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Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions
Enchantment, as defined by bestselling business guru Guy Kawasaki, is not about manipulating people. It transforms situations and relationships. It converts hostility into civility and civility into affinity. It changes the skeptics and cynics into the believers and the undecided into the loyal. Enchantment can happen during a retail transaction, a high-level corporate negotiation, or a Facebook update. And when done right, it's more powerful than traditional persuasion, influence, or marketing techniques.
Kawasaki argues that in business and personal interactions, your goal is not merely to get what you want but to bring about a voluntary, enduring, and delightful change in other people. By enlisting their own goals and desires, by being likable and trustworthy, and by framing a cause that others can embrace, you can change hearts, minds, and actions. For instance, enchantment is what enabled . . .
* A Peace Corps volunteer to finesse a potentially violent confrontation with armed guerrillas.
* A small cable channel (E!) to win the TV broadcast rights to radio superstar Howard Stern.
* A seemingly crazy new running shoe (Vibram Five Fingers) to methodically build a passionate customer base.
* A Canadian crystal maker (Nova Scotian Crystal) to turn observers into buyers.
This book explains all the tactics you need to prepare and launch an enchantment campaign; to get the most from both push and pull technologies; and to enchant your customers, your employees, and even your boss. It shows how enchantment can turn difficult decisions your way, at times when intangibles mean more than hard facts. It will help you overcome other people's entrenched habits and defy the not-always-wise "wisdom of the crowd."
Kawasaki's lessons are drawn from his tenure at one of the most enchanting organizations of all time, Apple, as well as his decades of experience as an entrepreneur and venture capitalist. There are few people in the world more qualified to teach you how to enchant people.
As Kawasaki writes, "Want to change the world? Change caterpillars into butterflies? This takes more than run-of-the-mill relationships. You need to convince people to dream the same dream that you do." That's a big goal, but one that's possible for all of us.
Kawasaki argues that in business and personal interactions, your goal is not merely to get what you want but to bring about a voluntary, enduring, and delightful change in other people. By enlisting their own goals and desires, by being likable and trustworthy, and by framing a cause that others can embrace, you can change hearts, minds, and actions. For instance, enchantment is what enabled . . .
* A Peace Corps volunteer to finesse a potentially violent confrontation with armed guerrillas.
* A small cable channel (E!) to win the TV broadcast rights to radio superstar Howard Stern.
* A seemingly crazy new running shoe (Vibram Five Fingers) to methodically build a passionate customer base.
* A Canadian crystal maker (Nova Scotian Crystal) to turn observers into buyers.
This book explains all the tactics you need to prepare and launch an enchantment campaign; to get the most from both push and pull technologies; and to enchant your customers, your employees, and even your boss. It shows how enchantment can turn difficult decisions your way, at times when intangibles mean more than hard facts. It will help you overcome other people's entrenched habits and defy the not-always-wise "wisdom of the crowd."
Kawasaki's lessons are drawn from his tenure at one of the most enchanting organizations of all time, Apple, as well as his decades of experience as an entrepreneur and venture capitalist. There are few people in the world more qualified to teach you how to enchant people.
As Kawasaki writes, "Want to change the world? Change caterpillars into butterflies? This takes more than run-of-the-mill relationships. You need to convince people to dream the same dream that you do." That's a big goal, but one that's possible for all of us.
211 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2011
About the author
Guy Kawasaki
84 books2,592 followersI was born in Honolulu, Hawaii in 1954. My family lived in a tough part of Honolulu called Kalihi Valley. We weren’t rich, but I never felt poor-because my mother and father made many sacrifices for my sister and me. My mother was a housewife, and my father was a fireman, real estate broker, state senator, and government official during his long, distinguished career.
I attended Iolani School where I graduated in 1972. Iolani is not as well known as its rival, Punahou because no presidents of the U. S. went there, but I got a fantastic and formative education there. (Punahou is “USC,” and Iolani is “Stanford”—but I digress.) I pay special tribute to Harold Keables, my AP English teacher.He taught me that the key to writing is editing. No one in the universe would be more shocked that I have written ten books (or one book ten times) than Harold Keables.
After Iolani, I matriculated to Stanford; I graduated in 1976 with a major in psychology—which was the easiest major I could find. I loved Stanford. I sometimes wish I could go back in time to my undergraduate days “on the farm.”
After Stanford, I attended the law school at U.C. Davis because, like all Asian-American parents, my folks wanted me to be a “doctor, lawyer, or dentist.” I only lasted one week because I couldn’t deal with the law school teachers telling me that I was crap and that they were going to remake me.
The following year I entered the MBA program at UCLA. I liked this curriculum much better. While there, I worked for a fine-jewelry manufacturer called Nova Stylings; hence, my first real job was literally counting diamonds. From Nova, its CEO Marty Gruber, and my Jewish colleagues in the jewelry business, I learned how to sell, and this skill was vital to my entire career.
I remained at Nova for a few years until the the Apple II removed the scales from my eyes. Then I went to work for an educational software company called EduWare Services. However, Peachtree Software acquired the company and wanted me to move to Atlanta. “I don’t think so.” I can’t live in a city where people call sushi “bait.”
Luckily, my Stanford roommate, Mike Boich, got me a job at Apple; for giving me my chance at Apple, I owe Mike a great debt. When I saw what a Macintosh could do, the clouds parted and the angels started singing. For four years I evangelized Macintosh to software and hardware developers and led the charge against world-wide domination by IBM. I also met my wife Beth at Apple during this timeframe—Apple has been very good to me.
Around 1987, my job at Apple was done. Macintosh had plenty of software by then, so I left to start a Macintosh database company called ACIUS. It published a product called 4th Dimension. To this day, 4th Dimension remains a great database.
I ran ACIUS for two years and then left to pursue my bliss of writing, speaking, and consulting. I’ve written for Macuser, Macworld, and Forbes. I call these the “Wonder Years” as in “I wonder how I came to deserve such a good life.”
In 1989, I started another software company called Fog City Software with three of the best co-founders in the world: Will Mayall, Kathryn Henkens, and Jud Spencer. We created an email product called Emailer which we sold to Claris and then a list server product called LetterRip.
In 1995 I returned to Apple as an Apple fellow. At the time, according to the pundits, Apple was supposed to die. (Apple should have died about ten times in the past twenty years according to the pundits.) My job on this tour of duty was to maintain and rejuvenate the Macintosh cult.
A couple years later, I left Apple to start an angel investor matchmaking service called Garage.com with Craig Johnson of Venture Law Group and Rich Karlgaard of Forbes. Version 2.0 of Garage.com was an investment bank for helping entrepreneurs raise money from venture capitalists. Today, version 3.0 of Garage.com is called Garage Technology Ven
I attended Iolani School where I graduated in 1972. Iolani is not as well known as its rival, Punahou because no presidents of the U. S. went there, but I got a fantastic and formative education there. (Punahou is “USC,” and Iolani is “Stanford”—but I digress.) I pay special tribute to Harold Keables, my AP English teacher.He taught me that the key to writing is editing. No one in the universe would be more shocked that I have written ten books (or one book ten times) than Harold Keables.
After Iolani, I matriculated to Stanford; I graduated in 1976 with a major in psychology—which was the easiest major I could find. I loved Stanford. I sometimes wish I could go back in time to my undergraduate days “on the farm.”
After Stanford, I attended the law school at U.C. Davis because, like all Asian-American parents, my folks wanted me to be a “doctor, lawyer, or dentist.” I only lasted one week because I couldn’t deal with the law school teachers telling me that I was crap and that they were going to remake me.
The following year I entered the MBA program at UCLA. I liked this curriculum much better. While there, I worked for a fine-jewelry manufacturer called Nova Stylings; hence, my first real job was literally counting diamonds. From Nova, its CEO Marty Gruber, and my Jewish colleagues in the jewelry business, I learned how to sell, and this skill was vital to my entire career.
I remained at Nova for a few years until the the Apple II removed the scales from my eyes. Then I went to work for an educational software company called EduWare Services. However, Peachtree Software acquired the company and wanted me to move to Atlanta. “I don’t think so.” I can’t live in a city where people call sushi “bait.”
Luckily, my Stanford roommate, Mike Boich, got me a job at Apple; for giving me my chance at Apple, I owe Mike a great debt. When I saw what a Macintosh could do, the clouds parted and the angels started singing. For four years I evangelized Macintosh to software and hardware developers and led the charge against world-wide domination by IBM. I also met my wife Beth at Apple during this timeframe—Apple has been very good to me.
Around 1987, my job at Apple was done. Macintosh had plenty of software by then, so I left to start a Macintosh database company called ACIUS. It published a product called 4th Dimension. To this day, 4th Dimension remains a great database.
I ran ACIUS for two years and then left to pursue my bliss of writing, speaking, and consulting. I’ve written for Macuser, Macworld, and Forbes. I call these the “Wonder Years” as in “I wonder how I came to deserve such a good life.”
In 1989, I started another software company called Fog City Software with three of the best co-founders in the world: Will Mayall, Kathryn Henkens, and Jud Spencer. We created an email product called Emailer which we sold to Claris and then a list server product called LetterRip.
In 1995 I returned to Apple as an Apple fellow. At the time, according to the pundits, Apple was supposed to die. (Apple should have died about ten times in the past twenty years according to the pundits.) My job on this tour of duty was to maintain and rejuvenate the Macintosh cult.
A couple years later, I left Apple to start an angel investor matchmaking service called Garage.com with Craig Johnson of Venture Law Group and Rich Karlgaard of Forbes. Version 2.0 of Garage.com was an investment bank for helping entrepreneurs raise money from venture capitalists. Today, version 3.0 of Garage.com is called Garage Technology Ven
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 413 reviews
March 26, 2011
I agree with some of the two star reviews here. Yes, Enchantment contains some useful content but it's hard for me to believe that this is one of Guy's best books. Disclaimer: I received a free media copy. Much of the critical reviews point out similarities with Carnegie's "How to Win Friends and Influence People." I'd agree with those assessments and also think that much of the book relies upon sheer common sense.
It's also very broad but not very deep. I feel like this book could have been much better if it had gone deeper in fewer areas, rather than trying to cover employees, customers, and so many other areas.
Of course, there are those who could use reminders of firm handshakes, eye-contact, and the like. I guess that I'm just not one of them.
This isn't a bad book but, if I'm honest, Guy wouldn't be Guy today if this was his first.
It's also very broad but not very deep. I feel like this book could have been much better if it had gone deeper in fewer areas, rather than trying to cover employees, customers, and so many other areas.
Of course, there are those who could use reminders of firm handshakes, eye-contact, and the like. I guess that I'm just not one of them.
This isn't a bad book but, if I'm honest, Guy wouldn't be Guy today if this was his first.
August 10, 2013
Kawasaki talks on how you engage and make every lasting impression on your boss, colleagues, clients or even friends. In all aspects of life. A great refresher, when you want to look at where a company is lacking to go forward. I really like the idea on "pre-mortem" that means that you have a team of people figuring out what went wrong before it actually happens.
