Rework by Jason FriedMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Volim ove kratke i jednostavne knjige koje odmah ukratko kažu ono što žele reći, bez previše okolišanja. Autor objašnjava kako se ne trebamo bojati poduzetništva jer ne moramo zamišljati da je to neka velika firma sa stotinama zaposlenih, to može biti i mali obiteljski posao. Bitno je da je uspješan i svatko treba biti ponosan tko uspije napraviti neki posao. Uvijek su me fascinirali planovi firmi za budućnost jer nisam znao kako oni mogu znati šta će se dogoditi, Jason isto kaže da je to nemoguće znati osim ako nisi ona baba koja gata iz kave. Veliki i moćni planovi koje firma pravi su samo pogađanja. U startu se troškovi trebaju svesti na minimum pa i gledati da budu na minimumu jer što se firma bude razvijala to će je troškovi više crpiti. Jedna od najboljih stvari u ovoj knjizi je kako je Jason opisao radoholičare. Sjećam se na mom prvom poslu u uredu, koji je bio u starijoj tradicionalnoj firmi, kako su se više cijenili ljudi koji ostaju prekovremeno. Čak su se prekovremeni sati plaćali dodatno. Uvijek sam govorio da nisam ja kriv ako ćemo istu stvar ja i kolega odraditi u različitom trajanju, ja ću koristeći znanje i alate odraditi nešto za 10 minuta a kolegica za 2 sata ručno prepisujući. Tko je tu onda bolji radnik?
Volio bih da sam ovu knjigu pročitao ranije zato što bi mi ranije dao krila za stvari koje sam počeo raditi u tridesetima. Za pokretanje posla ti nije potrebna diploma. Točka. "Scratch your own itch" - je vodilja ove knjige, što znači da ako riješiš svoj problem sigurno to možeš prodati nekom tko ima isti problem.
Sama ideja kao ideja nije vrijedna, treba je sprovesti u djelo. Svatko je mogao imati ideju za ebay, ali treba je realizirati korak po korak.
Ne postoji idealan tajming za pokrenuti posao, uvijek će biti razloga protiv (premlad, prestar, dok ovo završim, dok ono završim, itd.). Nikada nećeš imati potpunu podršku. Za sve one koji te vole uvijek će isto toliko biti i onih koji te mrze.
Još jedna bitna lekcija koju sam izvukao iz ove knjige je da izbjegavam investitore. Posebno za uslužne firme koje mogu krenuti s minimalnim troškovima. Investitori samo gledaju kako izvući novac za par godina. Postoje brojni slučajevi gdje su poduzetnici požalili što su pustili investitore u firmu koji su im se kasnije miješali u posao. Ograničei resursi znače i to da ćeš dati više od sebe da ostvariš rezulate jer će te to vući prema naprijed, prema novim idejama.
Ono što me ova knjiga naučila je da brže donosim odluke tako što ne čekam savršeno rješenje nego odlučim i idem dalje.
Knjiga je prepuna dobrih kratkih savjeta zato neću previše ovdje zapisivati nego ću samo na blogu kopirati ispod sve citate koje sam izvukao iz ove knjige.
Notebook for
Rework
Citation (APA): Fried, J. (2020). Rework [Kindle Android version]. Retrieved from Amazon.com
Chapter 2 - Takedowns
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Another common misconception: You need to learn from your mistakes. What do you really learn from mistakes? You might learn what not to do again, but how valuable is that? You still don’t know what you should do next.
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Contrast that with learning from your successes. Success gives you real ammunition.
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Unless you’re a fortune-teller, long-term business planning is a fantasy. There are just too many factors that are out of your hands: market conditions, competitors, customers, the economy, etc. Writing a plan makes you feel in control of things you can’t actually control.
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Why don’t we just call plans what they really are: guesses.
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Give up on the guesswork. Decide what you’re going to do this week, not this year.
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right—premature hiring is the death of many companies.
