In this episode, REWORK host Kimberly Rhodes, talks with Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson, co-founders of 37signals, about the importance of stepping out of the day-to-day operations as a founder. Giving employees room to call the shots can spark new ideas and get things done faster. It also inspires people to think beyond just following orders.

Key Takeaways:

00:34 - The result of holding your grip too tight in your organization

02:36 - Find the middle ground between projects you should be directly involved in and those that can be managed by others

08:38 - Giving employees the freedom to make decisions can lead to increased productivity and better ideas

10:20 - Stepping in when it's necessary to realign urgency or quality

12:54 - Not all opinions weigh the same

15:28 - Trying to be involved in every task or decision reduces the organization's effectiveness

22:48 - Intent prompts people to think independently instead of just following a set of instructions, as described in the book Turn the Ship Around.

Links and Resources:

Staying Out of It Blog Post by Jason Fried

Turn The Ship Around book

Blue Ocean Strategy book

Books by 37signals

Sign up for a 30-day free trial at Basecamp.com

HEY World | HEY

The REWORK podcast

The Rework Podcast on YouTube

The 37signals Dev Blog

37signals on YouTube

@37signals on X

Elaine Richards, 37signals' Chief Operating Officer, shakes things up by flipping the script on host, Kimberly Rhodes. They discuss the behind-the-scenes work of producing the REWORK podcast and selecting topics that resonate with the audience. They even dive into Kimberly's background in podcasting and how the podcast has changed over time.

Key Takeaways:

01:41 - It all started for Kimberly with an event industry podcast

05:19 - The process of creating and reviewing the final product

10:41 - Expanding episodes from audio-only to adding video

12:00 - Creating the video set

14:01 - Broadening podcast content beyond the REWORK essays

19:15 - Not all episode ideas make it to air

20:58 - Evaluating the podcast stats

22:22 - The most popular REWORK Podcast themes and episodes

Podcasting Tools we use:

Podcast Recording – SquadCast
Podcast Hosting – Buzzsprout
Transcripts and Captions – Rev
Social Clips – Opus Clip

Episode Mentions:

David Heinemeier Hansson’s HEY World blog

Jason Fried’s HEY World blog

This Week In Weddings Podcast

Summer Fridays

Leaving The Cloud

How We Work: Fewer Meetings, More Check-Ins

Software Has Bugs

Ask the Founders: Live Q&A with Jason Fried & David Heinemeier Hansson

A Matter of Ambition - Part 2

Additional Links & Resources:

Books by 37signals

Sign up for a 30-day free trial at Basecamp.com

HEY World | HEY

The REWORK podcast

The Rework Podcast on YouTube

The 37signals Dev Blog

37signals on YouTube

@37signals on X

In this episode of Rework, Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson, co-founders of 37signals, continue their discussion on ambition, focusing on generating ideas and the process of deciding which projects to pursue. They talk about the importance of experimentation, and how they decide which products to maintain or discontinue.

Key Takeaways:

00:38 - Experimenting and seeing what works in the market

03:07 - The more you build, the more ideas you generate

09:00 - Determining when a product is commercially viable

13:18 - The downfalls of overanalyzing a product before it’s built

17:31 - Balancing ambition with realistic timelines

Links and Resources:

https://killedbygoogle.com/

Books by 37signals

Sign up for a 30-day free trial at Basecamp.com

HEY World | HEY

The REWORK podcast

The Rework Podcast on YouTube

The 37signals Dev Blog

37signals on YouTube

@37signals on X