It Doesn't Have to Be Crazy at Work

by Jason Fried, David Heinemeier Hansson

eBook, 245 pages

English language

Published Jan. 5, 2018 by HarperCollins.

ISBN:: 978-0-00-832345-5

Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson, the authors of the New York Times bestseller Rework, are back with a manifesto to combat all your modern workplace worries and fears.

It Doesn’t Have to Be Crazy at Work is a direct successor to Rework, the instant bestseller that showed readers a new path to working effectively. Now Fried and Heinemeier Hansson have returned with a new strategy for the ideal company culture – what they call “the calm company”. It is a direct attack on the chaos, anxiety and stress that plagues millions of workplaces and billions of people working their day jobs.

Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson, the authors of the New York Times bestseller Rework, are back with a manifesto to combat all your modern workplace worries and fears.

Working to breaking point with long hours, excessive workload, and a lack of sleep have become a badge of honour for many people these days, when it should be a mark of stupidity. This isn’t just a problem for large organisations; individuals, contractors and solopreneurs are burning themselves out in the very same way. As the authors reveal, the answer isn’t more hours. Rather, it’s less waste and fewer things that induce distraction, always-on anxiety and stress.

It is time to stop celebrating crazy and start celebrating calm.

Fried and Hansson have the proof to back up their argument. "Calm" has been the cornerstone of their company’s culture since Basecamp began twenty years ago. Destined to become the management guide for the next generation, It Doesn't Have to Be Crazy at Work is a practical and inspiring distillation of their insights and experiences. It isn’t a book telling you what to do. It’s a book showing you what they’ve done—and how any manager or executive no matter the industry or size of the company, can do it too.

6 editions

dakotah@bookwyrm.dakotahpena.studio reviewed It doesn't have to be crazy at work by Jason Fried

Calm

4 stars

The co-founders of Basecamp can be considered crazy by some because they think about things intentionally that other companies give no consideration to. This book was great insight into how they make considerate decisions on building a company that focuses on productivity of their workers and isn't a crazy environment. Those that think they are crazy are lowest-common-denominator thinkers who accept the crazy and distracted modern environment as the ideal.

Takeaways: - Avoid work chat as much as possible. Communicate asynchronously. - Pay people for their worth, not addresses. - Don't plan beyond 6 weeks in the future. Those plans always change anyway. - If there is too much to do at work, you're not making decisions to cut out things that aren't needed.

Michel L. reviewed It Doesn't Have to Be Crazy at Work by Jason Fried

Review of "It Doesn't Have to Be Crazy at Work" on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Calm, focused, and flexible

Full of practical advice on achieving a calm, focused workplace and eschewing unhealthy practices. As someone who works in technology, the obsession with growth in the Silicon Valley mindset is pervasive, and this book is a refreshing antidote.

DaveNash3 reviewed It doesn't have to be crazy at work by Jason Fried

Review of "It doesn't have to be crazy at work" on 'Storygraph'

4 stars

This is fresh read for everyone with a job. I enjoyed the authors’ previous book ‘Rework’ and while this is is similar it’s also wiser - they have had more experience to draw from and why can’t I work there???

I could say I don’t agree with everything they proposed but actually I do agree with everything they proposed. The best advice is not the paid for vacations, sabbaticals, or continuing education, which I would love. It’s not railing against the “free perks” like dinner, fooseball, and smartphones, which I have experienced. It’s about not forcing customers to upgrade to a new product. All the others could be written off as wishful thinking or over benevolent but this advice I could have used 5 years ago and is spot on. It lends credibility to their other takes. Really enjoyed this quick and fresh read. It doesn’t have to be crazy …

vrcca reviewed It doesn't have to be crazy at work by Jason Fried

Review of "It doesn't have to be crazy at work" on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

This book tells you to stop being the "passionate employee", stop "changing the world", and other common sense things that are just marketing empty phrases to make you to spend your life working more for less.

TVLuke reviewed It doesn't have to be crazy at work by Jason Fried

Review of "It doesn't have to be crazy at work" on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Worth the read.

Pat Rondon reviewed It doesn't have to be crazy at work by Jason Fried

None

5 stars

A necessary takedown of the culture of stress and overwork, drawing a contrast between the cargo cult (and regular cult!) of hard work,with its long hours and crushing schedules, and the culture of serious work, which requires reflection, deliberation, vigilance, practice, and more than a little courage. I especially enjoyed the miniature profiles of "serenity role models" throughout the book, who remind me of the artists, scientists, and authors profiled in Mason Currey's "Daily Rituals" (a group, it should be noted, conspicuously short on overextended workaholics).