Status
Available
Call number
Collections
Publication
Vermilion (2010), 288 pages
Description
Business. Nonfiction. Economics. HTML:Rework shows you a better, faster, easier way to succeed in business. Most business books give you the same old advice: Write a business plan, study the competition, seek investors, yadda yadda. If you're looking for a book like that, put this one back on the shelf. Read it and you'll know why plans are actually harmful, why you don't need outside investors, and why you're better off ignoring the competition. The truth is, you need less than you think. You don't need to be a workaholic. You don't need to staff up. You don't need to waste time on paperwork or meetings. You don't even need an office. Those are all just excuses. What you really need to do is stop talking and start working. This book shows you the way. You'll learn how to be more productive, how to get exposure without breaking the bank, and tons more counterintuitive ideas that will inspire and provoke you. With its straightforward language and easy-is-better approach, Rework is the perfect playbook for anyone who�??s ever dreamed of doing it on their own. Hardcore entrepreneurs, small-business owners, people stuck in day jobs they hate, victims of "downsizing," and artists who don�??t want to starve anymore will all find valuable guidance in these… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member JerryColonna
Finally read this. Chock full of great pithy material. The drawings are a equal part of the fun. Not heavy on theory but that's the point...they keep it simple, just the like and the products. Provoked me to think a lot about my own work and the drive (somewhat externally generated to grow and
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expand). Show Less
LibraryThing member ariahfine
This book is a super easy read, finished it in less then a day. It's mostly 1 or 2 page sections with a full page cartoon image per chapter. The book is written by two guys who run a very successful web company. The book is about running a business, productivity, and really just a collection of
They say it isn't a "web" book, but it definitely is. Most of the maxims and ideas are more specific to someone creating a web service or company, though there are definitely plenty of tips that have value for any type of business.
I liked it because I am involved in a handful of web projects. I also liked it because it's different then normal work productivity advice and guides. Any book with a new angle helps you be reflective of your current methodology and usually results in a fresh mindset for tackling work.
If your looking for a good productivity book, and specifically if you do web related work or small business, I'd recommend this.
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tips/maxims that have helped them be successful. They say it isn't a "web" book, but it definitely is. Most of the maxims and ideas are more specific to someone creating a web service or company, though there are definitely plenty of tips that have value for any type of business.
I liked it because I am involved in a handful of web projects. I also liked it because it's different then normal work productivity advice and guides. Any book with a new angle helps you be reflective of your current methodology and usually results in a fresh mindset for tackling work.
If your looking for a good productivity book, and specifically if you do web related work or small business, I'd recommend this.
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LibraryThing member fsmichaels
This is a pretty solid 3.5 stars for me. A fast read. Examples throughout are typically from mainstream sources so the stories aren't anything particularly new, but some good reminders that help you keep moving forward on your projects whether you're in business or not.
LibraryThing member TheMadTurtle
I recommend this to anyone that works in an office setting - be you an entrepreneur or someone working in a cube farm - working for a huge company or a small startup. There's a lot of good info here, to be sure. Some of it reads too much like the "young, hipster rebel" and comes off a little trite
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as a result. However, there's definitely a lot of truth in the book as well. Some of the things, I'm sure you've heard before, but that doesn't make it less meaningful. This is a very quick read that is full of useful gems of information. I keep it at my desk in case anyone wants me to come up with an opening thought for a meeting. Show Less
LibraryThing member Sandydog1
Simple, lean, "common sensical", fun and useful, even if you've no intention of starting your own business.
LibraryThing member RhodesDavis
The Internet has transformed how many businesses operate and Re-Work clearly explains how to build and run a business in this new era. However, in contrast to some Internet-era business approaches that encourage fantasy accounting and venture capital infusions until the patient is alive, the author
Using examples from his company's internal technology development, the author shares ideas on using and managing a distributed workforce operating out of the normal office structure. I applaud his desire to kill the oft misused word "entrepreneur." I also appreciate the focus on building a business that creates value for the customer, not just a financial parachute for the founders.
Focus on business guides instead of plans. Business plans are based on thinking in the past about how things will be in the future. When you are in that "future" don't be constrained by the plans of the past. View it for what it is: an educated guess from the past about how things would be and what you wanted to accomplish. As things change, adjust. Don't be constrained.
