This is Jason Fried and David Heinemeier's fourth collaboration on a book after co-founding a software company, Basecamp. Each of the four books has a core thesis. For the latest: "A business is a collection of choices. Every day is a new chance to make a new choice, a different choice...no matter where you live in an organization, you can start making better choices. Choices that chip away at crazy and get closer to calm. A calm company is a choice. Make it yours."
That is the WHAT of this book.
Fried and Hansson consider the WHY self-evident, although for many -- if not most -- people it probably isn't. They wrote their book to explain HOW to avoid or eliminate craziness. "Your company is a product. Yes, the things you make are products (or services) but your company is the thing that makes those things. That's why your company should be your best product...progress is achieved through iteration. If you want to make a product better, you have to keep tweaking, revising, and iterating. The same thing is true with the company."
Check out the list on the dust cover. The insane dozen include 80-hour weeks, endless meetings, overflowing inboxes, unrealistic deadlines, and no time to think. All of them and others, Fried and Hansson insist, are symptoms of organizational craziness with which most of us can identity. Iteration of crazy polices and procedures can undermine and eventually destroy a company.
Years ago, I came across the results of a contest conducted by a magazine that solicited "Dilbert Quotations": comments by real-life Dilbert-type managers.
These were among the finalists:
o "What I need is a list of specific unknown problems we will encounter." (executive at Lykes Lines Shipping)
o "E-mail is not to be used to pass on information or data. It should be used only for company business." (Accounting manager, Electric Boat Company)
o "Teamwork is a lot of people doing what I say." (Marketing executive, Citrix Corporation)
o "We all know that communication is a problem, but the company is not going to discuss it with the employees." (Switching supervisor, AT&T Long Lines Division)
And here's the winner: "As of tomorrow, employees will only be able to access the building using individual security cards. Pictures will be taken next Wednesday and employees will receive their cards in two weeks." (Fred Dales at Microsoft Corporation in Redmond, WA)
In his book Leading Change, James O'Toole suggests that the greatest resistance to change tends to be cultural in nature, the result of what he characterizes as "the ideology of comfort and the tyranny of custom." That's true but never underestimate how much damage lazy and ignorant managers can do at all levels and in all areas of the given enterprise.
Near the end of the book, Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson share these thoughts about having a calm workplace. Running Basecamp, "we've always kept our costs in check and never made a move that would push us back from black to red. Why? Because crazy's in the red. Calm's in the black."
Also, "revenue is no defense because revenue without a profit margin isn't going to save you. You can easily go broke generating revenue -- many companies have. But you can't go broke generating a profit.
"Profit means time to think, space to explore. It means being in control of your own destiny and schedule.
"Without profit, something is always on fire. When companies talk about burn rates, two things are burning: money and people. One you're burning up, one you're burning out."
These brief excerpts suggest a practical, pragmatic mindset that can guide and inform the decision-making process by leaders of almost all organizations, whatever their size and nature may be.
Organizational craziness really can be avoided or eliminated by common sense. Moreover, more and better work really can be completed at work by getting rid of distractions and interruptions, most of which are generated internally rather than externally. HOW to accomplish these separate but interdependent objectives?
The mindset needed is thoroughly explained in this book.
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Do you have employees or work in software? Grab a copy today.
I’ve been a fan of these guys for years and I’m also a Basecamp customer so I’ve been following their path for a while now and was excited to see Jason doing a Q&A at Laracon this year. Those are some of the reasons I jumped in to buy this book but that just got me interested. I thought the book itself was fantastic and that it lived up to the hype.Our culture says that we should do whatever it takes to succeed. Put in 80 hours if need be, work through the weekend, push through, hustle. Do it for the team, the family life can wait.Rightly so they call B.S. on this and give plenty of examples from their company and from many leaders in their respective fields. Here is one of my favorite quotes related to this from the book:"A great work ethic isn’t about working whenever you’re called upon. It’s about doing what you say you’re going to do, putting in a fair day’s work, respecting the work, respecting the customer, respecting coworkers, not wasting time, not creating unnecessary work for other people, and not being a bottleneck."As I flip back through my copy of the book, almost every page has a highlight or sentences underlined. So much of this hit home to me. Another one of my favorite quotes is related to how many companies claim “we are all a family”:"The best companies aren’t families. They’re supporters of families. Allies of families. They’re there to provide healthy, fulfilling work environments so that when workers shut their laptops at a reasonable hour, they’re the best husbands, wives, parents, siblings, and children they can be."Right now where I work employees just four people outside of the owners and it does feel like a family because we are close, but they 100% follow what the quote above points out and it’s amazing working for a place like that. In fact, much of what is outlined in the book my employer already does, to say I’m lucky in that regard is an understatement.It Doesn’t Have To Be Crazy At Work is set up in distinct sections with essay’s that support the overarching goal of the section. This allows the book to touch on many different areas of running a business but also makes it accessible to managers, and employees. All wound together in a book that can be read in a short time. Unlike most business books, they’ve left out the cruft and put all the focus on getting their points across as quickly and sufficiently as possible.It’s a five-star rating from me and you should buy a copy, read it, then give it to your boss or employees.
