In typical 37signals fashion, the wisdom in these pages is edgy yet

Build half a product, not a half-assed product
You can turn a bunch of great ideas into a crappy product real fast by trying
to do them all at once. You just can't do everything you want to do and do it
well. You have limited time, resources, ability, and focus. It's hard enough
to do one thing right. Trying to do ten things well at the same time? Forget
about it.
So sacrifice some of your darlings for the greater good. Cut your
ambition in half. You're better off with a kick-ass half than a half-assed
whole.
Most of your great ideas won't seem all that great once you get some
perspective, anyway. And if they truly are that fantastic, you can always do
them later.
Lots of things get better as they get shorter. Directors cut good scenes to
make a great movie. Musicians drop good tracks to make a great album.
Writers eliminate good pages to make a great book. We cut this book in half
between the next-to-last and final drafts. From 57,000 words to about
27,000 words. Trust us, it's better for it.
So start chopping. Getting to great starts by cutting out stuff that's merely
good.

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Start at the epicenter
When you start anything new, there are forces pulling you in a variety of
directions. There's the stuff you could do, the stuff you want to do, and the
stuff you have to do. The stuff you have to do is where you should begin.
Start at the epicenter.
For example, if you're opening a hot dog stand, you could worry about
the condiments, the cart, the name, the decoration. But the first thing you
should worry about is the hot dog. The hot dogs are the epicenter.
Everything else is secondary.
The way to find the epicenter is to ask yourself this question: "If I took
this away, would what I'm selling still exist?" A hot dog stand isn't a hot
dog stand without the hot dogs. You can take away the onions, the relish,
the mustard, etc. Some people may not like your toppings-less dogs, but
you'd still have a hot dog stand. But you simply cannot have a hot dog stand
without any hot dogs.
So figure out your epicenter. Which part of your equation can't be
removed? If you can continue to get by without this thing or that thing, then
those things aren't the epicenter. When you find it, you'll know. Then focus
all your energy on making it the best it can be. Everything else you do
depends on that foundation.

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