Spread the word

posted on

Photo by lee Scott on Unsplash Recently a young actress had an audition for an important role. Problem was, she was up against ‘a far better actress’ competing for the part. Most of us find ourselves in that position. We want a chance. There’s just someone better. Back in early 2013 when I was still testing… keep reading

Action is the answer

posted on

If there’s only one thing you do as a leader, let it be this. It’s not what you say that matters — it’s what you do. I observed the truth of this old adage, firsthand, about six years ago. At the time, I wasn’t CEO of Know Your Team. I was an employee at another company. As an employee,… keep reading

On being a bad manager

posted on

A fellow I admire just asked me why it’s so easy to be a bad manager. Goddamn, that’s a fantastic question. I made some bonehead moves myself yesterday, so I’m in the perfect position to answer this one. Because I didn’t want to overthink my answer, I told him I’d write something up this afternoon… keep reading

Highrise 3.0 for iOS

posted on

For an app that’s been around since 2007, two iterations of its iOS app seems a bit on the light side. We agree. So today we have not just one announcement, but two: Highrise 3.0 for the iPhone is now available to everyone. It has the basics from before. Stay up to date on your… keep reading

Whether to judge on effort or results

posted on

Reality is a fuzzy picture much of the time Unless someone is spectacularly inept, there’s always a reasonable sounding explanation for why the project they were involved with fell short. Maybe the direction was unclear, maybe the technology was harder than expected, maybe it was just too ambitious. It’s sound and human to be sympathetic to… keep reading

The 3 types of bullshit feedback — and what to do about them

posted on

How to handle the most-frustrating types of feedback we hear. The feedback we receive can sometimes feel like bullshit. I recently spoke with a CEO who told me she received feedback from an employee who proclaimed, “This company doesn’t care about parents.” The employee then proceeded to gripe about the lack of maternity and paternity benefits.… keep reading

Nobody hits the ground running

posted on

“We just want someone who can hit the ground running” is the common refrain for companies seeking to only consider senior-level job candidates. This is usually based on the premise that there just isn’t time to hire someone junior because they need on-boarding, training, and mentorship. That’s all true. You shouldn’t expect a junior hire… keep reading

Three’s company

posted on 2 Comments on Three’s company

Three is lucky enough. At Basecamp, three is a magic number. Nearly all product work is done by teams of three people. A team of three is usually composed of two programmers and one designer. And if it’s not three, it’s two or one — not four or five. We don’t throw more people at problems, we chisel… keep reading

My Time as a Basecamp Intern

posted on

As I started my fourth semester of university, I began to think about summer jobs. During my search, I found an application for an internship. “Basecamp is looking for interns for summer 2017” Being so early in my degree, I definitely didn’t think I was qualified, so I sent it along to some friends who… keep reading

Our final episode of The Distance

posted on

Stay tuned for our new podcast! Illustration by Nate Otto Lily Liu was 16 years old when a talent scout approached her at a department store. She started her career as a model, but found her true calling behind the scenes, first representing her three daughters and then opening her own talent agency. For Lily, who’s spent… keep reading