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andrewschreck's review against another edition
5.0
One of the best business books I’ve read. I think you need to be amenable to the idea that hustle culture and the cult of busy is total bs, but maybe if you’re not there yet but open you’ll see some truth in here.
It’s a quick read, I read it in a couple of hours.
It’s a quick read, I read it in a couple of hours.
jaranflaath's review against another edition
5.0
I guess asking me to review this is similar to asking a Christian to review the bible, or a teenager to review the latest song from Justin Bieber. I am as biased here as I can be, so you should not listen to me. Read the book yourself!
catninapark's review against another edition
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
4.0
servemethesky's review against another edition
4.0
This is a ridiculously quick read full of insights and gems. There's so much space on the pages, though, that you'll feel like you're just reading a collection of tweets from the authors rather than an actual book.
I'm totally on board with everything these Basecamp leaders advocate for. Yes to fewer meetings, yes to fewer disruptions, yes to getting deep work done. But of course, that's much easier said than done, especially when you're not in a leadership role at your company. It would have been nice to see more practical/in-depth suggestions for that type of situation.
I'm totally on board with everything these Basecamp leaders advocate for. Yes to fewer meetings, yes to fewer disruptions, yes to getting deep work done. But of course, that's much easier said than done, especially when you're not in a leadership role at your company. It would have been nice to see more practical/in-depth suggestions for that type of situation.
coulterdaniel's review against another edition
challenging
informative
fast-paced
4.5
Bite sized nuggets of work wisdom.
architr's review against another edition
3.0
A purely anecdotal book, sprinkled with a generous helping of unsolicited self-aggrandizement by the author.
He is writing purely based on his experience of running his company (Basecamp) which has a headcount of 54; it contains ideals which would be difficult, if not chaotic, to achieve at any large-scale corporation.
Key points:
• For nearly 20 years we’ve been working at making Basecamp a calm company. One that isn’t fueled by stress, or ASAP, or rushing, or late nights, or all-nighter crunches, or impossible promises, or high turnover, or consistently missed deadlines, or projects that never seem to end.
• Basecamp is both the name of our company and the name of our product. The Basecamp product is a unique cloud-based application that helps companies organize all their projects and internal communications in one place. When everything’s in Basecamp, people know what they need to do, everyone knows where everything is, it’s easy to see where things stand, and nothing slips through the cracks.
• Your company is a product: Yes, the things you make are products (or services), but your company is the thing that makes those things. That’s why your company should be your best product.
• Bury the hustle: Just have a look at the #entrepreneur tag on Instagram. “Legends are born in a valley of struggle!”; “You don’t have to be ridiculously gifted, you just have to be ridiculously committed”; and “Your goals don’t care how you feel.” Yeah, it just keeps going like this until you’re ready to puke. The hustle may have started as a beacon for those with little to outsmart those with a lot, but now it’s just synonymous with the grind. And for everyone in that tiny minority that somehow finds what they’re looking for in the grind, there are so many more who end up broken, wasted, and burned out with nothing to show for it. And for what? You aren’t more worthy in defeat or victory because you sacrificed everything. Because you kept pushing through the pain and exhaustion for a bigger carrot. The human experience is so much more than 24/7 hustle to the max. It’s also just bad advice. You’re not very likely to find that key insight or breakthrough idea north of the 14th hour in the day. Creativity, progress, and impact do not yield to brute force.
• Companies that live in such a zero-sum world don’t “earn market share” from a competitor, they “conquer the market.” They don’t just serve their customers, they “capture” them. They “target” customers, employ a sales “force,” hire “headhunters” to find new talent, pick their “battles,” and make a “killing.” This language of war writes awful stories. When you think of yourself as a military commander who has to eliminate the enemy (your competition), it’s much easier to justify dirty tricks and anything-goes morals. And the bigger the battle, the dirtier it gets. Like they say, all’s fair in love and war. Except this isn’t love, and it isn’t war. It’s business.
• Basecamp does not have any “goals” set. Are we interested in increasing profits? Yes. Revenues? Yes. Being more effective? Yes. Making our products easier, faster, and more useful? Yes. Making our customers and employees happier? Yes, absolutely. Do we love iterating and improving? Yup! Also, there are no one-year, 3-year, 5-year plans. Execution is given utmost priority
• Protect your time: Companies love to protect. They protect their brand with trademarks and lawsuits. They protect their data and trade secrets with rules, policies, and NDAs. They protect their money with budgets, CFOs, and investments. They guard so many things, but all too often they fail to protect what’s both most vulnerable and most precious: their employees’ time and attention.