Top reviews from the United States
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Reviewed in the United States on June 24, 2019
Reviewed in the United States on October 19, 2018
Our culture says that we should do whatever it takes to succeed. Put in 80 hours if need be, work through the weekend, push through, hustle. Do it for the team, the family life can wait.
Rightly so they call B.S. on this and give plenty of examples from their company and from many leaders in their respective fields. Here is one of my favorite quotes related to this from the book:
"A great work ethic isn’t about working whenever you’re called upon. It’s about doing what you say you’re going to do, putting in a fair day’s work, respecting the work, respecting the customer, respecting coworkers, not wasting time, not creating unnecessary work for other people, and not being a bottleneck."
As I flip back through my copy of the book, almost every page has a highlight or sentences underlined. So much of this hit home to me. Another one of my favorite quotes is related to how many companies claim “we are all a family”:
"The best companies aren’t families. They’re supporters of families. Allies of families. They’re there to provide healthy, fulfilling work environments so that when workers shut their laptops at a reasonable hour, they’re the best husbands, wives, parents, siblings, and children they can be."
Right now where I work employees just four people outside of the owners and it does feel like a family because we are close, but they 100% follow what the quote above points out and it’s amazing working for a place like that. In fact, much of what is outlined in the book my employer already does, to say I’m lucky in that regard is an understatement.
It Doesn’t Have To Be Crazy At Work is set up in distinct sections with essay’s that support the overarching goal of the section. This allows the book to touch on many different areas of running a business but also makes it accessible to managers, and employees. All wound together in a book that can be read in a short time. Unlike most business books, they’ve left out the cruft and put all the focus on getting their points across as quickly and sufficiently as possible.
It’s a five-star rating from me and you should buy a copy, read it, then give it to your boss or employees.
Do you have employees or work in software? Grab a copy today.
Reviewed in the United States on October 19, 2018
I’ve been a fan of these guys for years and I’m also a Basecamp customer so I’ve been following their path for a while now and was excited to see Jason doing a Q&A at Laracon this year. Those are some of the reasons I jumped in to buy this book but that just got me interested. I thought the book itself was fantastic and that it lived up to the hype.Reviewed in the United States on October 19, 2018
Our culture says that we should do whatever it takes to succeed. Put in 80 hours if need be, work through the weekend, push through, hustle. Do it for the team, the family life can wait.
Rightly so they call B.S. on this and give plenty of examples from their company and from many leaders in their respective fields. Here is one of my favorite quotes related to this from the book:
"A great work ethic isn’t about working whenever you’re called upon. It’s about doing what you say you’re going to do, putting in a fair day’s work, respecting the work, respecting the customer, respecting coworkers, not wasting time, not creating unnecessary work for other people, and not being a bottleneck."
As I flip back through my copy of the book, almost every page has a highlight or sentences underlined. So much of this hit home to me. Another one of my favorite quotes is related to how many companies claim “we are all a family”:
"The best companies aren’t families. They’re supporters of families. Allies of families. They’re there to provide healthy, fulfilling work environments so that when workers shut their laptops at a reasonable hour, they’re the best husbands, wives, parents, siblings, and children they can be."
Right now where I work employees just four people outside of the owners and it does feel like a family because we are close, but they 100% follow what the quote above points out and it’s amazing working for a place like that. In fact, much of what is outlined in the book my employer already does, to say I’m lucky in that regard is an understatement.
It Doesn’t Have To Be Crazy At Work is set up in distinct sections with essay’s that support the overarching goal of the section. This allows the book to touch on many different areas of running a business but also makes it accessible to managers, and employees. All wound together in a book that can be read in a short time. Unlike most business books, they’ve left out the cruft and put all the focus on getting their points across as quickly and sufficiently as possible.
It’s a five-star rating from me and you should buy a copy, read it, then give it to your boss or employees.
Images in this review
Reviewed in the United States on April 14, 2024
Reviewed in the United States on October 21, 2019
Top reviews from other countries
Ph Au
It doesn't happen often that I read a book from start till finish in one go
Reviewed in Germany on September 23, 2024Fahad Shaikh
Great book for Managers and professionals specially working in the technology business.
Reviewed in Canada on January 22, 2020Amazon Customer
Calm is about how to build alternative business culture at your company
Reviewed in Brazil on January 5, 2019carlo occhiena
Great insight from a great company
Reviewed in Italy on September 27, 2020
