Reviews
“Jason Fried and David Hansson follow their own advice in REWORK, laying bare the surprising philosophies at the core of 37signals’ success and inspiring us to put them into practice. There’s no jargon or filler here just hundreds of brilliantly simple rules for success. Part entrepreneurial handbook for the twenty-first century, part manifesto for anyone wondering how work really works in the modern age, REWORK is required reading for anyone tired of business platitudes.”
–Chris Anderson, New York Times bestselling author of THE LONG TAIL and FREE
“House-husband, housewife, Fortune 500 CEO, cab driver, restaurateur, venture capitalist — this is ’the book for you,’ a book of true wisdom, business wisdom, life wisdom. The clarity, even genius, of this book actually brought me to near-tears on several occasions. Just bloody brilliant, that’s what!”
**–**Tom Peters, New York Times bestselling author of IN SEARCH OF EXCELLENCE, THRIVING ON CHAOS and LEADERSHIP
“If given a choice between investing in someone who has read REWORK or has an MBA, I’m investing in REWORK every time. This is a must read for every entrepreneur.”
–Mark Cuban, co-founder of HDNet and Broadcast.com and owner of the Dallas Mavericks
**“Inspirational…**REWORK is a minimalist manifesto that’s profoundly practical. In a world where we all keep getting asked to do more with less, the authors show us how to do less and create more.”
–Scott Rosenberg, Co-Founder of Salon.com and author of DREAMING IN CODE and SAY EVERYTHING
“The brilliance of REWORK is that it inspires you to rethink everything you thought you knew about strategy, customers, and getting things done. Read this provocative and instructive book—and then get busy reimagining what it means to lead, compete, and succeed.”
–William C. Taylor, Founding Editor of Fast Company and coauthor of MAVERICKS AT WORK
“…a Webby manifesto for post-recession success.“–Newsweek
Why the President Should Read This Book
There are some businesses that are run today much as they would have been run 100 years ago. Some of those businesses are very large businesses. They may still be around and run in much the same way, with minor differences, 100 years from now. These are the businesses many of our politicians think of when they think of “business”.
There is an increasing number of businesses that are not run the way they were just 10 years ago. Many of these businesses did not exist 10 years ago, and 20 years ago their category or business model did not exist. These are not just Internet or technology businesses, but other businesses with creative models. There is also an increasing number of “old” businesses that are waking up to new ways of doing business.
If our leaders do not understand the business of world of today and assume everything is more or less as it was 50 years ago, they will make incorrect decisions when it comes to regulation of business. In order to “correct” the problems of the past, they may be kicking a horse that is already dead, and kicking a new horse that doesn’t have the problems the old horse had. Rework is a short read, and a great window into the business of the new-age, small-business entrepreneur. This is the entrepreneur who doesn’t necessarily want a huge office, hundreds of employees, five houses, and a new wife each year. This might be the entrepreneur who wants to maximize the productivity of his 10 employees, work 20 hours per week, and teach problem kids part-time at the local high school. But if our leaders engage in class warfare and vilify all businessmen, they catch the good along with the bad, and we all suffer for it.
Personal Notes
I’ve run a small business with 10-20 employees for the past 10 years, and Rework is pretty much spot-on when it comes to my own experience.