Rework
I have a pretty long commute to and from the studio each day, with an hours uninterrupted train journey each way, and when I’m not asleep I usually pass the time by reading something (so expect a few more book related posts to appear here). My last two train rides have been filled by a book called ‘Rework – Change the way you work forever’, not the kind of title that would normally feature high up my list of future reads. However, two things attracted me to this book – the conflicting reviews I’d read, and the authors – they’re the key people behind 37signals, the development company responsible for project management software called Basecamp – an integral part of our working day at Applied Works.
There is much I like about the book, and having worked with a few start-ups over the years, I think many would benefit from adding this to their bookshelf. In broad terms the message throughout is to reject as the only option, some commonly held notions of what it is to be professional or successful in business – or put another way, have the confidence to do it your way. I also like the over-arching theme of making things more simple – the book itself has been edited down to a two hour read (and I’m not a quick reader), which is a great example in itself of the effectiveness of being concise.
As with any ‘advice’ themed book the only sensible approach is to try out those aspects which are well suited to your particular situation – it’s not a blueprint for conducting business. And there are many aspects of business tackled in the book, all with catchy titles and illustrated statements, eg. ‘Meetings are toxic’ and ‘Resumés are ridiculous’. But if I had to pick out passages that I particularly identify with, they’d have to be ‘ASAP is poison’ and ‘Go to sleep’.
Comments
I was very interested to read this book after Pete, particularly since it seems to have polarized opinions so much. Have a read of this thread for a start, in his review, John Vincent claims “…[this book] is not just bad its dangerous.”
http://www.managementtoday.co.uk/rss/article/985294
Its worth pointing out how the book has been written by people operating in a very particular type of business culture, and as a result it does come across as a little arrogant. You can’t take all the lessons learned by one, relatively young, successful business operating in a certain sector and apply it to everyone. The ‘Meetings are Toxic’ chapter in particular is just too black and white. Sometimes endless contributions to an email thread just aren’t as effective as picking up the phone or sitting face-to-face around a table and thrashing it out.
BUT – its clearly been written to provoke debate, as the chapter entitled ‘Pick a Fight’ puts it “People get stoked by conflict. They take sides. Passions are ignited. And thats a good way to get people to take notice.” Case in point – they clearly rattled John Vincent in his article above and that’s how I came to hear about it in the first place.
The book shouldn’t be taken as a new business bible designed for everyone, but is full of really useful opinion and is well worth a read. I particularly liked the very last piece of advice, “Inspiration is perishable”, if you have a great idea get on and do it before you analyze the life out of it.
Joe Sharpe · 12th April 2010 · 3:58 pm