Quotes About Clarity

You can't build on top of "We'll decide later," but you can build on top of "Done.

If you need to explain something, try getting real with it. Instead of describing what something looks like, draw it. Instead of explaining what something sounds like, hum it. Do everything you can to remove layers of abstraction.

Éste es el mensaje con el que todos nos deberíamos quedar. Toma el cincel y empieza a hacer algo real. Cualquier otra cosa será sencillamente una distracción.

Keep things clean and unencumbered but don't sterilize.*

Leonard Koren, author of a book on wabi-sabi, gives this advice: Pare down to the essence, but don't remove the poetry. Keep things clean and unencumbered but don't sterilize.

But we're just as proud of what our products don't do as we are of what they do. We design them to be simple because we believe most software is too complex: too many features, too many buttons, too much confusion.

When you don't know what you believe, everything becomes an argument. Everything is debatable. But when you stand for something, decisions are obvious. For

There are four-letter words you should never use in business. They're not fuck or shit. They're need, must, can't, easy, just, only, and fast.

It's the stuff you leave out that matters. So constantly look for things to remove, simplify, and streamline. Be a curator. Stick to what's truly essential.

The answer isn't more hours, it's less bullshit.

Cuando no tienes claro en lo que crees, todo deriva en una controversia. Todo es discutible. Por el contrario, cuando tienes las ideas claras, las decisiones son fáciles.

And when you're writing, don't think about all the people who may read your words. Think of one person. Then write for that one person. Writing for a mob leads to generalities and awkwardness. When you write to a specific target, you're a lot more likely to hit the mark.

So do less. Your project won't suffer nearly as much as you fear. In fact, there's a good chance it'll end up even better. You'll be forced to make tough calls and sort out what truly matters.

For 37signals, things like speed, simplicity, ease of use, and clarity are our focus. Those are timeless desires. People aren't going to wake up in ten years and say, "Man, I wish software was harder to use." They won't say, "I wish this application was slower.

The more people you have between your customers' words and the people doing the work, the more likely it is that the message will get lost or distorted along the way.

Also, don't be timid about your conclusions. Sometimes abandoning what you're working on is the right move, even if you've already put in a lot of effort. Don't throw good time after bad work.

It's the stuff you leave out that matters. So constantly look for things to remove, simplify, and streamline. Be a curator.

When you don't know what you believe, everything becomes an argument. Everything is debatable. But when you stand for something, decisions are obvious.

On Writing Well by William Zinsser The Elements of Style by William Strunk and E. B. White Revising Prose by Richard Lanham

You need less than you think

Slow down and think. Panic doesn't solve problems; it just creates new ones.

Remember, the most common thing about common sense is how uncommon it is.

The more simple you can make it allows your people to get really focused.

Hackett found that leaders at "above average" companies are surprisingly different in this critical measure. They identify an average of just twenty-one priorities instead of 372. Editing the list isn't easy, but the payoff is huge. Time and money get tightly focused on the crucial activities that drive the firm's competitive advantage, and everyone has a clearer idea what to do and no problem deciding who's accountable.