PRWD

I’m not one for reading books, and if I do they tend to short sharp snappy affairs that relate to things which affect me in daily life. My last book was ‘Who Moved My Cheese’, a fantastic, read it one go book which delivers a really simple message in a unique and enjoyable way. Running a business through a recession meant that the messages in the book have had a genuine impact on how I think about and run PRWD.

How I Came To Read REWORK

Many thanks must go to Dan Donald (links at the end) for recommending REWORK to me. It was only recently that we moved beyond having online only communication through my blog and Twitter to actually meeting up and talking all things work and social.

Overview

With a front page quote from Seth Godin of “Ignore this book at your peril”, after a speedy delivery from Amazon (following a not so enjoyable buying experience) I dived straight in to the book and immediately knew it was 10 quid well spent. Written by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson, the two founders of 37signals, REWORK (Change the way you work forever) delivers a wide range of tips and recommendations of how todays starters (they hate the word entrepreneurs, see p28) should ignore traditional wisdom about starting and/or running a business, and instead, do things differently.

And it works. Perfectly.

Split down into a wide range of topic areas, such as progress, productivity, competitors, evolution and promotion, if you read the book from start to finish you will experience a worthwhile journey of insights and methods which fit very well together.

Where REWORK excels is in providing so many different tips, techniques and words of wisdom which will relate to so many business owners, frustrated employees and everyone in between. My approach was to first read the book from start to finish first, taking as much in without getting too hung up any particular topic or tip.

So enthused at the sheer amount of situations, challenges and statements that I could relate to, I was soon going back through the book with my trusty highlighter and mini post-it notes, picking out all the key themes, quotes and tips which were most relevant to me in my micro business.

Target Audience

When you read page 9 it appears that 37signals are targetting pretty much everyone, although having worked in a blue chip corporate business for over 8 years and now running a micro-business, I would summarise the target audience as follows:

Anyone either looking to start working for themself and anyone who is already running a business (particularly those that are small enough to be able change its culture, employee relationships and business approach).

Readibility

With generous line spacing, a decent size font and a clever use of illustrations, REWORK is easy to read without feeling like you are getting in to bed with a deep novel. The way in which the chapters are each split in to 1 or 2 page sub-sections ensures that you never feel like you are wasting too much time reading about a topic which just simply don’t relate to you. Within 30 seconds you are moving on to the next section and seeing another illustration which provides more visual stimulation.

Some Of My Favourite Quotes

There are far too many to mention to any great length but here goes:

Whenever you can, swap “Let’s think about it” for “Let’s decide on it”. Commit to making decisions. Don’t wait for the perfect solution. Decide and move forward… You’re as likely to make a great call today as are tomorrow.

Embrace the idea of having less mass. Right now, you’re the smallest, the leanest and the fastest you’ll ever be.

Hire managers of one. Managers of one are people who can come up with their own goals and execute them. They don’t need heavy direction.

Rockstar environments develop out of trust, autonomy, and responsibility. They’re a result of giving people the privacy, workspace and tools that they deserve. Great environments show respect for the people who do the work and how they do it.

Send people home at 5. You want busy people. People who have a life outside of work. People who care about more than one thing. You shouldn’t expect the job to be someones entire life – at least not if you want to keep them around for a long time.

Summary

REWORK is a must read (IMO) for many people who work for themself or who also have people working for them. It doesn’t hold back on opionions and if there isn’t at least 10% of the books ideas which you can relate to and genuinely ‘change the work forever’ then I’ve got to admit, if I was looking for a job I don’t think working for you would get the best out of me!

How Much

It will cost you between £5 and £10 dependant on where you live and where you buy it from. If this hasn’t come across in the review already, I recommend the investment 100% and I would have spent more than this if it was more expensive.

Where To Buy

I recommend either Amazon US or UK or The Book Depository, and if you are interested in usability you might like to read my article ‘Amazon Relying on Brand Credibility Rather Than Good Usability‘ which looks at both these retailers.

A Few Useful Links

• the official REWORK website
• Signal versus Noise, 37Signals ‘quite’ popular blog
• http://basecamphq.com, their project management tool that we use daily
• Highrise, their online CRM which we use daily
• Dan Donald, who without his recommendation I would not have been writing this review

Your Review?

Our blog doesn’t get many comments usually, but I’d be made up if a few of you could provide your own mini review or comments of REWORK. I hope this review has helped make up the mind of a few people also to take the plunge!