Tag Archives: Guy Kawasaki
People Prefer to Work with People That They Like – (a Lesson from Guy Kawasaki about “How to Interact Well” with Clients & Customers)
“Likable” — having qualities that bring about a favorable regard
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So, I was talking to a consultant this morning. He has a client who provides a very common product – something that companies can buy from others, and they buy it constantly. So, they need to “set themselves apart,” and “product” is not the way to do this. Their product really is too common. He said that they need to get better at simple “customer interactions.” They need to learn “how to interact well” with their customers. This is a good, simple, clear phrase – “customer interactions.”
So, do you interact well with your customers?
I thought back through the books I have presented at the First Friday Book Synopsis, and remembered a section in Guy Kawasaki’s terrific book, Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions. The chapter headings alone in this book provide quite a “how to improve relations” agenda.
Consider these:
Chapter 2: How to Achieve Likeability
Chapter 3: How to Achieve Trustworthiness
Chapter 4: How to Prepare
Chapter 5: How to Launch
Chapter 6: How to Overcome Resistance
Chapter 7: How to Make Enchantment Endure
Chapter 10: How to Enchant Your Employees
Chapter 11: How to Use Enchant Your Boss
But it is chapter 2 that is especially useful for this issue: Chapter 2: How to Achieve Likeability. Here are some of the points, the steps to take to achieve likability:
• smile!
• dress for a tie
• perfect your handshake
• use the right words (simple; active voice; short; common, unambiguous analogies)
• accept others
• get close
• don’t impose your values
• pursue and project your passions
• find shared passions (assume everyone has passions)
• create win-win situations
• default to yes
Think about it. If you are not likable, if your employees are not likable – there is a pretty good chance your clients and customers won’t like you. And people really do prefer to work with and work for people that they like.
So, how do you interact well? Being more likable is a good place to start.
And, being likable is an ongoing quest. As Guy Kawasaki put it, you have to “start over tomorrow with the enchanting job. And do it every single day… forever!”
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You can purchase my synopsis of Enchantment, with handout + audio, at our companion site, 15minutebusinessbooks.com.
Here’s The Path: You Read, You Learn, You Do, You Tweak – Start with these Books
Here’s the path. You read, you learn, you do, you tweak.
First, you get the information. You get it in your head, you ponder it, you experiment with it – you try it. And then, after you try it, you do stuff — and after you do, you tweak, and make it better. And then you tweak some more, and make it even better.
But, it really can all start with reading.
That is the underlying message in the list of books that the Wall Street Journal compiled in this article by Michael Gerber: The Best Advice Around, From Those Who Took It: We asked entrepreneurs which self-help books helped them get their businesses off the ground or run them more smoothly.
Here’s the list of books – good ones all:
“The E-Myth” by Michael E. Gerber
“Who: The A Method for Hiring” by Geoff Smart and Randy Street
“Start With Why” by Simon Sinek
“The Art of the Start” by Guy Kawasaki
“Little Bets” by Peter Sims
“Mastering the Rockefeller Habits” by Verne Harnish
“Street Smarts: An All-Purpose Tool Kit for Entrepreneurs” by Norm Brodsky and Bo Burlingham
I have read three of these, presented synopses of two of them, and feel like I know one more (The Sinek book – through his TED talk). Here’s an observation or three: if you don’t yet have an “idea,” then read Little Bets. If you know where to start, but haven’t actually started yet, then read The Art of the Start (this is the book for anyone starting– in any definition of “starting”). And when you start, and you need to establish the disciplines of actually running a company (and you do!), be sure to read Mastering the Rockefeller Habits – it will help you establish your rhythm (“rhythm” — a big word in this highly practical and useful book).
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You can purchase my synopses of The Art of the Start and Mastering the Rockefeller Habits, with audio + handout, at our companion web site, 15minutebusinessbooks.com.
Win by Frank Luntz and The Thank You Economy by Gary Vaynerchuk — Coming for Next Month’s First Friday Book Synopsis, Friday, June 3
This morning, we had a terrific session of the First Friday Book Synopsis. Karl Krayer presented his synopsis of Tell to Win by Peter Guber, reminding us all of the centrality of story… It took me back to my graduate school days, where my professor at USC (Dr. Walter Fisher) taught us the narrative paradigm (Human Communication as Narration was the name of his quite academic book – a terrific book, a more terrific concept). The book that Karl presented was a more popular treatment of the power, the punch, the value of great story-telling – story-telling to win!
