Rework

Key Concepts

“Planning is guessing”

“Why don’t we just call plans what they really are: guesses. Start referring to your business plans as business guesses, your financial plans as financial guesses, and your strategic plans as strategic guesses.” (p. 22)

“When you turn guesses into plans, you enter a danger zone. Plans let the past drive the future. They put blinders on you. “This is where we’re going because, well, that’s where we said we were going.” And that’s the problem: Plans are inconsistent with improvisation.” (p. 22)

“The timing of long-range plans is screwed up too. You have the most information when you’re doing something, not before you’ve done it. Yet when do you write a plan? Usually it’s before you’ve even begun. That’s the worst time to make a big decision.” (p. 23)

“Now this isn’t to say you shouldn’t think about the future or contemplate how you might attack upcoming obstacles. That’s a worthwhile exercise. Just don’t feel you need to write it down or obsess about it.” (p. 23)

“Start a business, not a startup”

“Instead, start an actual business. Actual businesses have to deal with actual things like bills and payroll. Actual businesses worry about profit from day one. Actual businesses don’t mask deep problems by saying, ‘It’s OK, we’re a startup.’ Act like an actual business and you’ll have a much better shot at succeeding.” (p. 54)

“Plus, when you build a company with the intention of being acquired, you emphasize the wrong things. Instead of focusing on getting customers to love you, you worry about who’s going to buy you. That’s the wrong thing to obsess over.” (p. 56)

“Build half a product, not a half-assed product”

“You can turn a bunch of great ideas into a crappy product real fast by trying to do them all at once.” (p. 66)

“So sacrifice some of your darlings for the greater good. Cut your ambition in half. You’re better off with a kick-ass half than a half-assed whole.” (p. 68)

“When you start anything new, there are forces pulling you in a variety of directions. There’s the stuff you could do, the stuff you want to do, and the stuff you have to do. The stuff you have to do is where you should begin. Start at the epicenter.” (p. 68)

“The way to find the epicenter is to ask yourself this question: ‘If I took this away, would what I’m selling still exist?’” (p. 68)

“Launch now”

“Once your product does what it needs to do, get it out there.” (p. 86)

“Think about it this way: If you had to launch your business in two weeks, what would you cut out?” (p. 86)

“Don’t mistake this approach for skimping on quality, either. You still want to make something great. This approach just recognizes that the best way to get there is through iterations. Stop imagining what’s going to work. Find out for real.” (p. 86)

“Meetings are toxic”

“If you decide you absolutely must get together, try to make your meeting a productive one by sticking to these simple rules: 

• “Set a timer. When it rings, meeting’s over. Period. 

• “Invite as few people as possible. 

• “Always have a clear agenda. Begin with a specific problem. 

• “Meet at the site of the problem instead of a conference room. Point to real things and suggest real changes. 

• “End with a solution and make someone responsible for implementing it.” (p. 98)

“Quick wins”

“Excitement comes from doing something and then letting customers have at it.” (p. 102)

“So ask yourself, “What can we do in two weeks?” And then do it. Get it out there and let people use it, taste it, play it, or whatever. The quicker it’s in the hands of customers, the better off you’ll be.” (p. 102)

“Who cares what they’re doing?”

“The competitive landscape changes all the time. Your competitor tomorrow may be completely different from your competitor today. It’s out of your control. What’s the point of worrying about things you can’t control?” (p. 125)

“If you’re just going to be like everyone else, why are you even doing this?” (p. 126)

Promotion is about letting people get to know you

“Instead of going out to reach people, you want people to come to you. An audience returns often—on its own—to see what you have to say. This is the most receptive group of customers and potential customers you’ll ever have.” (p. 144)

“Teaching [customers] probably isn’t something your competitors are even thinking about. Most businesses focus on selling or servicing, but teaching never even occurs to them.” (p. 146)

“As a business owner, you should share everything you know too. This is anathema to most in the business world. Businesses are usually paranoid and secretive. They think they have proprietary this and competitive advantage that. Maybe a rare few do, but most don’t. And those that don’t should stop acting like those that do. Don’t be afraid of sharing.” (p. 148)

“Letting people behind the curtain changes your relationship with them. They’ll feel a bond with you and see you as human beings instead of a faceless company. They’ll see the sweat and effort that goes into what you sell. They’ll develop a deeper level of understanding and appreciation for what you do.” (p. 150)

“Do it yourself first” before hiring

“Never hire anyone to do a job until you’ve tried to do it yourself first. That way, you’ll understand the nature of the work.” (p. 165)

“You don’t create a culture”

“You don’t create a culture. It happens. This is why new companies don’t have a culture. Culture is the byproduct of consistent behavior.” (p. 202)

“Skip the rock stars”

“Instead of thinking about how you can land a roomful of rock stars, think about the room instead. We’re all capable of bad, average, and great work. The environment has a lot more to do with great work than most people realize.” (p. 205)

Quotables

“Small is not just a stepping-stone. Small is a great destination in itself.” (p. 25)

“Instead of entrepreneurs, let’s just call them starters. Anyone who creates a new business is a starter.” (p. 30)

“The easiest, most straightforward way to create a great product or service is to make something you want to use. That lets you design what you know—and you’ll figure out immediately whether or not what you’re making is any good.” (p. 35)

“When you don’t know what you believe, everything becomes an argument. Everything is debatable. But when you stand for something, decisions are obvious.” (p. 42)

“When we start designing something, we sketch out ideas with a big, thick Sharpie marker, instead of a ballpoint pen. Why? Pen points are too fine. They’re too high-resolution. They encourage you to worry about things that you shouldn’t worry about yet, like perfecting the shading or whether to use a dotted or dashed line. You end up focusing on things that should still be out of focus.” (p. 70)

“Whenever you can, swap ‘Let’s think about it’ for ‘Let’s decide on it.’” (p. 72)

“The core of your business should be built around things that won’t change. Things that people are going to want today and ten years from now. Those are the things you should invest in.” (p. 79)

“Pour yourself into your product and everything around your product too: how you sell it, how you support it, how you explain it, and how you deliver it. Competitors can never copy the you in your product.” (p. 118)

“These early days of obscurity are something you’ll miss later on, when you’re really under the microscope. Now’s the time to take risks without worrying about embarrassing yourself.” (p. 142)

“Start building your audience today. Start getting people interested in what you have to say. And then keep at it. In a few years, you too will get to chuckle when people discuss your ‘overnight’ success.” (p. 162)

“The number-one principle to keep in mind when you apologize: How would you feel about the apology if you were on the other end?” (p. 192)

“There are four-letter words you should never use in business. They’re not fuck or shit. They’re need, must, can’t, easy, just, only, and fast.” (p. 216)