I also like on he has a few interesting Japanese philosophy such as:
-Kanso - expressing things in plain and simple ways
-Fukinsei - symmetry or irregularity to achieve balance
Shibui - Understanding and not elaborating unnecessarily
Here are my other points I have written:
Guy Kawasaki -
Software EVangelist
Creative and productive
Delighting ppl with a product, serv or org idea
BE LIKEABLE
Be likeable - smile, hand shake, show interest, dress well, because you dress to show respect
Use simple words, use active words, kit, Duchenne smile
Give people a break. Everyone is better at you at something
Focus on the model inclusive for all ages
Assume everyone has passion in sth
Assume that you have sth in common
Do your homework to know about that person/topic
Swear infrequently - ppl who swear less have more effect when they swear and their words then become more impactful.
TRUSTWORTHINESS
Always act with honesty
Treat ppl who wronged you with civilty
Fulfil your umkempt promises from the past
Help sm1 who is absolutly no use to you
What can we learn from sth that went wrong
Hire people who are smarter
Don’t be too quick to shoot down idea
Focus on goodwill
Give people the benefit of the doubt
a remarkable blend of empathy + warmth + genuine + curiosity + sharp intelligence
Show up physically and virtually
Short words. Ten words are the limit. Clear. Succinct.
PREPARATION
Combine vision and fulfilment of the vision
managing your email and into the rss feed analysing your web site
Have a pre-mortem - have a insight on why a project may fail because of the shortcomings and see what are the sols for it.
Make it short, simple and swallowable.
Use tricolons: Veni,Vedi, VIci ,, Eye it, Try it, Buy it
Dip, Dissolve, Drink
Use metaphors - Band aids, child’s bodyguard
Similes - DotA is like advance Chess.
K-I-S: Email: Six Sentences, Sixty Secons. ppt: 10 slides. Biz plan: 20 pages.
Shor respect: speak facts
**HOW TO LAUNCH
Provide great inspiration - make the world a better place. Provide the world a source where they can get premium beauty products/services at a affordable price.
Reduce the number of choices. Too much choices results to to regret paralysis. Back of their head they would wonder if there are a better choice out there.
OVERCOME RESISTANCE
Inertia - Once people who remain constant, Would remain constant. You got to move them and inspire them and this would cause them to go on and have innertia.
Fear of making mistake - just make mistake anyway. That’s how you learn.
Use images
Use magic of numbers - power of trust
Tell stories - human interest stories that would warm their heart
EVERLASTING ENCHANTEMENT
Build an ecosyste m / a team
User groups
Blogs/Web sites
Consultants
Developers
Resellers
Conferences
Identify and recruit your evangelists
Publishers
Critics
TECHNO FACTOR
Engage fast - ppl want fast reply - less than a day.
Engage many - treat all ppl the same. Treat ppl equally with care. You’ll nvr know who will your most valuable supporter.
Engage often - to create buzz and interest.
Use multiple media - video, live chat, audio, etc
Provide value
Don’t take crap - Criticize the behaviour. Not the person. Just nuke them. No escape.
PRESENTATION
Customize
Sell your dream - I dream people are having better lifes complexion because of us
Screenplay, not speech
Dramatize - Use vocative pictures, powerful videos, sizzling product demos to make your presentation exciting.
Shorten the pitch 10-20-30
10 slides, 20 mins, 30 points or less.
Practice - till you master everything. TIll you are sikc of it
Warm the audience
Get a real email address
Keep the email to six sentences
Mimnimise attachments - keep under 3 MB or less attachment would be better
Keep it personalised - eg: a foodie reply and give a fu tip on a matter she is interested in. By clicking and finding out about her profile.
PULL TECH FACTOR
Have a FAQ
Introduce the team
Response to fans promptly and personally
Surprise your fans
Give special gifts
Chat life with your fans
Think Japanese
-Kanso - expressing things in plain and simple ways
-Fukinsei - symmetry or irregularity to achieve balance
Shibui - Understanding and not elaborating unnecessarily
Shizen - as natural as possible, No pretense
Yugen - subtle, symbolic suggestion of unity
Datsuzoku - Breaking/Transcending away from conventianality
Seijaku - Energized calm
Wa - Harmony and balance
Ma - providing an emptiness. Remove the glitz and add more empty space.
Yohaku-no-bi. Appreciation of beauty that is unexpressed.
I also like on he has a few interesting Japanese philosophy such as:
-Kanso - expressing things in plain and simple ways
-Fukinsei - symmetry or irregularity to achieve balance
Shibui - Understanding and not elaborating unnecessarily
Here are my other points I have written:
Guy Kawasaki -
Software EVangelist
Creative and productive
Delighting ppl with a product, serv or org idea
BE LIKEABLE
Be likeable - smile, hand shake, show interest, dress well, because you dress to show respect
Use simple words, use active words, kit, Duchenne smile
Give people a break. Everyone is better at you at something
Focus on the model inclusive for all ages
Assume everyone has passion in sth
Assume that you have sth in common
Do your homework to know about that person/topic
Swear infrequently - ppl who swear less have more effect when they swear and their words then become more impactful.
TRUSTWORTHINESS
Always act with honesty
Treat ppl who wronged you with civilty
Fulfil your umkempt promises from the past
Help sm1 who is absolutly no use to you
What can we learn from sth that went wrong
Hire people who are smarter
Don’t be too quick to shoot down idea
Focus on goodwill
Give people the benefit of the doubt
a remarkable blend of empathy + warmth + genuine + curiosity + sharp intelligence
Show up physically and virtually
Short words. Ten words are the limit. Clear. Succinct.
PREPARATION
Combine vision and fulfilment of the vision
managing your email and into the rss feed analysing your web site
Have a pre-mortem - have a insight on why a project may fail because of the shortcomings and see what are the sols for it.
Make it short, simple and swallowable.
Use tricolons: Veni,Vedi, VIci ,, Eye it, Try it, Buy it
Dip, Dissolve, Drink
Use metaphors - Band aids, child’s bodyguard
Similes - DotA is like advance Chess.
K-I-S: Email: Six Sentences, Sixty Secons. ppt: 10 slides. Biz plan: 20 pages.
Shor respect: speak facts
**HOW TO LAUNCH
Provide great inspiration - make the world a better place. Provide the world a source where they can get premium beauty products/services at a affordable price.
Reduce the number of choices. Too much choices results to to regret paralysis. Back of their head they would wonder if there are a better choice out there.
OVERCOME RESISTANCE
Inertia - Once people who remain constant, Would remain constant. You got to move them and inspire them and this would cause them to go on and have innertia.
Fear of making mistake - just make mistake anyway. That’s how you learn.
Use images
Use magic of numbers - power of trust
Tell stories - human interest stories that would warm their heart
EVERLASTING ENCHANTEMENT
Build an ecosyste m / a team
User groups
Blogs/Web sites
Consultants
Developers
Resellers
Conferences
Identify and recruit your evangelists
Publishers
Critics
TECHNO FACTOR
Engage fast - ppl want fast reply - less than a day.
Engage many - treat all ppl the same. Treat ppl equally with care. You’ll nvr know who will your most valuable supporter.
Engage often - to create buzz and interest.
Use multiple media - video, live chat, audio, etc
Provide value
Don’t take crap - Criticize the behaviour. Not the person. Just nuke them. No escape.
PRESENTATION
Customize
Sell your dream - I dream people are having better lifes complexion because of us
Screenplay, not speech
Dramatize - Use vocative pictures, powerful videos, sizzling product demos to make your presentation exciting.
Shorten the pitch 10-20-30
10 slides, 20 mins, 30 points or less.
Practice - till you master everything. TIll you are sikc of it
Warm the audience
Get a real email address
Keep the email to six sentences
Mimnimise attachments - keep under 3 MB or less attachment would be better
Keep it personalised - eg: a foodie reply and give a fu tip on a matter she is interested in. By clicking and finding out about her profile.
PULL TECH FACTOR
Have a FAQ
Introduce the team
Response to fans promptly and personally
Surprise your fans
Give special gifts
Chat life with your fans
Think Japanese
-Kanso - expressing things in plain and simple ways
-Fukinsei - symmetry or irregularity to achieve balance
Shibui - Understanding and not elaborating unnecessarily
Shizen - as natural as possible, No pretense
Yugen - subtle, symbolic suggestion of unity
Datsuzoku - Breaking/Transcending away from conventianality
Seijaku - Energized calm
Wa - Harmony and balance
Ma - providing an emptiness. Remove the glitz and add more empty space.
Yohaku-no-bi. Appreciation of beauty that is unexpressed.
May 30, 2011
When someone with Kawasaki's credentials writes a book on "Enchantment", I thought it would be a goldmine of insight -- after all, he helped spear-head one of the most enchanting products on earth (the Macintosh).
Imagine then my PROFOUND disappointment with a short, shallow collection of over-used advice and cliches. Most of the book consists of him *citing* other peoples' work and devoting one or two basic paragraphs to each tired concept.
There is NOTHING NEW here -- "be authentic"? Gee, THAT hasn't been the mantra of the marketing community for, oh, at least 5 years (especially since the rise of social networking). "Smile & give a firm handshake"? What century is this? Who hasn't heard that advice yet?
If you have never, ever read any other business book; If you have never, ever read websites like marketingprofs (or the other hundreds of great marketing sites out there), and if you have lived in a cave for the past decade, then sure, I guess some of this stuff might seem "new". But it isn't. It's like a "Cliff's Notes" version of stuff you've already read elsewhere.
Imagine then my PROFOUND disappointment with a short, shallow collection of over-used advice and cliches. Most of the book consists of him *citing* other peoples' work and devoting one or two basic paragraphs to each tired concept.
There is NOTHING NEW here -- "be authentic"? Gee, THAT hasn't been the mantra of the marketing community for, oh, at least 5 years (especially since the rise of social networking). "Smile & give a firm handshake"? What century is this? Who hasn't heard that advice yet?
If you have never, ever read any other business book; If you have never, ever read websites like marketingprofs (or the other hundreds of great marketing sites out there), and if you have lived in a cave for the past decade, then sure, I guess some of this stuff might seem "new". But it isn't. It's like a "Cliff's Notes" version of stuff you've already read elsewhere.
April 19, 2011
The good
A few nuggets of insight around enchantment are scattered throughout the book. (I'm defining 'insight' as something the author brings to the table that you could not or would not have deduced on your own through common sense.) I took away about a dozen actionable bullet points (re: a startup). There were a few anecdotal stories that really helped characterize a point about enchantment.
The bad
It's really just another business book: written lightly, strangely organized, painfully shallow, very derivative. I read the majority of the first half, and skimmed most of the second half. There's just so much filler; like every single business book I've ever read, it ought to just be a rich 2-page bulleted outline.
