Managing for Productivity & Happiness

Creating a vibrant company culture is increasingly essential for building successful businesses and attracting the best people. In this talk at The Next Web Conference in 2016, Jason Fried, co-founder of 37signals and co-author of Rework, shares how he thinks about managing for productivity and happiness.

Deep focus is key to doing good work. Fried compares constant interruptions to being poked every 15 minutes during the night: nobody would call that a good night’s sleep, so nobody should expect their best work after being distracted every 15 minutes at the office.

He also warns against micro-managing projects. If a project’s to-do list is getting very long, throw it away and write a shorter one with less detailed tasks. For that to work, hire smart people and let them fill in the gaps. His broader point: if you want to get more things done, have fewer things to do, focusing on what matters most and learning to say no to the rest.