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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
inspiring
fast-paced
Mostly, this book reads (or sounds, since I listened to the audiobook) like an extended recruitment ad for Basecamp, the company founded by the authors. A not ineffective one, to be sure! But not exactly helpful.
The remainder is advice primarily for owners of or high-level managers at businesses with a significant number of employees. Very little is relevant to individual contributors, or to the self-employed, or to lower-level managers who can't affect major policies and benefits at their companies.
The remainder is advice primarily for owners of or high-level managers at businesses with a significant number of employees. Very little is relevant to individual contributors, or to the self-employed, or to lower-level managers who can't affect major policies and benefits at their companies.
Some good ideas, some ridiculous oversimplifications. The overall message is absolutely right though: many people think that effective work means working long hours and looking busy and running around in a rush. But calm and focus is much more effective in practice.
Calling this a book is a bit disingenuous since it's really more a collection of mostly anecdotal insights with a very specific context. There's very little structure here and it definitely has a feeling of an 'us vs them' mentality when talking about most of the ideas it brings up. However, it kinda works. It gets its message across without the usual fluff that these types of business books usually have and I found myself agreeing with the concepts most of the time.
Does it make some ideas sound easier to implement than they probably are? Almost definitely. Does it fail to acknowledge many root causes for the way things are usually done? Very often, actually. Should their insights and suggestions be discounted because of these and other minor flaws? No. Treating employees as people with lives outside of work shouldn't really even be a debate at this point. A mentality of 'succeed at all costs' isn't healthy in the long term and this book makes a great argument that it doesn't have to be that way to run a successful business.
I think the core principle behind this book is that the current norms in most businesses aren't actually that great and it sets out to highlight some examples of how one company has gotten success by taking a calmer approach and putting its employees first. Would I want to work in an environment like the one they describe? Definitely. I often found myself comparing it to my current place of work and realizing why so many aspects are frustrating and counter-productive in many ways.
It's a short read and definitely worth it if you're not familiar with the author's work. It does require the obligatory pinch of salt, but even if many of the ideas aren't quite applicable to you, it's worth having them pointed out and thinking on them since most are actually just good sense that people ignore because we're so stuck in this weird work culture that really doesn't work on so many levels.
Does it make some ideas sound easier to implement than they probably are? Almost definitely. Does it fail to acknowledge many root causes for the way things are usually done? Very often, actually. Should their insights and suggestions be discounted because of these and other minor flaws? No. Treating employees as people with lives outside of work shouldn't really even be a debate at this point. A mentality of 'succeed at all costs' isn't healthy in the long term and this book makes a great argument that it doesn't have to be that way to run a successful business.
I think the core principle behind this book is that the current norms in most businesses aren't actually that great and it sets out to highlight some examples of how one company has gotten success by taking a calmer approach and putting its employees first. Would I want to work in an environment like the one they describe? Definitely. I often found myself comparing it to my current place of work and realizing why so many aspects are frustrating and counter-productive in many ways.
It's a short read and definitely worth it if you're not familiar with the author's work. It does require the obligatory pinch of salt, but even if many of the ideas aren't quite applicable to you, it's worth having them pointed out and thinking on them since most are actually just good sense that people ignore because we're so stuck in this weird work culture that really doesn't work on so many levels.
Because "crazy at work" companies, individuals, and habits get more than enough recognition and celebration and because so many of the benefits of calm, quiet work are intangible and hard to recognize, this is a book I really appreciate and will try to re-read with regularity.
This collection of short essays is a little bit preachy, but spot on. Give copies to your friends who complain about being up until all hours of the night answering work email.
Very interesting and refreshing perspective on what work is and what work should be. Most refreshingly they make the point that they are making money, staying happy and realizing that work is not the be all and end all. Very refreshing to see that called out, most companies attempt to cultivate a cult (we are the greatest, we are family etc). Recommend the book and recommend the company
I enjoy pretty much anything that Jason and David put out. Lots of reasonable and practical ideas that most companies seem to have forgotten.
An easy read for concepts that may be difficult to implement. It’s nice to see that some leaders are pushing for good enough, not perfection and burnout. Definitely worth retreading every few years to remind me that there’s always more to do, it’s never done, so make sure to take breaks.
inspiring
fast-paced