Jason Fried

Founder & CEO at 37signals (makers of Basecamp and HEY). Non-serial entrepreneur, serial author (Getting Real, REWORK, REMOTE, It Doesn’t Have to Be Crazy at Work). Email me at jason@hey.com.

Co-founder & CEO

From Nothing Comes Nothing.
This is more than a belief. It’s how I live. It’s how I lead.

Because if we want to see real change — in our teams, our companies, our society — we have to invest. Time. Energy. Courage.
There are no shortcuts.

I believe leadership is a daily practice. Not a role.
And I believe the real job of a leader is to enable others to become the best version of themselves — by providing clarity, developing competence, and cultivating courage.

I’m the founder of Agile Academy, where we help people lead better — at work and in life. We teach. We coach. We consult. 

We support transformation — without dogma, without fluff, and without cutting corners.
Because transformation isn’t delivered. It’s earned.

Before all of this, I trained as a medical doctor. I thought healing was my path.
But the more I saw, the more I realized: Too many illnesses start in the workplace.  Too much suffering comes from the absence of real leadership in people’s lives.

That’s when I shifted my focus — from medicine to leadership. A new calling.

I don’t consider myself a coach. I’m a founder. A shaper. A practitioner.
While many coaches lead by asking questions, I believe in rolling up my sleeves and doing the work. That’s why we call the people we work with Ambassadors — not coaches or trainers. Because we’re here to lead change from the inside out.

Since I moved beyond the world of medicine, I’ve led product teams, founded companies, advised boards, and built an organization that empowers tens of thousands of people - through e-learning, training, and our incredible network of ambassadors.

And I’ve learned that the hardest work is often the most human.

When I’m not working, I’m trying to be the best father (I have three incredible kids), husband, son, brother, and friend I can be. Because leadership doesn’t stop at the office door. I actually learn my most important leadership lessons outside of the office.

If you want to connect — as a learner, a leader, or someone who shares this philosophy — don’t hesitate.

Sohrab Salimi

I watched this video and it stopped me.

A football coach talking to a group of kids. He asked them a question most executives cannot answer.

"You're rubbish at football. Who's got the problem? Me or you?" "Your hair looks silly. Who's got the problem?" "Nobody likes you. Who's got the problem?"

The kids got it instantly. The person saying it has the problem. Every single time.
There are three lessons in this, not one.

💡 Lesson one: Learn to recognise noise.

When someone comes at you with negativity that has no substance, no observation, no specific behaviour, just emotion, that is not feedback. That is someone offloading their problem onto you.

The discipline is simple: do not engage. Do not defend. Do not absorb. You are not the audience for someone else's bad day. Let it pass.

And if that person is someone you actually have a relationship with, a colleague, a team member, you can go one step further. Not in the moment. Later.
"It sounds like something was frustrating you earlier. What is actually going on?"

That is not confrontation. That is care. But it only works when the relationship is there. With a stranger or a difficult customer, the move is simpler: recognise it, and let it go.

💡 Lesson two: Check if you are the one doing it.

Think about the last time you were sharp with someone on your team. The last time your feedback had more edge than it needed. The last time your mood became everyone else's problem.

That was not leadership. That was you making your bad day their job.
Here is a rule worth installing. Not as a thought. As a team agreement.

Feedback is never given in the same conversation where the frustration started.
Something triggers you in a meeting? Write it down. Come back to it the next day. If it still matters, it was real. If it has faded, it was your mood, and you just saved someone from carrying your problem.

That is not a good intention. That is a mechanism. And mechanisms work precisely when self-awareness does not.

💡 Lesson three: This does not mean avoid feedback.

Most people hear "do not pass on your negativity" and stop giving honest feedback altogether. That is not the answer. Silence is not kindness. It is neglect.

The real skill is learning to challenge people directly while making it clear you care about them personally. Kim Scott calls this Radical Candor.

But the order matters. Care first. Challenge second.

That means long before you ever need to say something hard, you have already invested in the relationship. You know what matters to them. You have asked how they are doing, and meant it.

When that foundation exists, your hardest feedback lands as guidance, not as attack.

I wrote about this in more detail here: https://lnkd.in/eKg2SJmQ

Protect yourself from noise. Do not create noise for others. And when it is time to say something hard, make sure the person already knows you are on their side.

Founder of Agile Academy | Helping people lead with clarity, competence & courage | From Nothing Comes Nothing

My son came home with a bad grade. Then his teacher emailed us about disruption in class. Again.

My wife and I had a choice. New rules for all our kids. Or one conversation with him.

We chose the conversation. Clear consequences. Directed at him. Nobody else.
It worked.

Now look at your organization.

One person underdelivers. Next month there is a new process. For everyone. 

The person who caused it? Untouched.

Leaders keep adding rules. Not because they believe in them. Because the alternative is a conversation they do not want to have.

Every rule that exists because someone avoided a conversation is not a process. It is a confession.

My latest column for the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger: 
https://lnkd.in/egP3QWr3

#Leadership #Accountability #FromNothingComesNothing

Most leaders would rather guess than say "I don't know." 
Or double down than admit "I might be wrong."

#leadership #agileleadership #development

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The Battle

Jason Fried

Sohrab Salimi

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The Battle

Jason Fried

Sohrab Salimi

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Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Sohrab Salimi's LinkedIn Performance

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