The absolute worst aspect of this book is Guy's repeated, flimsy use of "the Macintosh computer" & Steve Jobs as his illustrative example of enchantment. It worked for the first 1 or 2 chapters, and then begins to undermine his ability to persuade any further.
Recommendation: borrow it from the library, and skim it over in an hour or two.
A few nuggets of insight around enchantment are scattered throughout the book. (I'm defining 'insight' as something the author brings to the table that you could not or would not have deduced on your own through common sense.) I took away about a dozen actionable bullet points (re: a startup). There were a few anecdotal stories that really helped characterize a point about enchantment.
The bad
It's really just another business book: written lightly, strangely organized, painfully shallow, very derivative. I read the majority of the first half, and skimmed most of the second half. There's just so much filler; like every single business book I've ever read, it ought to just be a rich 2-page bulleted outline.
The absolute worst aspect of this book is Guy's repeated, flimsy use of "the Macintosh computer" & Steve Jobs as his illustrative example of enchantment. It worked for the first 1 or 2 chapters, and then begins to undermine his ability to persuade any further.
Recommendation: borrow it from the library, and skim it over in an hour or two.
February 14, 2013
Chapter 2: How to Achieve Likability
-Make crow's feet (real smile)
-Dress like a peer (of the person you're meeting)
-Perfect your handshake
-Use the right words (simple words, active voice, keep it short, use common/unambiguous analogies: war not sports)
-Accept others (everyone is better than you at something, people are more similar than different, people deserve a break (don't judge immediately))
-Get close (you tend to like the people you're around more)
-Don't impose your values
-Pursue and project your passions (makes you more interesting/enchanting)
-Find shared passions (assume everyone has passions, assume you have something in common, do your homework)
-Create win-win situations
-Swear (swearing can arouse attention, build solidarity, demonstrate strength, release tension, and convey informality, so it can increase your acceptance by all but very prude people; swear infrequently; swear only in cases of forehead-smacking hypocrisy, arrogance, intentional inaccuracy, or dishonesty; swear only when your audience supports you; soften your profanity: crap, suck)
-Default to yes
Chapter 3: How to Achieve Trustworthiness
-Trust others
-Be a mensch (always act with honesty, treat people who have wronged you with civility, fulfill your unkept promises from the past, help someone who can be of absolutely no use to you, suspend blame when something goes wrong and ask "what can we learn?", hire people who are as smart as or smarter than you and give them opportunities for growth, don't interrupt people, don't dismiss their concerns offhand, don't rush to give advice, don't change the subject, allow people their moment, do no harm in anything you undertake, don't be too quick to shoot down others' ideas, share your knowledge, expertise, and best practices with others, focus on goodwill, give people the benefit of the doubt)
-Disclose your interests
-Give for intrinsic reasons
-Gain knowledge and competence
-Show up (respond to emails, etc.)
-Bake a bigger pie (eaters want a bigger slice of pie; bakers want to make a bigger pie; everyone can win with a bigger pie)
-Position yourself (good positioning statement should explain what you do and why you exist: it should be short, clear, different, and humble)
-Be a hero (do great things at great risk and demonstrate courage and fortitude under extreme conditions)
Chapter 4: How to Prepare
-Do something great (great products are: deep (many features), intelligent (solve problems in smart ways), complete (service, support, etc.), empowering (do old things better or new things), and elegant (care about the user interface and experience))
-Conduct a "premortem" (team assembles during the launch phase, team leader asks everyone to assume the project failed and to come up with reasons why the failure occurred, the team then figures out ways to prevent these reasons from happening: helps identify problems in advance rather than after they occur, reduce the likelihood of premature embarkation, increase sensitivity to early warning signs since the team has already considered them, and increase participation by more team members because of the less political environment)
-Set yourself up for success (make it easy for people to support you - lower the barriers)
-Make it short, simple, and swallowable:
1) Use tricolons (3 parts): "Eye it, try it, buy it", "Be sincere, be brief, be seated", "Location, location, location"
2) Use metaphors: Band-Aids: "Say hello to your child's new bodyguard"
3) Use similes: "Taking drugs is like playing with fire", "Hockey is like war and ballet"
4) Keep it short: "Got milk?", "Just do it". Some guidelines: email (6 sentences), video (60 seconds), powerpoint presentation (10 slides), business plan (20 pages)
5) Stay positive: don't use scare tactics like "25 million people are killing themselves by smoking" b/c it could convince folks that smoking is ok because 25 million people are doing it
6) Show respect: don't insult people; you'll get resentment not action
-Remove the fences (barriers to using your product/following your ideas)
-Provide a default option (opt-in for retirement savings plans)
-Establish goals (easier to enchant people with your story when you have clear goals)
-Create a checklist
Chapter 5: How to Launch
-Tell a story (great aspirations: e.g., Steve Wozniak making it possible for more people to use computers; David vs Goliath: e.g., Southwest Airlines taking on the big airlines; Profiles in courage: e.g., Oskar and Emilie Schindler protecting Jews in WWII; Personal stories: e.g., "My father owned a Cadillac and he drove it 150k miles without any major problems" beats "This Caddy will last you a long time")
-Immerse people:
1) Enable vicarious experiences (via audio, video, or virtual reality technology)
2) Get as close to the real situation as possible
3) Make a great demo (show how the product allows you to do cool things)
4) Anchor and twist ("It's like Dirty Harry but set in the year 2100")
5) Differentiate from past experiences ("You've always wanted a fast car that doesn't ruin the environment. With our electric sports car, you can have both.")
-Promote trial (hands-on-trial should be easy, immediate, inexpensive, concrete, reversible)
-Prime the pump (playing French music increased sales of French wine)
-Plant many seeds (embrace the nobodies, give up the illusion of control, reach out to everyone)
-Ask people what they're going to do (you'll know where you stand, the act of asking someone can make people reach the tipping point and commit to you, if people commit to you then they'll want to live up to their word)
-Reduce the number of choices (too many jam options = no jam purchase; decision paralysis)
-Increase the number of choices (serve-yourself fro-yo places)
-Illustrate the salient point (cars: miles per gallons vs cost of fuel per year; heating: thermostat settings in degrees vs heating expense per month; iPod: gigabytes of storage capacity vs number of songs and movies it can hold; charities: monetary amount vs how long your donation will feed a child)
-Present the big, then the small choice ("Can I have that expensive toy? No, then can I have that candy?" Get a foot in the door with a small favor and then follow up with a bigger request: survey followed by followup visit)
-Get your first follower (the first follower gives credibility to the leader - transforms him from a lone nut into a leader)
Chapter 6: How to Overcome Resistance
-Why people are reluctant (inertia: existing relationships, satisfaction with the status quo, laziness, and busyness hinder change; hesitation to reduce options: decisions result in reduced options which scares people; fear of making a mistake: as long as I haven't chosen, I haven't made a mistake; lack of role models: importance of early adopters; your cause sucks: it's possible)
-Provide social proof (show that other people have been doing what you want me to do; "If operators are busy, please call again" better than "Operators are waiting, please call now")
-Create the perception of ubiquity (familiarity breeds commitment)
-Create the perception of scarcity (invitation only, limited time only)
-Show people your magic (behind-the-scenes look, factory tours)
-Find one example (large numbers overwhelm people but personal connections are meaningful; use pictures; illustrate the numbers with objects; tell personal stories)
-Find a way to agree (get personal: study website, Flickr feed, Twitter feed, blog; get professional: LinkedIn; harmonize objections: "too expensive" -> "we have a longer warranty, longer service life, and higher resale value"; ask "what if...?": "would you buy an iPhone if it came from Verizon and not AT&T?"; move the window: propose unthinkable option first to make second offer sound less radical)
-Find a bright spot (Vietnamese mothers of few healthy babies were feeding their children different diets so they shared their techniques with the masses)
-Assign a label ("You're smart and hard-working just like us" "Canadians drink Molson")
-Use a data set to change a mindset (museum stayed open 100 straight hours and found that visits peaked between 1am and 3am so it rethought its hours and is now open late one Friday per month)
-Incur a debt (once someone helps you, they will be more likely to help again because refusing would mean admitting making a mistake the first time)
-Enchant all the influencers (think of who else may affect customers' decisions: parents, grandparents, neighbors, pastors, teachers, coaches, spouses/significant others, friends (offline), coworkers, Facebook friends and Twitter followers)
-Frame the competition (know the competition: read about them, try their products, talk to their customers, attend industry events; analyze the competition: what we can both do, what we can do but they cannot, what they can do but we cannot; frame the competition: "Folk who want porn can buy an Android phone")
Chapter 7: How to Make Enchantment Endure
-Strive for internalization (conformity: people join b/c of peer pressure, coercion, trickery, or a desire to belong to a group; identification: people identify with members of a group when they see commonality and shared interests; internalization: people have gone beyond identifying to believing - their belief is not at odds with their feelings, their is no coercion, and they are not trying to please anyone - this is enchantment)
-Separate the believers (supporters of a new idea should be 1/2 mile from headquarters: too far for executives to walk to but still close enough to loot)
-Use intrinsic methods (payment changes people - if they are willing to support you because of your cause, recognize them in ways other than money)
-Invoke reciprocity (give with joy and without expectation of return, give early, give often and generously, give unexpectedly, ask for reciprocation; "I know you'd do the same for me" better than "you're welcome")
-Catalyze commitment and consistency (have people make public commitments and share them with friends)
-Build an ecosystem (user groups, websites and blogs, consultants, developers, resellers, conferences; create something worthy of an ecosystem, identify and recruit your evangelists, pick a champion for building your ecosystem, give people something meaningful to do (customize products, make apps), publish (white papers, newspaper articles, comments on other blogs), welcome criticism, foster discourse, create a reward system, publicize the existence of the ecosystem (prominence on website))
-Diversify the team (advocate: takes the side of customers, believers, and followers and proselytizes things like lower prices, faster delivery, free support, and more online engagement; skeptic: provides doubting attitude to both positive and negative news, challenges ideas to make them better; visionary: has a clear idea of how your technology and the marketplace will evolve; adult: makes things happen in an efficient, cost-effective, and legal manner; evangelist: sells the dream of how your cause can make people's lives better; rainmaker: closes deals)
-Make it easy for people to share/spread your cause)
Chapter 8: How to Use Push Technology
-General principles
1) Engage fast: respond quickly to contacts
2) Engage many: don't focus on the rich, famous, and traditional influential people
3) Engage often; use multiple media: pictures, video, live chats, audio
4) Provide value: pointers to useful/inspiring/entertaining content, personal insights/observations/content, or advice and assistance
5) Give credit: acknowledge your source and leave comments when you read things you like
6) Give people the benefit of the doubt: assume people are honest, smart, and decent
7) Accept diversity: it's possible you're wrong or there are other alternatives
