Written by the founders of the company Basecamp.
Company as a product.
Keep iterating.
No outside investor and Basecamp
They work 6 weeks on a product then “roam/decompress” for 2 weeks.
The scope of the project should have biz goals and flexibility in design.
They only plan 6 weeks in advance because they can’t predict the future.
They make $20M+1yr profit and have 100k+ customers.
Flat fee/customer (not seat) so no customer eliminates = $99/mo.
Low-hanging fruit just means uncertainty.
Asynchronous Communication - 40 hr/week then 32 in summer.
Work doesn’t happen at work. Need blocks of 3-4 hours uninterrupted.
Protect employee’s time and attention. Create a list of “to don’ts.”
Most questions aren’t that pressing. Experts have office hours.
The shared calendar is awful. Meetings should by a pain in the ass to schedule.
Team leads can do a monthly summary.
Vacations and Perks
Go completely dark.
They pay for vacation during 4-week sabbatical every 3 years.
Create seasonality by delivering CSAs (community supported agriculture) to each employee.
Each of us has an individual level of trust with each person.
If low, everything is viewed with suspicion.
Discomfort is the human intention.
Bad habits beat good intentions. Change your habits.
Consider doing nothing as an option.
Consider the concept of enough.
Present new ideas and recommendations is a stand-alone demand to allow people to think. Follow up with a meeting.
Disclaimer: These are notes I created from reading the book. This is not completely comprehensive and may include errors and typos. No guarantee is provided as to the accuracy of the information. It is provided for educational purposes only.