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One-way Doors episode artwork

Aug 26, 2026 18 min

One-way Doors

from REWORK Hosted by 37signals

Not every decision deserves a long deliberation. In this episode, co-founders Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson look back on 25 years of running 37signals, the handful of decisions that were truly irreversible, and why keeping a loose grip on most business calls has served them better than any spreadsheet ever could. Key Takeaways 00:11 – The single one-way door decision at 37signals 05:49 – Why most decisions barely take five minutes to make 08:05 – How the sum of right choices matters more than any single one 13:51 – Recognizing when the business stops moving forward 16:41 – Letting go of decisions that didn't pan out Links and Resources Jeff Bezos explains one-way door decisions and two-way door decisions Record a video question for the podcast Watch The REWORK podcast on YouTube Basecamp is the no-nonsense project management system. Sign up for free at Basecamp.com HEY is a fresh take on email. Sign up for a 30-day free trial at HEY.com Fizzy is a modern spin on kanban. Sign up for free at fizzy.do Books by 37signals Jason Fried on X David Heinemeier Hansson on X

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Not every decision deserves a long deliberation. In this episode, co-founders Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson look back on 25 years of running 37signals, the handful of decisions that were truly irreversible, and why keeping a loose grip on most business calls has served them better than any spreadsheet ever could. Key Takeaways 00:11 – The single one-way door decision at 37signals05:49 – Why most decisions barely take five minutes to make08:05 – How the sum of right choices matters ...

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One-way Doors

0:00 18:35

Chapters

  1. 0:00 Introduction
  2. 0:11 The single one-way door decision at 37signals
  3. 5:49 Why most decisions barely take five minutes to make
  4. 8:05 How the sum of right choices matters more than any single one
  5. 13:51 Recognizing when the business stops moving forward
  6. 16:41 Letting go of decisions that didn't pan out

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This episode is 18 minutes long.

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This episode was published on August 26, 2026.

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