ReWork: Change the Way You Work Forever Kindle Edition

I generally agree with everything in this book. It wasn't exactly what I expected. Each chapter consists of a couple of chapters which seem to be designed to counter general business beliefs of people with MBA's. Small business owners will most likely nod in agreement, but is not likely they require this advice, they probably could write this book.

The Twitterverse was abuzz when 37Signals released their Rework book (complete with availability from Amazon.com, and even in the Kindle format). At first I refrained from listening to any hype; but with a quick glance at the back matter, I found myself a button click away from immediate Kindle satisfaction. Topics like "meetings are toxic" and "planning is guessing" hit pretty close to home with my previous job at Travel Tribe... so I clicked the button.

I had actually owned 37Signals' previous book (Getting Real) for some time, but failed to crack open the PDF. With some spare time on my hands this go-round, I started to read through Rework on my PC before wrapping it up on my Kindle.

Rework is a culmination of good, bad and ugly. It's not really a book. It's a collection of inspiring essays with the 37Signals team talking at you. The book is an extremely quick read filled with opinionated business talk, but most of it is well informed and very pragmatic. Many of the tenets are things that I've just been discovering just recently.

Rework goes against the grain because the quality of writing is intentionally poor. It's not that the ideas are unclear. It's that the book wasn't written to be a business book that tops any charts. It's written as if spoken. It's written clearly and directly - straight to the point - and doesn't let business manual fluff (or proper writing style) get in the way.

As a book of axioms, Rework hits a ground rule double. It might not score you any runs initially, but it'll at least advance the runners. It's up to your own hard work to bring them home.

After reading Rework, I decided I liked it enough to finally give Getting Real a try. This was my mistake. As it turns out Rework is just Getting Real minus a few chapters, minus all the quotes, and rewritten so as to speak more directly in its prose. Rework is essentially a "reworked" Getting Real. This was disappointing to find out. I was able to glean a few pearls from the dropped material between the reissue, but for the most part, I was just reading something that had already been out for a while.

Say what you want about 37Signals, but they've been able to build a successful business using their philosophy (which is found in these books). There is certainly a lot of "I wish we did things that way" in these books. Well, 37Signals has done it that way, and they've been very successful with their products, while Ruby on Rails has helped turn them into the golden children of web 2.0 programming. I recommend you forget about Getting Real and instead take an evening to read through Rework. If anything it's a fun look at what a successful small business thinks makes a successful small business philosophy.

It's a quick read at only 260 pages and every 2nd/3rd page is a picture. That doesn't mean you don't get value for money. But it is a quick page turner. I got through it in a few days on the train.

The authors give you guidance and some strategy on the approach of running a business as a starter (not a startup). It's based on experience with some references, but it is not a theoretical book.

They deliberately defy all the stereotypical actions associated with startups, and for good reason. Drawing on their own successful experiences, they want you to actually give it a go.

I would recommend it as a light read for people running as a Micro-ISV software business, and a how to avoid the classic mistakes. Alot of classic mistakes new starters will make. There is no single way to run the business nor get started. And this is what they explain.

The authors cover all the major aspects of running a micro-ISV, from thinking about your product, to having meetings, making decisions, to getting more people. All of it is quite sensible and very practical. I wouldn't say it's revolutionary, but I found it re-assuring to read and then compare to the way I am doing things, basically helped motivate me to keep going.

The only drawback is that it is a little too anecdotal and don't find that it's gonna turn me into the next Jeff Bezo's, it's more in the lines of operational advice. It's all about execution not trying to find a good idea.

So, in summary, it's a good book to help overcome any mental roadblocks you may have created for yourself in the anxiety about whether to invest time and sweat in starting a small business. I recommend it as a buy.

Jason Fried and David Heinmeier Hansson bring a lot to the table in this book. They bring the same style and tone from their blog signal vs. noise, which isn't a bad thing. From what was spoken about the book you almost expect the book to be more - maybe a manifesto for their outlook on business. Yet the book stays narrow in scope. Page after page deliver clear hows and whys of business, management and strategy.

Don't get me wrong. I think a lot of people should read the book, and it helped put a name on some pitfalls to avoid (namely staffing & client relationships). Yet at the end of the book I was wondering where the amazing summary and conclusion for all this thinking was. There isn't much of a summary at all. The book ends as it starts and it's done.

On the flip side, this may be a bonus who wants to read a great book without having to really dive into it. Rework is a book you can read 1.5 pages per sitting and get a lot out of it.

I liked it when I read it, and I'll reference it in the future. I think it was a good purchase.

I highly recommend this book to anyone with an established business, in the works of one or contemplating one for the future. Easy to read, straight to the point and good honest reliable information. Reading this book will help you conduct business from a different perspective. Thanks Dale Partridge for recommending this book.