by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson
I, Michael Parker, own this book and took these notes to further my own learning. If you enjoy these notes, please purchase the book!
- pg 19: Make decisions right before you do something, not far in advance; long term plans are just guesses.
- pg 23: It's okay to stay small; once big, it's hard to shrink without firing people and damaging morale.
- pg 35: Build what you need, so you'll know the right answers, assess its quality directly, and love your work.
- pg 43: Have a point of view and strong opinions; otherwise everything is debatable, and decisions are hard.
- pg 50: Taking outside money relinquishes control to VCs, deprioritizes customers, and is distracting.
- pg 56: A business without a path to profit isn't a business, it's a hobby.
- pg 62: Avoid mass, like excess staff, long-term contracts, lock-ins, road maps, etc. to stay lean and agile.
- pg 72: Prioritize working on the most important part of your business so it's the best it can be; defer the rest.
- pg 77: Make decisions, don't wait for the perfect solution; decisions build momentum and boost morale.
- pg 90: When you make something, you always make something else; sell those byproducts.
- pg 102: Don't throw good time after bad work; ensure that what you're working on matters.
- pg 108: Meeting suck: they convey little information, drift off-subject, require preparation, and procreate.
- pg 115: Momentum fuels motivation; build it through constant small victories that generate enthusiasm.
- pg 121: Don't forego sleep: you'll be stubborn, uncreative, inefficient, irritable, and lose motivation.
- pg 127: You'll feel guilty over long lists, then stress out; divide and conquer into small, manageable lists.
- pg 136: If you're a copycat, you're in a passive position where you're always behind the times.
- pg 141: If a competitor sucks, pick a fight; you'll stand out, earn followers, and ignite passions of users.
- pg 153: Get into the habit of saying no; saying yes is easy, but you often wind up regretting it.
- pg 157: Let customers outgrow you; focus on features that attract new customers, not please old ones.
- pg 164: Feature requests that matter you'll hear over and over, so no need to write them down.
- pg 174: Teach your customers; even if people don't use your product, they'll still be your fans.
- pg 188: Niche bloggers are hungry for finding the new thing; stories that start there can go mainstream.
- pg 191: Give away something for free; if your product is strong enough, people will come back for more.
- pg 201: Don't hire anyone until you've tried the job yourself; then you'll know what and who to look for.
- pg 206: Hiring more people than needed leads to invented projects, which adds cost and complexity.
- pg 210: A cover letter lets you hear someone's actual voice; you can tell if it's in tune with your company.
- pg 222: Great writers are great candidates, for clear writing is clear thinking.
- pg 227: Hire potential employees for a mini-project; in a real work environment, the truth comes out.
- pg 235: Responding to customers quickly with a personal response is the best customer service.
- pg 238: A good apology accepts responsibility, provides details of the problem, and a solution.
- pg 251: Don't make up problems you don't have yet; decisions don't lost forever anyway.
- pg 262: Don't sound big and formal; communicate simply and directly, without legal or PR oversight.
- pg 268: Saying ASAP devalues any request without it; use emergency language when really needed.