Rework

A video of this discussion is also available.We're still taking your calls for an upcoming mailbag episode where Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson will answer your questions about workplace communication. We're also bringing in a special guest, Alison Green of Ask A Manager, to give advice! Call us at (708) 628-7850 or email us at hello@rework.fm.Further Reading:Dean Carter on Patagonia's family-affirming policies.The President Stole Your Land, Patagonia's campaign against the Trump administration's move to shrink Bears Ears National Monument and Grand Staircase-Escalante in Utah.2016 article in Outside about Patagonia donating all of its Black Friday sales to environmental groups.The Obama Foundation's 2018 Fellows.Culturati Summit.The Culture Book, Culturati's "practical guide to building incredible company cultures."

Chris Ruder, the CEO of Spikeball, shares a story about meeting Shark Tank investor Mark Cuban at a bar and committing a photo faux pas (a faux-to pas?), a year before he taped his Shark Tank appearance.

This episode features:Melissa Butler of The Lip Bar, a company that makes vegan and cruelty-free lipstick in vibrant shades that work on a broad range of skin tones. Watch a clip of their episode.Chris Ruder of Spikeball, the maker of a game that's a mix of volleyball and four square. Ruder played Spikeball as a child and later revived the brand after it had become obsolete.Joe Moore of First Defense Nasal Screens, which patented an adhesive filter that sticks on top of the nostrils to prevent allergens from entering the body.A friendly reminder that we are collecting your workplace communication questions for Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson. If you're seeking advice on how to talk to your boss, your employee, or a colleague, leave us a voicemail at (708) 628-7850 or email us at hello@rework.fm.

"You know I try, but I don't do too well with apologies," Justin Bieber once sang. You're not the only one with this problem, Justin! Why is saying sorry so difficult, especially for businesses? In this episode: A veteran tracker of apologies looks at what's changed (and what hasn't) in public apology culture; Basecamp co-founder David Heinemeier Hansson recounts a time when the company had to say sorry; and two founders make a product to help tech companies apologize to their customers.

Jason Fried talks about designing an alternative to Basecamp's Applause feature that is subtle yet expressive, and distinct from the kinds of reactions and feedback mechanisms used on social media platforms. (If you missed our previous episode on the debate over the Applause feature, go back and listen!)

At Basecamp, we're in the midst of a debate over an Applause feature that was designed to improve communication but might be stoking unwanted anxiety. In this episode, CTO David Heinemeier Hansson and iOS designer Tara Mann present different sides of the Applause debate and explore the ways behavior patterns in social media are trickling into the workplace. We also look at how world-famous pianist Glenn Gould challenged norms around performance, audiences, and applause.

Dan Miller of Mulberrys Garment Care talks outsourcing, bootstrapping, and growing slowly in some leftover bits we couldn't quite fit into episode 14.

You'll laugh; you'll cry; you'll gnash your teeth in recognition as you hear the stories of horrible meetings we collected for this episode. Meetings are one of the worst kinds of workplace interruptions. They're held too frequently, run too long, and involve more people than necessary. Also in this episode: A Basecamp programmer gives advice on rethinking the culture of meetings and the story of one very cringeworthy meeting with a surprising outcome.

Hey, are you busy? Can you listen to this real quick? It's an episode about interruptions in the workplace. You'll hear from academic researchers, Basecamp's head data wrangler, and the CEO of a remote company about how they've tackled not just the disruptions themselves, but also the workplace culture that allows those intrusions to flourish.

Special bonus episode where Jason Fried discusses some of the thinking that goes into making a very small change to the to-do feature in Basecamp.

Hey, are you crushing it? It seems like everyone is constantly crushing it in the business world. But maybe it would be better if we were honest about our flaws, talked like ourselves, and aimed to be genuine instead of super polished. In this episode: A Basecamp customer support representative shares tips on writing emails like a real human being; an inherently artificial industry gets a dose of reality; and two startup founders try an experiment in radical transparency to save their business.

For more details, read his blog post about it: https://www.fredperrotta.com/i-fucked-up/

New year, new you! If you started 2018 with an idea for a product, business, or creative pursuit, now is the time to start making something. In this episode: A tabletop game designer finds that sometimes, all you need to get going is a pack of index cards and a pencil; a skincare blogger tries her hand at DIY and ends up with a cult hit; and a travel backpack company's first attempt at making something goes comically awry.

If you'd like your questions answered on a future mailbag episode leave a message at 708.628.7850.

If you'd like your questions answered on a future mailbag episode, leave us a message at 708-628-7850.

Basecamp's founders never wrote a business plan when they started the company. Even today, they don't like to look too far ahead. Too much long-term planning can hamper your ability to react to the present. Did you have plans to listen to this episode later? Be spontaneous and listen now! You'll hear from a seasoned investor on how he came to run one of the oldest vinyl record pressing plants in the U.S.; Basecamp CEO Jason Fried on working in six-week cycles; and an independent toy store owner on surviving the holidays without giving into fads.

Some of the tech industry's most vaunted companies revel in their origins as mavericks or rule-breakers, having flouted regulations in the name of disruption. That kind of risk-taking is celebrated in Silicon Valley but punished in other places, most notably minority communities. In this episode: A legal advocate for low-income entrepreneurs talks about the hurdles her clients face, and a husband-and-wife team of street food vendors share what they've learned making the transition from the informal to the formal economy.

Some leftover bits that didn't make it into the last episode.

Selling is a core skill. You have to know how to sell, whether it's a product, an idea, or yourself. In 2012, Basecamp CEO Jason Fried saw the results of a bottled water-selling challenge at Techstars Chicago, a bootcamp program for startups. That one-day competition is the starting point for a conversation that includes the art of negotiation, Jason's experiences selling knives, tennis rackets, and software; and other adventures in business.

Basecamp CEO Jason Fried talks about ideas with Paul McAvinchey, co-founder of Product Collective, at INDUSTRY: The Product Conference in September 2017.