manifestos and principles

A company is a cathedral built to shelter an idea that might be true.

The problem with raging against the machine is that the machine has learned to feed off rage

Hey everyone—

I’m Jason, CEO here at 37signals.

Email gets a bad rap, but it shouldn’t. Email’s a treasure.

It feels great to get an email from someone you care about. Or a newsletter you enjoy. Or an update from a service you like. That’s how email used to feel all the time.

But things changed.

You started getting stuff you didn’t want from people you ... See more

I do not require ideal conditions to do exceptional work

If everyone is busy making everything,

how can anyone perfect anything?

We start to confuse convenience with joy.

Abundance with choice.

Designing something requires focus.

The first thing we ask is:

What do we want people to feel?

Delight.

Surprise.

Love.

Connection.

Then we begin to craft around our intention.

It takes time.

There are a thousand no’s for ever... See more

those with verbal talent are going to have a more important skill set to offer the world in the coming decades, as the AI revolution takes hold—I think that those who are able to give expression to and speak to the deepest desires of the human heart will be the voices the world needs most.

Impact over refinement

When building something, focus on truly creating an impact before releasing and refining it.

Then, consider focusing on other impactful work before refining your prior releases.

Here is a simple test to see if you're building something impactful: Can you write a blog post about what you're releasing and how it will change your ... See more

I want to beg you, as much as I can, dear sir, to be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and to try to love the questions themselves like locked rooms and like books that are written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live ev... See more