8) Don't take any crap: if you think someone is an asshole, most people who are silently observing the situation agree
9) Limit promotion: no more than 5% of tweets, posts, updates should be promotions
10) Disclose your conflicts: it's honest and if you have enchanted people, the causes you endorse will interest them (good marketing)
-Presentations (customize the introduction; sell your dream for a better future; think screenplay not speech: act 1 - "what is", act 2 - "what could be", act 3 - resolves the story and explains how to make it happen; dramatize: use evocative pictures, powerful videos, and sizzling product demos to make presentations exciting; shorten: 10-20-30 rule (10 slides in 20 minutes with font no smaller than 30 point); practice; warm up the audience: show up early and circulate with the audience; speak a lot: make presentations as often as possible)
-Email (get a real email address: company business in name - not @gmail.com or @yahoo.com; get an introduction from a trusted source; personalize the subject line: mention someone the recipient knows ("your wife said to email you"), provide an indication that the person is familiar with your interests ("would you like to go to a Sharks game?") or your company ("another news source for Alltop"), or suck up in a great way ("I loved Enchantment"); keep it to six sentences; 1) why you're contacting the person 2) who you are 3) what your cause is 4) what you want 5) why the recipient should help you and 6) what the next step is; suck up: do your homework "I follow you on Twitter and notice you tweet about photography all the time. My company has developed a new way to help novices take better pictures."; minimize attachments; ask for something concrete)
-Twitter (spruce up your photo; provide a descriptive profile; post informative links; push your own content; use StumbleUpon to find content; use SmartBrief to find content; use Alltop to find content; hire interns to find content; engage people manually; promote your cause (but make sure it adds value); make it personal)
Chapter 9: How to Use Pull Technology
-Web sites and blogs (provide good content; refresh it often (every 2-3 days); skip the flash (don't automatically start a video or music); make it load quickly; sprinkle graphics and pictures: err for too many not too few; provide a FAQ page; craft an About page; help visitors navigate: site map; introduce the team; optimize visits for various devices: mobile phone, iPad, laptop; provide multiple methods of access: web sites and blogs, RSS feeds, email lists, Facebook pages, Twitter feeds)
-Facebook (Facebook page has a lot of the functionality of a website; add a landing tab to your fan page (welcome landing tab); make use of friends lists: create lists of important people to view only their updates; use @ tags strategically to thank or acknowledge people; provide an area for your fans to promote themselves: e.g., a separate tab specifying how and where you want them to post; respond to fans' posts promptly and personally; surprise your fans: "Fan Page Friday" or "Share Your Blog Day" - invite all your fans to share their links on your wall; give special gifts: can add custom content as a tab or item in the left column like an opt-in box - offer your fans a valuable, free download and you'll grow your email list; chat live with your fans; get your fans involved in product and content creation: can run a contest - Wildfireapp.com is a good choice for contests on facebook)
-LinkedIn (make a great profile; get visible: participate in LinkedIn Answers and discussions in a group; reach out: search by name or company, find shared interests, check people's reputations, scope out companies)
-YouTube (provide intrinsic value: inspiration, entertainment, enlightenment (think PBS or Discovery Channel documentary), or education; keep it short (start fast b/c people decide in the first 10 seconds if they'll watch); foster discovery, sharing, and identity: use keywords, title, description, and tags (if brand name is in title, it should always go last), choose a thumbnail)
-Simple design principles to enhance your presentations (eliminate clutter and express things in plain and simple ways; use asymmetrical photos on your web site and in presentations ("rule of thirds"); understating and not elaborating upon things: reduce the hard sell approach in every form of communication; simplify the interface of your web properties; use subtle and symbolic suggestion rather than obviousness; break away from the tired text-and-bullet-points method of telling your story by using evocative pictures and cool diagrams; increase white space in your presentation, website, and blog)
Chapter 10: How to Enchant Your Employees
-Provide a MAP: Mastery, Autonomy, and Purpose
-Empower them to do the right thing
-Judge your results and others' intentions (people often judge their own intentions against the results of others: "I intended to meet my sales quota, but you missed yours") - be harsher on yourself
-Address your shortcomings first (take active measures to discover what employees consider your shortcomings - then start the performance reviews by talking about how your foibles may have affected their performance)
-Suck it up (sometimes employee performance just can't be up to par every time and you must deal with it the best you can and make sure the customers are still satisfied)
-Don't ask employees to do what you wouldn't do (consider these tasks: fly across the globe in coach class, answer all your email, come in early and stay late, empty the trash can, make photocopies)
-Celebrate success (fun and cool not extravagant)
-Find a devil's advocate (improve your cause by pointing out what's wrong, show that rocking the boat is acceptable, foster internal communications)
-Good Boss Manifesto (from Good Boss, Bad Boss):
1) I have a flawed and incomplete understanding of what it feels like to work for me.
2) My success - and that of my people - depends largely on being the master of obvious and mundane things, not on magical, obscure, or breakthrough ideas or methods.
3) Having ambitious and well-defined goals is important, but it is useless to think about them much. My job is to focus on the small wins that enable my people to make a little progress every day.
4) One of the most important, and most difficult, parts of my job is to strike the delicate balance between being to assertive and not assertive enough.
5) My job is to serve as a human shield, to protect my people from external intrusions, distractions, and idiocy of every stripe - and to avoid imposing my own idiocy on them as well.
6) I strive to be confident enough to convince people that I am in charge, but humble enough to realize that I am often going to be wrong.
7) I aim to fight as if I am right, and listen as if I am wrong - and to teach my people to do the same thing.
8) One of the best tests of my leadership - and my organization - is "what happens after people make a mistake?"
9) Innovation is crucial to every team and organization. So my job is to encourage my people to generate and test all kinds of new ideas. But it is also my job to help them kill off all the bad ideas we generate, and most of the good ideas, too.
10) Bad is stronger than good. It is more important to eliminate the negative than to accentuate the positive.
11) How I do things is as important as what I do.
12) Because I wield power over others, I am at great risk of acting like an insensitive jerk and not realizing it.
-How to enchant volunteers: set ambitious goals, manage them well, enable them to fulfill their needs, ensure that the paid staff appreciates them, give feedback, provide recognition, invite them in, and provide free stuff
Chapter 11: How to Enchant Your Boss
-Make your boss look good
-Drop everything and do what your boss asks
-Underpromise and Overdeliver
-Prototype your work (quickly complete part of the task and ask for feedback)
-Show and broadcast progress
-Form friendships
-Ask for mentoring
-Deliver bad news early
-Make crow's feet (real smile)
-Dress like a peer (of the person you're meeting)
-Perfect your handshake
-Use the right words (simple words, active voice, keep it short, use common/unambiguous analogies: war not sports)
-Accept others (everyone is better than you at something, people are more similar than different, people deserve a break (don't judge immediately))
-Get close (you tend to like the people you're around more)
-Don't impose your values
-Pursue and project your passions (makes you more interesting/enchanting)
-Find shared passions (assume everyone has passions, assume you have something in common, do your homework)
-Create win-win situations
-Swear (swearing can arouse attention, build solidarity, demonstrate strength, release tension, and convey informality, so it can increase your acceptance by all but very prude people; swear infrequently; swear only in cases of forehead-smacking hypocrisy, arrogance, intentional inaccuracy, or dishonesty; swear only when your audience supports you; soften your profanity: crap, suck)
-Default to yes
Chapter 3: How to Achieve Trustworthiness
-Trust others
-Be a mensch (always act with honesty, treat people who have wronged you with civility, fulfill your unkept promises from the past, help someone who can be of absolutely no use to you, suspend blame when something goes wrong and ask "what can we learn?", hire people who are as smart as or smarter than you and give them opportunities for growth, don't interrupt people, don't dismiss their concerns offhand, don't rush to give advice, don't change the subject, allow people their moment, do no harm in anything you undertake, don't be too quick to shoot down others' ideas, share your knowledge, expertise, and best practices with others, focus on goodwill, give people the benefit of the doubt)
-Disclose your interests
-Give for intrinsic reasons
-Gain knowledge and competence
-Show up (respond to emails, etc.)
-Bake a bigger pie (eaters want a bigger slice of pie; bakers want to make a bigger pie; everyone can win with a bigger pie)
-Position yourself (good positioning statement should explain what you do and why you exist: it should be short, clear, different, and humble)
-Be a hero (do great things at great risk and demonstrate courage and fortitude under extreme conditions)
Chapter 4: How to Prepare
-Do something great (great products are: deep (many features), intelligent (solve problems in smart ways), complete (service, support, etc.), empowering (do old things better or new things), and elegant (care about the user interface and experience))
-Conduct a "premortem" (team assembles during the launch phase, team leader asks everyone to assume the project failed and to come up with reasons why the failure occurred, the team then figures out ways to prevent these reasons from happening: helps identify problems in advance rather than after they occur, reduce the likelihood of premature embarkation, increase sensitivity to early warning signs since the team has already considered them, and increase participation by more team members because of the less political environment)
-Set yourself up for success (make it easy for people to support you - lower the barriers)
-Make it short, simple, and swallowable:
1) Use tricolons (3 parts): "Eye it, try it, buy it", "Be sincere, be brief, be seated", "Location, location, location"
2) Use metaphors: Band-Aids: "Say hello to your child's new bodyguard"
3) Use similes: "Taking drugs is like playing with fire", "Hockey is like war and ballet"
4) Keep it short: "Got milk?", "Just do it". Some guidelines: email (6 sentences), video (60 seconds), powerpoint presentation (10 slides), business plan (20 pages)
5) Stay positive: don't use scare tactics like "25 million people are killing themselves by smoking" b/c it could convince folks that smoking is ok because 25 million people are doing it
6) Show respect: don't insult people; you'll get resentment not action
-Remove the fences (barriers to using your product/following your ideas)
-Provide a default option (opt-in for retirement savings plans)
-Establish goals (easier to enchant people with your story when you have clear goals)
-Create a checklist
Chapter 5: How to Launch
-Tell a story (great aspirations: e.g., Steve Wozniak making it possible for more people to use computers; David vs Goliath: e.g., Southwest Airlines taking on the big airlines; Profiles in courage: e.g., Oskar and Emilie Schindler protecting Jews in WWII; Personal stories: e.g., "My father owned a Cadillac and he drove it 150k miles without any major problems" beats "This Caddy will last you a long time")
-Immerse people:
1) Enable vicarious experiences (via audio, video, or virtual reality technology)
2) Get as close to the real situation as possible
3) Make a great demo (show how the product allows you to do cool things)
4) Anchor and twist ("It's like Dirty Harry but set in the year 2100")
5) Differentiate from past experiences ("You've always wanted a fast car that doesn't ruin the environment. With our electric sports car, you can have both.")
