Book Review — REWORK

REWORK is a book that I decided to read after stumbling upon an interview with Jason Fried, who is also the founder of Basecamp. As I found out more about him, I realized he is a person whose thoughts are extremely different from the usual guidance provided by the successful entrepreneurs in our world, and that by firmly sticking to his ideologies, he was able to achieve great success. Even though I finished the book months ago, I still read his blogs and check out the Basecamp website regularly. He could be an excellent role model for each of us.

I’ve mentioned some points from the book below that I had noted down while I was reading since I felt that they would be useful in my journey as a young entrepreneur.

• Working without a plan may seem scary. But blindly following a plan that has no relationship with reality is even scarier. Planning is just guessing. Long term business plans are a fantasy.
• Failure is not a prerequisite for success. Already successful entrepreneurs are far more likely to succeed again. Failure doesn’t build character. Other people’s failures are just that: their own failures. Success gives you real ammunition. Next time you’ll probably do it even better.
• Ignore the real world. It isn’t a place, it’s an excuse. It’s a justification for not trying.
• Why grow your company? Grow slow and see what feels right. Premature hiring is the death of many companies. And avoid huge growth spurts. Ramping up doesn’t have to be your goal. And don’t be insecure about aiming to be a small business.
• Don’t celebrate workaholism. It’s stupid and it ends up creating more problems. It isn’t disposals sustainable and will result in inelegant solutions. The real hero is already home because he figured out a faster way to get things done.
• Forget the word entrepreneur. You just need an idea, a touch of confidence and a push to get started.
• You need less than you think. Take on as little outside cash as you can. Spending other people’s money may sound great, but there’s a noose attached. There’s nothing wrong with being frugal. You don’t have to go the bigger, more expensive route. Great companies start in garages all the time. Yours can too.
• Start a business, not a startup. Worry about profit from day one. Act like an actual business and you’ll have a much better shot at succeeding. Don’t try to ignore reality and postpone the inevitable where your business has to be real and sustainable.
• You need a commitment strategy, not an exit strategy. If your whole strategy is based on leaving, chances are you won’t get far in the first place. Don’t obsess over who’s going to buy you. You are emphasizing the wrong things.
• Embrace the idea of having less mass. Right now, you’re the smallest, the leanest, and the fastest you’ll ever be. From here on out, you’ll start accumulating mass. And the more massive an object, the more energy required to change its direction. It’s as true in the business world as it is in the physical world. Mass is increased by long-term contracts, excess staff, permanent decisions, meetings, long-term road maps and office politics. Avoid these things whenever you can. That way, you’ll be able to change direction easily. The more expensive it is to make a change, the less likely you are to make it.
• Embrace constraints. “I don’t have enough time/money/people/ experience.” Stop whining. Less is a good thing. Constraints are advantages in disguise. Limited resources force you to make do with what you’ve got. There’s no room for waste. And that forces you to be creative.
• Build half a product, not a half-assed product. Lots of things get better as they get shorter. Sacrifice some of your ambition for the greater good.
• Figure out your epicenter. If you continue to get by without something, then it isn’t the most vital. Focus all your energy on making the epicenter the best it can be. Everything else you do depends on that foundation. Nail the basics first and worry about the specifics later.
• Making a decision is making progress. Commit to making decisions. Don’t wait for the perfect solution. Decide and move forward.
• Throw less at the problem. When things aren’t working, the right thing to do is to cut back. If you start pushing back deadlines and increasing your budget, you’ll never stop.
• You can’t make just one thing. Everything has a by-product. Observant and creative business minds spot the by-products and see opportunities. There’s probably something you haven’t thought about that you could sell too.
• If you impose a deadline, you gain clarity. Put off anything you don’t need for launch. Build the necessities now, worry about the luxuries later.
• Ask yourself when do you get the most work done? Some people work hours through the night when there is little or no interruption. The reason why they work best at this time is that interruptions are not collaborative to productivity. You cannot get meaningful things done when you are constantly start/stop. You need to focus and for long periods of time.
• Meetings generally are so vague they never have a goal. Your meeting should have a timer, when it rings, the meeting is over. Invite as few people as possible, and have a clear agenda. Begin with a specific problem, and meet at the site of the problem. Point to real things, and begin with a specific problem.
• Accomplish small victories along the way. When you start small, get feedback instantly, and keep this process up until you go big. If anything takes significantly longer than expected, bring someone else in. Sometimes, the solution is right in your face. You can manage small victories by prioritizing.
• People underestimate the importance of sleep. The moment you stop sleeping, you stop being creative. It is completely unsustainable to keep going on very low amounts of sleep.
• Be creative, and make the product about you. Do not copy anyone, focus on injecting what is unique about you in to your product. If you think a competitor sucks, say so — once you so, you will often find people will rally to your side. Making a stand always stands out. People learn to take sides and passion ignites. Focus on undoing your competition, not overdoing them. Highlight your simplicity as much as people highlight their complexities. By making it simple, focus on making it very easy for people to use your service, the easier you make it the more people will use your service.
• Every time you get feedback, don’t rush to implement it. The thing that is most important, will not go away. People will keep on reminding you, even if it’s not the same people, other people will ask you again and again, and you will not be able to forget it.
• Don’t be afraid to fail, even when you do fail, share the knowledge. By doing this, people will trust you more.
• Never hire anyone to do a job until you’ve tried to do it yourself first. That way, you’ll understand the nature of the work. You’ll know what a job well-done looks like. You’ll know how to write a realistic job description and which questions to ask in an interview. You’ll know whether to hire someone full-time or part-time, outsource it, or keep doing it yourself (the last is preferable, if possible). You’ll also be a much better manager because you’ll be supervising people who are doing a job you’ve done before. You’ll know when to criticize and when to support.
• There are always people who will call you out on your flaws, hold your hands up straight away. The highest person ranked should take responsibility and should address the issue promptly. Each one of your employees should be in touch with your customers and clients, only then will they understand the value you bring to them.

When working from home and a frugal business model has become the requisite due to the wide-spread pandemic, Rework has become a must-read for the up-and-coming entrepreneurs. It’s interesting and fun to read, as Fried and Hansson don’t really stick to the formal language we are used to in other books and were quite blunt at times. The best part about the book is that they only talk about methods and rules that they had already implemented in their business at various points and were instrumental in him finding success.