There are two common issues people face when trying to get others onboard with using 37signals tools:

1) “The IT department doesn’t like employees doing anything outside of its firewall.”

2) “I love your tools but I can’t get the rest of my team (or my clients) onboard with using them. They keep using email instead because it’s what they already understand.”

We’d love to hear solutions you’ve come up with for these trouble spots.

For #1, have you gotten your IT deparment to green light 37signals apps? How did you do it? Any suggestions for others who face the same battle?

For #2, how do you get busy people/clients to start logging in and using 37signals apps instead of messy email threads, phone calls, or whatever? Any suggestions for others who are in the same position?

Leave a comment here or write us at email[at]37signals[dot]com.

Scott Semple asks:

Like crack cocaine, we are using a little more of each of your products each day… Now I’m at the point where I have to pause and ask myself, “Is my next piece of communication best disseminated as an email or a comment on a milestone in Basecamp? An email or a note to staff in Backpack? An email or a note in Highrise? An email or a chat message?”

I’ve also just enabled the global RSS feeds for each of the above, so I’m starting to fantasize that in-app comments and reviewing RSS may reduce the email glut.

Anyway, I would certainly be keen to hear how 37signals uses their own products on a day-to-day, piece-by-piece basis. I suspect that other customers would be keen on reading that as well.

First off, there’s no “right” way to decide what goes where. We keep our products simple in part because it allows people to decide for themselves on a system that’s best for their needs.

One thing I know plenty of customers do is use Highrise as a sales funnel. Any pre-project communication goes there. Once they win the deal, they move communication with that person/company into a Basecamp project.

For us, that method wouldn’t really apply (no sales funnel). I’d say our process is an unstated approach that goes like this:

1) If it’s a comment revolving around an item that’s already posted somewhere, we’ll put it up as a comment to that item.

2) If not, does it relate to one (and only one) project in Basecamp? If so, we’ll generally place the communication within that project.

3) If still no, then we’ll decide between the other apps. If it’s an internal item, it goes in Backpack. If it’s an external conversation with someone outside the company, it goes in Highrise.

Some examples…

Our conversations about the book go in Basecamp:

That way we can share them with our book agent and publishing company easily. If there’s something we want to discuss internally about the book, we post it as a private item so only we can see it.

There are certain places that people expect text to be rote, boring, and dry. When you come in with some humanity instead, it really stands out. Example: Sönke Johnsen’s “Advice For Potential Graduate Students,” a wonderful piece of writing that is given to lab applicants. An excerpt:

In many ways you will turn into your advisor. Advisors teach very little, but instead provide a role model. Consciously and unconsciously, you will imitate your advisor. You may find this hard to believe now, but fifteen years from now, when you find yourself lining up the tools in your lab cabinets just like your advisor did, you’ll see. My student Alison once said that choosing an advisor is like choosing a spouse after one date. Find out all you can on this date.

Finally, have your fun now. Five years is a long time when you are 23 years old. By the end of graduate school, you will be older, slower, and possibly married and/or a parent. So if you always wanted to walk across Nepal, do it now. Also, do not go to a high-powered lab that you hate assuming that this will promise you long-term happiness. Deferred gratification has its limits. Do something that you have passion for, work in a lab you like, in a place you like, before life starts throwing its many curve balls. Your career will mostly take care of itself, but you can’t get your youth back.

If, after reading this, you want to apply to this lab, we would love to hear from you.

I assume the text accompanying most lab applications is pretty cut and dry. By injecting a real person’s voice in here, the whole tone of the interaction changes.

It’s a good lesson for anyone writing copy for an instruction manual, SLA, or another place that typically features “robot text.” Look for a spot to inject some humanity. Even if it’s just a sidebar or an introduction, it can make a real difference. And it’s another way little guys can stand apart from big corporations that have no choice but to sound stiff.

An article at CNNMoney.com:

Those ads move too. Same article after Readability bookmarklet cleans it up:

The problem: If workarounds that ignore ads take off, how will good content get funded? Then again, there’s got to be a better way than the headache-inducing status quo. It seems doubtful that visual punishment of your customers is a sustainable business model.

We’re busy writing our new book. So far we’ve handed in our first draft and are now working on the second draft. One bit of feedback the publisher gave us: “It will be important to anticipate readers’ objections and head them off.”

So we’ve been building in an “I object” voice to a lot of the text by directly addressing counterarguments that we hear frequently. Of course, we then go and refute those views. But anticipating potential objections is a nice way to show readers you get it.

That way you’re not just bulldozing them, you’re empathizing with them, at least in some small measure. You show that you know what their concerns are and where their fears lie. And you address them head on. Some examples below.

We tell people to just begin. The voice of the opposition:

“It’s just not the right time for me to do that now.” You hear that all the time. But the perfect time never arrives. It always seems like a bad time to start a side business, buy a house, raise a family, or go on a long vacation. You’re too young or old or busy or broke or something else. But if you constantly fret about timing things perfectly, they’ll never happen.

Later on, during a similar point:

“What if the problem is so big that I’m afraid to make a decision?” Then break it into smaller pieces that have less impact.

We advise against business plans. The voice of the opposition:

“Won’t I need a plan to get investors?” First of all, do you even need investors? Remember, this is your company, product, or service. You decide what to build. You decide whether or not you need investors.

We preach the advantages of staying small. The voice of the opposition:

“But I work inside a big company. Does that mean I’ll always miss out on the advantages of staying small?” Not necessarily. Even if you’re not running your own business, you can still seek out a small solution.