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Ramping up doesn’t have to be your goal. And we’re not talking just about the number of employees you have either. It’s also true for expenses, rent, IT infrastructure, furniture, etc. These things don’t just happen to you. You decide whether or not to take them on. And if you do take them on, you’ll be taking on new headaches, too.
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Lock in lots of expenses and you force yourself into building a complex businesss—one that’s a lot more difficult and stressful to run.
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Don’t be insecure about aiming to be a small business. Anyone who runs a business that’s sustainable and profitable, whether it’s big or small, should be proud.
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Workaholics make the people who don’t stay late feel inadequate for “merely” working reasonable hours.
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The real hero is already home because she figured out a faster way to get things done.
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Let’s retire the term entrepreneur. It’s outdated and loaded with baggage. It smells like a members-only club.
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Anyone who creates a new business is a starter. You don’t need an MBA, a certificate, a fancy suit, a briefcase, or an above-average tolerance for risk.
Chapter 3 - Go
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These little guys came out of nowhere and destroyed old models that had been around for decades. You can do the same in your industry.
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These people scratched their own itch and exposed a huge market of people who needed exactly what they needed. That’s how you should do it too.
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We all have that one friend who says, “I had the idea for eBay. If only I had acted on it, I’d be a billionaire!” That logic is pathetic and delusional. Having the idea for eBay has nothing to do with actually creating eBay. What you do is what matters, not what you think or say or plan.
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Stanley Kubrick gave this advice to aspiring filmmakers: “Get hold of a camera and some film and make a movie of any kind at all.”* Kubrick knew that when you’re new at something, you need to start creating. The most important thing is to begin.
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Besides, the perfect time never arrives. You’re always too young or old or busy or broke or something else. If you constantly fret about timing things perfectly, they’ll never happen.
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For everyone who loves you, there will be others who hate you.
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If no one’s upset by what you’re saying, you’re probably not pushing hard enough. (And you’re probably boring, too.)
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We’re willing to lose some customers if it means that others love our products intensely. That’s our line in the sand.
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Service businesses (e.g., consultants, software companies, wedding planners, graphic designers, and hundreds of others) don’t require much to get going. If you’re running a business like that, avoid outside funding.
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Investors want their money back—and quickly (usually three to five years).
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It’s just not worth it. We hear over and over from business owners who have gone down this road and regret it. They usually give a variation on the investment-hangover story: First, you get that quick investment buzz. But then you start having meetings with your investors and/or board of directors, and you’re like, “Oh man, what have I gotten myself into?” Now someone else is calling the shots.
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Would you write the prenup on a first date? Would you meet with a divorce lawyer the morning of your wedding? That would be ridiculous, right?
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That’s why you often hear about business owners who sell out, retire for six months, and then get back in the game. They miss the thing they gave away. And usually, they’re back with a business that isn’t nearly as good as their first.
Chapter 4 - Progress
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“I don’t have enough time/money/people/experience.” Stop whining. Less is a good thing. Constraints are advantages in disguise. Limited resources force you to make do with what you’ve got. There’s no room for waste. And that forces you to be creative.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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You want to get into the rhythm of making choices. When you get in that flow of making decision after decision, you build momentum and boost morale. Decisions are progress. Each one you make is a brick in your foundation. You can’t build on top of “We’ll decide later,” but you can build on top of “Done.”
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The problem comes when you postpone decisions in the hope that a perfect answer will come to you later. It won’t. You’re as likely to make a great call today as you are tomorrow.
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It doesn’t matter how much you plan, you’ll still get some stuff wrong anyway. Don’t make things worse by overanalyzing and delaying before you even get going.
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Long projects zap morale. The longer it takes to develop, the less likely it is to launch. Make the call, make progress, and get something out now—while you’ve got the motivation and momentum to do so.
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It’s the stuff you leave out that matters. So constantly look for things to remove, simplify, and streamline. Be a curator. Stick to what’s truly essential.
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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.
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Remember, fashion fades away. When you focus on permanent features, you’re in bed with things that never go out of style.
