38 Quotes from Rework Book to Change the Way You Work

The core idea in Jason Fried’s Rework is that a business should be personal and customer-focused, as most businesses are when starting out. It preaches frugality in everything you do.

The book is short, with concise, value-worthy and action-oriented chapters. It’s a handbook for entrepreneurs to build a company that loves their customers.

Check Rework on Goodreads

These quotes from Rework book carry the essential lessons

Let’s dive in.

1) “Real world” inhabitants are filled with pessimism and despair. They expect fresh concepts to fail.

2) The only things that win are what people already know and do.

3) Planning is guessing. Unless you’re a fortune-teller, long-term business planning is a fantasy.

4) You have to be able to improvise. To pick up opportunities that come along.

5) Ramping up doesn’t have to be your goal. Don’t be insecure about aiming to be a small business.

Want full lessons from the book? Check Rework summary

6) The ability to change course is one of the big advantages of being small.

7) Being obscure is a great position to be in. Be happy you’re in the shadows.

8) If you’re going to do something, do something that matters.

9) Standing for something isn’t just about writing it down. It’s about believing it and living it.

10) Until you actually start making something, your brilliant idea is just that, an idea.

11) Ideas are cheap and plentiful. The real question is how well you execute.

12) The core of your business should be built around things that won’t change.

13) There’s always enough time if you spend it right.

14) Be a curator. Stick to what’s truly essential. Pare things down until you’re left with only the most important stuff. Then do it again.

15) You don’t need the best gear in the world to be good. And you definitely don’t need it to get started.

16) It’s not the gear that matters. It’s playing what you’ve got as well as you can.

17) Just because you still have a list of things to do doesn’t mean it’s not done. Don’t hold everything else up because of a few leftovers. You can do them later. Launch now.

18) You’re better off with a kick-ass half than a half-assed whole.

19) Get the chisel out and start making something real. Anything else is just a distraction.

20) Problems can usually be solved with simple, mundane solutions. You build something that gets the job done and move on. When good enough gets the job done, go for it.

21) Divide problems into smaller and smaller pieces until you’re able to deal with them completely and quickly.

22) If it only takes seven minutes to accomplish a meeting’s goal, then that’s all the time you should spend.

23) Don’t prioritize with numbers or labels. Instead, prioritize visually. Put the most important thing at the top.

24) When everything is high priority, nothing is.

25) Do less than your competitors to beat them. Solve the simple problems and leave the hairy, difficult, nasty problems to the competition.

26) Make you part of your product or service. Make it something no one else can offer.

27) Don’t shy away from the fact that your product or service does less. Highlight it. Be proud of it.

28) Use the power of no to get your priorities straight. You can’t be everything to everyone.

29) Share information that’s valuable and you’ll slowly but surely build a loyal audience.

30) Give people a backstage pass and show them how your business works.

31) Don’t be afraid to show your flaws. Imperfections are real and people respond to real.

32) Emulate drug dealers. Make your product so good that giving customers a free taste makes them come back with cash in hand.

33) People will respect you more if you are open, honest, public and responsive during a crisis. Own your bad news.

34) Getting back to people quickly is probably the most important thing you can do when it comes to customer service.

35) The right time to hire is when there’s more work than you can handle for a sustained period of time.

36) You want a specific candidate who cares specifically about your company, your products, your customers, and your job.

37) You don’t create a culture. It happens. Culture is the by-product of consistent behaviour.

38) We’re all capable of bad, average, and great work. The environment has a lot more to do with great work than most people realise.

OK, those were all the Rework quotes from the book.

Liked this article?

Join Book Blabbers WhatsApp group to bond over books, memes and quotes.

Subscribe to Book Blabber's Bulletin to get book summaries, reading tips and occasional hugs in your inbox.