing to bet that's what they want people to call them -- say if you can't get the job done in 10-40 hours a week, working 80 hours won't cut it. (But I'm also guessing that they didn't follow their own advice when they began their company!)
With its straightforward language and easy-is-better approach, Rework is the perfect playbook for anyone who's ever dreamed of doing it on their own. Hardcore entrepreneurs, small-business owners, people stuck in day jobs who want to get out, and artists who don't want to starve anymore will all find valuable inspiration and guidance in these pages. It's time to rework work.
Experience? It's overrated, say Jason and David. Of course you need people with a certain amount of experience, but five or ten years in the same job doesn't necessarily make Jack or Jill a better employee than a brilliant college drop-out with kick-ass ideas and a work ethic that demonstrates independent thinking.
I like the concept they propose -- and follow at 37signals -- of "underdoing" the competition:
"Conventional wisdom says that to beat your competition, you need to one up them. If they have four features, you need five (or fifteen, or twenty-five ). If they're spending $20,000, you need to spend $30,000. If they have fifty employees, you need a hundred.
"This sort of one-upping, Cold War mentality is a dead end. When you get suckered into an arms race you wind up in a never-ending battle that costs you massive amounts of money, time and drive.
"Furthermore, you're on the defensive and defensive companies can't think ahead: 'they only think behind'".
For example, they cite the growing popularity of single-speed basic bicycles (like my fat-tire coaster-brake beach cruiser?), as opposed to expensive feature-laden multi-speed ones -- and they also cite their own software products that are designed to be user friendly and do specific jobs. I follow this in my own computer use, using basic word processing programs like Bean and TextEdit on my iMac. I don't do footnotes, so why do I need a word processor that has these bells and whistles?
Meetings? A waste of precious time. Work, don't talk. Don't create a bureaucracy if someone violates your work rules, talk to the violator. Resumes? Lies, lies and more lies. Face and butts in the cubicles time? 37signals has employees from around the world. They get together periodically for brainstorm sessions, but they don't have to show up at an office every day.
I like these guys! Strike that: I love these guys!
I read the book in one sitting, that's how good it is. I'm going to keep this book handy and reach for it when I attempt to accomplish a simple task with complicated tools and ideas.
For more information, go to 37signals.com
Publisher's web site: www.crownpublishing.com
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