

Tips from 37signals' book Rework - grantgrant
http://2above.com/entrepreneurship/1-principle-3-memorable-tips-from-37signals-book-rework/

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adriand
One problem with this book is that much of it does not make sense for
companies who are not already like 37Signals, either in terms of success or
business model.

For example, the book says meetings are toxic, and that you should avoid
having them. But it does not contain any advice on what to do in the many
situations where clients insist on a meeting, even when you know that the
meeting is a pointless waste of time.

The reason for that is obvious: they are not in a fee-for-service business
dictated by a relatively small client roster. They're a mass market company
where irritating a single client (or even dozens) only means alienating a
minute section of their client base. For many businesspeople, however, this is
simply not an option.

That's just one example of several. The bottom-line: if you have a business
model where you can dictate virtually every parameter of your business, and
you're already super-successful, it becomes easy to act like rock stars.

~~~
iaskwhy
I always thought the "meetings are toxic" part was about meetings inside the
company to discuss features, etc.

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rewind
I think one thing to be careful of is the "we did this so it must work" theme
vs. "this is what we're going to do and will prove that it will work" theme.

I'm a fan of 37S as entrepreneurs, and those guys come across really well in
their posts and in interviews, and they're obviously smart guys. But look at
how much advice is out there these days, whether in books or in blog posts
about "how we did it". How many are after the success has already been
achieved? Can they REALLY tell you the secrets to their (duplicable) success?
Or was it just a specific set of circumstances than might not be as easily
repeatable as everyone would like to think will come from buying a $10 eBook?

Can you give an example of a company who laid out all their big ideas BEFORE
they launched and made it work? How many vs. the companies that did A, B, X,
Y, & Z and then told you "this is the way to did it to become successful"
AFTER they were a hit? It's a bit like the stock market sometimes: anyone can
see trends and patterns when looking at old charts. It doesn't (necessarily)
mean anything.

Hindsight is 20/20, and it's sometimes blinding.

~~~
chmike
The advices they give are not recipes to guaranteed success. Every startup,
product, market and founder are different and the optimal approach varies thus
a lot.

I consider these books as pertinent hints to be used as source of inspiration.
Most of the advice are common sense but it is good to remind them because we
often have the nose in the driving wheel, pedaling at full speed, and easily
forget about these rules and start to diverge.

There are also many false assumptions circulating around or many inexperiences
startup founders that take the hardest or longest path to success. i.e. less
is more, is counter intuitive but so true.

