Inspiration has an expiration date

You are working on a morphing business landscape today. Implements that were once out of reach are conveniently available; new software and technologies are readily accessible for little or no cost. One person can do the work that used to take two or three people to finish. You’re connected like never before through online calls and social media platforms. You don’t even have to be in business attire or technically need an office these days to do business.

The New York Times bestseller Rework by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson demonstrates a better and easier way to succeed in business. It offers new thinking on the rules of entrepreneurship, mainly by revealing the secrets of starting and running a business. Fried and Hansson had great success with their web-application company 37signals. With the tome, both carry on a conversation about a startup philosophy in the tech world, and share idea gems that have the influence to truly restructure a company’s approach to the creative process. So much is packed into Rework; here are a few of the book highlights that jump out.

Workaholics don’t actually accomplish more than non-workaholics. They may claim to be perfectionists, but that just means they’re wasting time fixating on inconsequential details instead of moving on to the next task. The truth is, sometimes they do accomplish more than their non-workaholic colleagues. But if all you do is work, you’re unlikely to have sound judgments. Your values and decision-making wind up skewed. You stop being able to decide what’s worth extra effort and what’s not. And you wind up just plain tired. No one makes sharp decisions when tired. As such, being a workaholic isn’t exactly a viable way to operate.

Millennials will force companies to allow employees to work from home. You don’t even have to imagine this, you can just look at the numbers. Remote work is growing at an impressive clip. From 2005 to 2011, the number of remote workers grew 73 percent according to the Telework Research Network. It’s a viral thing, too. Once you have experienced the lifestyle benefits of working remotely, you’re highly unlikely to pick another cubicle job. Young people do not have the same reservations about using electronic communication to get stuff done. They grew up with that being the norm. So some of this generational gap can be summed up with a quote by celebrity septuagenarian Michael Bloomberg: “Telecommuting is one of the dumber ideas I’ve ever heard.” As the millennials would likely say in response, “Sure, Grandpa.”

No time is no excuse. You bellyache that you don’t have time to mingle, you don’t have time to produce that movie in your head, and you don’t have time to exercise, or lose weight. When you want something badly enough, you make the time, regardless of your other commitments. To others, however, delaying things can be a positive. They often delay implementation of innovations for a period of time hoping to discover a better solution. But at the end of it, don’t let yourself off the hook with excuses. Besides, the perfect time never arrives.

The core of your business should be built around things that last. Focus on what won’t change — things that people are going to want today and 10 years from now. Amazon.com concentrates on fast or free shipping, great selection, friendly return policies, and affordable prices — things that will always be in high demand. Japanese automakers center their operations on core principles that don’t change — reliability, affordability and practicality. Focusing on the next big thing, and latching on to what’s hot and new, is temporary; they fade away. When you train your sight on permanent features, you’re in bed with things that never go out of style.

Big decisions are hard to make and hard to change. Consider making tiny decisions instead. You can’t make big mistakes with them. Make choices that are small enough that they’re successfully impermanent. It doesn’t mean you can’t make big plans or think big ideas. It just means you believe the best way to achieve those big things is having one tiny decision at a time.

It’s okay to “under-do” your competition. Do less than your competitors to beat them. Solve the simple problems and leave the dangerous, easier-said-than-done, vicious problems to the competition. Instead of “one-upping,” try “one-downing.” Instead of “outdoing,” try “under-doing.” Focus on yourself and not your competition. Come up with your own fresh ideas, and not waste time following your competition. You are not running a company that changes plans based on what the competition is doing. That’s what the Flip camera — an ultra easy, point-and-shoot, compact camcorder — did, and in the process took a significant percentage of the market in a short time. It doesn’t do everything other cameras do. It does a few simple things, and its simplicity made it highly saleable.

Saying no by default. You avoid saying no because confrontation makes you uncomfortable. But the alternative is even worse. You drag things out, make things complicated, and work on ideas you don’t believe in. It’s like a relationship: breaking one up is hard to do, but staying in it just because you’re too chicken to drop the ax is even shoddier. Deal with the brief discomfort of confrontation up front and avoid the long-term regret. Learn to say no.

