Why we love the book ‘It Doesn’t Have to Be Crazy at Work’

We’ve all been there. We’re grabbing a drink with a friend or a business lunch with a colleague and we ask the question, “How are things going at work?”.

Often, the response is a long exhale, followed by something along the lines of, “Work has been crazy.”

Sure, saying work is “crazy” adds a certain flair to any role and makes you sound important, but is it really something to be proud of?[/intro]

It’s not crazy here at Stryve. We take pride in having a stable base of clients who choose to work with us year over year. We’ve managed the business to keep the financials strong and we’re helping clients do the same, all while expanding, winning awards, and more. It’s everything we’d want in a business and it’s not crazy. Things aren’t frantic, and while we might go home feeling exhausted on occasion, we never feel unaccomplished.

This is what work should feel like, and we’re not the only ones who think so. The good people at Basecamp Software are on board, as demonstrated by the release of their new book, It Doesn’t Have to Be Crazy at Work.

Here’s one of our favourite excerpts:

Bury the hustle

Hustlemania has captured a monopoly on the entrepreneurial inspiration. This endless stream of pump-me-up quotes about working yourself to the bone. It’s time to snap out of it.

Entrepreneurship doesn’t have to be this epic tale of cutthroat survival. Most of the time it’s way more boring that than. Less jumping over exploding cars and wild chase scenes. More laying of bricks and applying another layer of paint.

So you hereby have our permission to buy the hustle. To put in a good day’s work, day after day, but nothing more. You can play with your kids and still be a successful entrepreneur. You can have a hobby. You can take care of yourself physically. You can read a book. You can watch a silly movie with your partner. You can take the time to cook a proper meal. You can go for a long walk. You can dare to be completely ordinary every now and then.

The book is full of awesome-counterintuitive advice. For example, I loved the chapter ‘Worst Practices’, which explains the issue with following “industry best practices”. Here’s an excerpt:

Every mature industry is drowning in best practices. There are best practices about how to price a product, conduct employee reviews, do content marketing, design a website, or make an app scalable to millions of users. There’s no end to advice claiming to be the best. 

Yet so much of it is not merely bullshit but quite possibly the worst thing you could do. What counts as the best practice for a company of 10,000 is very rarely so for a company of 10. 

And it’s not just about a difference in size, it’s a difference in everything. Are you selling a service for a recurring fee or a product for a onetime cost? Different practices. Are you just designing for a single awesome iPhone app or are you trying to reach Android, the web, and email as well? Different practices. Are you building your company to last, or are you starting with an exit in mind? Different practices. Have your people worked together for a long time, or are you building a brand new team from scratch? Different practices. 

You might be feeling frustrated with the way things are done at work. Tasks pile up, deadlines need to be hit, expectations need to be met, all within a few hours between endless meetings. As the book’s title states, it doesn’t have to be crazy at work, and we can vouch for that.

Things at Stryve are busy, but they’re hardly crazy, and we’re better for it. That’s why we’ve named It Doesn’t Have to be Crazy at Work our book of 2018. If things are hectic at work, you need to give it a read.