Rework jason fried

CHAPTER 
PRODUCTIVITY 

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Illusions of agreement 
 
The business world is littered with dead documents that do nothing but waste 
people's time. Reports no one reads, diagrams no one looks at, and specs that never 
resemble the finished product. These things take forever to make but only seconds to 
forget. 
 
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. 
 
The problem with abstractions (like reports and documents) is that they create 
illusions of agreement. A hundred people can read the same words, but in their heads, 
they're imagining a hundred different things. 
 
That's why you want to get to something real right away. That's when you get true 

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understanding. It's like when we read about characters in a book--we each picture them 
differently in our heads. But when we actually see people, we all know exactly what they 
look like.  
 
When the team at Alaska Airlines wanted to build a new Airport of the Future, 
they didn't rely on blueprints and sketches. They got a warehouse and built mock-ups 
using cardboard boxes for podiums, kiosks, and belts. The team then built a small 
prototype in Anchorage to test systems with real passengers and employees. The design 
that resulted from this getting-real process has significantly reduced wait times and 
increased agent productivity.* 
 
Widely admired furniture craftsman Sam Maloof felt it was impossible to make a 
working drawing to show all the intricate and fine details that go into a chair or stool. 
"Many times I do not know how a certain area is to be done until I start working with a 
chisel, rasp, or whatever tool is needed for that particular job," he said.+ 
 
That's the path we all should take. Get the chisel out and start making something 
real. Anything else is just a distraction. 

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