Part two of a three part series.

Jason Fried heads up 37signals, webdesign firm turned web software as a service/product firm. He has a bit of a different approach to developing apps than most. I would say it’s related to agile programming, but that may be an understatement. His process almost seems to outsiders as a rejection of process. He strips design and development down to the most bare essentials yet comes up with easy to use applications that are most certainly successful. He obviously is talented and smart and surrounds himself with staff at 37signals that is too. He presented a talk at Seed titled “10 things”. The 10 things are:

1. The Great Unknown
   • projections are pie in the sky
   • 5 year plans are actually blinders
   • road maps are actually a lock-in
2. Words that are Red Flags (avoid these words)
   • need
   • can’t
   • easy
   • just
   • only
   • fast
3. Worrying About Things That Don’t Matter Yet.
   • pixels and polish at the wrong time.
   • what ifs? (what if we get big, get dugg, get slashdotted)
   • partnerships – largely a waste of time
   • customizations
4. When is Enough, Enough?
   • When you can use it! Don’t over build/engineer right away
5. Too Many Cooks
   • Staying small is a good thing!
   • Parkinson’s Law – Work expands to fill the time allowed
   • Scale your scope to match your head count
6. Not Enough Chefs
   • Give your secrets away!
   • Teach!
   • Show what you know
   • Transparency
   • What’s in your cookbook?
7. Interruption is the Enemy of Productivity
   • Taps on the shoulder? Not good.
   • Required Meetings? Hrrm. Also probably not good.
   • Calling a name across the office, “Hey check this out”
   • Phones and Blackberries are productivity killers
   • A fragmented day is not productive
8. Passive vs. Active Communication
   • Know when and why to use each.
   • “Communication fails except by accident”
   • 6 people are actually present in a 2 person conversation
   • Passive communication will reduce interruption
9. Meetings are Toxic
   • meetings are symptoms, not solutions
   • meetings are last resorts
   • meetings are costly
   • meetings are like TV shows, they fill regular time slots, 15 mintues, 30 minutes, an hour… thoughts and answers just aren’t time boxed like that.
10. Make Tiny Decisions
    • Judo ‚Äì Break big choices into smaller and smaller ones
    • decisions allow for progress to be made
    • when you make tiny decisions, you can’t make big mistakes.

Whew… alot to take in there. Some, I’m not sure of, but I do know that I have at one time or another been in a toxic meeting or three.

Posted on January 24, 2008

Name (required)

Mail (will not be published) (required)

Website