Guy Kawasaki

I was blessed to welcome Guy Kawasaki to Intrepid Radio this week. Guy is someone I have long admired, and it was a pleasure to spend a few minutes with him. He is a former chief evangelist with Apple, founder of both Garage Technology Ventures and Alltop, as well as a best-selling author and speaker.

In this episode, Guy talks about the latest book, Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions, the importance of enchanting employees (not just customers), how to make your customers evangelists for your brand, how to overcome fear to be entrepreneurial, the power and utility of Alltop, how to send proper email that will be opened and acted upon, and how to overcome resistance.

It was a meaningful 20 minutes for me, I know you will enjoy and benefit too…

You can purchase the book here (affiliate link):

Reference: Enchantment (Facebook), Guy Kawasaki, Garage Technology Ventures, Alltop

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We’ll stipulate that many organizations don’t understand how to integrate the social web into their marketing.

The reasons vary:

1. Some don’t see value (the infernal ROI question).
2. Some don’t want employees “wasting time” with it.
3. Some fear they have nothing to say.
4. They do not want to be openly vulnerable to criticism.
5. Some fear they are sharing insider secrets.
6. Some worry they may lose control. Of their people. Of the message…

I will be honest. In just a few short years, the paradigm through which I view organizations has shifted. Dramatically.

In the past, I viewed favorably organizations that had cool advertisements, whether on television or clever full-page ads in the magazines I cared about.

A cool, hip magazine ad was tangible, in that if the message and/or image moved me, I could cut it out and tape it to my dorm room or office wall. Not long ago, my office inhabited the underground space of my house – and the bare walls were literally covered with whiteboards and dozens of magazine ads taped to the walls…

But these days, my office is where ever my laptop sits: coffee shops, co-working spaces, client’s offices, dining room table or the sofa.

And with that change, so has my view of engaging organizations.

These days, in my mind, organizations have to be present on the social web. Blogging, engaging, using Facebook or Twitter. If they are not? I view them differently, almost don’t take them as serious.

I am not suggesting this is the correct viewpoint. It is my viewpoint. But I suspect the viewpoint of many.

To me, when an organization cites one of the reasons listed above as to why they are not engaging on the social web, my opinion of them turns dramatically. Naturally, upon further investigation, one discovers a business culture that does not permit/allow/encourage/understand the value and power of the social web.

Most assume I am suggesting a complete marketing overhaul and using ONLY social media instead of any existing programs. And to me, this suggests a lazy culture. Now, that may be harsh, and I think a big piece of that non-execution is simply not understanding.

But fear of empowering employees to tap into their broad networks for the long-term benefit of the company is lazy.
Fear of making the effort to learn more is lazy.
Fear of sharing your knowledge of your market space with a world who wants to learn, is lazy.
Fear of connecting with a public, especially your customers, in a meaningful, personal way is lazy.

Yeah, I get it. It stands to reason that Nike, Apple and Zappos have more opportunity to be cool and hip with social media than a company that manufactures water filtration units.

Maybe. I still think an organization can be viewed as an innovative, unorthodox and clever organization doing good things, having an impact on their community — even if their market space isn’t sexy.

I think a big part of how that is conveyed is by how they are perceived, and that story can easily be told/shared via the social web. And to not play in that sandbox is just lazy.

Look, at the end of the day, social media may not play a major part in your marketing, but in this day and age, you need to be present there. And to close that off with a “talk to the hand” attitude, is symbolic of an organization looking for the easy way.

What do you think?

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[cartoon by @gapingvoid]

Enjoy this fascinating TED video lecture from Simon Sinek. If you ever wanted to understand why Apple is what it is, and how MLK did what he did, watch…

The MacBook Pro (from store.apple.com)

Well, I have finally made the decision. The decision I have NOT made with the last two computer purchases. I am finally switching to a Mac.

A MacBook Pro, in fact. Will probably happen sometime in the next month or two. And I can’t wait.

So I stopped by an Apple store at a crazy-silly-busy-suburban Atlanta mall yesterday with a friend. Not to make the purchase, but to ask some questions and learn as much as we could.

So, we walk into the store, only to see about 1,200 people in there. I almost turned around and left. But we headed in anyway and started looking at machines. And we were overwhelmed, to be honest.

[btw, the last Apple computer I had was an Apple IIc. It did enable graduation from college.]

Eventually we make contact with a gentleman named Matt. Young fellow. Just what you’d expect from an Apple employee (earrings, headset, cool hip Apple clothes, graphic designer by trade).

And if I had my wallet, I would have bought on the spot. He was the most engaging fellow, and man oh man did he know his stuff. Spent an hour with us. Answered every question. Answered every. stoopid. question.

I will just cut to the chase, so allow me to simply list the reasons our interaction with Matt solidified my conversion to a Mac. Pay close attention and apply his tactics to your situation:

1. He cared. He genuinely cared about our (my) stoopid questions. Never once losing patience with the inane crap coming out of my mouth.
2. He actually said “Hey no worries. I have nowhere to be. Let’s take our time!”
3. Being long-time PC users, we are burdened with PC thinking. He spent time explaining that the transitions would be easy ones…
4. But he also walked us through ways to keep as much of the PC experience, in case we needed to.
5. He really knew his stuff. I suppose Apple does a solid job training their people, but I don’t know this for sure. In any event, he knew a lot.
6. He was prepared for – and anticipated – all our (my) stoopid questions, with easy to understand answers and good metaphors to help goofs like me understand.
7. He didn’t upsell. Yeah, he could have sold us on higher priced equipment, but after carefully listening to how we use our machines, made it clear we would do well with less potent machines.
8. He. was. for. real. There was no “fake” in this guy. He sincerely came across as if he would rather be nowhere else.
9. He was passionate about Apple. I asked him about the iPad, curious to see how he’d respond, and wondering if he’d come across lukewarm. And frankly, after his passionate response, I now want one.
10. Apple salesmen do not work on commission. Which was glorious. Whoever decided on that policy ought to be commended. When I asked for Matt’s card, he said “Hey, I don’t work on commission. So remember, anyone here can serve you well.”

But the critical lesson here? He cared about us. He cared that all our questions were answered. And he cared enough to spend an hour of his day helping us learn, KNOWING we were not going to buy that day.

The point is, if you sincerely care about your customers and prospects, you will market yourself well. However that manifests itself…