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In business, too many people obsess over tools, software tricks, scaling issues, fancy office space, lavish furniture, and other frivolities instead of what really matters. And what really matters is how to actually get customers and make money.
Chapter 5 - Productivity
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Are you making something useful or just making something? It’s easy to confuse enthusiasm with usefulness.
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Adding something is easy; adding value is hard. Is this thing you’re working on actually making your product more valuable for customers?
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What can’t you do because you’re doing this? This is especially important for small teams with constrained resources. That’s when prioritization is even more important.
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If you’re constantly staying late and working weekends, it’s not because there’s too much work to be done. It’s because you’re not getting enough done at work. And the reason is interruptions.
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Also, when you do collaborate, try to use passive communication tools, like e-mail, that don’t require an instant reply, instead of interruptive ones, like phone calls and face-to-face meetings. That way people can respond when it’s convenient for them, instead of being forced to drop everything right away. Your day is under siege by interruptions. It’s on you to fight back.
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The worst interruptions of all are meetings. Here’s why: They’re usually about words and abstract concepts, not real things.
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You just build something that gets the job done and then move on. This approach may not earn you oohs and aahs, but it lets you get on with it.
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when we really have no idea. We see everything going according to a best-case scenario, without the delays that inevitably pop up. Reality never sticks to best-case scenarios.
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The solution: Break the big thing into smaller things. The smaller it is, the easier it is to estimate. You’re probably still going to get it wrong, but you’ll be a lot less wrong than if you estimated a big project.
Chapter 6 - Competitors
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The problem with this sort of copying is it skips understanding—and understanding is how you grow. You have to understand why something works or why something is the way it is.
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Don’t shy away from the fact that your product or service does less. Highlight it. Be proud of it. Sell it as aggressively as competitors sell their extensive feature lists.
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What’s the point of worrying about things you can’t control?
Chapter 7 - Evolution
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If I’d listened to customers, I’d have given them a faster horse.—HENRY FORD
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Companies need to be true to a type of customer more than a specific individual customer with changing needs.
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The enthusiasm you have for a new idea is not an accurate indicator of its true worth.
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By all means, have as many great ideas as you can. Get excited about them. Just don’t act in the heat of the moment. Write them down and park them for a few days. Then, evaluate their actual priority with a calm mind.
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There’s no need for a spreadsheet, database, or filing system. The requests that really matter are the ones you’ll hear over and over. After a while, you won’t be able to forget them. Your customers will be your memory.
Chapter 8 - Promotion
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No one knows who you are right now. And that’s just fine. Being obscure is a great position to be in. Be happy you’re in the shadows. Use this time to make mistakes without the whole world hearing about them.
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If you’ve never given a speech before, do you want your first speech to be in front of ten thousand people or ten people? You don’t want everyone to watch you starting your business.
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When you’re a success, the pressure to maintain predictability and consistency builds.
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As a business owner, you should share everything you know too. This is anathema to most in the business world.
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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.
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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.
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Don’t be afraid to show your flaws. Imperfections are real and people respond to real.
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Wabi-sabi values character and uniqueness over a shiny facade.
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So talk like you really talk. Reveal things that others are unwilling to discuss. Be upfront about your shortcomings. Show the latest version of what you’re working on, even if you’re not done yet. It’s OK if it’s not perfect. You might not seem as professional, but you will seem a lot more genuine.
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Zanimljiv koncept
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Emulate drug dealers. Make your product so good, so addictive, so “can’t miss” that giving customers a small, free taste makes them come back with cash in hand.
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Do you have a marketing department? If not, good. If you do, don’t think these are the only people responsible for marketing. Accounting is a department. Marketing isn’t. Marketing is something everyone in your company is doing 24/7/365.
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Marketing isn’t just a few individual events. It’s the sum total of everything you do.
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You will not get rich quick. You are not so special that everyone else will instantly pay attention. No one cares about you. At least not yet. Get used to it.
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You know those overnight-success stories you’ve heard about? It’s not the whole story. Dig deeper and you’ll usually find people who have busted their asses for years to get into a position where things could take off.
