Just finished reading Rework by 37signals, here’s what I think

http://narekk.com/post/448844146/just-finished-reading-rework-by-37signals-heres-what

by prgmatic • 16 years ago

14 22 16 years ago

narekk.com

prgmatic7• 16 years ago

Would love to here what others thought about the book as well.

portman• 16 years ago

I was surprised by the lack of intellectual rigor. It reads like a cross between "Chicken Soup" and "Dr. Seuss".

Examples: the book is 288 pages but only 30,000 words; every other page is an illustration, and most pages are only 3/4 full; footnotes are rare, and usually reference some pop-biz online piece from Forbes or BusinessWeek.

The final chapter (on culture) was very good. It's a topic that doesn't require any rigor to be effective. But the rest of the book was actually one of the more disappointing reads of the last 12 months.

Edit: I'm sorry this is so negative. I really like 37sigs and Jason in particular. Maybe I had too high expectations?

prgmatic7• 16 years ago

I agree on the lack of rigor, but I think this was intentionally written this way. I think one of their goals is to disrupt the reader's assumptions on what comprises a business.

antirez• 16 years ago

Would love to read an review without a referral link at the end.

jacquesm5• 16 years ago

That's just a thinly veiled amazon partner ad, including the 'bait' about page 241 and the 'get it today' link at the end.

jfornear2• 16 years ago

I agree, but I think it's worth noting that there's nothing inherently wrong with using referral links (if your review is honest and includes a disclaimer).

prgmatic7• 16 years ago

Jfornear, my review was well intentioned. But I've removed the link anyway.

jacquesm5• 16 years ago

+5 to -3, that's got to be a record.

Now for the why of it?

The fact that the article got changed after I posted this doesn't make it any less valid.

zackattack3• 16 years ago

I can think of a few reasons why your point is not valid.

1) Who cares?

2) One perspective is that he was generous about sharing his opinion with HN. You, however, are accusing him of writing a DISHONEST REVIEW with the SOLE intention of MANIPULATING the reader into making a purchase.

3) Everyone is always selling something, you're selling a reputation of being the noble crusader of HN.

Incidentally..

1) For those who aren't as materially wealthy as you, a few dollars from an affiliate commission can be meaningful.

2) Aff link stats can be a useful metric of influence

prgmatic7• 16 years ago

Wow, did not think people would get offended by that. Amazon link has been removed :)

thesethings• 16 years ago

The rule says you're gonna hear more feedback when people are unhappy than when they're happy. So I thought I'd pipe in and say that I was totally aware of the affiliate link, and didn't mind it at all.

prgmatic7• 16 years ago

Yup! I think most people are in the same boat. My original intention was "OK, if my 2 cents about this book motivates someone to go out and buy it, I guess Amazon could share a few cents with me" but now I see that this lumps my review into the "sales" and "ad pitch" department.. and that is not what I intended.

In any case, as you can see from my tumblr blog (narekk.com) I do not write or post much. I may, however, post meaningful things in the future. HN readers gives great feedback.

whalesalad• 16 years ago

Off topic, but wow I was surprised to open this link up and find that the author and I sat next to each other in 9th grade Physics :D

prgmatic7• 16 years ago

I think that physics class was the highlight of our freshman year :)

Just finished reading Rework by 37signals, here’s what I think

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