You could meet Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson at a dinner party and detest them both. “Man, these guys are know-it-alls,” you might declare. They have a “do this, not that” manner that won’t set well with those who prefer feedback served up as a warm bowlful of coddling. But guess what? Their book Rework was first published in 2010 and I wish I had read it then – twice. It is the perfect combination of hard-hitting common sense and practical wisdom from those who know. As co-founders of Chicago-based tech firm 37signals, Fried and Heinemeier Hansson have built a highly profitable company on their own terms, all the while throwing out countless rules of business convention. Are they good guys? Don’t know – never met them. But if you’ve seen their company’s web tools like Highrise, Basecamp, and Backpack, you know their team builds simple, effective products for serious business people. Know this, too: their book is a must read for those “looking for an edge that’ll help them do more, work smarter, and kick ass.” As the saying goes, you’re not being cocky if you can back it up, and these two are Michael Jordans among small business owners and bloggers.
Let’s pretend you’ve recently fallen behind on certain tasks or goals, bemoaning the fact that there just isn’t enough time to get it all done. They write, “When you want something bad enough, you make the time – regardless of your other obligations.” You can’t argue with that logic. They admonish the reader to stop whining, noting when we are constrained by something we’re simply forced to be creative, which is of course a good thing. And they advise we stop worrying about the next big thing and remain focused on steady fashion. Fast, friendly, and affordable will never go out of style, but wacky inventions certainly do. The authors want us to ask ourselves tough questions about what we do and how we do it. Are we: solving a problem? making life easier? changing behavior? These guys are masters of grilling themselves – and readers of their blogs, rants, musings, etc. – with seemingly obvious questions that perhaps haven’t been posed in some time. One meaningful answer to a key query might lead us to abandon ship on certain efforts. “Don’t throw good time after bad work,” is how they sum up this line of thinking.
You (speedy reader that you are) can read Rework in sitting or two, but you shouldn’t. This is the ideal book to absorb in small bites as each entry legitimately could be the one that substantially changes the way you conduct daily business. Take this one concept, found on p. 156: “Let your customers outgrow you.” The argument is whether or not you should adapt your offering(s) to your clients’ changing needs. We’ve all been trained to believe that it’s ten times more expensive to find a new customer than it is to keep the one we have happy and yet these guys would rather lose old customers than scare away new ones. This has the makings of an energized break room debate, so have at it! Just don’t expect to agree with everything the authors suggest. They say successful drug dealers – the ones who give away product up front, bringing out the inner junkie – have a business model worth copying. As true as that may be, their delivery on this point is what kids today call inappropro. And yeah, so what? These guys know how to ruffle feathers to make a point and it really works. You could even say it reworks.