Jason Fried

April 1, 2021

Four letter words

When collaborating with others, watch out for these four letter words:

  • Need
  • Must
  • Can’t
  • Easy
  • Just
  • Only
  • Fast

They are especially dangerous when you string them together. How many times have you said or heard something like this:

“We really need it. If we don’t we can’t make the customer happy. Wouldn’t it be easy if we just did it like that? Can you try it real fast?” 

Of course they aren’t always bad. Sometimes they can do some good. But seeing them too often should raise a red flag. They can really get you into trouble.

About Jason Fried

Hey! I'm Jason, the Co-Founder and CEO at 37signals, makers of Basecamp and HEY. Subscribe below to follow my thinking on business, design, product development, and whatever else is on my mind. Thanks for visiting, thanks for reading.