牛B闪闪的宝典，常读常新

一


这本书是和《getting real》一起买下来的，getting real也不错，这是37signal出的第二本。觉得<Rework>比<getting real>在境界上更上了一个层次。


真正做过事和没做过事的人真的是完全不一样，这是真正实干家的真知灼见。语言平实不失幽默，通俗简洁，是商业写作最好的范例。一点也没有说教的语气，纯粹的分享，读得相当舒服，读到会心之处，会有一种醍醐灌顶的感觉。




二

This book isn't based on academic theories. It's based on their experience.They have been in business for more than ten years.People don't really build a star-up or doing something real say a lot of thing against them.People say they can't succeed because .......(省略N个理由）



But the author just say them wrong. He has proved it.



And he write this book to show us how to prove them wrong too.



.



三


这本书充满着新奇，打破常规的概念，人们大脑中有太多的既定概念大多都是错的，因为他们没真正经历过，不懂过中的奥妙，大多都是道听途说，也没有真正去尝试，所以他们永远不懂过中的真谛。



可能，这也解释了为什么成功的人，成功的企业家总是少数，大多数人都没有真正去做过，也没有这样的勇气和那样的毅力。那些评论家和商学院教授大多都没有自己亲手创立过成功的企业，或许，他们比一些实干家看起来会更“高明”一些，但是实干家比他们要做得更多。



《Rework》有很多的一些想法都和最近也在读的《Founders at work》一书吻合。后者是一位成功企业家采访另外30几位成功企业家的访谈录。毫无疑问，他们都是同一类人。




在序言中作者说在创立和经营37signal时，有很多人都说他们会失败，他们没有这个会很难成功，他们缺少资金，他们产品还不完善，他们没有做好公关，他们没有做好宣传，一系列的问题。



或许，这些人说的也有一定道理。但是，他们没有听，他们只是继续按照自己的想法，根据客户的反馈，不断行动，不断犯错，不断改进，不断思考，最后，不断成功。




So,It's time to rework work. Let's get started




2012.3.8


By Hammer


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Readingnote:



灰常长，我几乎想将全书都慢慢抄下来的，不过这样没意义，不如重看，所以摘抄一些自己特别喜欢的段落吧：）


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1.Ignore the real world


让“真实的世界”滚蛋。这个世界总有一些混蛋，自己这一辈子没做过什么成功的事，就随便打击别人，既可怜又可悲，还很可恶


"That would never work in the real world." You hear it all the time when you tell people about a fresh idea.
This real world sounds like an awfully depressing place to live. It's a place where new ideas, unfamiliar approaches, and foreign concepts always lose. The only things that win are what people already know and do, even if those things are flawed and inefficient.
Scratch the surface and you'll find these "real world" inhabitants are filled with pessimism and despair. They expect fresh concepts to fail. They assume society isn't ready for or capable of change.
Even worse, they want to drag others down into their tomb. If you're hopeful and ambitious, they'll try to convince you your ideas are impossible. They'll say you're wasting your time.


Don't believe them. That world may be real for them, but it doesn't mean you have to live in it


The real world isn't a place, it's an excuse. It's a justification for not trying. It has nothing to do with you.


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2.Learning from mistakes is overrated.


“从错误中学习”一直被夸大了作用，从成功中学习也同样重要，因为它让你懂得，你之前这样做，“It works”！


In the business world, failure has become an expected rite of passage. You hear all the time how nine out of ten new businesses fail. You hear that your business's
chances are slim to none. You hear that failure builds character. People advise, "Fail early and fail often."
With so much failure in the air, you can't help but breathe it in. Don't inhale. Don't get fooled by the stats. Other people's failures are just that: other people's failures.


Another common misconception: You need to learn from your mistakes. What do you really learn from mistakes? You might learn what not to do again, but how valuable is that? You still don't know what you should do next.
Contrast that with learning from your successes. Success gives you real ammunition. When something succeeds, you know what worked--and you can do it again. And the next time, you'll probably do it even better.

Failure is not a prerequisite for success.Success is the experience that actually counts.
That shouldn't be a surprise: It's exactly how nature works.

Evolution doesn't linger on past failures, it's always building upon what worked. So should you.



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3.Planing is guessing


别让过度计划阻碍你真正去行动


Why don't we just call plans what they really are: guesses. Start referring to your business plans as business guesses, your financial plans as financial guesses, and your strategic plans as strategic guesses. Now you can stop worrying about them as much. They just aren't worth the stress.


When you turn guesses into plans, you enter a danger zone. Plans let the past drive the future. They put blinders on you. "This is where we're going because, well, that's where we said we were going." And that's the problem: Plans are inconsistent with improvisation.


And you have to be able to improvise. You have to be able to pick up opportunities that come along. Sometimes you need to say, "We're going in a new direction because that's what makes sense today."


The timing of long-range plans is screwed up too. You have the most information when you're doing something, not before you've done it. Yet when do you write a plan? Usually it's before you've even begun. That's the worst time to make a big decision.


Give up on the guesswork. Decide what you're going to do this week, not this year. Figure out the next most important thing and do that. Make decisions right before you do something, not far in advance


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4.Start making something


这是全书不停反复贯彻给我们的思想，去行动！你的计划，你的想法，你“想要”什么，你“要”做什么，通通都不重要，what we do is what matters！


We all have that one friend who says, "I had the idea for eBay. If only I had acted on it, I'd be a billionaire!" That logic is pathetic and delusional. Having the idea for eBay has nothing to do with actually creating eBay. What you do is what matters, not what you think or say or plan.


