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Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstall37signals’ guide to internal communication puts considered written discussion at the center of substantial work, while treating real-time conversation as useful when the situation calls for it. Its 30 principles and examples describe how the company tries to keep people informed without making every exchange an interruption. They are guidance, not requirements, and the routines are 37signals’ own choices—not a universal workplace formula.
What the 37signals guide recommends
Jason Fried’s guide opens with a practical question: “How do we keep everyone in the loop without everyone getting tangled in everyone else’s business?” Its answer is not to eliminate communication, but to make it easier to follow, revisit, and respond to thoughtfully.
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For substantive topics, the guide favors complete, considered writing over a stream of short chat messages. Written discussions give people who are not present a way to catch up, leave a record for future teammates, and give ideas time to develop. The guide argues that this can reduce the need for meetings and interruptions; that is 37signals’ rationale, not proof that the approach produces the same result at every organization.
Asynchronous communication is the norm in the guide’s model, but real-time conversation remains available when useful. Its memorable formulation is: “Meetings are the last resort, not the first option.” The point is to choose a meeting deliberately rather than defaulting to one for every discussion.
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Principles for keeping communication useful
- Write down important discussions. A durable written exchange can be read by people who were not in the room and revisited later.
- Give people time to read and respond. Avoid treating every message as a demand for an immediate answer; urgency from the sender can rush recipients.
- Ask for context and clarification. The guide says, “If you want an answer, you have to ask a question.” Make the request clear, and leave room for follow-up questions—especially in difficult conversations.
- Put the conversation where people expect to find it. Keep discussion near the task, document, or policy it concerns, rather than scattering context across unrelated channels.
- Consider timing and urgency. Use real-time communication when speed or direct interaction matters; otherwise, an asynchronous exchange can reduce scheduling and interruption costs.
How 37signals describes its communication routines
The guide says that 98% of 37signals’ internal communication happens inside Basecamp. That is the company’s self-reported figure; the retrieved guide does not state a year, and it should not be read as an independently audited or necessarily current measurement. The guide describes Basecamp as the home for company-wide discussions, project work, ideas, internal debates, automatic check-ins, status and policy updates, decisions, and announcements.
It also describes email for external communication, occasional Zoom video conferences involving two or three people, and some discussion of pull requests in GitHub. The guide’s examples of recurring internal practices are:
| Routine | What the guide describes |
|---|---|
| Daily check-in | At 16:30 on each workday, employees are asked, “What did you work on today?” Responses are shared company-wide, and follow-up questions stay in context as comments. |
| Weekly check-in | On Monday morning, employees are asked, “What will you be working on this week?” The aim is to share broad themes and priorities, not every task. |
| Optional social question | Every few weeks or about monthly, the company asks an optional question to help colleagues share interests and experiences. |
| Heartbeat | About every six weeks, a team lead writes a reflection on the previous period, including accomplishments and challenges, for the company to read. |
| Kickoff | About every six weeks, a team lead outlines the team’s plans for the next period at a broad level. |
| Announcements | Company-wide policy updates go on the HQ message board or are attached to an existing policy document, rather than being sent only by email. |
| Project communication | Projects have their own Basecamp spaces; discussion about a task or document is placed with that item so readers can see its context. |
The guide page has no visible publication date, so these schedules are best understood as practices it describes, not confirmation of 37signals’ current procedures.
What to adapt—and what not to copy automatically
The most portable idea is to separate the communication principle from the company’s implementation. Keeping discussion with the work it concerns is a principle; using Basecamp projects and comments to do so is 37signals’ implementation. Likewise, a team can use regular reflection prompts without adopting the company’s exact cadence or questions.
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Before borrowing a practice, consider the nature of the work and the people who need to participate:
- Urgency: Does someone need to act now, or can the exchange wait for a considered response?
- Complexity: Does the topic need complete thoughts, clarification, or a record of how a decision was reached?
- Audience: Who needs to understand the discussion now, and who might need to find it later?
- Context: Is there a specific task, document, or policy that should contain the conversation?
- Interruption cost: Would a meeting or immediate message solve a real coordination problem, or merely interrupt people who could respond asynchronously?
These questions can help a team decide when to write, when to meet, and where a discussion belongs without assuming that every workplace should use Basecamp or minimize live conversation.
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Where to read more
The guide recommends Shape Up: Stop Running in Circles and Ship Work that Matters for readers who want related context on how 37signals teams work on software projects. It is a companion resource, not a prerequisite for understanding the communication principles.
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Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →In the October 23, 2024 episode of REWORK, “Principles of Communication,” Jason Fried discusses assembling the guide in response to recurring questions about meetings, long-form writing, and when to make decisions. Listen to the REWORK episode.
Quick Recap
Read 37signals’ guide to how it communicates.
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