Yesterday I downloaded the PDF book Getting Real from 37 Signals. I have been using their web application Backpack for a year and while it hasn't been the most useful tool for me, I do love the idea and philosophy behind the software and the company. The idea of less is more is one that hasn't occurred to most software companies. But 37 Signals has made it their mantra with some great success.
So I was expecting their first book to be interesting but not necessarily groundbreaking. However, there are some fantastic ideas in this book and it is such a quick and exciting read that it was well worth the investment. I highly recommend it for anyone, although it would probably help to have an interest in the software industry. Without that some parts will be a little bland.
BTW, I can tell you the exact part in their pitch of the book that sold me on buying it:
"37signals used the Getting Real process to launch five successful web-based applications (Basecamp, Campfire, Backpack, Writeboard, Ta-da List), and Ruby on Rails, an open-source web application framework, in just two years with no outside funding, no debt, and only 7 people (distributed across 7 time zones). Over 400,000 people around the world use these applications to get things done."
I love the idea that a small company can work across time zones and achieve so much with their major resource being creativity. And that is really the theme throughout the book itself. Using size restraints to actually achieve more. Staying small and using that to your advantage rather than considering it a negative. I do a lot of recruiting for the software industry. Often software companies will say that their only barrier to growth is the number of good developers they can hire. Getting Real throws that claim right into the trash with some really interesting arguments.
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