The 37signals Way
Lean, opinionated product development from Getting Real to Shape Up
Build lean, opinionated products using the 37signals philosophy from Getting Real, Rework, and Shape Up. This skill equips your AI agent with the principles behind Basecamp's approach — shaping work with appetite instead of estimates, betting on six-week cycles, running small autonomous teams, and treating deliberate omission as a competitive advantage.
What your agent learns
Build Less
Competitive advantage through deliberate omission — fewer features maintained indefinitely, underdo the competition instead of outdo them.
Shaping the Work
Define work that is rough, solved, and bounded before assigning it to a team. Use breadboarding and fat marker sketches. Set appetite, not estimates.
Betting & Cycles
Six-week fixed cycles with a circuit breaker — if it doesn't ship, it doesn't get an automatic extension. Two-week cool-downs between cycles. Abolish backlogs.
Small Teams
Three-person autonomous units (1 designer, 1–2 programmers) with full authority over implementation. Track progress with hill charts, not standups.
Opinionated Software
Ship with strong defaults over endless preferences. Write clear, honest copy. Say no to most feature requests and let the product reflect a clear point of view.
Try these with the skill installed
Shape a pitch for this feature idea using appetite, breadboard, and risks using 37signals-way skill
Product shapingPlan a six-week cycle for our team with shaped work and cool-down using 37signals-way skill
Cycle planningApply the "build less" philosophy to cut scope on this feature using 37signals-way skill
Scope managementDesign a small-team structure for shipping this project autonomously using 37signals-way skill
Team organizationInstall The 37signals Way
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npx skills add wondelai/skills/37signals-way MIT Licensed · Works with Claude Code, Cursor, Claude Cowork & OpenClaw · No account needed