Last night I finished reading Rework, the new business book from the guys at 37signals. Every part of this book was excellent (great illustrations to go with great content). I've read quite a few business books - Good to Great, Primal Leadership, First, Break All the Rules, Built to Last, etc. Rework is easily the best business book I've ever read. Why? Because its all common sense. The messages are simple, clear and succinct - filled with ideas that take a minute to understand, but a lifetime to execute.
I'm usually not the type that likes to highlight and underline things in the books that I read, but I was able to make note of some of the ones I want to remember.
I strongly suggest you buy this book. Until your copy arrives in the mail, here are a few of the passages that struck a chord with me.
Its the stuff you leave out that matters. So constantly look for things to remove, simplify and streamline. Be a curator.
When you don’t know what you believe, everything becomes and argument. Everything is debatable. But when you stand for something, decisions are obvious.
Workaholics aren’t heroes. They don’t save the day, they just use it up. The real hero is already home because she figured out a faster way to get things done.
Clear writing is a sign of clear thinking. Great writers know how to communicate. They make things easy to understand ... They know what to omit.
Interruption is the enemy of productivity. The worst interruptions of all are meetings. Meetings are toxic.
Marketing is something everyone in your company is doing 24/7/365.
You don’t create a culture. It happens. Culture is the by-product of consistent behavior.
Rockstar environments develop out of trust, autonomy, and responsibility. They’re a result of giving people the privacy, workspace, and tools they deserve. Great environments show respect for the people who do the work and how they do it.
When everything needs constant approval, you create a culture of non-thinkers.
When people have something to do at home, they get down to business. They get their work done at the office because they have somewhere else to be. They find ways to be more efficient because they have to.
When you turn into one of those people who adds ASAP to the end of every request, you’re saying everything is high priority. And when everything is high priority, nothing is.