Why 37 Signals is Always Right
5 Jun
Even when 37 Signals is dead wrong, they are 100% right. A paradox of great proportions to be sure, but the truth it is.
I am a huge fan of all of the work that 37 Signals has done in the community. Half of the apps that I have written are in Rails, I use Basecamp for both my personal and professional projects, and I have purchased and read both Rework and Getting Real. I am a daily reader of the ever-so-popular blog Signal vs. Noise, and have watched many a lectures from DHH. Some might call me a 37 Signals fanboi.
But a fanboi of 37 Signals I am not. Constantly (and consistently) I disagree with the things that come from the mouths of DHH, Jason Fried and Co. I have seen them contradict themselves; they over-simplify (I know, that is the whole point), and I often feel that they speak just to get a reaction. But even when they are wrong, they are right.
Back when I was in Business School I had a teacher, a lawyer by profession, that could take any side in any debate, and without question, whatever it was that she was trying to prove would be made true. Even when she was wrong, she was right, and everyone knew it. The could sell snow to an Eskimo; get them on the lifetime subscription plan.
And that is exactly why 37 Signals is great at what they do. Even when they are wrong, it is their passion, their energy, and their vehement and eloquent vocabulary that convinces the world that they are right. That is why they are the movers and shakers. When they say jump, half of the business world says, “How high?”
The leaders are not always the ones that have the most knowledge, are the greatest thinkers. No, the leaders are the ones who know how to lead. Who push the masses in the best direction that they see fit. Their voice is loud, strong, and unwavering.