• A great work ethic isn’t about working whenever you’re called upon. It’s about doing what you say you’re going to do, putting in a fair day’s work, respecting the work, respecting the customer, respecting coworkers, not wasting time, not creating unnecessary work for other people, and not being a bottleneck. Work ethic is about being a fundamentally good person that others can count on and enjoy working with.
• At basecamp, no one can see when the other person’s calendar is “available”. Also, employees can’t see the “status” of others to check if they are “available”
• Companies love to declare “We’re all family here.” No, you’re not. Neither are we at Basecamp. We’re coworkers. That doesn’t mean we don’t care about one another. That doesn’t mean we won’t go out of our way for one another. We do care and we do help. But a family we are not. And neither is your business. Furthermore, Basecamp is not “our baby.” Basecamp is our product. We’ll make it great, but we won’t take a bullet for it. And neither would you for yours.
• Whenever executives talk about how their company is really like a big ol’ family, beware. They’re usually not referring to how the company is going to protect you no matter what or love you unconditionally. You know, like healthy families would. Their motive is rather more likely to be a unidirectional form of sacrifice: yours. Because by invoking the image of the family, the valor of doing whatever it takes naturally follows. You’re not just working long nights or skipping a vacation to further the bottom line; no, no, you’re doing this for the family. Such a blunt emotional appeal is only needed if someone is trying to make you forget about your rational self-interest.
• Don’t negotiate salaries – pay as per the market. Also, basecamp pays the employees (Salary + Bonus) i.e. bonus is not paid “separately”. Also, there are no stock options. Everyone at the same level gets the same pay. Also, increment rates are uniform for all the employees
• Library rules – keep 1 day as library day i.e. employees will observe silence as is witnessed in libraries
• Cam goodbyes – if an employee is being let go by the company, either he will send a message to the team or his manager. There are no “silent dismissals”. The entire company gets to become aware of it
• Commitment not consensus. Jeff Bezos – I disagree but I commit
• Three’s the number; at basecamp, employees work on a project in groups of 3. Anything more results in chaos of sorts
• The worst customer is the one you can’t afford to lose
• If you want to know the truth about what you’ve built, you have to ship it. You can test, you can brainstorm, you can argue, you can survey, but only shipping will tell you whether you’re going to sink or swim.
He is writing purely based on his experience of running his company (Basecamp) which has a headcount of 54; it contains ideals which would be difficult, if not chaotic, to achieve at any large-scale corporation.
Key points:
• For nearly 20 years we’ve been working at making Basecamp a calm company. One that isn’t fueled by stress, or ASAP, or rushing, or late nights, or all-nighter crunches, or impossible promises, or high turnover, or consistently missed deadlines, or projects that never seem to end.
• Basecamp is both the name of our company and the name of our product. The Basecamp product is a unique cloud-based application that helps companies organize all their projects and internal communications in one place. When everything’s in Basecamp, people know what they need to do, everyone knows where everything is, it’s easy to see where things stand, and nothing slips through the cracks.
• Your company is a product: Yes, the things you make are products (or services), but your company is the thing that makes those things. That’s why your company should be your best product.
• Bury the hustle: Just have a look at the #entrepreneur tag on Instagram. “Legends are born in a valley of struggle!”; “You don’t have to be ridiculously gifted, you just have to be ridiculously committed”; and “Your goals don’t care how you feel.” Yeah, it just keeps going like this until you’re ready to puke. The hustle may have started as a beacon for those with little to outsmart those with a lot, but now it’s just synonymous with the grind. And for everyone in that tiny minority that somehow finds what they’re looking for in the grind, there are so many more who end up broken, wasted, and burned out with nothing to show for it. And for what? You aren’t more worthy in defeat or victory because you sacrificed everything. Because you kept pushing through the pain and exhaustion for a bigger carrot. The human experience is so much more than 24/7 hustle to the max. It’s also just bad advice. You’re not very likely to find that key insight or breakthrough idea north of the 14th hour in the day. Creativity, progress, and impact do not yield to brute force.