Great book for rethinking the modern workplace and company.
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encourages bootstrapping, building within real-world financial considerations, and being methodical.Using examples from his company's internal technology development, the author shares ideas on using and managing a distributed workforce operating out of the normal office structure. I applaud his desire to kill the oft misused word "entrepreneur." I also appreciate the focus on building a business that creates value for the customer, not just a financial parachute for the founders.
Focus on business guides instead of plans. Business plans are based on thinking in the past about how things will be in the future. When you are in that "future" don't be constrained by the plans of the past. View it for what it is: an educated guess from the past about how things would be and what you wanted to accomplish. As things change, adjust. Don't be constrained.
Great book for rethinking the modern workplace and company.
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LibraryThing member tkadlec
Great book full of short, practical, sometimes controversial, essays about how to successfully run a business.
LibraryThing member jcbrunner
An entertaining, short account of the management philosophy that drives 37signals, a software as a service company catering to artsy freelancers. Apart from knocking around too many straw-men, it fails as a management book due to the author's lack of self-awareness of their special case which does
37signals serves the Apple customer segment, people who prefer to pay extra in order to not be exposed to the hassles of technology. The low price sensitivity of this segment makes it a very lucrative market, sheltered from most of the "internet is free" effect.
The next difference is the type of service 37signals sells: It has a heavy lock-in effect with its preservation of the customer history and files. The authors make a lot of comparisons with bakeries and restaurants where this is not the case. What 37signals has in common with their examples is survivor bias. The low barriers to entry creates a never ending stream of entries and exits. Whether they were truly outstanding or just lucky can never be answered. This survivor bias vexes all Jim Collins books (and earlier the In Search of Excellence companies).
Finally, 37signals is, in Charles Handy's terminology, an Athena company, a group of dedicated professionals. Much of the advice offered does not easily apply to other types. Calling your employees "associates" (as Wal-mart does) will only create a fake kind of equality. While learning to survive on the factory floor is helpful in disseminating corporate culture and understanding (and mandatory for example with BMW), the task differentiation in large companies demands specialists.
The small is beautiful idea can work if you occupy a suitable ecological niche. It is a disastrous strategy to survive among elephants. If Rework were to be reworked, it might become more than a witty PR gag. Robert Townsend's Up the Organization is the better book(let).
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not lend itself as a template for general management advice.37signals serves the Apple customer segment, people who prefer to pay extra in order to not be exposed to the hassles of technology. The low price sensitivity of this segment makes it a very lucrative market, sheltered from most of the "internet is free" effect.
The next difference is the type of service 37signals sells: It has a heavy lock-in effect with its preservation of the customer history and files. The authors make a lot of comparisons with bakeries and restaurants where this is not the case. What 37signals has in common with their examples is survivor bias. The low barriers to entry creates a never ending stream of entries and exits. Whether they were truly outstanding or just lucky can never be answered. This survivor bias vexes all Jim Collins books (and earlier the In Search of Excellence companies).
Finally, 37signals is, in Charles Handy's terminology, an Athena company, a group of dedicated professionals. Much of the advice offered does not easily apply to other types. Calling your employees "associates" (as Wal-mart does) will only create a fake kind of equality. While learning to survive on the factory floor is helpful in disseminating corporate culture and understanding (and mandatory for example with BMW), the task differentiation in large companies demands specialists.
The small is beautiful idea can work if you occupy a suitable ecological niche. It is a disastrous strategy to survive among elephants. If Rework were to be reworked, it might become more than a witty PR gag. Robert Townsend's Up the Organization is the better book(let).
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LibraryThing member amymelniczenko
I really enjoyed this business book. Lots of great ideas here. The book was easy to read, easy to understand and had a lot of great little nuggets that I'll be able to incorporate into my daily work. The content is unconventional but common sense. Really interesting concepts here.
LibraryThing member cjtoomey
Although I enjoy the fundamental ideas behind this book (and in general, 37signals), I found the book to be extremely lacking. Each section felt like a short, half baked rephrasing of the general idea. In addition, the majority of the concepts were presented in a bare bones abstract manner, without
Not recommended (although in blog form, ie their blog, it is pretty good).
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examples or value add clarification. Not recommended (although in blog form, ie their blog, it is pretty good).
