Today I offered each one of my 55 @BuySellAds teammates $100 if they read a throwback, Getting Real by @jasonfried @dhh and @mattlinderman (basecamp.com/books/getting-…), before the end of October. A thread:
1/ When I first started BuySellAds this was one of the key places I sourced a lot of early inspiration when trying to figure out how to turn BSA from an idea --to--> product --to--> company.
2/ We're almost 12 years old now, we’ve seen (well-funded) competitors come and go, and yet we’ve achieved steady growth year over year, in a market full of constant change (adtech). A big reason for this "staying power" is because we've always managed to keep things simple.
3/ I recently re-read the book (it’s free!) and it made me remember some of the key things that have now become embedded in how our company thinks and how we operate. Here are some of those tidbits I really enjoy:
4/ “Do less than your competitors to beat them. Solve the simple problems and leave the hairy, difficult, nasty problems to everyone else.”
5/ “Run on limited resources and you’ll be forced to reckon with constraints earlier and more intensely. And that’s a good thing. Constraints drive innovation.”
6/ “Never throw more time or money at a problem, just scale back the scope.”
7/ “Pick a fight. Sometimes the best way to know what your app should be is to know what it shouldn’t be. Figure out your app’s enemy and you’ll shine a light on where you need to go.”
8/ “Nimble, agile, less-mass businesses can quickly change their entire business model, product, feature set, and marketing message. They can make mistakes and fix them quickly. They can change their priorities and focus. And, most importantly, they can change their minds.”
9/ “Let limitations guide you to creative solutions There’s never enough to go around. Not enough time. Not enough money. Not enough people.
That’s a good thing.”
That’s a good thing.”
10/ “So don’t hire. Really. Don’t hire people. Look for another way. Is the work that’s burdening you really necessary? What if you just don’t do it? Can you solve the problem with a slice of software or a change of practice instead?”
11/ “Just Wing It. People often spend too much time up front trying to solve problems they don’t even have yet. Don’t.”
12/ “Most of the time you spend is wasted on things that just don’t matter. If you can cut out the work and thinking that just don’t matter, you’ll achieve productivity you’ve never imagined.”
13/ “Do you really need a meeting? Meetings usually arise when a concept isn’t clear enough. [...] The goal is to avoid meetings. Every minute you avoid spending in a meeting is a minute you can get real work done instead.”
14/ “Value the importance of moving on and moving forward. Get in the rhythm of making decisions. Make a quick, simple call and then go back and change that decision if it doesn’t work out.”
15/ “Accept that decisions are temporary. Accept that mistakes will happen and realize it’s no big deal as long as you can correct them quickly. Execute, build momentum, and move on.”
16/ “If you are trying to decide between a few people to fill a position, always hire the better writer. It doesn’t matter if that person is a designer, programmer, marketer, salesperson, or whatever, the writing skills will pay off.”
17/ Sure, times have changed for some things in the book, but there’s a ton of great lessons in there about simplicity and not over-complicating a business. Less-mass. Here's the link: basecamp.com/books/getting-… /end
