SEED Conf. Part 2 (Jason Fried)

January 21st, 2008

After a quick break, we started back up with a talk from Jason Fried of 37 Signals. He talked about how he originally started Spin Free and then partnered with Carlos Segura to form 37 Signals. He outlined 10 things that impede us from success. I will note that the power went out during this presentation and he performed flawlessly in working right through it without missing a beat. Additionally he did excellent at fielding questions. I really must say he quite a good speaker.

1. The great unknown

Don’t get wrapped up in a 5 year plan or complex financial projections. Be opportunistic. Avoid product roadmaps and don’t be afraid to wing it.

2. Red flags

These words should scare you (need, easy, only, can’t, just and fast). DANGER WILL ROBINSON

3. Worrying about things that don’t matter (yet)

Pixels and polish, the what if’s, parternships, customization, etc. The longer it takes to develop something the less likely you’ll launch it. (OH SO TRUE)

4. When is enough, enough? You need to use it. Cover basic needs.

5. Too many cooks.

Work expands to fill people/time/resources available. If it takes more than 2 or 3 people the scope is probably too big. Expand to the edge before growing.

6. Not enough cooks.

This could be a blog post in and of itself. This was the big take away for me. Good chef’s become great by sharing their secrets, teaching others, promoting, educating and sharing what they are known for.

7. Interruption is the enemy of productivity.

It was interesting to see Jim Coudal’s almost contrarian response to this.

8. Passive vs active communication.

Communication usually fails, except by accident. Passive means like IRC, Campfire, IM and email work better than things like direct interruption (should tapping). When you write, you think! Passive tends to be shorter and more to point.

9. Meetings are toxic

They focus on symptoms rather than causes and should be a last resort. Meetings are costly. No such thing as a 1 hour meeting. Ten people in a 1 hour meeting is a 10 hour meeting.

10. Make tiny decisions

This is like judo, break down everything into very small decisions. Small decisions are easy to undo. They create progress which is great for morale. Tiny decisions prevent large mistakes. Move quickly.

Jason talked a bit about sustainable pace (in different terms). He favors small projects released regularly. Eventhough all 37 signals products were down during this talk he was very composed. Again I was impressed. He urged people to “eat their own dogfood” and engage in self marketing of their products.