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LibraryThing member John_Pappas
So. A quick read. Some good points. Some overstated points. Overall, I liked it. A good reminder to look past all the strategic plans, policies and organizational charts and work for love of product and customer. Basically, at its essence, this book is about avoiding burnout more than it is about
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starting a business. It is about working smart and not hard. Show Less
LibraryThing member gmmoney
This book is really nothing but a short list of business approaches, some new, some not so new.Because we have an existing framework for the internet, it's easier now to focus on the ends of creating a business, instead of the means, and this book addresses this new outlook. The advice is clear and
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to the point, but I can't help wondering if they could have just written a pamphlet with a bullet list of their ideas.There are some good ideas in the book, particularly in the second half, but having worked in different IT companies over the last ten years I didn't see anything really new to their approach. It would probably be a worthy read to people outside the industry still working on old business models, though. Show Less
LibraryThing member amymelniczenko
I really enjoyed this business book. Lots of great ideas here. The book was easy to read, easy to understand and had a lot of great little nuggets that I'll be able to incorporate into my daily work. The content is unconventional but common sense. Really interesting concepts here.
LibraryThing member amymelniczenko
I really enjoyed this business book. Lots of great ideas here. The book was easy to read, easy to understand and had a lot of great little nuggets that I'll be able to incorporate into my daily work. The content is unconventional but common sense. Really interesting concepts here.
LibraryThing member amymelniczenko
I really enjoyed this business book. Lots of great ideas here. The book was easy to read, easy to understand and had a lot of great little nuggets that I'll be able to incorporate into my daily work. The content is unconventional but common sense. Really interesting concepts here.
LibraryThing member adamclaxton
I felt a little let down by this book. There were definitely some good ideas and, working for a big corporation, I did connect with the chapters dealing with recruitment and planning. Clearly people who would benefit the most would be working in, or are about to venture into, product (specifically
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IT) development. Show Less
LibraryThing member chriszodrow
Anyone who has plans, wants to create something, or needs some inspiration should read this book. If nothing else, a very fun read. Bureaucrats beware.
LibraryThing member stringsn88keys
Amazingly, the things that appealed to me in this book should be business common sense, such as rejecting the idea of a mission statement and the "false apology". I wish this were a staple of corporate culture instead of pop business books.
LibraryThing member paulsignorelli
Rework is a book very much of its moment as those preferring Web 2.0-style collaborations and those who feel territorial about everything they produce attempt to find common ground. The writers suggest that we avoid the complexities and turf wars which so often hold many of us back from
It is not the content that is revolutionary here. Reminders to improvise (pp. 18-20), produce something tangible rather than engaging in endless discussions about producing something tangible (pp. 33-45), undertake a few achievable projects rather than trying to do pursue every possibility and ending up completing none (p. 83), ask what problems we are solving through our undertakings (p. 100), and learn by doing rather than always trying to duplicate what others have accomplished (pp. 134-136) simply take us back to basics we should already know but all too often set aside in a frenzy of trying to respond to all constituents without serving any of them effectively. Which, of course, makes the time spent with Rework tremendously worthwhile.
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achievements we might otherwise produce if we were not trying to do too much, trying to recreate what others are doing rather than pursuing our own vision on behalf of those we serve, and allowing ourselves to "obsess over tools instead of what [we]'re going to do with those tools" (p. 87). They take a light and playful approach: the simple graphics which are interspersed with the text throughout the book keep readers moving from page to page. The use of the graphics and the stylistic device of providing short sections on dozens of interrelated themes--most pieces are no longer than a tightly written blog posting and have the same sense of informality--make the book a pleasure to peruse and easy to absorb. It is not the content that is revolutionary here. Reminders to improvise (pp. 18-20), produce something tangible rather than engaging in endless discussions about producing something tangible (pp. 33-45), undertake a few achievable projects rather than trying to do pursue every possibility and ending up completing none (p. 83), ask what problems we are solving through our undertakings (p. 100), and learn by doing rather than always trying to duplicate what others have accomplished (pp. 134-136) simply take us back to basics we should already know but all too often set aside in a frenzy of trying to respond to all constituents without serving any of them effectively. Which, of course, makes the time spent with Rework tremendously worthwhile.
