Takeaways from ReworkShane Kluiter

Rework. From the creators of BaseCamp.

1. Throw out traditional notions. Why you need less than what you think to launch. Who to hire.

2. Because of technology people can achieve as much as a group of people alone.

3. No Sales or Advertising.

4.The “real world” is a justification for not trying.

5. Learning from failure is overrated. Other people’s failures are other people’s failures.

6.Learn from successes instead of mistakes.

7.What you do is what matters. Not what you think and say.

8.The most important thing is to begin.

9.Opinions are better than advertising. If you’re not offending someone then you’re probably not pleasing anyone.

10.The Goal is not money alone or being acquired.

11.Decide and move forward. Get used to making choices. Build momentum.

12.Long projects zap motivation.

13.Cut back and do less to solve problems rather than adding people and making the problem bigger.

14.Look for your byproducts and sell them too.

15.Don’t throw a good-time after bad work.

16. Long stretches of alone time are the most productive.

17.Short small meetings about a specific problem. Real changes online. Set end time. End with a real solution that’s good enough and put someone in charge of it.

18.You must create a steady stream of good news.

19.HERO MODE- Don’t spend 16 hours on something you thought would take 2 hours. Just because you’ve already put time into it.

20.People like Conflict. Conflict between competition is good.

21.You don’t need to pay attention to the competition or worry about them. It’s a waste of time.

22. Don’t change your product for your bigger customers. Let customers outgrow you.

23. The right time to hire is when there’s too much work to do in a sustained period of time.

24. Hire too fast and people start to appease each other instead of challenging each other as honest friends would. No one knows each other. Hiring slowly is good.

25. Everyone does work, no one delegates.

26. Own your bad news. When something goes wrong own up to it before someone else calls you out on it. You can’t hide anymore.

27. Negative reactions are always louder and more prevalent than positive ones.

28.Be calm. You don’t have to jump on every problem. If Jim wears shorts don’t issue a mandate of not wearing shorts. Tell Jim not to wear shorts.

29.When you treat people like children you get children’s work. Children need approval. Adults can make decisions. If everything needs approval there is no trust and things are slowed. You will not get 8 hours a day of work from people. People need diversions.

30.You don’t need more hours you need better hours. Use time wisely. If you want something done ask the busiest person you know. A job is not someone’s entire life.

31. Sound like yourself. You don’t have to come off as a robot and talk overly professional. Sounding big does not make you seem big and professionals. Small companies greatest asset is communicating quickly and honestly.

32. Write to be read. Does it sound like it would if you were actually talk to a person? Write for 1 person, not a group.

33. If inspiration grabs you do it. Don’t wait the weekend. Take action!