Rework
by Jason Fried, David Heinemeier Hansson · first published 2010
60% recommend40% neutral
Why HN recommends it
A short, contrarian take on running a business without VC money: stay small, protect uninterrupted work time, and rethink modern management. Suits bootstrappers and founders wanting alternatives to startup advice.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Most business books give you the same old advice: Write a business plan, study the competition, seek investors, yadda yadda. If you're looking for a book like that, put this one back on the shelf.Rework shows you a better, faster, easier way to succeed in business. Read it and you'll know why plans are actually harmful, why you don't need outside investors, and why you're better off ignoring the competition. The truth is, you need less than you think. You don't need to be a workaholic. You don't need to staff up. You don't need to waste time on paperwork or meetings. You don't even need an off
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…these are the guys that did Subversion, which was a pretty successful project for a while, back in the day. This same writing style pervades the SVN docs as well. Yeuch. In the same vein, I also enjoyed "rework" by Jason Fried [1] though that's more about modern work, than purely management. Also kind of "hip" in style, but not so insufferable ;-) [0] https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/14514115-team-geek [1]…
on “Ask HN: Best book / resources on leadership, especially for tech teams?” ↗…and observations are often useless. That said, if you don't want to go the VC route and instead want to have a go at building a successful business without outside financing, I think Getting Real and Rework are must-reads. Genius is rarely universal. William Shockley invented the transistor — yes, a gross oversimplification — but was an advocate of eugenics. Henry Ford and Charles Lindbergh? Nazi sympathizers.…
on “Wizards of bullshit: How Forbes turned $6.5 million into $20 billion” ↗…SMS, .. - Automate payments - It's ok to be late with administration sometimes Books that really helped me: - The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss [1] - Getting Things Done by David Allen [2] - Rework by Jason Fried [3] [1] http://amzn.com/0307465357 [2] http://amzn.com/0142000280 [3] http://amzn.com/0307463745 edit: added Rework
on “Ask HN: Tricks to integrate late coding session in current workflow?” ↗…image everyone has but you end up with more respect for him whatsoever. - Thinking fast and slow - Daniel Kahneman Awesome book presenting modern psychology. You'll get insight into how humans work. - Rework - Jason Fried, David Heinemeier Hansson Nice, albeit small book regarding how the creators of rails manage their company. So very nice insight. - The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business…
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2016?” ↗37 Signals did this, and they've written lots about their conversion. Check out the book REWORK by Jason Fried.
on “My Challenge: From Service Business to Product Business in 1 Year” ↗…Kawasaki. - The Startup Owner's Manual: The Step-by-Step Guide for Building a Great Company, Steve Blank and Bob Dorf. - Zero to One: Notes on Start Ups, or How to Build the Future, Peter Thiel. - ReWork: Change the Way You Work Forever, Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson. - I haven't read the Founders at work series yet, but everyone seems to find it very valuable.
on “Ask HN: Reccommended reading to get up to speed on Hacker/Startup culture” ↗…being a bit more specific about the things you're after. But here's two of my favourites (one technical, one business): "Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software", by Charles Petzold "Rework", by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson
on “Ask HN: Book Recommendations?” ↗Rework by Jason Fried. Totally made me rethink modern management.
on “What book has inspired you the most?” ↗Mine are cliché, but they really did help me in 2010 and hopefully will continue helping me in 2011 and beyond: Rework - Jason Fried and David Hansson Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? - Seth Godin
on “Ask HN: What are your favorite books of 2010?” ↗I have found these books to be very influential in my thinking on web startups and building things in general: 1) Hackers & Painters - PG 2) Smart & Get Things Done - Joel Spolsky 3) Rework - Jason Fried 4) Getting Real - Jason Fried 5) Founders at Work - Jessica Livingston 6) Joel on Software - Joel Spolsky These are by far some of my favorites.
on “Ask HN: Books that change your way of thinking?” ↗Recommended reading: "Rework" by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson, and "Getting Real". Both by 37 signals-the ruby on rails guys. Best of luck!:) trust me, they are well worth the buy...
on “Ask HN: I quit my job .. now what?” ↗"Enchantment", by Guy Kawasaki "Rework", by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson "Web Design for Developers", by Brian P. Hogan "Scalability Rules", by Martin L. Abbott and Michael T. Fisher
on “Ask HN: Best book you read in 2011” ↗- "How to win friends and influence people" by Dale Carnegie - "The art of thinking clearly" by Ralf Dobelli - "Sources of power" by Gary Klein - "The 8 pillars of motivation" by Farnoosh Brock - "ReWork" by Jason Fried and David Hansson - "Don't make me think" by Steve Krug - "The art of explanation" by Lee LeFever - "Getting real" by 37Signals - "The secret" by Rhonda Byrne
on “Ask HN: What were your "life-changing" books?” ↗The obvious ones: The Lean Startup - Eric Ries, Rework - Jason Fried & DHH, Getting Real - Jason Fried
on “Ask HN: Best books/resources on running a lean/bootstrapped company?” ↗ReWork by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson (good reference on good principles) Traction by Gino Wickman (how to create SOPs & scale) Authority by Nathan Barry (how to develop an audience)
on “Ask HN: Which books have helped you the most professionally?” ↗