Magic By Design: Enchanted By The Guy

The Art of the Start got me started on the "Guy". Guy Kawasaki that is. I was intrigued by the 3 pearls of wisdom that he offered.

"Reboot your brain": Break away from old way of doing things and elect new ones, right in accordance with Rumi, "Conventional opinion is the ruin of our souls".  "Kill the Cash Cow": Apple killed Apple II in order to make way for the Macintosh. They could have continued milking it, but they would have eventually gotten passed up by everybody else. Clear away the old to make room for the new should be the on-going mantra. Skyline took this mantra to heart and re-defined trade show portability by introducing Arrive. "Polarize People": You obviously cannot be everything to everyone. Your goal is to create "high value, high uniqueness". What is so enchanting about these 3 pearls are its' strong bias towards contrarian belief system. Yet, it is firmly grounded in the perennial nature of our lives. You may use it to enhance your personal brand and escalate your professional career.

When Enchantment was published, it was all but natural for me to be bewitched by the "Guy" one more time. Of the 10 enchanting facets he talks about: Overcome Resistance, Chapter 6 was the enchanting factor for me. "Show People Your Magic". He cites an example: After automation, Waterford, the crystal maker in Dublin laid off more than 1000 craftsmen in 1987. Four years later, Dennis Ryan convinced three of these laid-off employees to move to Nova Scotia to preserve their craft. They opened a factory and showroom in 1996 and called the company Nova Scotian Crystal. During warm weather, the company opens a large garage door to the street so people can peer into the factory and watch the craftsmen at work. According to Rod McCulloch, the CEO of the business, enabling people to watch the manufacturing process “gets them into the showroom to buy eighty-dollar glasses”.

When people see how your magic works, they develop an interest in what you do and are more apt to buy your products, "support your ideas and join your cause." One a personal note, recently, Apple performed one such magic on me. When my G5 came to a crashing halt, I was crushed. I was equally enchanted by the magicians of the Genius Bar at the Apple store. My G5 is back, running like new at NO CHARGE. And of course, the machine was not under warranty. That day, some one in the Apple chain of command decided to cast the magic spell.

It worked! I am still spellbound.

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