Where to Start with Jason Fried & David Heinemeier Hansson
Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson are the cofounders of 37signals (formerly Basecamp), a software company known as much for its contrarian business philosophy as for its products. Fried is the CEO and Hansson is the CTO and creator of Ruby on Rails, one of the most influential web frameworks ever built. Together they have written three books that challenge conventional startup wisdom: Rework (2010), Remote: Office Not Required (2013), and It Doesn’t Have to Be Crazy at Work (2018). Their core message is consistent across all three: you can build a successful, profitable company without burning out your employees, chasing venture capital, or requiring everyone to sit in the same office. Their writing is deliberately provocative, with short chapters that read more like blog posts than traditional business prose. They have influenced a generation of founders and managers who believe that calm, focused work beats the hustle culture that dominates Silicon Valley.
Start here
Remote: Office Not Required
Jason Fried & David Heinemeier Hansson · 256 pages · 2013 · Easy
Themes: remote work, distributed teams, company culture, productivity, work-life balance
The definitive argument for why remote work is not just possible but preferable. Fried and Hansson draw on over a decade of running a fully distributed company to dismantle the excuses that keep organizations tethered to the office. The book covers everything from dealing with managers who equate presence with productivity, to handling the loneliness that can creep in when you work from home.
Why Start Here
While Rework is arguably their most famous book, Remote is the better starting point because it focuses on a single, transformative idea and argues it thoroughly. The book captures the authors’ signature style: short, punchy chapters with strong opinions backed by real experience. It also showcases their core philosophy that work should be judged by output, not hours spent at a desk, which runs through all their writing.
If you are considering remote work for yourself or your organization, this book makes the case more persuasively than anything else in print. If you already work remotely, it validates the approach and offers practical advice for the challenges that come with it. Either way, it is the best introduction to how Fried and Hansson think about work.
What to Expect
A fast, accessible read at 256 pages with very short chapters that each make one clear point. The tone is confident and opinionated. Expect practical wisdom from running their own company rather than academic research. Easy to finish in a single sitting, and easy to hand to someone who needs convincing.