Rework

Title: Rework - by Jason Fried , David Heinemeier Hansson (founders of 37signals / technologies behind Ruby on Rails)

• URL

• concise, interesting, and practical tips

• Good advice for small business

• Plan and product
  • “They say you can’t succeed without making financial projections and five-year plans. They’re wrong.”
  • “Learning from failures is overrated. Don’t spend time thinking you should fail early and fail often if your goal is to succeed.” .. “Learn from success, not from mistakes.”
  • “Don’t trust five-year business plans. It’s impossible to predict what will happen so far in advance. There are just too many variables, such as market conditions, competitors, or the economy. … but these plans are really just guesses. Feeling in control can be dangerous … You must be able to take advantage of opportunities as they come along.””
  • “… ego pushes us to grow fast and grow big. However, may exist a perfect size for your company, and it might not be big! “”
  • “Create a product or a service that you want to use… When you solve someone else’s problem, you work in the dark. When you solve your own problem, everything becomes clear quickly. Solving your own problem is much better because you know exactly what you want to accomplish. Making products that solve your own problems is always a better choice.
• business and product
  • “Just having an idea for a business is not enough. Ideas do not have real value. Execution is the key. So, instead of just thinking, start doing something. “
  • “Define why you’re doing what you’re doing. What is it that you stand for? …this will create so-called superusers. Superusers are people that will follow your every step and promote you … You can’t satisfy everyone.
  • “Start a business, not a startup…Don’t find investors if it’s not really necessary. Having more people on the management board ..is delusional. A business must earn money to survive, and it’s better if you figure out how to earn this money early on.
  • “You don’t need an exit strategy. .. If you aim to sell your company in the future, then you spend time worrying about who will buy you instead of how to satisfy your customers. Customers should be the center of your attention not selling the company.””
  • “Focus on the core of your product or service, stay lean, and make decisions fast. … more creative about doing things with limited resources. So, don’t complain, just stretch your limits and do what you can do.””
  • “always a lot of things that “could” do and “want” to do; however, if it’s not directly related to the core of your business, you shouldn’t do it. … better to make a great product focused on a few small elements …””
  • “Instead of talking about design, create something real. Instead of describing your product, make a mock-up. Go from abstraction to something concrete.”
• management
  • “Try to create and protect more long uninterrupted stretches of time for better productivity”. “Constantly validate that what you’re doing matters… Get enough sleep.”
  • “Plan short development cycles.”
  • “copying a business rarely works…Copying is a recipe for failure. …When your business is growing, people will start copying you. The best way to protect your business from competitors is to make yourself an integral part of the business. Your obsession should be part of how the company works. “
  • “Saying that your competition sucks is OK, because you differentiate your business. “
  • “Focus on your product and the value it provides, not on the competition.”
  • “Learn to say no. … It’s better to have a clear vision for your business and do things that you want to do. Say no to everything else. Listen to your customers, yes, but then give yourself permission to forget the things they request. If you can forget it, that means it’s not very important. … nice-to-have is not good enough to put everything else on pause and pursue.
• marketing
  • “Do not oversell your product. .. surprise the person with additional features after purchase. This way, you will build a long term relationship.”
  • “when small, a great time to experiment and test crazy ideas due to flexibility. ..before your company becomes popular, as an opportunity to explore and experiment.
  • Build an audience by teaching customers rather than paying for advertising”. .”Content marketing is a great way to promote products. .. can show your soul and your imperfections. This allows you to build an authentic image of who you and your company are. In contrast, press releases are a very bad way of promoting products”.
  • Marketing is everything you do. ..Think of everything inside your company as marketing. …Speak, write, tweet, and make videos to build your audience—these are the best marketing channels”
• hiring
  • “Never hire anyone to do a job until you’ve tried to do it yourself first.” “Hire the right people, and you will be able to manage them. .. don’t hire too many people too fast. That will create an environment where everyone avoids drama, is too polite, and doesn’t tell the truth. ..
  • “Use hiring principles to create an effective and productive team.. Good work environments result from trust, autonomy, privacy”
  • “Hire only as a last resort. Ignore resumes. Check cover letter. Look for 6 months+ experience, but after that the learning curve flattens.”
  • “Hire managers : self-directed who can set their own goals and reach them without help. Hire great writers. …Give applicants a brief assignment to see if they are a good fit.. Don’t create policies because one person did something wrong once.”.
  • “Be open about your processes, flaws and opinions. create more credibility than trying to appear perfect. …Communicate bad news loudly and clearly. It’s much better for your reputation for you to share this news than for rumors to circulate”
  • “Provide epic customer support: To understand how to create a product or service for real people, putting all your employees on the frontline can be a valuable experience.”
  • “Company culture is not something you create. It’s something that happens. You cannot direct the culture by setting rules or enforcing policies. You cannot install a company culture. You just have to be patient and to give it time to develop.”
  • “Speak and write simply. Avoid jargon and buzz words….Don’t imply ultimatums or demands by using words like need, must, can’t, etc.”