Tech
An Expose on the Secrets of Guy Kawasaki’s Success
If you doubt the potential value of Guy Kawasaki’s new book, “Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions,” consider this: by applying his own principles, the venture capitalist and author launched “Enchantment” onto the Amazon top 25 within hours of its release.
In “Guy’s ‘real story’ in his own words,” Kawasaki self-deprecatingly observes that “I have written ten books (or one book ten times).” There is more than a grain of truth here but, in my mind, this is not a bug, it is a feature. In “Enchantment,” Kawasaki returns to his core theme of how to build, launch, and evangelize great products. He reinforces important lessons, offers new insights and rich stories, and, as he describes in the following discussion, he raises the bar with one big new idea: don’t just aspire to sell your product, aspire to enchant your customers. As demonstrated by the success of his book launch, Guy Kawasaki has certainly enchanted his customers, and “Enchantment” offers the chance to learn how he does it.
Here are excerpts of my recent discussion with Guy Kawasaki:
You’re the author of several popular business books, including “The Art of the State” and “Rules for Revolutionaries,” now you’ve just written “Enchantment.” What’s the big idea of your new book?
The big idea is that you can use a process to improve relations with people–to enchant them instead of sell, promote, or bludgeon them into submission. Enchantment is about creating a voluntary, long-lasting, and mutually beneficial relationship support and loyalty.
People tend to think of you as a Silicon Valley start-up guy. Is “Enchantment” relevant to big, established business?
You could make the case that “Enchantment” is more relevant to big established businesses because they may not have the aura of the bright, shiny new thing. They, of all organizations, need to keep enchanting customers with service, support, and competitive pricing. Generally, people who have found Dale Carnegie’s “How to Win Friends and Influence People“and Stephen Covey’s “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” will also find “Enchantment” valuable.
In your book, you cite some examples of your Enchantment Hall of Fame, including the 1965 Ford Mustang, Nelson Mandela, Aloha shirts by Anne Namba. Where have smart, well-meaning people gotten it very wrong?
Smart, well-meaning people get it wrong when they start believing that the world owes them something and that the rules are different for them. Don’t get me wrong, if you bought a first-class airplane ticket, I believe you should be able to get on the plane first. But when people cop the, “Do you realize who I am?” attitude, they’re sliding down the slope of disenchantment. You see this every day in airports, restaurants, and hotel lobbies. Entitlement is the opposite of enchantment.
What products warrant being in the Enchantment Hall of Shame?
This isn’t as easy a question as you might think because something doesn’t have to be expensive to be enchanting. Shame occurs when something is expensive, and it is not enchanting because of a lack of good taste. For example, the BMW iDrive system belongs in the Enchantment Hall of Shame. BMW has infinite resources to create a great user interface for its cars. However, for years there’s been a line in reviews of BMWs that goes, “The iDrive has gotten much better since it’s introduction, but it’s still hard to use.”
Do you see any current, obscure products with enchanting potential? How would you make them cast a spell?
The Lexus CT Hybrid. This is a Prius with style. It’s for people like me who want to be green, but not that green.
A lot of companies seem to be stirring up a fair bit of disenchantment by how they approach privacy. How do you balance between enchanting your customers by knowing them really well and violating their trust?
The salient question is, “To what end?” For example, I fly one airline fifty times a year. You’d think it would know and use the data it has accumulated on me: VISA card number, seat preference, frequent-flier number. If there’s anything worse than violating privacy, it’s not using the data that it has to make my life simpler.
You’re a master of both push and pull technology; you have 313,939 twitter followers and one of the most popular blogs. Is there a disruptor coming in one of these arena? What’s the next big thing?
I’m a lousy predictor of the future. For example, I would have never predicted Twitter’s success. One way to be enchanting is to know what you don’t know. This makes you more likable and trustworthy, and these two factors are pillars of enchantment.
Magic seems to happen when things go viral, when customers use social media to talk products up to each other. Any advice on how to achieve that?
I have two pieces of advice. Step one: make something great. Step two: plant many seeds—that is, expose it to as many people as possible and not just the “A listers”—and pray. That basically describes what happens when you see magic in action.
What’s more enchanting, iOS or Android?
This is like asking the Pope if Catholicism or Shintoism is more enchanting. I have developed a Zen-like approach to the operating systems that people use: “When you’re ready, the right operating system will appear in your life.”
What products and services enchant you? Are there any you would nominate for the Enchantment Hall of Fame? Do you know of any obscure gems waiting to be discovered? Are there any that you’d throw into the Enchantment Hall of Shame?
Follow me on Twitter @ChunkaMui
Thursday, 10 March 2011
An Expose on the Secrets of Guy Kawasaki’s Success - Chunka Mui - Devil's Advocate - Forbes
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