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Summary of It Doesn't Have to Be Crazy at Work 

4.5 . 1854 reviews

Short summary

In this timely manifesto, the authors of the New York Times bestseller “Rework“ broadly reject the prevailing notion that long hours, aggressive hustle, and “whatever it takes” are required to run a successful business today. Fried and Hansson have the proof to back up their argument. “Calm” has been the cornerstone of their company’s culture since Basecamp began twenty years ago. Destined to become the management guide for the next generation, “It Doesn't Have to Be Crazy at Work” is a practical and inspiring distillation of their insights and experiences. It isn’t a book telling you what to do. It’s a book showing you what they’ve done — and how any manager or executive no matter the industry or size of the company, can do it too.

Table of content

  • Summary of It Doesn't Have to Be Crazy at Work
  • About the author
  • What is It Doesn't Have to Be Crazy at Work about?
  • Who should read It Doesn't Have to Be Crazy at Work
  • Topics in It Doesn't Have to Be Crazy at Work
first key point

Your company is a product, whether you own it, run it, or “just” work there, it takes everyone involved to make it better

Listen the first key point
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It begins with this idea: 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.

Everything in this book revolves around that idea. That, like product development, progress is achieved through iteration. If you want to make a product better, you have to keep tweaking, revising, and iterating. The same thing is true with a company.

But when it comes to companies, many stand still. They might change what they make, but how they make it stays the same. They choose a way to work once and stick with it. Whatever workplace fad is hot when they get started becomes ingrained and permanent. Policies are set in cement. Companies get stuck with themselves.

But when you think of the company as a product, you ask different questions: Do people who work here know how to use the company? Is it simple? Complex? Is it obvious how it works? What’s fast about it? What’s slow about it? Are there bugs? What’s broken that we can fix quickly and what’s going to take a long time?

A company is like software. It has to be usable; it has to be useful. And it probably also has bugs, places where the company crashes because of bad organizational design or cultural oversights.

When you start to think about your company as a product, all sorts of new possibilities for improvement emerge. When you realize the way you work is malleable, you can start molding something new, something better.

Running a calm company is, unfortunately, not the default way to run a company these days. You have to work against your instincts for a while. You have to put toxic industry norms aside. You have to recognize that “It’s crazy at work” isn’t right.

Basecamp is a destination, Jason Fried and David Hansson shares how they got there and stay there. Basecamp is a product. And the authors want you to think of yours as one, too. Whether you own it, run it, or “just” work there, it takes everyone involved to make it better.

Basecamp is a software company, that is supposed to be playing the hustle game in Silicon Valley, but does not have a single employee in the Valley. In fact, the company staff of 54 is spread out across about 30 different cities around the world.

The staff put in about 40 hours a week most of the year and just 32 in the summer. The company send people on month – long sabbaticals every three years. It does not only pay for people’s vacation time, it pays for the actual vacation, too.

No, not 9 p.m. Wednesday night. It can wait until 9 a.m. Thursday morning. No, not Sunday. Monday.

Are there occasionally stressful moments? Sure — such is life. Is every day peachy? Of course not. But the company does it’s best to make sure those are the exceptions. On balance, the company is calm — by choice, by practice.
second key point

Set out to be fair in your dealings with customers, employees, and reality, worry less about changing the world

The business world is suffering from ambition hyperinflation. It’s no longer about simply making a great product or providing a great service. No, now it’s all about how this BRAND-NEW THING CHANGES EVERYTHING. A thousand revolutions promised all at once. Come on.
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third key point

Cut out what’s unnecessary, and you will be left with what you need

fourth key point

We’re all family here is a blunt emotional appeal to make you forget about your rational self – interest

fifth key point

The CEO is usually the last to know, with great power comes great ignorance

sixth key point

You can’t fix a deadline and then add more work to it, that’s not fair

seventh key point

Risk without putting yourself at risk

eighth key point

Making better choices and get closer to calm

ninth key point

Conclusion

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What is It Doesn't Have to Be Crazy at Work about?

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Do you find yourself staring at your computer for long minutes, unaware of time slipping by? Do you enter a room and suddenly cannot remember why you stepped in the first place? Is it a herculean task for you to sit through ten pages of a book without reaching for your phone? If yes, your focus needs some work and fast.

Actually, yours is not a unique situation. Many adults like you have issues concentrating on a given task. However, in this fast-paced world of ours, you can’t afford to be not focused at all times. Thankfully, this article comes to your rescue! With the tips and tricks from Hyperfocus by Chris Bailey, you will get in the top percent of folks who have mastered the art of concentration.

Do you find yourself staring at your computer for long minutes, unaware of time slipping by? Do you enter a room and suddenly cannot remember why you stepped in the first place? Is it a herculean task for you to sit through ten pages of a book without reaching for your phone? If yes, your focus needs some work and fast.

Actually, yours is not a unique situation. Many adults like you have issues concentrating on a given task. However, in this fast-paced world of ours, you can’t afford to be not focused at all times. Thankfully, this article comes to your rescue! With the tips and tricks from Hyperfocus by Chris Bailey, you will get in the top percent of folks who have mastered the art of concentration.