bout the book

“Why don’t we just call plans what they really are: guesses. Start referring to your business plans as business guesses.” This quote illustrates the content of the book. Fried and Hansson has great ideas and a lot of those. That’s why you should continue reading.

What are the key learnings?

The mission of the book is as they say: “We hope it inspires you to rework how you do things.” And in a way it does. No, you won’t be getting new skills nor learn new theories or even read about great cases. You simply get inspiration to the ideas that you have already been thinking.

The key learnings are

–      “Become a starter, not an entrepreneur.

–      Do not raise funding, because it’s a bad deal.

–      A business without a path to profit isn’t a business, it’s a hobby.

–      Build an audience, because an audience can be your secret weapon.

–      Marketing is not a department, it is something everyone in your company is doing 24 / 7 / 365.”

I would call this book as a growth hacking of work

–      “Contrast that with learning from your successes. Success gives you real ammunition. When something succeeds, you know what.

–      Maybe the right size for your company is five people. Maybe it’s forty. Maybe it’s two hundred. Or maybe it’s just you and a laptop. Don’t make assumptions about how big you should be ahead of time.

–      Small is not just a stepping-stone. Small is a great destination in itself.

–      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.”

How to become s starter?

–      “Let’s retire the term entrepreneur. It’s outdated and loaded with baggage. It smells like a members-only club. Everyone should be encouraged to start his own business, not just some rare breed that self-identifies as entrepreneurs.

–      Anyone who creates a new business is a starter. You don’t need an MBA, a certificate, a fancy suit, a briefcase, or an above-average tolerance for risk. You just need an idea, a touch of confidence, and a push to get started.”

–      Stanley Kubrick gave this advice to aspiring filmmakers: “Get hold of a camera and some film and make a movie of any kind at all.” Kubrick knew that when you’re new at something, you need to start creating. The most important thing is to begin. So get a camera, hit Record, and start shooting.”

Make a dent in the universe

–      “To do great work, you need to feel that you’re making a difference. That you’re putting a meaningful dent in the universe. That you’re part of something important.”

Don’t take money from outsiders. Why?

–      “You give up control.

o  When you turn to outsiders for funding, you have to answer to them too. That’s fine at first, when everyone agrees. But what happens down the road? Are you starting your own business to take orders from someone else? Raise money and that’s what you’ll wind up doing.

–      Cashing out” begins to trump building a quality business.

o  Investors want their money back—and quickly (usually three to five years). Long-term sustainability goes out the window when those involved only want to cash out as soon as they can.

–      Spending other people’s money is addictive.

o  There’s nothing easier than spending other people’s money. But then you run out and need to go back for more. And every time you go back, they take more of your company.

–      It’s usually a bad deal.

o  When you’re just beginning, you have no leverage. That’s a terrible time to enter into any financial transaction.

–      Customers move down the totem pole. You wind up building what investors want instead of what customers want.

–      Raising money is incredibly distracting.

o  Seeking funding is difficult and draining. It takes months of pitch meetings, legal maneuvering, contracts, etc. That’s an enormous distraction when you should really be focused on building something great.”

Start a business, not a startup. Why?

–      “It’s a place where the laws of business physics don’t apply.

–      The startup. it’s a special breed of company that gets a lot of attention (especially in the tech world).

–      The startup is a magical place. It’s a place where expenses are someone else’s problem.

–      It’s a place where that pesky thing called revenue is never an issue.

–      It’s a place where you can spend other people’s money until you figure out a way to make your own.”

A business without a path to profit isn’t a business, it’s a hobby

–      Would you meet with a divorce lawyer the morning of your wedding? That would be ridiculous, right? You need a commitment strategy, not an exit strategy.

–      About pivoting… Huge organizations can take years to pivot. They talk instead of act. They meet instead of do.

–      Build an audience. All companies have customers. Lucky companies have fans. But the most fortunate companies have audiences. An audience can be your secret weapon.

–      Teaching is your chance to outmaneuver them.”

Go behind the scenes

–      People are curious about how things are made. It’s why they like factory tours or behind-the-scenes footage on DVDs.

–      They want to see how the sets are built, how the animation is done, how the director cast the film, etc.

–      They want to know how and why other people make decisions.

–      Letting people behind the curtain changes your relationship with them.”

Marketing is not a department

–      “Accounting is a department. Marketing isn’t. Marketing is something everyone in your company is doing 24 / 7 / 365.

–      Just as you cannot not communicate, you cannot not market: Every time you answer the phone, it’s marketing.

–      Every time you send an e-mail, it’s marketing.

–      Every time someone uses your product, it’s marketing.

–      Every word you write on your Web site is marketing.

–      If you build software, every error message is marketing.

–      If you’re in the restaurant business, the after-dinner mint is marketing”.

About hiring

–      “Do it yourself first.

–      Never hire anyone to do a job until you’ve tried to do it yourself first. That way, you’ll understand the nature of the work. You’ll know what a job well done looks like.

–      Hire when it hurts.

–      Don’t hire for pleasure; hire to kill pain. Always ask yourself: What if we don’t hire anyone? Is that extra work that’s burdening us really necessary? Can we solve the problem with a slice of software or a change of practice instead? What if we just don’t do it?”

Who to hire?

–      “If you are trying to decide among a few people to fill a position, hire the best writer.

–      It doesn’t matter if that person is a marketer, salesperson, designer, programmer, or whatever; their writing skills will pay off. That’s because being a good writer is about more than writing.

–      Clear writing is a sign of clear thinking. Great writers know how to communicate. They make things easy to understand. They can put themselves in someone else’s shoes. They know what to omit.

–      Those are qualities you want in any candidate.

Comeback of writing

–      “Writing is making a comeback all over our society.

–      Look at how much people e-mail and text-message now rather than talk on the phone.

–      Look at how much communication happens via instant messaging and blogging.

–      Writing is today’s currency for good ideas.”

Ideas are forever

–      “Ideas are immortal.

–      They last forever.

–      What doesn’t last forever is inspiration.

–      Inspiration is like fresh fruit or milk: It has an expiration date.”

About inspiration

–      When you’re high on inspiration, you can get two weeks of work done in twenty-four hours.

–      Inspiration is a time machine in that way.

–      Inspiration is a magical thing, a productivity multiplier, a motivator. But it won’t wait for you.

–      Inspiration is a now thing. If it grabs you, grab it right back and put it to work.”

How should we change according to the book?

Put your inspiration into work.

What should I personally do?

Write to rework@ 37signals.com

Summary

The book in six words – ”Say and I will listen. Talk and I will reply. Ask and I will think” (Mikko Mattinen)