Episode 205: David Heinemeier Hansson – Falling In Love With Your Work & The Future Of Work/ReWork

David “DHH” Heinemeier Hansson is the creator of Ruby on Rails, founder & CTO at Basecamp(formerly 37signals), best-selling author, Le Mans class-winning racing driver, public speaker, hobbyist photographer, and family man. He is the best selling author of ReWork and Remote: Office Note Required.  You can also read his wildly popular writings on Medium.com/@dhh

Photo from everydaycarry.com

Episode 205: David Heinemeier Hansson – Falling In Love With Your Work & The Future Of Work/ReWork

Subscribe on iTunes  or Stitcher Radio

The Learning Leader Show

“For me, it’s falling in love with the work itself.  The actual day to day work. I don’t have a need to think, “what’s next?” I’m thrilled to do the thing I’ve fallen in love with.”

Show Notes:

  • Common themes of leaders who sustain excellence:
    • “For me it’s falling in love with the work itself…”
    • Being excited to do the actual work everyday… The actual day to day work
  • “I don’t have a need to think “What’s Next?” — “I’m thrilled to do the thing I’ve fallen in love with.”
  • How did he become DHH?
  • What percentage of your job do you love and what percent do you dislike?
    • DHH works to minimize the parts he doesn’t like
    • Managing others is low on his list of what he loves.
  • “The thought that you can’t be innovative if you aren’t in the same room is bullshit.” — You can do that remotely, in fact better in most cases.
  • DHH shares why the open office concept is horrible for creative people who like to “get shit done.”
  • Remote work gives peace, tranquility, quality
  • Commuting to work can be a wasteful, drain on your life
  • The future of work — More remote work, more contractors, less full time employees
  • “The office is something you choose to have, you don’t need to have it.”
  • “The Day I Became A Millionaire”
    • What DHH learned that day… What changed? What didn’t
    • “The things that brought happiness were the things I was already doing. I love writing, programming, reading.”
    • Will a certain amount of money ever be enough? Ray Kroc said “No.”
  • “The human condition does not end because you get rich.”  You’ll still have problems.
  • Best advice to give to people early in their careers?
    • “Be careful what you wish for.  Managing other people is not in my top 5 things I like to do.”
    • “Prove you can execute.  That’s the way to get to the executive level. Just simply make shit happen, you get shit done.”
    • You have to weigh shipping vs quality
    • Take measured risks, and don’t be afraid to make mistakes

“Prove you can execute. That’s the way to get to the executive level. You have to make things happen.”

Social Media:

More Learning:

Episode 078: Kat Cole – From Hooters Waitress To President of Cinnabon

Episode 071: Nate Boyer – Green Beret, Texas Football, The NFL

Episode 179: How To Sustain Excellence – The Best Answers From 178 Questions

Episode 107: Simon Sinek – Leadership: It Starts With Why

Episode edited by the great J Scott Donnell

The Learning Leader Show is supported by Rhone.  Use the code “Hawk” for 15% off.  Rhone… premium activewear engineered with principle, performance and progress for the modern man.  Rhone builds clothing around 3 main tenants: Cutting-edge Performance, Premium Comfort, and Simplistic Style.