
Work on your best idea - fogus
http://37signals.com/svn/posts/2235-work-on-your-best-idea
======
prs
In recent months the quality of the posts on the SVN blog seems to have
deteriorated quite dramatically.

I can remember times when I enjoyed almost every single blog post from the
37signals guys. This blog entry seems to have taken one of their mottos ('You
can always do less') to new extremes.

Too much fluff for my taste recently.

~~~
dhh
Ponder the possibility that you might be the one who changed. Maybe you read
too much blog advice and got tired of it. Too much of anything is bad.

We have over a hundred thousand readers at SvN. Some just joined, some has
been with us for a decade, everyone is different in some sense.

I write about what I care about and what I think about without too much
concern as to whether everyone will love it all.

~~~
nonrecursive
It seems like the content on SVN is more earnest and perhaps less thoughtful.
I loved the blog back in 2005/2006, and perhaps I did just get tired of
reading variations on the same themes over and over. Maybe the content has the
same degree of earnestness and thoughtfulness, and I'm just expecting more
nuanced discussion on ideas after five years.

I'm thinking in particular of this post:
<http://37signals.com/svn/posts/2233-not-for-sale> . The language is over-the-
top, especially in the first couple paragraphs. It feels appropriate for a pep
rally, which I guess doesn't appeal to me any longer.

Beyond the tone, I found the content lacking. Can you really not understand
why someone would want to sell their company? I mean, here you are denigrating
serial entrepreneurs because they exhibit no understanding for why someone
would want to hold onto his company. And then you proceed to spell out why
serial entrepreneurs have no good reason whatsoever for wanting to flip.

You're using this hyped-up language to create this perception of a religious
war - even using "worshipped", "non-believers", "holy grail". And for what? I
just don't understand it. Why'd you write this article? If you have the time
to respond, I really would like to know. I respect 37s immensely and you in
particular, and I really do want to understand.

So you have different values than an archetypal serial entrepreneur. Well, so
what? Why are your values so much better that they're "servants" and you're
not?

I think the topic is interesting, but the way it comes across, it's like
you're having a shouting match over whether blue or green is the best color in
the world.

~~~
dhh
That particular post was born out of a frustration with the disbelief about
not being for sale and what I consider an infatuation with flipping companies
and serial entrepreneurs.

I don't think the language is any more colorful than it's always been. I
prefer to put my writing in strong terms with clearly marked boundaries. I'm
usually just writing a handful of paragraphs, not a dissertation. So the "ifs,
buts, and maybes" have to be read between the lines.

~~~
dhyasama
Upvoted for giving insight into your process. I criticized that post for being
over the top. A friend uses a similar technique where he overstates almost
everything and it is effective. People listen to his opinions. The danger is
in overstating too far or too often as it can turn into a boy who cried wolf
kind of thing.

With that being said, I've thought a lot about my comment yesterday and have
come to the conclusion that I need to work on finding the core spirit of posts
and address that rather than the particulars. It's easy to pick apart blog
posts because like you said, it isn't a dissertation and you can't address
every edge case.

------
brandon272
This company is starting to sound like a broken record. They only have 4 or 5
main mantras that they constantly reiterate in 50 different ways. We get it.
You're edgy. Keep working on your company instead of trying to convince the
world how cool you are.

On the other hand, maybe I'm being too critical. They are probably just trying
to do some cross-platform promotion of what's in their book. No shame in that.

~~~
generalk
_Keep working on your company instead of trying to convince the world how cool
you are._

That's part of how they work on their company. I've often used quotes from
37signals' blog posts and books when trying to get a concept across to a
coworker, and that keeps them at the forefront of everyone's mind.

~~~
mlinsey
Yes, exactly. I heard DHH speak and asked him about the importance of the 37s
blog and their books and he said "If you can't out-market, out-teach."

------
bgnm2000
Some ideas aren't feasible at one time or another. I would say never abandon
your best idea, and always work towards it - but if you can't work on it
presently - no need to just sit around and wait.

~~~
markkoberlein
I agree. Focusing on trying to figure out what your “best idea” is because you
want to optimize your time and only work on that is not always the best
approach. Sometimes this can lead to procrastination and self doubt because
you are not sure what your best idea is and you don’t want to waste your time
working on anything else (which then causes you to waste time).

There is value in starting on any idea that you have and working hard on it
because often you get inspired while working and a better idea will present
itself. Then you can choose to integrate that idea into what you are working
on or drop what you are doing switch to the better idea.

------
rebelvc
I love basecamp and use it daily. It is a beautiful software. However, I find
it hard to believe that Jason F and DHH don't think they can come up with an
idea that is more brilliant than a PM system.

------
pchristensen
FYI A lot of things that end up SvN are topics that they have talked about in
their normal lives. I got to hang out with Jason Fried at Startup School and
several of the things he talked about ended up on the blog in the following
weeks, and several of the things posted recently came from dhh's appearance on
This Week in Startups (can't plug this interview enough - it's really sharp:
[http://37signals.com/svn/posts/2219-jason-calacanis-vs-
david...](http://37signals.com/svn/posts/2219-jason-calacanis-vs-david-
heinemeier-hansson-on-this-week-in-startups) )

------
tjpick
the problem with this attitude is you build a list of ideas and then don't end
up working on any because none of them feel like they're the best you can come
up with. Or you switch from idea to idea without really finishing any of them
to the standard required to make them successful because each idea seems
better than the last, and there is a never ending stream of "good ideas".

Just pick something and work on it until it's successful or dead. Forget about
"best".

~~~
dhh
The thinking is work on the best idea that you have right now. Not the best
one you haven't even come up with yet. That's not going to be very helpful.

~~~
raysinbran
That's a good point. Even if you _think_ you're only making license plates,
someone will catch on to how good you are if you do it really well. And who
knows, maybe your license plates are just what the world desperately wants
right now.