-Promote trial (hands-on-trial should be easy, immediate, inexpensive, concrete, reversible)
-Prime the pump (playing French music increased sales of French wine)
-Plant many seeds (embrace the nobodies, give up the illusion of control, reach out to everyone)
-Ask people what they're going to do (you'll know where you stand, the act of asking someone can make people reach the tipping point and commit to you, if people commit to you then they'll want to live up to their word)
-Reduce the number of choices (too many jam options = no jam purchase; decision paralysis)
-Increase the number of choices (serve-yourself fro-yo places)
-Illustrate the salient point (cars: miles per gallons vs cost of fuel per year; heating: thermostat settings in degrees vs heating expense per month; iPod: gigabytes of storage capacity vs number of songs and movies it can hold; charities: monetary amount vs how long your donation will feed a child)
-Present the big, then the small choice ("Can I have that expensive toy? No, then can I have that candy?" Get a foot in the door with a small favor and then follow up with a bigger request: survey followed by followup visit)
-Get your first follower (the first follower gives credibility to the leader - transforms him from a lone nut into a leader)
Chapter 6: How to Overcome Resistance
-Why people are reluctant (inertia: existing relationships, satisfaction with the status quo, laziness, and busyness hinder change; hesitation to reduce options: decisions result in reduced options which scares people; fear of making a mistake: as long as I haven't chosen, I haven't made a mistake; lack of role models: importance of early adopters; your cause sucks: it's possible)
-Provide social proof (show that other people have been doing what you want me to do; "If operators are busy, please call again" better than "Operators are waiting, please call now")
-Create the perception of ubiquity (familiarity breeds commitment)
-Create the perception of scarcity (invitation only, limited time only)
-Show people your magic (behind-the-scenes look, factory tours)
-Find one example (large numbers overwhelm people but personal connections are meaningful; use pictures; illustrate the numbers with objects; tell personal stories)
-Find a way to agree (get personal: study website, Flickr feed, Twitter feed, blog; get professional: LinkedIn; harmonize objections: "too expensive" -> "we have a longer warranty, longer service life, and higher resale value"; ask "what if...?": "would you buy an iPhone if it came from Verizon and not AT&T?"; move the window: propose unthinkable option first to make second offer sound less radical)
-Find a bright spot (Vietnamese mothers of few healthy babies were feeding their children different diets so they shared their techniques with the masses)
-Assign a label ("You're smart and hard-working just like us" "Canadians drink Molson")
-Use a data set to change a mindset (museum stayed open 100 straight hours and found that visits peaked between 1am and 3am so it rethought its hours and is now open late one Friday per month)
-Incur a debt (once someone helps you, they will be more likely to help again because refusing would mean admitting making a mistake the first time)
-Enchant all the influencers (think of who else may affect customers' decisions: parents, grandparents, neighbors, pastors, teachers, coaches, spouses/significant others, friends (offline), coworkers, Facebook friends and Twitter followers)
-Frame the competition (know the competition: read about them, try their products, talk to their customers, attend industry events; analyze the competition: what we can both do, what we can do but they cannot, what they can do but we cannot; frame the competition: "Folk who want porn can buy an Android phone")
Chapter 7: How to Make Enchantment Endure
-Strive for internalization (conformity: people join b/c of peer pressure, coercion, trickery, or a desire to belong to a group; identification: people identify with members of a group when they see commonality and shared interests; internalization: people have gone beyond identifying to believing - their belief is not at odds with their feelings, their is no coercion, and they are not trying to please anyone - this is enchantment)
-Separate the believers (supporters of a new idea should be 1/2 mile from headquarters: too far for executives to walk to but still close enough to loot)
-Use intrinsic methods (payment changes people - if they are willing to support you because of your cause, recognize them in ways other than money)
-Invoke reciprocity (give with joy and without expectation of return, give early, give often and generously, give unexpectedly, ask for reciprocation; "I know you'd do the same for me" better than "you're welcome")
-Catalyze commitment and consistency (have people make public commitments and share them with friends)
-Build an ecosystem (user groups, websites and blogs, consultants, developers, resellers, conferences; create something worthy of an ecosystem, identify and recruit your evangelists, pick a champion for building your ecosystem, give people something meaningful to do (customize products, make apps), publish (white papers, newspaper articles, comments on other blogs), welcome criticism, foster discourse, create a reward system, publicize the existence of the ecosystem (prominence on website))
-Diversify the team (advocate: takes the side of customers, believers, and followers and proselytizes things like lower prices, faster delivery, free support, and more online engagement; skeptic: provides doubting attitude to both positive and negative news, challenges ideas to make them better; visionary: has a clear idea of how your technology and the marketplace will evolve; adult: makes things happen in an efficient, cost-effective, and legal manner; evangelist: sells the dream of how your cause can make people's lives better; rainmaker: closes deals)
-Make it easy for people to share/spread your cause)
Chapter 8: How to Use Push Technology
-General principles
1) Engage fast: respond quickly to contacts
2) Engage many: don't focus on the rich, famous, and traditional influential people
3) Engage often; use multiple media: pictures, video, live chats, audio
4) Provide value: pointers to useful/inspiring/entertaining content, personal insights/observations/content, or advice and assistance
5) Give credit: acknowledge your source and leave comments when you read things you like
6) Give people the benefit of the doubt: assume people are honest, smart, and decent
7) Accept diversity: it's possible you're wrong or there are other alternatives
8) Don't take any crap: if you think someone is an asshole, most people who are silently observing the situation agree
9) Limit promotion: no more than 5% of tweets, posts, updates should be promotions
10) Disclose your conflicts: it's honest and if you have enchanted people, the causes you endorse will interest them (good marketing)
-Presentations (customize the introduction; sell your dream for a better future; think screenplay not speech: act 1 - "what is", act 2 - "what could be", act 3 - resolves the story and explains how to make it happen; dramatize: use evocative pictures, powerful videos, and sizzling product demos to make presentations exciting; shorten: 10-20-30 rule (10 slides in 20 minutes with font no smaller than 30 point); practice; warm up the audience: show up early and circulate with the audience; speak a lot: make presentations as often as possible)
-Email (get a real email address: company business in name - not @gmail.com or @yahoo.com; get an introduction from a trusted source; personalize the subject line: mention someone the recipient knows ("your wife said to email you"), provide an indication that the person is familiar with your interests ("would you like to go to a Sharks game?") or your company ("another news source for Alltop"), or suck up in a great way ("I loved Enchantment"); keep it to six sentences; 1) why you're contacting the person 2) who you are 3) what your cause is 4) what you want 5) why the recipient should help you and 6) what the next step is; suck up: do your homework "I follow you on Twitter and notice you tweet about photography all the time. My company has developed a new way to help novices take better pictures."; minimize attachments; ask for something concrete)
-Twitter (spruce up your photo; provide a descriptive profile; post informative links; push your own content; use StumbleUpon to find content; use SmartBrief to find content; use Alltop to find content; hire interns to find content; engage people manually; promote your cause (but make sure it adds value); make it personal)
Chapter 9: How to Use Pull Technology
-Web sites and blogs (provide good content; refresh it often (every 2-3 days); skip the flash (don't automatically start a video or music); make it load quickly; sprinkle graphics and pictures: err for too many not too few; provide a FAQ page; craft an About page; help visitors navigate: site map; introduce the team; optimize visits for various devices: mobile phone, iPad, laptop; provide multiple methods of access: web sites and blogs, RSS feeds, email lists, Facebook pages, Twitter feeds)
-Facebook (Facebook page has a lot of the functionality of a website; add a landing tab to your fan page (welcome landing tab); make use of friends lists: create lists of important people to view only their updates; use @ tags strategically to thank or acknowledge people; provide an area for your fans to promote themselves: e.g., a separate tab specifying how and where you want them to post; respond to fans' posts promptly and personally; surprise your fans: "Fan Page Friday" or "Share Your Blog Day" - invite all your fans to share their links on your wall; give special gifts: can add custom content as a tab or item in the left column like an opt-in box - offer your fans a valuable, free download and you'll grow your email list; chat live with your fans; get your fans involved in product and content creation: can run a contest - Wildfireapp.com is a good choice for contests on facebook)
-LinkedIn (make a great profile; get visible: participate in LinkedIn Answers and discussions in a group; reach out: search by name or company, find shared interests, check people's reputations, scope out companies)
-YouTube (provide intrinsic value: inspiration, entertainment, enlightenment (think PBS or Discovery Channel documentary), or education; keep it short (start fast b/c people decide in the first 10 seconds if they'll watch); foster discovery, sharing, and identity: use keywords, title, description, and tags (if brand name is in title, it should always go last), choose a thumbnail)
-Simple design principles to enhance your presentations (eliminate clutter and express things in plain and simple ways; use asymmetrical photos on your web site and in presentations ("rule of thirds"); understating and not elaborating upon things: reduce the hard sell approach in every form of communication; simplify the interface of your web properties; use subtle and symbolic suggestion rather than obviousness; break away from the tired text-and-bullet-points method of telling your story by using evocative pictures and cool diagrams; increase white space in your presentation, website, and blog)
Chapter 10: How to Enchant Your Employees
-Provide a MAP: Mastery, Autonomy, and Purpose
-Empower them to do the right thing
-Judge your results and others' intentions (people often judge their own intentions against the results of others: "I intended to meet my sales quota, but you missed yours") - be harsher on yourself
-Address your shortcomings first (take active measures to discover what employees consider your shortcomings - then start the performance reviews by talking about how your foibles may have affected their performance)
-Suck it up (sometimes employee performance just can't be up to par every time and you must deal with it the best you can and make sure the customers are still satisfied)
-Don't ask employees to do what you wouldn't do (consider these tasks: fly across the globe in coach class, answer all your email, come in early and stay late, empty the trash can, make photocopies)
-Celebrate success (fun and cool not extravagant)
-Find a devil's advocate (improve your cause by pointing out what's wrong, show that rocking the boat is acceptable, foster internal communications)
-Good Boss Manifesto (from Good Boss, Bad Boss):
1) I have a flawed and incomplete understanding of what it feels like to work for me.
2) My success - and that of my people - depends largely on being the master of obvious and mundane things, not on magical, obscure, or breakthrough ideas or methods.
3) Having ambitious and well-defined goals is important, but it is useless to think about them much. My job is to focus on the small wins that enable my people to make a little progress every day.
4) One of the most important, and most difficult, parts of my job is to strike the delicate balance between being to assertive and not assertive enough.
5) My job is to serve as a human shield, to protect my people from external intrusions, distractions, and idiocy of every stripe - and to avoid imposing my own idiocy on them as well.
6) I strive to be confident enough to convince people that I am in charge, but humble enough to realize that I am often going to be wrong.
7) I aim to fight as if I am right, and listen as if I am wrong - and to teach my people to do the same thing.
8) One of the best tests of my leadership - and my organization - is "what happens after people make a mistake?"
9) Innovation is crucial to every team and organization. So my job is to encourage my people to generate and test all kinds of new ideas. But it is also my job to help them kill off all the bad ideas we generate, and most of the good ideas, too.
10) Bad is stronger than good. It is more important to eliminate the negative than to accentuate the positive.
11) How I do things is as important as what I do.
12) Because I wield power over others, I am at great risk of acting like an insensitive jerk and not realizing it.
