37signals' co-founders Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson discuss their unique approach of operating without full-time managers. They reflect on the company's experience with full-time managers and share why they've moved to a flatter organization.

Key Takeaways:

• 00:54 - The before and after of 37signals' experience with full-time managers
• 08:34 - The founders thoughts on being directly involved in the business
• 10:36 - Why the company's management hierarchy works best for the founders
• 17:17 - 37signals' career ladder doesn't necessarily mean people leadership
• 20:03 - What company size makes sense for having more management layers

Links and Resources:

• HEY World post – We once more have no full-time managers at 37signals
• 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

This week, Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson, co-founders of 37signals, examine why it's advantageous to keep things simple — in both products and business. They challenge the idea that complex or bespoke tools are the best way to go and lean into not overcomplicating things.

Key Takeaways:

• 00:34 - The power of keeping things simple
• 10:55 - Why small businesses don't need to act like big businesses
• 12:04 - The beauty of embracing what you don’t know when starting something new
• 18:01 - Building products with depth versus surface area
• 23:09 - Knowing when to listen to customers for product input and ideas

Links and Resources:

Merchants of Complexity Post by David Heinemeier Hansson

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

37signals works in 6-week cycles, which begin with a Kickoff and wrap up with a Heartbeat. In this week’s REWORK podcast, co-founders Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson break down the purpose and benefits of the Kickoff and Heartbeat documents and share tips for implementing this process across an organization.

Key Takeaways

• 00:40 - When 37signals started using Kickoffs and Heartbeats
• 02:13 - Details of the Kickoff write-up process
• 07:34 - How much input Jason and David have in the Kickoff
• 13:43 - What Kickoffs & Heartbeats look like for departments with ongoing work
• 17:37 - The Heartbeats as an opportunity to highlight and celebrate the work of individual employees and team
• 22:50 - The benefits of writing up work summaries for institutional history

Links and Resources

Shape Up

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