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    It Doesn't Have to Be Crazy at Work
    It Doesn't Have to Be Crazy at Work
    It Doesn't Have to Be Crazy at Work
    Audiobook3 hours

    It Doesn't Have to Be Crazy at Work

    Written by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson

    Narrated by Eileen Stevens

    4.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    In this timely manifesto, the authors of the New York Times bestseller Rework broadly reject the prevailing notion that long hours, aggressive hustle, and ""whatever it takes"" are required to run a successful business today.

    In Rework, Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson introduced a new path to working effectively. Now, they build on their message with a bold, iconoclastic strategy for creating the ideal company culture—what they call ""the calm company."" Their approach directly attack the chaos, anxiety, and stress that plagues millions of workplaces and hampers billions of workers every day.

    Long hours, an excessive workload, and a lack of sleep have become a badge of honor for modern professionals. But it should be a mark of stupidity, the authors argue. Sadly, this isn’t just a problem for large organizations—individuals, contractors, and solopreneurs are burning themselves out the same way. The answer to better productivity isn’t more hours—it’s less waste and fewer things that induce distraction and persistent stress.

    It’s time to stop celebrating Crazy, and start celebrating Calm, Fried and Hansson assert.

    Fried and Hansson have the proof to back up their argument. ""Calm"" has been the cornerstone of their company’s culture since Basecamp began twenty years ago. Destined to become the management guide for the next generation, It Doesn't Have to Be Crazy at Work is a practical and inspiring distillation of their insights and experiences. It isn’t a book telling you what to do. It’s a book showing you what they’ve done—and how any manager or executive no matter the industry or size of the company, can do it too.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperAudio
    Release dateOct 2, 2018
    ISBN9780062877086
    Author

    Jason Fried

    JASON FRIED is the cofounder and CEO of Basecamp. He started the company back in 1999 and has been running the show ever since. Along with David, he wrote Getting Real, REWORK, and REMOTE. When it comes to business, he thinks things are simple until you make them complicated. And when it comes to life, we’re all just trying to figure it out as we go.

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    Reviews for It Doesn't Have to Be Crazy at Work

    4.5/5

    342 ratings19 reviews

    What did you think?

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      Loved this! I need a hard copy as I want to reference some of the things highlighted in this book. Amidst a pandemic! This book gives relief to what has now become a chaotic work environment.
    • 5/5
      An inspiring book about work culture and attitude to work.
    • 5/5
      Packed with wisdom gained from proven, real-world experience by some of the most influential players in software. This is a breath of fresh air in today's tech culture.
    • 3/5
      There's a great piece of advice on best practices in this book which applies as a review to this book : " There's no such thing as a singular best practice, every company is unique and the practice suggested cannot be universal". There are a lot of great management principles, nuggets of wisdom and philosophical thoughts in this book. They're not all applicable to everyone. It's a story of evolution and learning of a few successful individuals at a certain company. As long as you keep that in your mind, you'll like this book.
    • 5/5
      Together with my boyfriend, we had long conversations how our company is using its people including us. The recommendations are not rocket science, we discussed them before reading the book, but you just need to change the way you look at life and how you define success. So definitely glad to see that there are still sane and successful people out there!
    • 5/5
      HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! Very different perspective on growth and management, yet very inspiring. Like the author reiterates, it's okay to have a great book without all the unnecessary fluff to fill the pages. Very simple yet elegant method for improving work culture, retaining great talent, and inspiring innovation while maintaining profitability.
    • 5/5
      Golden guidelines for avoiding chaos for ourselves and our teams. Most business owners get most of these things wrong. I love the bitesize chapters. True to the nature of the book, they get straight to the point - no fluff. I'll re-read for sure, and make it a requirement for any partner of mine to make it their Bible.
    • 4/5
      Nice one, but my expectations were higher since I read their other book “Rework”
    • 4/5
      Really enjoyed the fun, honest and accessible perspective to how to grow a company organically and not go insane in the process. I wish all organizations had such an innovative and humane approach to work culture and work/life balance.
    • 5/5
      A great book to read and listen to, highly recommend.
    • 5/5
      This eye-opening approach to business goes against the archaic idea of “hard work”. It realigns your purpose towards what really matters, your time and your people. I really enjoyed this quick read and recommend to anyone working in a fast-paced startup environment!
    • 4/5
      Good and very easy to understand how the company should work.
    • 5/5
      The cover of the book says it all, if you agree, than you'll read the book just to get details and more proof that it can work
    • 4/5
      I like that type of approach for a company. Choose work over businesses, provide more freedom to employees and care about what matters — the work and the product you making.