-How to enchant volunteers: set ambitious goals, manage them well, enable them to fulfill their needs, ensure that the paid staff appreciates them, give feedback, provide recognition, invite them in, and provide free stuff
Chapter 11: How to Enchant Your Boss
-Make your boss look good
-Drop everything and do what your boss asks
-Underpromise and Overdeliver
-Prototype your work (quickly complete part of the task and ask for feedback)
-Show and broadcast progress
-Form friendships
-Ask for mentoring
-Deliver bad news early
June 4, 2013
I was liking this book through the introduction and ch. 1, but ch. 2 (How to achieve Likability) really turned me off. Either he's saying we should calculatedly build a pretty, fake shell around ourselves to be likable, or we should change ourselves to become this way. Either way, I'm not cool with it.
Example advice:
- make "yes" your default answer to everything. Awesome! Let's get overcommitted and co-dependent!
- swear for effect according to his special little rules. Otherwise, use stupid puketastic euphemisms like "bull shiitake" or calling someone an orifice.
I'd rather be real than likable, and if that means I don't enchant anyone, so be it. Take a fucking stand. Swear or don't. Be your real self. Don't half-ass it with mushrooms and "F!" <--which he wrote in a discussion of swearing, in the middle of the case study on how to do it well! Get some balls, dude! Super-secret hint: people know what letters go in there anyway--you're not fooling anyone.
Then, chapter 3 goes on to explain how to appear trustworthy. You know what they say: if you can fake sincerity, you've got it made! This dude is seriously starting to come across as a giant sleaze-bucket here.
On one hand, I guess I should be glad this guy is telling everyone to act like a mensch--if they act that way long enough, what's the difference between actually being one? Maybe they'll all go around inadvertently making the world a better place. But I just can't seem to buy into that. This whole chapter left me with a very skeezy feeling. I wouldn't trust the author or any of his followers for a second after reading this.
After that, the rest of the book inspired far less fury and revulsion, so I did finish it. Overall, I'd say there's some useful advice in here, but it kind of gets buried under how impressed the author is with himself.
Notes:
p. 4 must answer these questions for prospect to make the sale:
- What does this person (you, not them) want? (so they can trust you)
- Is the change worth the effort?
- Can I change?
p. 59 try to find a way for readers/viewers to lose themselves in the moment, imagine themselves with your product or whatever
p. 71 5 resistance that keep people from acting:
1. interia
2. hesitation to reduce options
3. fear of making a mistake
4. lack of role models
5. sucky cause
p. 121
Good presentation is more like a screenplay than a speech. Act 1: set up the story and current situation. Act 2: story, present what could be. Act 3: resolve story, explain how to make it come true
p. 124
Emails to famous people--6 sentences:
1. why you're contacting the person + sucking up
2. who you are
3. your cause
4. what you want
5. why the recipient should help you
6. what the next step is
Be concrete in what you ask for.
p. 180
Questions to ask in tracking decisions. Use after failure to improve your decision-making (Scott Berkun, "How to learn from your mistakes", scottberkun.com):
"- What was the probable sequence of events?
- Were there multiple small mistakes which led to a larger one?
- Did we have the right goals? Were we trying to solve the right problem?
- Was it possible to have recognized bad assumptions earlier?
- What do we know now that would have been useful then?
- What would we do differently in that exact situation if we were to relive it?
- Was this mistake impossible to avoid?
- Has enough time passed for us to know if it was a mistake or not?"
Example advice:
- make "yes" your default answer to everything. Awesome! Let's get overcommitted and co-dependent!
- swear for effect according to his special little rules. Otherwise, use stupid puketastic euphemisms like "bull shiitake" or calling someone an orifice.
I'd rather be real than likable, and if that means I don't enchant anyone, so be it. Take a fucking stand. Swear or don't. Be your real self. Don't half-ass it with mushrooms and "F!" <--which he wrote in a discussion of swearing, in the middle of the case study on how to do it well! Get some balls, dude! Super-secret hint: people know what letters go in there anyway--you're not fooling anyone.
Then, chapter 3 goes on to explain how to appear trustworthy. You know what they say: if you can fake sincerity, you've got it made! This dude is seriously starting to come across as a giant sleaze-bucket here.
On one hand, I guess I should be glad this guy is telling everyone to act like a mensch--if they act that way long enough, what's the difference between actually being one? Maybe they'll all go around inadvertently making the world a better place. But I just can't seem to buy into that. This whole chapter left me with a very skeezy feeling. I wouldn't trust the author or any of his followers for a second after reading this.
After that, the rest of the book inspired far less fury and revulsion, so I did finish it. Overall, I'd say there's some useful advice in here, but it kind of gets buried under how impressed the author is with himself.
Notes:
p. 4 must answer these questions for prospect to make the sale:
- What does this person (you, not them) want? (so they can trust you)
- Is the change worth the effort?
- Can I change?
p. 59 try to find a way for readers/viewers to lose themselves in the moment, imagine themselves with your product or whatever
p. 71 5 resistance that keep people from acting:
1. interia
2. hesitation to reduce options
3. fear of making a mistake
4. lack of role models
5. sucky cause
p. 121
Good presentation is more like a screenplay than a speech. Act 1: set up the story and current situation. Act 2: story, present what could be. Act 3: resolve story, explain how to make it come true
p. 124
Emails to famous people--6 sentences:
1. why you're contacting the person + sucking up
2. who you are
3. your cause
4. what you want
5. why the recipient should help you
6. what the next step is
Be concrete in what you ask for.
p. 180
Questions to ask in tracking decisions. Use after failure to improve your decision-making (Scott Berkun, "How to learn from your mistakes", scottberkun.com):
"- What was the probable sequence of events?
- Were there multiple small mistakes which led to a larger one?
- Did we have the right goals? Were we trying to solve the right problem?
- Was it possible to have recognized bad assumptions earlier?
- What do we know now that would have been useful then?
- What would we do differently in that exact situation if we were to relive it?
- Was this mistake impossible to avoid?
- Has enough time passed for us to know if it was a mistake or not?"
June 6, 2012
I have no idea how Guy got to where he is today, I'm sure he must have done some great things in the past, or have been at the right place at the right time.
So without any history, this is the first book I ever read from him and what a dissapointment.
I did know his alltop website and that's all I could think while reading this book: this is alltop in a book format.
He seems to have collected a whole bunch of little stories and facts and used a vague word as a title but also to be able to squeeze all of that in some kind of 'story'.
I could not find any original thought or any additional value that I could contribute to him. Other then some inside stories about Apple, but seriously dude, my life is good enough and a little bit of nostalgic jealousy towards Apple employees isn't enough to make me like a book.
To all Guy Kawasaki fans, let me know if there are other books from him that ARE worth reading because without that this is going to be the first and last book of him I'll ever read.
So without any history, this is the first book I ever read from him and what a dissapointment.
I did know his alltop website and that's all I could think while reading this book: this is alltop in a book format.
He seems to have collected a whole bunch of little stories and facts and used a vague word as a title but also to be able to squeeze all of that in some kind of 'story'.
I could not find any original thought or any additional value that I could contribute to him. Other then some inside stories about Apple, but seriously dude, my life is good enough and a little bit of nostalgic jealousy towards Apple employees isn't enough to make me like a book.
To all Guy Kawasaki fans, let me know if there are other books from him that ARE worth reading because without that this is going to be the first and last book of him I'll ever read.
March 22, 2011
Recently, I decided to stop reading marketing books because they all said the same thing. Had this book been written by anyone different or not pulled on my Apple fangirl cord I might not have read this book. I'm glad, however, that I decided to. This book is refreshing, a quick read, yet also one that keeps you thinking for a while. I actually gave myself several days to let it marinate before I wrote about it. After letting it digest for a few days I went back to revisited my underlines and scribbles, and as directed set myself an action plan. Guy's sign off at the end of the book is "Be well, do good, and kick butt" and that may very well sum up the entire message of the book!
Although this book is in theory is about business - "create a company as enchanting as Apple" - I'd say it's a good read for any professional, particularly young professionals looking to make friends and move mountains in the work force.
Although this book is in theory is about business - "create a company as enchanting as Apple" - I'd say it's a good read for any professional, particularly young professionals looking to make friends and move mountains in the work force.
June 11, 2017
This is more like a detailed step-by-step instruction on how to charm others. I enjoyed the book for the most part, but I tend to learn and understand better from examples and case studies. This book has not too many of those.
January 26, 2021
интересна и забавна
February 28, 2021
There are nuggets of wisdom here, and the first half of the book is well structured and easy to follow.
The rest either didn’t age very well (the book is from 2011 and Kawasaki dwells on social media best practices at the time, now way less relevant) or just feels like filler.
The rest either didn’t age very well (the book is from 2011 and Kawasaki dwells on social media best practices at the time, now way less relevant) or just feels like filler.
February 22, 2013
While this was mostly a quick and agreeable read, I never really took to the word "enchantment," which, as you might guess, appears in this book about a thousand times.
A little too much of his personality came through for my liking, and he struck me as kind of immature and narcissistic (e.g. "bull shiitake" "orifices" and "Guy's Rules to this and that"). A lot of his advice & anecdotes seemed based on nothing more than the desire to show off (e.g. Richard Branson polished my shoes). Also, despite his attempts to use "she" as a positive pronoun, I feel like he still comes to the table with a lot of loaded assumptions about men and women (e.g. enchant your wife by obeying her immediately because you're not the one juggling kids, a career, and charities - who says?)
All in all, every glimpse into his person drew credibility away from his ideas, but the ideas themselves still painted a broad & worthwhile picture of how to infuse delight into your personal and professional life.
A little too much of his personality came through for my liking, and he struck me as kind of immature and narcissistic (e.g. "bull shiitake" "orifices" and "Guy's Rules to this and that"). A lot of his advice & anecdotes seemed based on nothing more than the desire to show off (e.g. Richard Branson polished my shoes). Also, despite his attempts to use "she" as a positive pronoun, I feel like he still comes to the table with a lot of loaded assumptions about men and women (e.g. enchant your wife by obeying her immediately because you're not the one juggling kids, a career, and charities - who says?)
All in all, every glimpse into his person drew credibility away from his ideas, but the ideas themselves still painted a broad & worthwhile picture of how to infuse delight into your personal and professional life.
March 9, 2011
This book has a lot of interesting tid bits, but, for me, the concept of "enchantment" didn't really hold it all together. I appreciate that Guy Kawasaki's idea was to use a new word (thank god for no more books about 'engagement') but saying that meeting his wife and seeing an apple computer were comparable moments in his life seems silly to me. Also, if a life, such as Guy's, only has a few enchanting moments, it seems that perhaps the bar is too high. As marketers/business people, we can't all be vying for a person's top memory, can we?
That being said, I did learn bits and pieces about persuasion and the book was a painless read.
I especially liked this quote: "In a perfect world, you are so enchanting that your cause doesn't matter, and your cause is so enchanting that you don't matter. My goal is to help you achieve both."
That being said, I did learn bits and pieces about persuasion and the book was a painless read.
