CM 002: David H. Hansson on How to Rethink Leadership

David Heinemeier Hansson is the Founder and CTO of Basecamp, best-selling author of Rework and Remote, and creator of the popular web application framework Ruby on Rails. David is rethinking what it means to build a company in the digital age. He and his co-founder rejected the typical startup narrative in favor of a more traditional approach to building a global business. For this reason, Basecamp has the size of a typical startup, the reach of a global firm and the profitability of a mature company. Much of that success stems from a philosophy that puts customers and employees first, focuses on the long term, and prioritizes remote work. You will also learn: how he met his co-founder Jason Fried how a series of blog posts turned into a best-selling book how we may be underestimating the potential of remote workers why most business books probably do not apply to your organization how meetings deter employees from getting work done the lessons of the dot-com crash for building a sustainable company why he advises startup founders to avoid venture funding and working in Silicon Valley how important it is to work for all kinds of bosses, especially bad ones why the best work environment might be one where you are slightly out of your depth how the ancient philosophy of stoicism can inform decisions in the modern world David also talks about the importance of living a good life today rather than some time in the future. As always, thanks for listening! If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of the post. Also, please leave a review of the Curious Minds podcast on iTunes. Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated! I read every one of them. Please subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic updates. Thank you! Episode Links Maverick The 4-Hour Workweek Stoicism