      On some topics I think they are revealing they culture without pointing out it should not be copied from someone else but developed inside the company.

      The good book to think about yours company culture. I would recommend to read gitlab handbook as well.
    • 5/5
      Pretty good set of tidbits about how to be an owner. While I did not agree with all, I found the book pretty enlightening.
    • 5/5
      It is an amazing and insightful point of view on how to do a good job and stay alive in a post "just do it" startup era. Can’t recommend more!
    • 5/5
      A very easy read with lots of simple yet though-provoking ideas for improving how businesses manage themselves internally.
    • 3/5
      This book is written by the two founders of Basecamp. I’ve read their previous “Remote”, which I enjoyed. The first two indications that I would like this relatively short book were:

      a. these sentences:

      If it’s constantly crazy at work, we have two words for you: Fuck that. And two more: Enough already.

      b. the fact that they’ve broken up the book into shorter paragraphs, which—considering the format—actually works

      There are a lot of zen-y things in here, and it’s good:

      The modern workplace is sick. Chaos should not be the natural state at work. Anxiety isn’t a prerequisite for progress. Sitting in meetings all day isn’t required for success. These are all perversions of work —side effects of broken models and follow-the-lemming-off-the-cliff worst practices. Step aside and let the suckers jump.

      Well, yes. Do let them jump.

      There are a lot of simple things detailed in this book, things that made me think “Yeah, this is sane. That, too. Oh, I’ve felt this many a time.”

      However, the one, big gripe that I have with this book, is it’s a hagiography over Basecamp. Naturally, one would write a book about one’s own company, but the levels of self-love should have been hoisted in by a good editor.

      Still, the little things in the book are plentiful and really lovely. Such as these:

      Most of the day-to-day work inside a company’s walls is mundane. And that’s a beautiful thing. It’s work, it’s not news. We must all stop treating every little fucking thing that happens at work like it’s on a breaking-news ticker.

      Take those trite stories about the CEO who only sleeps four hours each night, is the first in the parking lot, has three meetings before breakfast, and turns out the light after midnight. What a hero! Truly someone who lives and breathes the company before themselves! No, not a hero. If the only way you can inspire the troops is by a regimen of exhaustion, it’s time to look for some deeper substance. Because what trickles down is less likely to be admiration but dread and fear instead. A leader who sets an example of self-sacrifice can’t help but ask self-sacrifice of others.

      When the boss says “My door is always open,” it’s a cop-out, not an invitation. One that puts the onus of speaking up entirely on the employees.

      It’s pretty basic. If you work Monday to Friday, weekends should be off-limits for work. The same thing is true with weekday nights. If work can claim hours after 5:00 p.m., then life should be able to claim hours before 5:00 p.m. Balance, remember. Give and take.

      Open-plan offices suck at providing an environment for calm, creative work done by professionals who need peace, quiet, privacy, and space to think and do their best.

      While the act of letting someone go is unpleasant for all involved, it’s a moment in time. It passes. What remains after the dismissal are all the great folks who still work at the company. People who will be curious about what happened to their coworker. Why aren’t they here anymore? Who’s next? If I don’t know, could it be me? At many companies, when someone’s let go, all you get are vague euphemisms. “Hey, what happened to Bob?” “Oh, Bob? We don’t talk about Bob anymore. It was simply time for him to move on.” Fuck that. If you don’t clearly communicate to everyone else why someone was let go, the people who remain at the company will come up with their own story to explain it. Those stories will almost certainly be worse than the real reason.

      The only way to get more done is to have less to do. Saying no is the only way to claw back time.
    • 5/5
      I like this book a lot. This is a very good book indeed. I like that Jason cuts through a lot of nonsense and tells you like it could beI stress that he tells you like it could be, and not like it is, because most organisations tend to operate in a state of, what seems to be an emergency. The advice is sage and practical. The only issue - we have to implement it, and this is not that easy!