I especially liked this quote: "In a perfect world, you are so enchanting that your cause doesn't matter, and your cause is so enchanting that you don't matter. My goal is to help you achieve both."
April 8, 2013
Having just finished this book, I'm convinced that guy Kawasaki was under contract to het this -- or any -- book out. A book he probably didn't feel like writing, but had to.
What you'll find in this book is a bunch of pious platitudes so worn and tired that you'll laugh when you read them, or worse, curse the fact that you paid good money for them. It's basically a book filled with tautologies: Do the right thing, and you will enchant the world; Don't become too enchanted, lest you should be taken advantage of; With great power, comes great responsibility.
I listened to this book as an audiobook. I'm giving it 2 stars simply because the narrator of the book was awesome. The author of this book, however, should be ashamed of himself for merely repackaging a bunch of old ideas and trotting them out as something new and innovative.
What you'll find in this book is a bunch of pious platitudes so worn and tired that you'll laugh when you read them, or worse, curse the fact that you paid good money for them. It's basically a book filled with tautologies: Do the right thing, and you will enchant the world; Don't become too enchanted, lest you should be taken advantage of; With great power, comes great responsibility.
I listened to this book as an audiobook. I'm giving it 2 stars simply because the narrator of the book was awesome. The author of this book, however, should be ashamed of himself for merely repackaging a bunch of old ideas and trotting them out as something new and innovative.
June 5, 2015
I only read the first 5 chapters or so of this book, but I liked it. It has good tips, but I decided to go head and take it back to the library. Most of the stuff I knew, or had an idea of. If you're just starting out with business or trying to get your online platform going, this book is good. If you've been doing stuff for awhile, it's probably not necessary.
August 29, 2013
Uninspiring collection of marketing insights, management advice, Facebook tips, travel pics, and stories copied from other people's books.
Read
May 25, 2019Este libro es excelente, muestra diferentes casos de éxito y cómo llegar a los clientes de manera creativa y novedosa. Muestra casos como el de Virgin, Microsoft y Apple entre otros.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 9, 2019
Read for grad school. Interesting book with some nice ideas to chew on. Not something I would read for fun but a worthwhile read.
March 2, 2011
I'm looking forward to reading another entry into the book world from the legendary Guy Kawasaki. If you don't know who this man is I invite to find out. Guy is what you might call a marketer, one of his many world class skills, but really he's so much more than that in so many ways. From his critical part in the iPad revolution, with Apple, to his own company his story is a case study in success and this book "Enchantment" tells how and why. You can find Guy anywhere and everywhere on the web, on Twitter and Facebook. His co. site has a great books section, something you may not have known, and he is also a widely respected author and one of the world's premier authorities on what we now call marketing. I call him Mr. Finesse because he is. More soon on this non-fiction entry from Guy Kawasaki!
December 16, 2015
I finished this book two weeks ago and have forgotten it already. It's vapid. Take this list of what Guy says you can do to "maximize" the "enchantment power" of your website:
Provide good content
Refresh it often
Skip the flash (and Flash)
Make it fast
Sprinkle graphics and pictures
Provide a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page
Craft an About page
Help visitors navigate
Introduce the team
Optimize visits for various devices
Provide multiple methods of access
None of these suggestions are bad, but several could go without saying and the rest are too specific to certain types of websites to be of much use. So I'm probably going to forget the list again, even though I just typed all that in this here review.
Provide good content
Refresh it often
Skip the flash (and Flash)
Make it fast
Sprinkle graphics and pictures
Provide a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page
Craft an About page
Help visitors navigate
Introduce the team
Optimize visits for various devices
Provide multiple methods of access
None of these suggestions are bad, but several could go without saying and the rest are too specific to certain types of websites to be of much use. So I'm probably going to forget the list again, even though I just typed all that in this here review.
September 16, 2015
It is a quite good book. This book speaks about the different ways to enchant people in various places, especially in business in order to be more successful one should be trustworthy and likability, which can be easily achieved by enchantment. This author also speaks about to how to do enchantment in various ways like facial expressions, way of dressing, physical appearances, body languages, etc...
March 10, 2013
I thought this book was brilliant. I had only heard of Guy Kawasaki as I belong to the cult of Apple. And he is frequently mentioned in other business/marketing books I have read. The title is appropriate for the goal of any marketer is to achieve enchantment. The only drawback is that I enjoyed it so much I now am compelled to buy his other nine books. Drats!
July 10, 2015
I was really disappointed by Guy on this one. Points were very basic and unoriginal. He basically took "how to win friends and influence people", and made it into his own version relating to business. He also seemed to have a lot of filler material - such as: Japanese wisdom words and definitions, irrelevant pictures, and personal testimonials.
August 22, 2015
Una muy buena lectura que da tips sobre como cautivar a las personas que pueden ser aplicadas bien sea en relaciones interpersonales o de negocios.
Esta es tan solo mi primera lectura. Como dice uno de las personalidades que aparece en el libro vale la pena leerlo cada vez que se emprende un nuevo negocio. So, nos vemos pronto Sr Kawasaki y desde ya ando buscando su otro libro.
Esta es tan solo mi primera lectura. Como dice uno de las personalidades que aparece en el libro vale la pena leerlo cada vez que se emprende un nuevo negocio. So, nos vemos pronto Sr Kawasaki y desde ya ando buscando su otro libro.
July 17, 2016
Guy´s Enchantment is a good read in general, with lot´s of helpful tips along the way. It is updated to modern times and I truely think that there are many things that you can apply on a day to day basis that Guy reminds us but are pretty much common sense. However, after reading Dale Carnegie, I can´t but help to feel that I am having a deja vu with many of the ideas and advice in this book.
April 7, 2014
The books really teaches the same qualities which were taught in didactic literature 200 years ago (although luckily they didn't have twitter then). But I guess it's useful to remember it now and then.
May 18, 2011
Very practical. I enjoyed all the advises and tips.
April 12, 2011
seperti membaca buku How To Influence People versi baru
Read
June 26, 2020For my April book report I thought I would do something different and read Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actionsby Guy Kawasaki. Enchantment is a self-help book aimed at entrepreneurs. By reading this textI hoped to steal some ideas from the white-collar world to use in my service year and future nonprofit work. What I found, though, was a not so well-written advice column that at times felt like a never-ending series of plugs for Kawasaki’s friends’ books. Despite all that I found to be lacking in Enchantment, I did learn about some useful practices.
When I hadn’t even gotten to the numbered pages yet and read this sentence, “My Introduction to Macintosh removed the scales from my eyes, parted the clouds, and made me hear angels singing,” I knew that this book wasn’t going to be poetry. Kawasaki’s analogies were uncreative and his sentences were often clunky. There were some good ideas in Enchantment, but the Personal Stories that concluded every chapter, the Adolph Hitler quotes, and the Japanese aesthetic principles came off as filler. Too often the book felt like reading a networking event, as Kawaski promoted book after blog after website. Even so, there were still valuable gems tucked amongst all of the weeds.
Kawasaki had some good things to say in his chapters on push and pull technology. Push technology brings your story to people (Twitter, email, presentations) and pull technology brings people to your story (websites, blogs, Facebook, LinkedIn, Youtube). Of all of these platforms, Kawasaki was the most taken with Twitter. I liked his quote about how, “…retweeting, not imitation, is the sincerest form of flattery these days.” This idea speaks to Kawasaki’s definition of enchantment, which is something like: spy on people and talk to them about their stuff while plugging your own stuff. A nice way to put this idea into play with social media is to provide a place for followers to promote themselves. This could be as simple as including a thread on your company Facebook page where fans can plug their Twitter accounts. This, to me, seemed like an idea that nonprofits could adapt to their own schemes. If only Enchantment had included more thoughts like this one.
My big takeaway from reading Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions was that good writing, for me, is enchanting. I’ve read Penelope Trunk’s blog, which covers a lot of the same ground that Enchantment does, for years because her writing is so stellar. With Kawasaki, I wasn’t excited to learn anything because the structure and prose of his book was so uninspiring. As I’ve decided more and more that the nonprofit world is where I want to be, I’ve often wondered how my love of writing will fit into my career. I still don’t have an answer to that question, but reading Enchantment has shown me that, even in the age of 140 character limits and bite-sized Facebook posts, quality writing is still charming.
When I hadn’t even gotten to the numbered pages yet and read this sentence, “My Introduction to Macintosh removed the scales from my eyes, parted the clouds, and made me hear angels singing,” I knew that this book wasn’t going to be poetry. Kawasaki’s analogies were uncreative and his sentences were often clunky. There were some good ideas in Enchantment, but the Personal Stories that concluded every chapter, the Adolph Hitler quotes, and the Japanese aesthetic principles came off as filler. Too often the book felt like reading a networking event, as Kawaski promoted book after blog after website. Even so, there were still valuable gems tucked amongst all of the weeds.
Kawasaki had some good things to say in his chapters on push and pull technology. Push technology brings your story to people (Twitter, email, presentations) and pull technology brings people to your story (websites, blogs, Facebook, LinkedIn, Youtube). Of all of these platforms, Kawasaki was the most taken with Twitter. I liked his quote about how, “…retweeting, not imitation, is the sincerest form of flattery these days.” This idea speaks to Kawasaki’s definition of enchantment, which is something like: spy on people and talk to them about their stuff while plugging your own stuff. A nice way to put this idea into play with social media is to provide a place for followers to promote themselves. This could be as simple as including a thread on your company Facebook page where fans can plug their Twitter accounts. This, to me, seemed like an idea that nonprofits could adapt to their own schemes. If only Enchantment had included more thoughts like this one.
My big takeaway from reading Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions was that good writing, for me, is enchanting. I’ve read Penelope Trunk’s blog, which covers a lot of the same ground that Enchantment does, for years because her writing is so stellar. With Kawasaki, I wasn’t excited to learn anything because the structure and prose of his book was so uninspiring. As I’ve decided more and more that the nonprofit world is where I want to be, I’ve often wondered how my love of writing will fit into my career. I still don’t have an answer to that question, but reading Enchantment has shown me that, even in the age of 140 character limits and bite-sized Facebook posts, quality writing is still charming.
March 8, 2011
The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions
Enchantment is the culmination of Mr. Kawasaki’s life work. Between the covers of the book you will find the methods he used to help market the Macintosh. You will find what helps him launch new companies. You’ll see how ideas are taken from a person’s head into the “collective consciousness.”
You’ll find the heart and soul of Guy Kawasaki.
From achieving “likability” to using technology to how to enchant your boss, Mr. Kawasaki leaves no stone unturned as he details for you how, as Steve Wozniak is quoted on the cover of the book, “to create a company as enchanting as Apple.”
In Enchantment, Mr. Kawasaki makes frequent reference to two books: Influence by Robert Cialdini and How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. The latter is about making and keeping relationships with people and the former is about persuading people so that you get what you want.
