Visual Notes on “Getting Real”
A visual summary of the book “Getting Real” by Jason Fried from 37 Signals that describes a pragmatic approach to product development
I can’t remember where I heard about this book. Perhaps, it was on one of the episodes of Lenny’s podcast where the speaker included “Getting Real” as one of their top 3 recommended books. I got curious, googled, found it, and read it cover to cover. It is a relatively short book by Jason Fried but I could not inhale more than 30 pages daily because it is quite dense with ideas and concepts so digesting it took time.
The key parts that stroke me the most deal with the importance of keeping blank and error states in mind when designing a product, underdoing the competition or building fewer features than the rest of the industry instead of becoming a feature factory, and finally, the thought that maintaining preferences is a sign of laziness in a product team.
Another area this book has reinforced for me was the importance of quality execution that in my mind is often undermined. Having read a number of posts, it feels like the idea or a defined outcome to pursue is the holy grail while execution becomes an element of the mundane, something everyone can easily do. I appreciate that “Getting Real” speaks to the value of execution as the true money-making power.
I hope the notes I took will help you rethink your daily work and the approaches you follow, just like this book did for me.
If you have made it this far, please consider clapping, leaving a comment or following my blog.
