If you read other reviews of Rework that refer to the content as common sense, they are simply wrong. The advice of Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson is counter-intuitive and therefore genius.
I read REWORK for the first time this weekend, all in one go. With 270 plus pages, it is a surprisingly quick read; partly due to illustrations and mostly due to the fact that this book was created in the same way the authors approach business and life; edit, edit, simplify, cut some more and you’re half way there. I haven’t Reread REWORK today; not entirely; not yet anyway, but it is a book to Revisit regularly.
The authors are partners in 37Signals, an intentionally lean and wildly successful company that creates invaluable web based tools for business and individuals; simplicity is their secret weapon. Building a business the 37 signals way is about resisting growth, expansion and excess at all costs. Simply build a product that fulfills a need (preferably your own) and get out in the market as fast as you can. Take away features, don’t add them. Less is more, always simplify, say no.
Rework is a great reminder at any stage of your business. Productivity is not about trying to figure out how to get it all done, the secret is realizing that most of it should be strategically skipped and scrapped entirely!
Instead of providing new answers to the same old questions on business models and entrepreneurship, I love that Rework pushes you to ask a completely different set of questions. There is one point in the book regarding “less is more” where I completely disagree. No amount of ketchup could ever be “too much” and ruin the fries.
I’d love to hear how you apply REWORK to your own business and simplify your way to success!
Suzy Ogé is an American born business woman living in The Hague, The Netherlands. 