Here's a neat way to invent a new Purple Cow.
Figure what the always is. Then do something else.
* Toothpaste always comes in a squeezable tube.
* Business travelers always use a travel agent.
* Politicians always have their staff screen their calls.
Figure out what the always is, then do exactly the opposite. Do the never.
- Seth Godin
It's a Problem When It's a Problem
Do you really need to worry about scaling to 100,000 users today if it will take you two years to get there?
Do you really have to hire eight programmers if you only need three today?
Do you really need 12 top-of-the-line servers now if you can run on two for a year?
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It Just Doesn't Matter
Our favorite answer to the "why didn't you do this or why didn't you do that?" question is always: "Because it just doesn't matter." That statement embodies what makes a product great. Figuring out what matters and leaving out the rest.
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Would these things be nice to have? Sure. But are they essential? Do they really matter? Nope. And that's why we left them out. The best designers and the best programmers aren't the ones with the best skills, or the nimblest fingers, or the ones who can rock and roll with Photoshop or their environment of choice, they are the ones that can determine what just doesn't matter. That's where the real gains are made.
Most of the time you spend is wasted on things that just don't matter. If you can cut out the work and thinking that just don't matter, you'll achieve productivity you've never imagined.
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Publicize Your Screwups
If something goes wrong, tell people. Even if they never saw it in the first place.
For example, Basecamp was down once for a few hours in the middle of the night. 99% of our customers never knew, but we still posted an "unexpected downtime" notice to our Everything Basecamp blog. We thought our customers deserved to know.
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A side note about delivering news, bad and good: When bad news comes, get it all out in the open at once. Good news, on the other hand, should be trickled out slowly. If you can prolong the good vibes, do it.
- Getting Real