Maybe you can start your own department or team and run it as a separate unit. For example, inside big publishing and music conglomerates, there are often editors and artists who have their own imprints.

We explain why you should strive to make money right away. The voice of the opposition:

“But wouldn’t it be nice to not have to worry about making money right away?” Only if you like living in a fantasy world.

Revenues and profits are the basic building blocks of your business. Worrying about them immediately is the best thing you can do for your business. When babies are born the most important thing for them to do is take their first breath. When your business is born the most important thing to do is take your first dollar.

When you really believe in your point of view, there’s no reason to be intimidated by opposing views. Let those views in and you come off as someone who has true faith and confidence in your own beliefs. Give it a try next time you’re writing something controversial.

Inbox zero. It’s like a holy grail. There’s a badge for those who attain it. There are tons of blog posts by people like Merlin Mann and Mark Hurst telling you how to get there.

And today in the NY Times: “An Empty In-Box, or With Just a Few E-Mail Messages? Read On.” It outlines four options for dealing with an email: archive it, respond to it, forward it, or hold it for later. The last option is the one that trips people up…

HOLD IT FOR LATER This is the trickiest option. Some e-mail messages demand complicated answers. You don’t really want to dine with your colleague, but coming up with an excuse will take longer than two minutes. Other messages simply require information not yet available. Your friend wants to know if you’re up for watching the game on Sunday, but you’ve got to check with your spouse first.

You can leave these messages in your in-box with a promise to come back to them soon…Be careful to avoid letting many such messages pile up. Carve out a short amount of time — perhaps 15 to 30 minutes at the end of the day — to respond to all flagged e-mail. Remember, your goal is to keep your in-box empty. Each message sitting there should serve as a stark, visible reminder of your undisciplined ways.

Snooze with Highrise
You know what’s a great solution to these “hold for later” emails? Sending them to your Highrise create-a-task-by-email dropbox. Unlike other to-do lists, Highrise Tasks use time buckets that work on a sort of chronological conveyor belt. That means you can put something down for next week (or a specific date) and then get a reminder sent to you when that date rolls around.

The damn helpful part of that if you’re trying to get to inbox zero: You can “snooze” an email — you clear it out of your inbox, but still have it show it up on your radar again tomorrow or next week, via an email or text message reminder. And it’s as simple as just forwarding an email to a contact in your address book.

The process
Here’s the process for dealing with an email that you want to “snooze” for a week:

1. Forward email to the appropriate Highrise task dropbox (e.g. [email protected]).
2. Delete email from your inbox (just make sure it’s archived and not completely erased). Inbox zero achieved.
3. When next week rolls around, Highrise will automatically send you an email and/or text message reminder with the subject line of the email.
4. Search for the the subject line of the email in your mail application.
5. Act on the email. (Or snooze it again.)

The video above shows the process in action. I’ve found this to be a great way to get emails out of my inbox without having them evaporate or get stuck on some monolithic to-do list that never gets looked at.

Related
iPhone & Highrise: A quick email-a-task tip [SvN]
Highrise Help: Email

Alexander Borisenko asks:

We are a small, early stage startup from Russia that is getting ready to get out of the concept phase into development. Coming from an investment banking background of 18 hour days…sometimes I start to question if we are doing enough, if we have to be working on weekends, etc… And although after starting to keep track of my time actually working I realized that 10-11 hour days are just as effective if done right, it still would be extremely helpful to know if successful company like yours works on weekends and on average, how many hours a day. I really hope I can get an answer from you on that, as it would solve the last big puzzle that I have before starting execution.

37signallers can set their own schedules but I’d say, on average, we work a typical workday (8 hours) and we don’t work weekends. (Unless we’re really feeling a project and don’t want to stop. Then we’ll take that inspiration and run with it.) But normally, it’s a typical workweek.

Investment bankers may work 18 hour days…but look at the state of the investment banking business. It’s not the quantity of hours you work, it’s how you spend the hours you do work and what you’re working on that matter.

Too many people think they have to work 80-100 hour weeks. They think, “No amount of work is too much work.” They pull all-nighters or sleep at the office.

But you don’t have to work superhuman hours. A normal workweek should be plenty. Even less is ok. In fact, being short on time is a good thing. It forces you to focus on the essentials. There’s no time for things that don’t matter. There’s only time for the basics. And if you want to build something great, you have to nail the basics first.

Basecamp, our flagship product, was created on the side while we were still doing client work. With just 10 hours a week of programming time and 10 hours a week of design time, we made a product that took off.

We didn’t have time to focus on anything other than the basics. It did a few things and did those few things really well. There were no distractions. It did what people really needed and nothing more. It was only after it took off that we decided to devote more time to it.

Also, keep in mind you’re setting up habits that you’ll continue to follow. If you work endless hours now, you’ll probably never stop. Once you start running the hamster wheel, it’s tough to get off.

Worry about the quality of your hours, not the quantity. That’s what really matters.

Have you seen the weapons prisoners make out of soap, spoons, or whatever they can get their hands on? It’s amazing what you can do with limited resources, if you really put your mind to it.

A good business example: 
Southwest Airlines. The airline has succeeded in large part due to its embrace of constraints. For example, its fleet consists exclusively of aircraft from the Boeing 737 line. By flying only a single aircraft, the company spends less to train pilots, ground crew, and mechanics. And maintenance, purchasing, and other operations are also vastly simplified, which reduces costs too.

More ways that Southwest keeps it simple: It offers flights only to select cities, no seating class distinctions, a simple pricing structure, a bare-bones frequent flier program, no meal service, etc.

Shows how executing on essential functions and leaving the rest out can still take you a long way.