A Serial Entrepreneur’s Take On Guy Kawasaki’s "Enchantment"
A Serial Entrepreneur’s Take On Guy Kawasaki’s Enchantment

		As I noted in Why Most Business Books (Still) Suck,    I am generally not a fan of business books. Although many are entertaining,    most fail to provide entrepreneurs with a sufficient return on their time    investment. If you are a leader at a startup and you are reading a business book,    you are not closing customers, raising capital, improving your product, or    spending time with your loved ones. 
Unfortunately, most business books do not offer    entrepreneurs an adequate payoff. However, Guy Kawasaki’s latest book, Enchantment:    The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds and Actions (Enchantment) is an exception. 
The short version of my review is: “Enchanting? Yes.”
If you are curious as to why a serial entrepreneur who    does not generally appreciate business books gives Enchantment a thumbs-up, read on…

If you haven't already subscribed yet,  subscribe now for free weekly Infochachkie articles!
Fan, Not A Fan Boy
I have used Guy’s previous book, The Art  Of The Start (Art), in my  UC Santa Barbara New Venture Creation class for the past five years. Quarter-after-quarter,  it has inspired and enlightened my students. It has also influenced my  thoughts, as evidenced by the six infoChachkie blog entries which reference Art.
 I read Enchantment anticipating that it might augment my Entrepernurial  Selling class, which focuses on influence and persuasion, rather than sales  tactics. I was not disapointed. 
Tricking The Jedi
It is no surprise that I enjoyed Enchantment. The second most referenced author on my blog, after  Kawasaki, is Robert Cialdini, co-author of Yes! 50-Scientifically Proven Ways to Be  Persuasive (Yes!) and author  of Influence: The Psychology Of  Persuasion. Enchantment cites Mr. Cialdini throughout. Guy even gives him a nod in his index,  indicating that thought leaders often assess a new book by flipping to the index  to see if their name is included. At the beginning of the index, Guy writes, “I  hope Robert Cialdini checks this index.” No doubt, he did. 
Enchantment complements  these widely-read works by focusing influence and persuasion through an  entrepreneurial lens. For instance, Guy refers to an entrepreneur’s venture as  their “cause.” A cause can be a: non-profit, Internet startup, idea, political  opinion, or coffee shop. Anything that you are passionate about and are willing  to expend energy to motivate others to support, qualifies as a cause.
Guy utilizes a pragmatic, hands-on approach, which provides  readers with tools to enhance their persuasion capabilities, rather than simply  presenting them a non-actionable narrative. For instance, the table of contents  also serves as a checklist by which the reader can keep track of the persuasion  skills they have mastered. 
At the conclusion of Enchantment,  Guy includes a 20-question test which enables  readers to assess their persuasion  capabilities. He then helps readers evaluate their results with some amusing  “grades.” For instance, he classifies test-takers scoring  between 19 and 20 as, “You can teach Steve  Jobs a thing or two,” while he suggests to those scoring  between zero and five that they should, “Ask  Guy for a refund.” I scored 18, which entitles me to “Go forth and enchant.” 
This practical approach also manifests itself in Guy’s  action-oriented section headings. For instance, in the chapter entitled, “How  To Enchant Your Boss”, readers are instructed to:

 Make Your Boss Look Good


 Drop Everything And Do What  Your Boss Asks


 Underpromise, Overdeliver


 Prototype Your Work


 Show And Broadcast Progress


 Form Friendships


 Ask For Mentoring


 Deliver Bad News Early

Things I Loved

  Pithy – Guy is the Steven King of business books. Like King, his  writing style is breezy and engaging. The brief chapters lend themselves to  multiple sittings, allowing a busy entrepreneur to read each chapter in short  increments.


 Little Bull Shitake – Guy’s  stature in the business publishing world allows him to talk straight. For  instance, he pointedly describes the petty nature of the negative feedback he  received when he asked his blog readers to submit cover art on spec. Guy is  enchanting without pulling his punches.


 Quotes – Guy’s use of quotes  is hardly unique. However, the quotes he uses are particularly thoughtful and effectively  set the stage for the text that follows. My favorite quotes, along with the  corresponding headings include: 



 Phrasing – Fluency is the ease  by which people comprehend the information communicated to them. The easier a  concept is to understand and recall, the more influential the concept. Guy  takes this approach to heart with the use of memorable phrasing, such as: 

“flow  with the go”
“Facebook is for  show, LinkedIn is for dough”
“familiarity  breeds commitment” 
“artificial  dissemination” 


 Honesty – As in Art, Guy stresses the importance of Honesty and encourages his readers to act as mensch and freely do good deeds. He notes that enchantment borne of deception is  fleeting. 


 Field Manual – Enchantment is a practical how-to book that  entrepreneurs can repeatedly refer to when tackling specific issues, such as;  “How To Overcome Resistance”, “How To Use Push Technology” or, “How To Enchant  Your Employees.”


 Accessible – Guy stresses  that enchantment is open to everyone who is likeable, trustworthy and has an  awesome cause. This inclusive approach motivates emerging entrepreneurs by  demystifying the paths to success.

Things I Liked

 Bibliography – Students of  persuasion will appreciate the inclusion of a comprehensive list of current and  classic books that can augment their ability to influence others.


 Sidebars – Each chapter  concludes with a personal story describing a significant enchanting event in  the lives of various entrepreneurs. Most of these life-stories loosely  reinforce each chapter’s topic. 
  
 Photos – Guy, an avid  photographer, includes a number of candid photos that give the book an  intimate, genuine flavor seldom seen in mass market business books.

Things I Liked Less

 Cover Story – After the index,  Guy includes a few pages that describe the “making of” the book’s cover. I am  sure this was an exciting process for everyone concerned, but it is better  suited to a blog entry, rather than the epilogue.


 Concentration – As noted  above, I am a big fan of Cialdini. However, greater exposure to studies  performed by other, less widely-read persuasion experts would have been  appreciated. 


 Obsolescence – By Guy’s own  admission, his references to current technologies, such as Facebook, Twitter,  and LinkedIn build in an implicit shelf-life. My hope is that he and his  publisher diligently update future editions of Enchantment to include emerging technologies while removing those that  are obsolete.

Positive ROI
  Guy’s greatest insight is  that, “Enchantment is a process, not an event.” One might logically extend this  quote to say, “Enchantment is not a process, it is a way of life.” By nature,  entrepreneurs are impatient and typically seek quick solutions so they can  advance to the next challenge. However, as Guy makes clear, enchantment is not  a silver bullet. It will not immediately resolve your startup’s problems,  but  will significantly reduce the overall  friction of your adVenture’s journey. 
I highly recommend Enchantment for both experienced and emerging entrepreneurs. The time spent  reading Enchantment will net a significant return. Buy a copy for yourself, your Core  Team and your key employees – anyone who is in a position to enchant  your Donors, investors, employees, customers, and other  stakeholders. I look forward to incorporating Enchantment into my Selling classes’ curriculum.  

					



Share and Enjoy



        		