[1]Guy Kawasaki
Yes. Yes. Yes!
These are the words that I kept saying in my mind as I turned the pages of Guy Kawasaki’s latest book, Enchantment.
Enchantment, the tenth book from this best-selling Silicon Valley guru, is an all-in-one guidebook to personal, product and company branding. This is something I’ve been doing for 25 years, so I can say with authority that this book is the real deal.
He encourages us all to dream big and to have a meaningful vision that inspires others. Whether that dream is personal computing (as in the case of Apple and the Macintosh) or your own desire to change the world, you need to have a worthwhile cause that can engage others.
Guy knows a thing or two about making companies and products enchanting, having been the chief evangelist of Apple in the early days, a venture capitalist and an entrepreneur. With a large Facebook and Twitter following, he is also a poster child for personal branding in the age of social media. Two chapters are devoted to his sharing of “push” and “pull” technology in our digital world.
What I love about this book is that it’s about branding from the inside out. Before embarking on your quest for enchantment, you need to be likeable and trustworthy—basically, you need a winning personality and the right set of values. If you are thinking Dale Carnegie, you are on the right track. Guy writes about knowing who the influencers are and how to influence people—ethically and authentically. He also understands the need to enchant your employees (Chapter 10) and enchant your boss (Chapter 11). Those looking to manage change in their companies would do well to read this book.
I did not find the personal stories contributed by others at the end of each chapter to be that inspiring or illustrative, but they don’t distract from the overall excellence of this book. Another small nit is when he says his positioning statement is two words: “Empower people.” This is really his mission, not his unique value proposition, which is what positioning is all about. The important point that he makes is to be clear on what you do and to communicate it in a compelling and credible way.
So much of what Guy says in this volume is common sense, but he has a way of making it all sound fresh. I found the book, quite simply, enchanting!