Being obscure is a great position to be in. Welcome anonymity. No one knows who you are right now. And that’s just fine. Be happy you’re in the shadows. Use this time to make mistakes without the whole world hearing about them. Keep tweaking. Work out the kinks. Test random ideas. Try new things. Broadway shows provide a great example of testing ideas on a small stage first. They routinely do a trial run in a smaller city before hitting New York.

Failure is not a prerequisite for success. It doesn’t matter what’s gone before. It doesn’t matter that others have tried and failed. Your misplaced conceptions or ill-conceived ideas are what commit your ventures to failure. You create your own luck and in spite of others. You succeed because of you. Evolution doesn’t linger on past failures. It’s always building on what worked. So should you.

If you are trying to decide among a few people to fill a position, hire an excellent writer. It doesn’t matter if what you need is a marketer, salesperson, designer, programmer, or whatever. A person’s writing skill will pay off. That’s because being a good writer is about more than writing. Clear writing is a sign of clear thinking. Great writers know how to communicate. They make things easy to understand. They can put themselves in someone else’s shoes. They know what to omit. And those are qualities you want in any candidate.

Long-term business planning is guessing. You may agree or disagree with this statement. To some, it may sound ridiculous and a waste of time and resources, since who knows what technological innovations might affect your plans in six months? So they basically plopped in some random projections. To others though, long-term planning helps steer you in the right direction and brings you closer to your desired outcome.

Trusting your gut. You need to be in tune and feel the pulse of how people perceive your product, how they use it, and the problems they are really solving with it. Don’t be too data-driven. Don’t look at numbers to make decisions; instead look at trends and patterns to lead to new insights. Don’t take numbers as a “yes” or “no,” but as a part of what you do. Oftentimes you’ll do things that the numbers say won’t work. Numbers can only measure what’s happened in the past. That’s valuable to know, but you have to trust your gut moving forward — otherwise you’re just going to be running in place.

A strong stand is how you attract super fans. This is true of blogging and of business. Draw a line in the sand and stick to it. In other words, you won’t please any of them if you try to be everything to every customer. It’s better to really please your base and forget the rest.

When you impose a deadline, you gain clarity. Don’t delay a launch until everything is perfect. Or, think of it this way: “If you had to launch your business in two weeks, what would you cut out? You suddenly realize there’s a lot of stuff you don’t need. And what you do need seems obvious. You can also break your estimates into smaller bites. For example, instead of one 12-week project, structure it as 12 one-week projects.

When something goes wrong, someone is going to tell the story. You’ll be better off if it’s you. Own and report your bad news. Otherwise you create an opportunity for rumors, hearsay, and false information to spread. When something bad happens, tell your customers. Don’t even think you can just sweep it under the rug. People will respect you more if you are open, honest, public and responsive during a crisis.

Alone time is key. Unplug. Take an hour “off” to focus on a key task. Shut down your e-mail. Don’t take calls. Work alone. Concentrate.

A good apology accepts responsibility. That’s how to say you’re sorry. It has no conditional “if” phrase attached. Here’s a bad one: “We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.” The “may” here implies there might not be anything wrong at all. Own up and be sincere.

Some of the thoughts presented in Rework may be acceptable or uncomfortable — ASAP is poison, meetings are toxic, or pick a fight — depending on your framework. But one thing is sure: it’s a kaleidoscope world, there are many possible roadmaps and more than one way to skin a cat. And just because you already have procedures and rules in place, you don’t automatically have to put up with them if you believe there is a better way to reach the same goal or attain the same outcome. One last take from Fried and Hansson that captures the essence of this good read: you have ideas. And ideas are immortal. They last forever. What doesn’t last forever is inspiration. It is perishable. Inspiration, like fresh fruit or milk has an expiration date. It is a magical thing, a productivity multiplier, and a motivator. But it won’t wait for you. If you want to do something, you’ve got to do it now.

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