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Trade the dream of overnight success for slow, measured growth.
Chapter 9 - Hiring
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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. You’ll know what a job well done looks like. You’ll know how to write a realistic job description and which questions to ask in an interview.
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Plus, you should want to be intimately involved in all aspects of your business. Otherwise you’ll wind up in the dark, putting your fate solely in the hands of others. That’s dangerous.
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Don’t hire for pleasure; hire to kill pain. Always ask yourself: What if we don’t hire anyone? Is that extra work that’s burdening us really necessary? Can we solve the problem with a slice of software or a change of practice instead?
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Similarly, if you lose someone, don’t replace him immediately. See how long you can get by without that person and that position. You’ll often discover you don’t need as many people as you think.
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So hire slowly. It’s the only way to avoid winding up at a cocktail party of strangers.
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With a small team, you need people who are going to do work, not delegate work. Everyone’s got to be producing. No one can be above the work.
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Delegators are dead weight for a small team.
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Delegators love to pull people into meetings, too. In fact, meetings are a delegator’s best friend. That’s where he gets to seem important. Meanwhile, everyone else who attends is pulled away from getting real work done.
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Clear writing is a sign of clear thinking.
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Writing is making a comeback all over our society. Look at how much people e-mail and text-message now rather than talk on the phone. Look at how much communication happens via instant messaging and blogging. Writing is today’s currency for good ideas.
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Interviews are only worth so much. Some people sound like pros but don’t work like pros.
Chapter 10 - Damage Control
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Getting back to people quickly is probably the most important thing you can do when it comes to customer service. It’s amazing how much that can defuse a bad situation and turn it into a good one.
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The more people you have between your customers’ words and the people doing the work, the more likely it is that the message will get lost or distorted along the way.
Chapter 11 - Culture
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Culture isn’t a foosball table or trust falls. It isn’t policy. It isn’t the Christmas party or the company picnic. Those are objects and events, not culture. And it’s not a slogan, either. Culture is action, not words.
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“But what if…?” “What happens when…?” “Don’t we need to plan for…?” Don’t make up problems you don’t have yet. It’s not a problem until it’s a real problem. Most of the things you worry about never happen anyway.
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When you treat people like children, you get children’s work. Yet that’s exactly how a lot of companies and managers treat their employees. Employees need to ask permission before they can do anything. They need to get approval for every tiny expenditure. It’s surprising they don’t have to get a hall pass to go take a shit.
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What do you gain if you ban employees from, say, visiting a social-networking site or watching YouTube while at work? You gain nothing. That time doesn’t magically convert to work. They’ll just find some other diversion.
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Istina ali su ovo kradljivci vremena ako su dostupni. Bez njih se manje gubi vrijeme
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And look, you’re not going to get a full eight hours a day out of people anyway. That’s a myth. They might be at the office for eight hours, but they’re not actually working eight hours. People need diversions. It helps disrupt the monotony of the workday. A little YouTube or Facebook time never hurt anyone.
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That applies to the language you use everywhere—in e-mail, packaging, interviews, blog posts, presentations, etc. Talk to customers the way you would to friends.
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They’re need, must, can’t, easy, just, only, and fast. These words get in the way of healthy communication.
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These four-letter words often pop up during debates (and also watch out for their cousins: everyone, no one, always, and never). Once uttered, they make it tough to find a solution. They box you into a corner by pitting two absolutes against each other. That’s when head-butting occurs. You squeeze out any middle ground.
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Stop saying ASAP. We get it. It’s implied. Everyone wants things done as soon as they can be done.
Conclusion
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What doesn’t last forever is inspiration. Inspiration is like fresh fruit or milk: It has an expiration date.
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If you want to do something, you’ve got to do it now. You can’t put it on a shelf and wait two months to get around to it.
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If you’re inspired on a Friday, swear off the weekend and dive into the project. When you’re high on inspiration, you can get two weeks of work done in twenty-four hours. Inspiration is a time machine in that way.
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