Our goal: no goals (a book review)

It Doesn't Have to Be Crazy at Work (Basecamp, 2018) is a book by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson, the co-founders of Basecamp, about running a calm, profitable company without the constant rush most of us have accepted as normal. One chapter, "Our Goal: No Goals", has stayed with our team more than any other.

What the chapter argues

The authors take on one of the most established habits in business: set a number, chase it, then set a bigger one. Their position is that most goals are artificial targets, picked because having targets feels responsible. Once a number exists, it becomes a source of pressure that shapes decisions, and it gets replaced by a new one the moment it is met or dropped.

They also point to a darker side. When a company is behind on a figure it invented, good intentions start to bend, and customers are often the ones who pay for it. Their alternative is plain: do the best work you can every day, and let simpler aims such as staying in business, serving customers well and being a good place to work carry the weight, even though they are harder to measure.

The takeaway

Wanting things to improve is not the same as attaching a quota to every improvement. You can care about better products, happier customers and a healthy business without turning each of those into a metric to hit by the end of the quarter.

Why it resonates with us

We build and operate software for a living, and we have seen how a target can quietly replace the actual purpose of the work. Reading this chapter put words to something we already practice: we do not set customer-count or revenue goals. We choose to do careful work, stay honest with the people we serve, and keep the team calm enough to do good work. If you run a company or lead a team, the whole book is worth your time, and this chapter is a good place to start.

Book: Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson, It Doesn't Have to Be Crazy at Work, Basecamp, 2018.