• Companies that live in such a zero-sum world don’t “earn market share” from a competitor, they “conquer the market.” They don’t just serve their customers, they “capture” them. They “target” customers, employ a sales “force,” hire “headhunters” to find new talent, pick their “battles,” and make a “killing.” This language of war writes awful stories. When you think of yourself as a military commander who has to eliminate the enemy (your competition), it’s much easier to justify dirty tricks and anything-goes morals. And the bigger the battle, the dirtier it gets. Like they say, all’s fair in love and war. Except this isn’t love, and it isn’t war. It’s business.
• Basecamp does not have any “goals” set. Are we interested in increasing profits? Yes. Revenues? Yes. Being more effective? Yes. Making our products easier, faster, and more useful? Yes. Making our customers and employees happier? Yes, absolutely. Do we love iterating and improving? Yup! Also, there are no one-year, 3-year, 5-year plans. Execution is given utmost priority
• Protect your time: Companies love to protect. They protect their brand with trademarks and lawsuits. They protect their data and trade secrets with rules, policies, and NDAs. They protect their money with budgets, CFOs, and investments. They guard so many things, but all too often they fail to protect what’s both most vulnerable and most precious: their employees’ time and attention.
• A great work ethic isn’t about working whenever you’re called upon. It’s about doing what you say you’re going to do, putting in a fair day’s work, respecting the work, respecting the customer, respecting coworkers, not wasting time, not creating unnecessary work for other people, and not being a bottleneck. Work ethic is about being a fundamentally good person that others can count on and enjoy working with.
• At basecamp, no one can see when the other person’s calendar is “available”. Also, employees can’t see the “status” of others to check if they are “available”
• Companies love to declare “We’re all family here.” No, you’re not. Neither are we at Basecamp. We’re coworkers. That doesn’t mean we don’t care about one another. That doesn’t mean we won’t go out of our way for one another. We do care and we do help. But a family we are not. And neither is your business. Furthermore, Basecamp is not “our baby.” Basecamp is our product. We’ll make it great, but we won’t take a bullet for it. And neither would you for yours.
• Whenever executives talk about how their company is really like a big ol’ family, beware. They’re usually not referring to how the company is going to protect you no matter what or love you unconditionally. You know, like healthy families would. Their motive is rather more likely to be a unidirectional form of sacrifice: yours. Because by invoking the image of the family, the valor of doing whatever it takes naturally follows. You’re not just working long nights or skipping a vacation to further the bottom line; no, no, you’re doing this for the family. Such a blunt emotional appeal is only needed if someone is trying to make you forget about your rational self-interest.
• Don’t negotiate salaries – pay as per the market. Also, basecamp pays the employees (Salary + Bonus) i.e. bonus is not paid “separately”. Also, there are no stock options. Everyone at the same level gets the same pay. Also, increment rates are uniform for all the employees
• Library rules – keep 1 day as library day i.e. employees will observe silence as is witnessed in libraries
• Cam goodbyes – if an employee is being let go by the company, either he will send a message to the team or his manager. There are no “silent dismissals”. The entire company gets to become aware of it
• Commitment not consensus. Jeff Bezos – I disagree but I commit
• Three’s the number; at basecamp, employees work on a project in groups of 3. Anything more results in chaos of sorts
• The worst customer is the one you can’t afford to lose
• If you want to know the truth about what you’ve built, you have to ship it. You can test, you can brainstorm, you can argue, you can survey, but only shipping will tell you whether you’re going to sink or swim.
donaidh_camshron's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
3.75
jandi's review against another edition
3.0
I very much agree with the philosophy in this book - there are few true emergencies and projects should not require the team to work overtime to get them done. Basecamp does have a very different situation than what I deal with in that it is a single software only product, with a subscription model for revenue. I wish there were more practical strategies that could be applied to other places with multiple projects involving hardware and that are large enough to require more than a team of three to take them to the finish line. A few things that jumped to mind that would still be applicable - the company should be our best product, and to focus on budgets (aka focus scope on highest value features) rather than estimates, and keeping in mind that saying yes to one thing means saying no to a lot of other things.
janthonytucson's review against another edition
1.0
Yeah this book is bullshit.
The overarching message about the unnecessary always on work culture is spot on. The way this book was delivered and the tone of it was just completely off the mark.
It read like a small town know it all bitter 14-year-old kid book report.
The overarching message about the unnecessary always on work culture is spot on. The way this book was delivered and the tone of it was just completely off the mark.
It read like a small town know it all bitter 14-year-old kid book report.