Don’t Work…Rework!

A book full of “Don’ts” and “No’s” sounds a little exhausting and damp, yet Rework is inspiring — a breath of fresh air. Fortuitously, this book reminded me of

my year living abroad in Indonesia. I struggled to grasp the culture there when some things just seemed opposite to what I’d been told and done my entire life. Touching someone’s head: offensive to an Indonesian, yet a sign of affection at home. Shaking someone’s hand with your left: abhorrent in Indonesia, indifferent back home, and so on.

This same pattern is found inside Rework as authors Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson try to unteach all of our bad habits and misbeliefs.

A sampling of the book’s “radical” statements:

1. Ignore the real world — it’s not a place, it’s a justification
2. Think and review reasons you have to quit… frequently
3. Meetings are toxic — the worst form of an interruption
4. “Good enough” is fine, because flexing your intellectual muscles can be exhausting
5. Underdo your competition — instead of one-upping your competitor, try one-downing
6. When hiring: pass on great people, skip the rockstars, and remember resumes are ridiculous

I know what you’re thinking, and the answer is “no,” happy hour has not commenced. These are actual pieces of advice taken from the New York Times Bestseller.

The conclusion? There’s not a hard set of rules, or a magical recipe for a successful business, otherwise we’d all have our own Microsoft, Google, or Starbucks franchise under our belt. Rework isn’t the key to the billionaire’s door, but it rejuvenates the mind like a tropical vacation does for the soul, returning one fresh, clearheaded and ready to take on the world… or at least ready to start thinking about what you can rework in your life (given that there are no “rules”).

What would you rework?

Shoot me your thoughts; let’s get this virtual “book club” rolling.