By using those two “ingredients” and adding his own special flavoring, Mr. Kawasaki creates “enchantment” — that state of having people interested in you, your company, and what you’re doing. It’s more than winning a friend and it’s not as immediate as persuasion. It’s a long-term relationship built on trust.
In short, it’s marketing in an age when just one dissatisfied customer can use the power of the Internet to air grievances and voice complaints — and those will echo far and wide (and perhaps forever) in the online world.
That very same power can make a company great. It can also give the “little guy” an opportunity to go head-to-head with the “big guys.” The act of enchanting oftentimes goes beyond the product or service because, when done properly, it hits the heart and mind simultaneously. Thus, a computer is not merely a computer; it’s a “Mac.” An airline flight is more than a mode of transportation; in the hands of Virgin (Sir Richard Branson‘s company), it’s an “experience.” A simple bed and breakfast when practicing enchantment becomes someone’s “romantic weekend getaway.”
In our digital world when businesses either “churn and burn” or “coddle and caress” in their marketing methods, Mr. Kawasaki extolls the virtues of creating magic by what can be best summarized as being “nice.” It’s not a one-way push in either direction; it’s a delicate balance of listening to what your customers want and delivering what you have in a way that they not only understand, but embrace.
More Than Marketing
Enchantment is a business book. It’s a book about getting new clients and/or customers and keeping the ones you have. It will more than likely be labeled as a marketing book.
That’s unfortunate.
It’s unfortunate because overall, Enchantment is more than that.
More than the marketing methods and greater than the business ideas is the overarching meaning of Enchantment. In some ways it’s a modern day, business world version of Emily Post’s Etiquette. It explains how we should act toward each other as we reach for business connections and present our ideas and products and services to the world.
That’s only scratching the surface, though.
Yes, the methods and actions and ideas are important, but it’s the “soul” underlying them that is more important. It’s about being nice; looking for and striving for the win-win; it’s about making the world a better place.
Those things don’t come from mere actions. Like good manners, when done hollowly, they come off as cold, distant, and fake.
Therein is the reason many will fail as they try to enchant their market. Instead of using Mr. Kawasaki’s methods like a well-stated compliment or an endearing politeness, some will wield these methods like a club and come off like a smarmy huckster.
Luckily, Mr. Kawasaki provides many real-world examples of enchantment in action throughout the book and even has a chapter about how one can resist enchantment, that is how to see through fake attempts at enchantment.
This “soul” is also what makes Enchantment timeless. Because it’s a book about getting your message to your audience, Mr. Kawasaki discusses the technology and services that we are using now, such as Facebook and Twitter. Will these technologies be around in five years? Ten years? Who knows?
It doesn’t matter, though, because the ideas in Enchantment transcend them. No matter what is coming around the corner, the technical details may vary but the ideology will remain the same. It’s not the tools that are important, but the person using them.
A Gift and a Curse
One of the charms of Enchantment is that it contains the ideology and the methods of Mr. Kawasaki. It’s as if the contents of his brain were dumped onto the printed page.
That is, as Adrian Monk from the television show “Monk” would say, a gift and a curse.
It’s a gift because a person can literally turn to any page in Enchantment randomly and find a useful idea or method that he or she can, more often than not, apply immediately. For example, while writing this I opened the book and it fell to page 151. That is the first page of Chapter 10, “How to Enchant Employees.” On that page is the idea “Provide a MAP.”
Providing an opportunity for employees to achieve mastery, autonomy, and purpose (MAP) is more important than money.
Whether you’re in business or not, that’s a good piece of information to know. It makes sense. A person can use that both in the boardroom and on Main Street. It works.
Enchantment is chock full of information like that.
That’s also it’s curse.
There is an awful lot of information in this book. There are also an awful lot of methods. I think that there needed to be a section in the book that tied them all together into some sort of action plan that one could follow.
What should a small business do first to begin creating enchantment? Is there a way to enact these methods systematically?
It’s a minor quibble, but I think this addition to the book would have proven invaluable to many readers.
A Few Words to the Publisher
The publisher of Enchantment is Portfolio/Penguin Group. As a fellow publisher, I must say that they did an excellent job on the book. The design and layout of the interior is beautiful. While the size of the text is small (there is, after all, a lot of information in the book), it’s still very readable.
I also love the size of the book. It’s smaller than the usual trade hardcover size and that makes it very easy to hold when reading while laying in bed or lounging on a hammock.
My kudos to the publishing team that edited and designed the book. Great job! Keep up the good work!
Should You Become Enchanting?
Should you buy this book? More precisely, if you buy Enchantment, will the ideas and methods outlined in the book be of service to you?
The short answer is a resounding YES.
If you’re a person who wants to make a change in the world — whether through a business or through a personal mission — then Mr. Kawasaki’s information and lessons will help you to accomplish that. Think of it this way: If it helped Guy Kawasaki achieve what he did, then it most certainly will help you.
As an addition to a businessperson’s library, this will be a well-thumbed tome. No one will be able to implement everything after just one reading. Over time, though, you can take what you need from the book and use it when you’re ready. Over time, Enchantment will change the way you do some — perhaps most — of your marketing. It may even change the way you approach and do business.
Start today to make the move from persuading your customers to enchanting the world. You’ll be glad that you did!
Enchantment is the culmination of Mr. Kawasaki’s life work. Between the covers of the book you will find the methods he used to help market the Macintosh. You will find what helps him launch new companies. You’ll see how ideas are taken from a person’s head into the “collective consciousness.”
You’ll find the heart and soul of Guy Kawasaki.
From achieving “likability” to using technology to how to enchant your boss, Mr. Kawasaki leaves no stone unturned as he details for you how, as Steve Wozniak is quoted on the cover of the book, “to create a company as enchanting as Apple.”
In Enchantment, Mr. Kawasaki makes frequent reference to two books: Influence by Robert Cialdini and How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. The latter is about making and keeping relationships with people and the former is about persuading people so that you get what you want.
By using those two “ingredients” and adding his own special flavoring, Mr. Kawasaki creates “enchantment” — that state of having people interested in you, your company, and what you’re doing. It’s more than winning a friend and it’s not as immediate as persuasion. It’s a long-term relationship built on trust.
In short, it’s marketing in an age when just one dissatisfied customer can use the power of the Internet to air grievances and voice complaints — and those will echo far and wide (and perhaps forever) in the online world.
That very same power can make a company great. It can also give the “little guy” an opportunity to go head-to-head with the “big guys.” The act of enchanting oftentimes goes beyond the product or service because, when done properly, it hits the heart and mind simultaneously. Thus, a computer is not merely a computer; it’s a “Mac.” An airline flight is more than a mode of transportation; in the hands of Virgin (Sir Richard Branson‘s company), it’s an “experience.” A simple bed and breakfast when practicing enchantment becomes someone’s “romantic weekend getaway.”
In our digital world when businesses either “churn and burn” or “coddle and caress” in their marketing methods, Mr. Kawasaki extolls the virtues of creating magic by what can be best summarized as being “nice.” It’s not a one-way push in either direction; it’s a delicate balance of listening to what your customers want and delivering what you have in a way that they not only understand, but embrace.
More Than Marketing
Enchantment is a business book. It’s a book about getting new clients and/or customers and keeping the ones you have. It will more than likely be labeled as a marketing book.
That’s unfortunate.
It’s unfortunate because overall, Enchantment is more than that.
More than the marketing methods and greater than the business ideas is the overarching meaning of Enchantment. In some ways it’s a modern day, business world version of Emily Post’s Etiquette. It explains how we should act toward each other as we reach for business connections and present our ideas and products and services to the world.
That’s only scratching the surface, though.
Yes, the methods and actions and ideas are important, but it’s the “soul” underlying them that is more important. It’s about being nice; looking for and striving for the win-win; it’s about making the world a better place.
Those things don’t come from mere actions. Like good manners, when done hollowly, they come off as cold, distant, and fake.
Therein is the reason many will fail as they try to enchant their market. Instead of using Mr. Kawasaki’s methods like a well-stated compliment or an endearing politeness, some will wield these methods like a club and come off like a smarmy huckster.
Luckily, Mr. Kawasaki provides many real-world examples of enchantment in action throughout the book and even has a chapter about how one can resist enchantment, that is how to see through fake attempts at enchantment.
This “soul” is also what makes Enchantment timeless. Because it’s a book about getting your message to your audience, Mr. Kawasaki discusses the technology and services that we are using now, such as Facebook and Twitter. Will these technologies be around in five years? Ten years? Who knows?
It doesn’t matter, though, because the ideas in Enchantment transcend them. No matter what is coming around the corner, the technical details may vary but the ideology will remain the same. It’s not the tools that are important, but the person using them.
A Gift and a Curse
One of the charms of Enchantment is that it contains the ideology and the methods of Mr. Kawasaki. It’s as if the contents of his brain were dumped onto the printed page.
That is, as Adrian Monk from the television show “Monk” would say, a gift and a curse.
It’s a gift because a person can literally turn to any page in Enchantment randomly and find a useful idea or method that he or she can, more often than not, apply immediately. For example, while writing this I opened the book and it fell to page 151. That is the first page of Chapter 10, “How to Enchant Employees.” On that page is the idea “Provide a MAP.”
Providing an opportunity for employees to achieve mastery, autonomy, and purpose (MAP) is more important than money.
Whether you’re in business or not, that’s a good piece of information to know. It makes sense. A person can use that both in the boardroom and on Main Street. It works.
Enchantment is chock full of information like that.
That’s also it’s curse.
There is an awful lot of information in this book. There are also an awful lot of methods. I think that there needed to be a section in the book that tied them all together into some sort of action plan that one could follow.
What should a small business do first to begin creating enchantment? Is there a way to enact these methods systematically?
It’s a minor quibble, but I think this addition to the book would have proven invaluable to many readers.
A Few Words to the Publisher
The publisher of Enchantment is Portfolio/Penguin Group. As a fellow publisher, I must say that they did an excellent job on the book. The design and layout of the interior is beautiful. While the size of the text is small (there is, after all, a lot of information in the book), it’s still very readable.
I also love the size of the book. It’s smaller than the usual trade hardcover size and that makes it very easy to hold when reading while laying in bed or lounging on a hammock.
My kudos to the publishing team that edited and designed the book. Great job! Keep up the good work!
Should You Become Enchanting?
Should you buy this book? More precisely, if you buy Enchantment, will the ideas and methods outlined in the book be of service to you?
The short answer is a resounding YES.
If you’re a person who wants to make a change in the world — whether through a business or through a personal mission — then Mr. Kawasaki’s information and lessons will help you to accomplish that. Think of it this way: If it helped Guy Kawasaki achieve what he did, then it most certainly will help you.
As an addition to a businessperson’s library, this will be a well-thumbed tome. No one will be able to implement everything after just one reading. Over time, though, you can take what you need from the book and use it when you’re ready. Over time, Enchantment will change the way you do some — perhaps most — of your marketing. It may even change the way you approach and do business.
Start today to make the move from persuading your customers to enchanting the world. You’ll be glad that you did!
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