Category Archives: Book Reviews
An Overdue Book Review: Rework
Let’s be honest – in agency world, it’s not atypical for one’s daily outlook calendar to look something like this:
Meetings after meetings after meetings. Sometimes meetings are absolutely necessary but in most cases, they are either unnecessary or not properly structured to maximize efficiency. When your days are booked with meetings, you are unproductive and don’t get work done. The result? Valuable time is wasted and the following occurs:
- Longer hours spent playing catch up
- Less sleep
- Less creativity
- Decreased morale
In short, not healthy and yet meetings remain an embedded part of office culture that we all abide by regardless of the known consequences.
Unproductive meetings are a constant itch for me which is why I was excited to read Jason Fried and David Heinemeier’s critically acclaimed book, Rework. Jason and David are the owners of 37Signals, a company that provides web-based apps for assisting with project management and team collaboration. I became familiar with their company after using one of their products, basecamp, to assist with global project management for a client.
What I love most about this book is that it is perfectly tailored for it’s primary audience. I zipped through in a mere two hours (believe me, I’m far from being a speedy book reader). Chapters are divided up in a very logical, bite-sized manner that will leave you with a book full of dog-eared pages. While the read is geared towards tech-startups, there are many, many tidbits throughout that apply to anyone who works in an office.
A few key learnings I absorbed:
- Work less but more efficiently. Knock out the distractions and diversions throughout the day (check every email, make every meeting, chat with everyone that stops by your office, constantly check Tweetdeck, etc.)
- Chunk out decisions. Quick, small decisions reduce friction and eliminate another item on the checklist to address later.
- Reduce plans. One-year plans are great, except for the fact that they will likely change drastically two months from now. Focus on the factors you know will get you from A to B.
- Meet less. Make every meeting count. Structure agendas for maximum decision making and clear action items.
I’d also encourage you to check out this excerpt from the book to get a taste. Pick it up for your next flight, you won’t be disappointed.
P.S. Kudos to the team for using an old Chi video contact, Sandy, in this marketing video below. Enjoyed working with him on this project in the past. Also look forward to seeing how this behind-the-scenes video effort works for 37Signals.
When Professional Meets Personal
Social media pause button…on.
Over the holidays, something pretty cool happened. I read a book. Amazing, huh?
Allow me to explain.
When I worked at CG&A in Chicago, I directed the agency’s work with Donate Life Illinois and managed an utterly incredible community of organ donation patients, donor families and transplant recipients. In the fall of 2009, I met Bill Coon, who at the time was a Columbia college student waiting for a heart and kidney transplant.
Bill Coon
Bill and I connected over a couple email exchanges as he mentioned that he was maintaining a journal while awaiting his transplants in the hospital. Wanting to help promote donation in any way possible, Bill was excited to have us share his entries on our DLI blog and we even had the opportunity to create a video about Bill’s transplant experience with his sister, Carissa .
Fast forward to January 2011. Bill and I have kept in touch for the past year as he provided updates on his successful transplants. Even more exciting was to hear news of Bill’s book being published, documenting his entire transplant experience.
I finally had a chance to sit down and read Bill’s book. Mind you, I’m a “2-3 books at a time” type of guy. It’s rare that I’m able to find a good book that holds my attention enough for a complete read without distraction. I read Bill’s book over the course of three days – a flat out miracle in and of itself in consideration of my personal track record.
My big takeaway from reading SWIM was to step back and reflect on my own life and actions. Particularly when working with nonprofit clients, it’s all too easy to get soaked up into minute details of our PR/marketing world. Getting a blog post published on time, a status update worded just right, or drafting a perfectly crafted tweet. Step back. Soak it in and never forget the larger goal you’re working towards – the bigger mission you’re helping communicate.
Bill’s book twisted my heart and brought tears to my eyes. I simply had NO clue what he was experiencing and the daily battles he faced on an incredible journey towards receiving two transplants. I don’t want to give anything away, but I do want you to read this book. Selfishly, because I remain a HUGE organ donation advocate and believe that it’s critically important to register as an organ/tissue donor (there, I just made your 2011 resolution pretty easy, huh?) but also because it puts you in your place in this world…and we all need that once in a while.
I’m happy that I’ve stayed in touch with Bill and I’m blissful that he’s alive today. I feel lucky that I was able to help tell his story. It’s a journey no one his age should face and like so many transplant recipients I’ve met, he overcame incredible odds. Bill reminds us all of how important it is to recognize the value of the day. Cheers good sir, here’s to another year of healthy living.
To purchase your copy of SWIM, click below:
