I'd recommend this book to owners, founders and senior leaders - anyone who can influence or dictate workplace norms. I would not recommend this book to most employees, as they will probably want to quit their job and go work at Basecamp.

It sounds like Basecamp's founders (and this book's authors) have done a great job creating a calm culture through trial and error and mindful choices. They challenge commonly held assumptions and address many of my personal grievances of corporate life, such as 24/7 communication, never-ending chat, growth without question, etc. I also appreciate their writing style: it reads like a conversation (complete with swearing in the same places I'd sprinkle f-bombs) and concise. (Either they have more restraint than the average writer, or they have a hell of an editor.)

My two criticisms:

1. The tone should be a bit more humble. These guys run a successful multi-million business with 40 people, so they've definitely earned their stripes, but in the scheme of things, a 40 person company
has a different set of challenges than larger organizations. They have an obligatory nod to that in here once or twice, but the overall tone seems to be, "We've got it all figured out. Anyone doing something else is an idiot."

2. They trash on goals. Don't get me wrong - I tend to think a lot of goals are useless and demoralizing. There's an art to setting effective and motivating goals. And some goals are absolutely critical to help multiple people coordinate so they know they're a) moving in the right direction and b) making progress. I feel like they've thrown the baby out with the bathwater here because they've not yet discovered how to set effective goals.

Alas. Overall, it's a solid read and one I'll probably give as gifts to the founders/owners and other top-level executives in my life. And I'll eagerly await their next book - which probably does nothing to contribute to the humility I wish they possessed. :)