Book Review: Rework
Fried, Jason and David Hansson. Rework. Crown Business, 2010.
Two founders of the successful software company 37signals, Jason Fried and David Hansson, draw on their experience to teach entrepreneurs how to run a company without meetings, budgets, advertising or a board of directors. They prove that a company can be successful by remaining small, lean and fast; by selling to smaller firms instead of the Fortune 500; and by staying competitive by making the product unique.
Fried and Hansson encourage readers to focus on core principles, such a reliability, affordability and practicality. They discourage long-term contracts, permanent decisions and thick processes, which hamper the ability to change. Using their early experiences at 37signals as examples, they recommend doing product launches “on the cheap” and they question whether small companies need an accountant when they can use Quicken, or whether they need an IT department when they can outsource.
This book is organized into 87 chapters, each two pages in length. This straightforward book is an easy read for anyone interested in starting a business. Available in both print and audio CD at the Ford Library.
© Reviewer: Meg Trauner & Ford Library – Fuqua School of Business.
All rights reserved.
Tags: CEOs, Company history, Entrepreneurship