book club: Guy Kawasaki's Enchantment
From time to time I meet students, first jobbers and the like looking to make their way into the advertising world.
Why they come to me me for career advice is probably questionable, bearing in mind my chequered history but if there's anything I can impart of value it's along the lines of 'look at what i did, NOW DON'T DO THAT'.
Thankfully, I now have a get out of jail card to hand, in the form of Guy Kawasaki's new book Enchantment.
If you are familiar with Guy's previous works, Art of The Start and Reality Check in particular, then the concepts are broadly similar.
In typical GK self depreciation style he once remarked that he had written 9 business books, or perhaps written one business book nine times...
Enchantment is a kind of Greatest Hits, if you like.
But with exclusive bonus tracks and remixes.
Obviously Guy's key area of experience and expertise is in the Silicon Valley tech thing but Enchantment is the rare case of a 'business' book that's relevant for just about any person in any business anywhere.
In a nutshell the book is structured around ten or so key take-aways, each with a chapter, essential nuggets for anyone who wants to influence others, win them over and get them to buy in to an idea or project.
Likability, trustworthiness, having a cause, how to overcome resistance, enchanting your boss, enchanting your employees and, of course, the obilgatory practical application of social technologies to achieve those goals, are among them.
I was fortunate enough to receive a draft copy of the original manuscript a few months back to hack and return. Suffice to say there was very little I would have changed. I made the sum total of one edit and returned it.
It must have been a good edit though as he left it in...
There's no bull-shitake in the text, it's highly readable and entertaining, infused with Guy's own personality and wit, and peppered with other real-life examples of Enchantment in practice from other guest contributors.
In essence it's simply a tome of uncommon sense. One gets an experience of almost remembering things that have been buried away in the back of your mind that are brought back to the surface as the pages turn.
A must-read.
Thanks Guy.
