Jason Fried’s new book Rework comes out today, and I’m delighted that we managed to talk just a week ago in the lead up to its launch. Now here’s a quote to kick us off. It’s from Seth Godin, and he says (and I’m paraphrasing), “Make everything a project – and run it through 37Signals’ Basecamp.” Jason is the one of the founders of 37Signals. They design useful software to help people work better – connect with people, run projects, managing stuff. (I know, because I use it!)
And what’s cool is they haven’t done it by practising business as usual, but by practising business as unusual. In this interview Jason shares some of his successful and counter-intutive approaches to how to get stuff done. We talk about:
- The evolution of 37Signals – and why where you start is not where you finish
- The value of introducing “done enough” as a measure of success
- The problem with meetings – and what to do about it
- Why planning is highly overrated
- And a bunch more…
You can pick up the new book on Amazon , follow Jason on Twitter at @JasonFried, and learn more about 37 Signals’ products at their website.
(And by the way, Jason’s surname is pronounced “Freed” – Apologies to Jason, and please ignore my mistake at the start of the interview!)
Posted on March 9, 2010
I came across Chris Guillebeau when I stumbled across his terrific (and free) ebook, A Brief Guide to World Domination. Since we recorded this interview, he’s released another fantastic (and free) ebook 279 Days to Overnight Success and continues to write a great blog on his website, The Art of Non-Conformity. But what’s most impressive is that Chris is absolutely clear about what a good life means to him – and stands as an impressive role model on how to live that authentic, exciting and generous life.
I’m totally chuffed that Chris wrote an original piece for Do More Great Work.
In this interview you’ll hear:
- How the crisis that sparked his Great Work set the foundation for future success
- What Chris learned about focus from the Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami
- What Chris’s bad habit is – and how he manages it
- An approach for setting goals
This interview is approximately 25 minutes long.
Posted on February 12, 2010
The tag-line for Penelope Trunk’s blog is ‘advice at the intersection of life and work’. That’s good, but quite frankly it undersells what Penelope does. For one things, she’s the founder of Brazen Careerist, a social network which helps young people manage their careers. Second, her blog is a no-holds-barred, deeply personal and often provocative look at her life and what it takes to be successful in business today. It’s a compelling mix of research, personal revelation and wise advice.
Penelope’s piece in Do More Great Work is as thoughtful and as provocative as you’d expect having read her blog.
In this interview we look at:
- The problem with our own ‘internal rules’ about how the world is run
- How wisdom is often found in the ‘in between parts’ and the moments of transition
- Why career advice is often best when it’s based on the ’stumbling around’ rather than the straight line
- How the risk of being real is more than worth it
You can follow Penelope on Twitter at @PenelopeTrunk and on her blog.
If you enjoyed this interview, you’ll also enjoy my conversations with
- Dan Pink, author of The Adventures of Johnny Bunko
- Barbara Coloroso, author of The Bully, the Bullied and the Bystander
- Michael Neill, author of Supercoach
Posted on February 10, 2010
I don’t know for sure, but I’m guessing 