Think your idea's that valuable? Then go try to sell it and see what you get for it. Not much is probably the answer. Until you actually start making something, your brilliant idea is just that, an idea. And everyone's got one of those


Ideas are cheap and plentiful. The original pitch idea is such a small part of a business that it's almost negligible. The real question is how well you execute.


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5.Making the call is making progress

再次强调行动的重要性


When you put off decisions, they pile up. And piles end up ignored, dealt with in haste, or thrown out. As a result, the individual problems in those piles stay unresolved.


Whenever you can, swap "Let's think about it" for "Let's decide on it." Commit to making decisions. Don't wait for the perfect solution. Decide and move forward


It doesn't matter how much you plan, you'll still get some stuff wrong anyway. Don't make things worse by overanalyzing and delaying before you even get going.

Long projects zap morale. The longer it takes to develop, the less likely it is to launch. Make the call, make progress, and get something out now--while you've got the motivation and momentum to do so.


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6.Focus on what won't change


做一些永远不会改变且有价值的东西


A lot of companies focus on the next big thing. They latch on to what's hot and new. They follow the latest trends and technology.
That's a fool's path. You start focusing on fashion instead of substance. You start paying attention to things that are constantly changing instead of things that last.


The core of your business should be built around things that won't change. Things that people are going to want today and ten years from now. Those are the things you should invest in.

Remember, fashion fades away. When you focus on permanent features, you're in bed with things that never go out of style.


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7. Launch now


第三次强调，立即行动的重要性。这是所有企业家最共性的特质之一。


Remember, fashion fades away. When you focus on permanent features, you're in bed with things that never go out of style.


Put off anything you don't need for launch. Build the necessities now, worry about the luxuries later. If you really think about it, there's a whole lot you don't need on day one


Don't mistake this approach for skimping on quality, either. You still want to make something great. This approach just recognizes that the best way to get there is through iterations. Stop imagining what's going to work. Find out for real


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8. Reason to quit


这点和那句：“当你想放弃的时候，想想当初你要坚持的理由”刚好相反。The focus is on stragtic thinking.

（

Why are you doing this?

What problem are you solving？

What problem are you solving?

Is this actually useful?

Is there an easier way?

Are you adding value?

What could you be doing instead?

Is it really worth it?



Keep asking yourself (and others) the questions listed above. You don't need to make it a formal process, but don't let it slide, either.
Also, don't be timid about your conclusions. Sometimes abandoning what you're working on is the right move, even if you've already put in a lot of effort. Don't throw good time after bad work.


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9.Good enough is fine

“一般好”就已经很不错了，其实这也是战略性思考的一个体现。
题外话，那时在大一暑假报了一个项目，在美国的一家公园实习，公园关门的时候自己在扫地，自己扫得特认真的，后来主管来到看我这么认真，我还以为他会夸我，谁知他对我说：“weijian,don't work so hard, just keep it clean”，真是印象深刻啊-__-''


A lot of people get off on solving problems with complicated solutions. Flexing your intellectual muscles can be intoxicating.

Then you start looking for another big challenge that gives you that same rush, regardless of whether it's a good idea or not.
A better idea: Find a judo solution, one that delivers maximum efficiency with minimum effort. Judo solutions are all about getting the most out of doing the least. Whenever you face an obstacle, look for a way to judo it.


When good enough gets the job done, go for it. It's way better than wasting resources or, even worse, doing nothing because you can't afford the complex solution. And remember, you can usually turn good enough into great later.


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10.Quick wins

和上面道理同出一辙，打不动了，最后一个了，自己看吧


Momentum fuels motivation. It keeps you going. It drives you. Without it, you can't go anywhere. If you aren't motivated by what you're working on, it won't be very good.


The way you build momentum is by getting something done and then moving on to the next thing. No one likes to be stuck on an endless project with no finish line in sight. Being in the trenches for nine months and not having anything to show for it is a real buzzkill. Eventually it just burns you out. To keep your momentum and motivation up, get in the habit of accomplishing small victories along the way. Even a tiny improvement can give you a good jolt of momentum.

The longer something takes, the less likely it is that you're going to finish it.

If you absolutely have to work on long-term projects, try to dedicate one day a week (or every two weeks) to small victories that generate enthusiasm. Small victories let you celebrate and release good news. And you want a steady stream of good news. When there's something new to announce every two weeks, you energize your team and give your customers something to be excited about.


So ask yourself, "What can we do in two weeks?" And then do it. Get it out there and let people use it, taste it, play it, or whatever. The quicker it's in the hands of customers, the better off you'll be.



和以前读过的《Willpower》说的道理一样，人需要动力，做事需要用到意志力，别天真地把自己当成是机械人，别一次定太多要做的事，一次做好一样，人生漫长，好好干，慢慢学，急什么？


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最后，我想分享给能看到这里的你们一句改变了自己生活的名言：



成功的人并不是一定比别人更有才智和更幸运。他们只是在不断的尝试、不断的失败，直到成功。




不要做想象中的企业家。用行动和成果成为企业家。




2012.3.8


By Hammer