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LibraryThing member adriancho
I totally agree with the general intent of the book's themes but I found this to be only a mildly thought-provoking but mostly dangerous book if not taken with a grain of salt.
LibraryThing member JeffV
The authors of ReWork run a small, software development company based in Chicago. Their meager staff of 16 is global, however. The book is about focusing on core competency and focusing on what you do best. They believe in targeted products with limited functionality -- the kitchen sink approach
The authors also caution against over-expansion, particularly in the manner of increasing capacity to serve a single customer. Loss of that customer could result in rapid downsizing, and an anything that jeopardizing serving other existing customers attracted by your product and service could prove disastrous. Knowing when to let a customer go, in their opinion, is as important as attracting a new customer.
ReWork contains sound advice for small companies that can succeed with a tight focus. Avoiding the growth of a corporate bureaucracy can help keep small (and perhaps mid-sized) companies more nimble and adaptable. By design, it prevents growth into large companies, however. It is sound advice for the many businesses that will never rise above small business, however. This is not an MBA-level business analysis, it's short and easily comprehended by those who might desire some business advice but lack a formal business background (but have salable business ideas or skills).
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leads to escalating costs with little pay-off. This philosophy is applied to all other aspects of business too -- from hiring people of certain skill sets and ability, to marketing and PR functions. The authors also caution against over-expansion, particularly in the manner of increasing capacity to serve a single customer. Loss of that customer could result in rapid downsizing, and an anything that jeopardizing serving other existing customers attracted by your product and service could prove disastrous. Knowing when to let a customer go, in their opinion, is as important as attracting a new customer.
ReWork contains sound advice for small companies that can succeed with a tight focus. Avoiding the growth of a corporate bureaucracy can help keep small (and perhaps mid-sized) companies more nimble and adaptable. By design, it prevents growth into large companies, however. It is sound advice for the many businesses that will never rise above small business, however. This is not an MBA-level business analysis, it's short and easily comprehended by those who might desire some business advice but lack a formal business background (but have salable business ideas or skills).
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LibraryThing member mbarylak
Many 'Aha's, some surprises, few 'Oh no's!
LibraryThing member bookworx
Important Ideas to take to heart that seemed to get crumpled up into "opposite day" at times. Channeling their inner 60's by way of personal manifesto. Meaningful affirmations of the importance of being human, respecting your relationships and considering your footprint. I agree with most of their
I listened to this one, while I worked, and am more convinced than ever that books should always be read by their writer!
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philosophy, if not their techniques, and hope any honest individual would as well (could have gone with a close up of a Nerf dart on the cover). Pick & choose your points and put them on a Postit note.I listened to this one, while I worked, and am more convinced than ever that books should always be read by their writer!
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LibraryThing member GShuk
This audio will expose you to non-traditional, minimalist business practices that will make you think. It is a short motivational Seth Godin's type audio. Unfortunately, it's like a horoscope. People will feel validated that others think the same way when they only took the controversial ideas they
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liked and ignored the ones they didn't. Worth reading taken with a grain of salt. Show Less
LibraryThing member fakelvis
An inspirational book for those who have ever considered entrepreneurship or who currently own or work for an SME.
At first it felt too inspirational with little substance. It felt too… Seth Godin. A good read, but ultimately pointless and substance-less. Inspirational for the sake of being
But then I continued reading.
This is good!
The book suddenly changed into an inspirational book with actionable suggestions. It discusses peer-reviewed studies that you can implement to become more creative. Offers real, practical advice on starting something on your own or making something that you are currently a part of work better than ever.
Worth it. Each chapter is a page or two long. A quick read: one or two sittings.
At first it felt too inspirational with little substance. It felt too… Seth Godin. A good read, but ultimately pointless and substance-less. Inspirational for the sake of being
Show More
inspirational and not offering tips that are practical enough to produce sustainable, long-term changes or thoughts.But then I continued reading.
This is good!
The book suddenly changed into an inspirational book with actionable suggestions. It discusses peer-reviewed studies that you can implement to become more creative. Offers real, practical advice on starting something on your own or making something that you are currently a part of work better than ever.
Worth it. Each chapter is a page or two long. A quick read: one or two sittings.
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Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2010
Physical description
288 p.; 8.5 x 0.69 inches
ISBN
0091929784 / 9780091929787