Interesting takeaways. I also finished it a couple of months ago, and I was surprised how much I enjoyed it (especially considering it's length).
My main lesson was how he just ignored every authority/law. This quote sums up his approach in my opinion: "The only rules are the ones dictated by the laws of physics - everything else is a recommendation."
I also found his '5-stage algorithm' to be insightful:
1. Question every requirement. equirements from smart people are the most dangerous because people are less likely to question them. Always do so, even if the requirement came from me.
2. Delete any part or process you can. In fact, if you do not end up adding back at least 10% of them, then you didn’t delete enough.
3. Simplify and optimize. This should come after step two. A common mistake is to simplify and optimize a part or a process that should not exist.
4. Accelerate cycle time. Every process can be speeded up.
5. Automate. That comes last. The big mistake in Nevada and at Fremont was that I began by trying to automate every step.
I've taken a bit different angle on summarizing it, maybe you'll enjoy the article :)
I like this. Breaking at least some non-physics based rules has been critical to us succeeding (like building a ton of products early in your company’s life)
That's a good example of applying it. I read another one from a young startup - they didn't go with a very fast MVP, but spend months honing it out and had 0 bugs by the time they released to great reception. It wouldn't work for everyone, but you have to know when to go against the grain.
Interesting takeaways. I also finished it a couple of months ago, and I was surprised how much I enjoyed it (especially considering it's length).
My main lesson was how he just ignored every authority/law. This quote sums up his approach in my opinion: "The only rules are the ones dictated by the laws of physics - everything else is a recommendation."
I also found his '5-stage algorithm' to be insightful:
1. Question every requirement. equirements from smart people are the most dangerous because people are less likely to question them. Always do so, even if the requirement came from me.
2. Delete any part or process you can. In fact, if you do not end up adding back at least 10% of them, then you didn’t delete enough.
3. Simplify and optimize. This should come after step two. A common mistake is to simplify and optimize a part or a process that should not exist.
4. Accelerate cycle time. Every process can be speeded up.
5. Automate. That comes last. The big mistake in Nevada and at Fremont was that I began by trying to automate every step.
I've taken a bit different angle on summarizing it, maybe you'll enjoy the article :)
https://techbooks.substack.com/p/why-visionaries-are-always-jerks
I like this. Breaking at least some non-physics based rules has been critical to us succeeding (like building a ton of products early in your company’s life)
That's a good example of applying it. I read another one from a young startup - they didn't go with a very fast MVP, but spend months honing it out and had 0 bugs by the time they released to great reception. It wouldn't work for everyone, but you have to know when to go against the grain.