I presented my synopsis of Enchantment by Guy Kawasaki. A really practical book (Guy Kawasaki is the king of practical!), it taught us that “Great products, services, organization, and ideas are enchanting. Crap is not.” (a quote from the book). The call is to be enchanting in every interaction, to build the long-term relationships needed for business, and life, success. This was the third book I have presented by Guy Kawasaki — all of them excellent and useful books.
Next month (Friday, June 3), we will present synopses of two more good, valuable, useful books. Karl will present the synopsis of The Thank You Economy by Gary Vaynerchuk, and I will presnete the synopsis of Win: The Key Principles to Take Your Business from Ordinary to Extraordinary by Frank I. Luntz. (This will be the third book written by Luntz that I have selected).
If you are in the DFW area on June 3, come join us. If you can’t be with us, you can purchase our presentations, with the same handouts, from our companion web site: 15minutebusinessbooks.com. Most of the book synopses we have presented over the last few years are available on our site, and the presentations from this morning will be available within a few days.
Guy Kawasaki; Tell to Win – Come Join Us Friday For Two Great Books, Great People, And Great Food
There’s still time.
If you live in the DFW area, come join us this Friday (May 6) for the May First Friday Book Synopsis. We meet at the Park City Club. (near the Tollway and Northwest Highway).
Karl Krayer will present his synopsis of Tell to Win. I will present my synopsis of the terrific book by Guy Kawasaki, Enchantment.
You will meet some great people, eat a wonderful breakfast, and come away with some genuinely useful content.
Come join us.
Just click here to register.
Enchantment by Guy Kawasaki, and the Hidden Power of Story – Coming for the May First Friday Book Synopsis
We had a wonderful session for the April First Friday Book Synopsis, with presentations of Practically Radical and Change the Culture, Change the Game. Those synopses, with audio + handout, will soon be available on our companion web site, 15minutebusinessbooks.com.
For May, we have chosen two terrific business best-sellers.
I will present my synopsis of Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions by Guy Kawasaki. This will be the third book I’ve presented by Guy Kawasaki, so you can tell I am a big fan. The earlier two books were The Art of the Start (which is an ideal read for anyone starting – starting a new job, a new major project… starting anything important). And later, I presented Reality Check. Enchantment is the first book that I have read “early” in quite a while. I’ve blogged about it a time or two already. You can read the review by Bob Morris of this fine book on our blog here. He ends his review this way:
If asked to recommend one book that should be read by anyone now preparing for a business career or who has only recently embarked on one, I would suggest two: Reality Check and Enchantment.
Karl will present the best-seller Tell to Win: Connect, Persuade, and Triumph with the Hidden Power of Story by Peter Guber. This book is getting a lot of buzz, and reminds us that story is at the heart of all good communication.
If you are near the DFW area on May 6, I hope you can join us for the May First Friday Book Synopsis – 7:00 am, at the wonderful and beautiful Park City Club.
(Click for full size view). Here's the flier with all of the details.
Guy Kawasaki, The King Of Practical – Consider Four Things You Can Do To Make A Good Impression (From Enchantment)
There are two kinds of books (ok – probably more than two kinds). There are “practical” books, and there are “theroetical” books. They are both valuable. Think about it this way. You can read Where Good Ideas Come From by Steven Johnson to think about the big picture of how groups and societies look for and find big, good ideas. Or, you can read The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp to learn how to actually look for ideas – how to build the habits that help you find those good ideas.
Of course, they overlap. And they are both very valuable.
one enchanting Guy - and the king of practical
I thought of this as I read through Enchantment, the new book by Guy Kawasaki. How good is it? I have not yet scheduled my presentation of it, but I have read most of it anyway – I could not wait to read it. In my book-presentations-scheduled world, this is a rare luxury.
Why is it such a valuable book? Because Guy Kawasaki may be the king of practical. His points are clear, simple, a blinding flash of “well, of course” wisdom, but no one else says it as simply or as clearly as he does.
Consider this one small section (the book is filled with other such practical counsel): How do you make a good first impression? Kawasaki believes that you have to enchant others – your audience, your clients, your potential customers, your friends…
Enchantment transforms situations and relationships. It converts hostility into civility. It reshapes civility into affinity. It changes skeptics and cynics into believers.
And to do that, you need to make a good first impression. So how do you succeed at making that good first impression? There are four crucial factors:
1) your smile
2) your dress
3) your handshake
4) your vocabulary
And then, he elaborates on each of these – telling you just what to do.
As I said, Guy Kawasaki is the king of practical.
Now, go work on your handshake, your dress, your handshake, and your vocabulary – all aiming for enchantment.
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You might want to read the reveiw of this book by Bob Morris on our blog: Guy Kawasaki’s Enchantment: A book review by Bob Morris.
