ReWork is the latest book by 37signals founders Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson – developers of world-renowned online project management tool Basecamp and creators of Ruby on Rails. These guys have been there and experienced the trials and tribulations of running and managing a business with its employees scattered across the globe.
Whether you find yourself in similar circumstances or not, the concepts discussed in ReWork can be applied to many scenarios that we all come across in the workplace. If you’ve read 37signals first book, ‘Getting Real’ (available in hardcopy or for free online at http://gettingreal.37signals.com/), then you will be familiar with the often blunt yet logical reasoning behind some of the most common issues that plague the workplace such as workaholism and productivity.
Although ReWork is 1/100th the size of your typical business management book, what its authors have done exceptionally well is condensed the issues that they’ve experienced first-hand which had the most impact on getting 37signals from being a group of designers to setting the gold standard in online apps such as Basecamp and Highrise.
Considering the condensed nature of ReWork, it’s entirely possible to read through the book by ploughing through each of the short chapters. Because of this approach to the formatting, I found it easy to take onboard and remember the tips that I pick up.
For some, ReWork will be a massive wake up call – scratch that – it will be a slap in the face to everything that’s ever been understood about being an entrepreneur or just work in general. For others, it provides peace of mind to those who’ve always preferred the approach taken by 37signals to business.