Jason Fried, 37signals

📚 Source

https://share.snipd.com/episode/e5da0a13-e878-4b99-aca3-ddfdd774acff

Who Should Read This

Anyone who:

• Who’s tired of startup hustle porn and “blitzscale or die” sermons.
• Wants a calm, profitable business instead of a VC-fueled bonfire.
• Believes “scratch your own itch” beats customer-survey theater.
• Flirting with remote work but still addicted to meetings.
• Likes simple, opinionated software and are allergic to corporate nonsense.

Influenced Mental Models

• Problem Proximity
• Build for Yourself
• You are Not Your Customer
• Assumption Projection
• False Consensus Effect
• Customer Averaging
• Evidence Over Speculation
• Principle of Enoughness

flowchart TD
PP[🎚️Problem Proximity]
B[🧭Build for Yourself]
Y[🧭You Are Not the Customer]
A[💥Assumption Projection]
FCE[💥False Consensus Effect]
CA[💥Customer Averaging]
E[Evidence Over Speculation]

PP -- (far) enables --> A
PP -- (near) enables --> FCE
B -- guards against --> CA
Y -- guards against --> A
Y -- guards against --> FCE
E -- balances --> B
E -- balances --> Y

Condition: 🎚️ Failure Mechanism: 💥 Friction:🐢 Guiding Principle: 🧭

Resonating Quotes

Quote

“Knowing what I know now, would I hire them again?”

—Jason Fried via Jason Fried, 37signals

I use this all the time!

Quote

All a great life is, is just a string of great days.”

—Jason Fried via Jason Fried, 37signals

This really resonated with me. While I’m focused on trying to make life better in five years, today is passing by. If you’re always focused on the future, you’re missing the present. If the present isn’t great, trying to make the future great while ignoring today is just asinine.

Quote

“If it could be better, it’s not done.”

—Jason Fried via Jason Fried, 37signals

The reverse of what is implied by this is what I found most insightful. Did you do the best you can do? Then let it go. I ruminate too much on how I could/should have made something better. I did the best I could at the time, that’s all I could have done, let’s move on.