Wise Guy: Lessons From a Life by Guy Kawasaki

Without a master plan Guy dove into projects and learning what he could. It seems to have worked out. As a Macintosh evangelist, it was his job to convince people to make software for a computer with no installed base. His advice is to first find something great if you are going to promote it. He also finds that test drives are more important than ads, and you need to learn how to give a good demo. Never lie so you don’t have to bother to remember your lies.
As the author of fifteen books Guys suggests that if you want to write well you need to read a lot of work by great writers. If you want to write a book you should feel that you have something to say that will benefit mankind. Try to avoid adverbs ending in ly or the verb to be, which indicates passive voice, and eliminate double spaces.
As for speaking tips he suggests you use white text on a black background. Go for a smaller room that is likely to be packed, and make friends with the tech people. Circulate with the audience as they arrive. Start with something at deals with the locality you are speaking at. Use big fonts and ten slides max. Tell stories and don’t talk for more than twenty minutes. He sees social media as a powerful way to promote yourself and offers specific advice.

This is the Hawaiian word for family, which includes anyone you have a relationship with. In this chapter people from Guy’s Ohana offer wisdom. Here are a few samples: A measure of a person’s goodness is how they treat people who can be of no use to them. Put your family first. Help others when you can where you can. Admit when you don’t know something and give unproved people a chance. Nobody gets anywhere without help. Be quick to reward people who help you. Always support your children’s interests. Collaboration can be rewarding and entertaining.

Here Guy offers some final nuggets of wisdom. The key to success is to acquire valuable skills that are unique. A growth mindset is vital as it promotes continuous learning. You also need to be determined and work hard. Smile and laugh a lot as this will make life easier. Assume that people are good and help them. Examine everything and be skeptical rather than negative. Enable people to pay you back as a way to help them. You can’t make everyone happy so be sure to dance to your own music. Thanks, Guy.

Guy is an American-Japanese marketing specialist, author, and Silicon Valley venture capitalist. He was one of the Apple employees originally responsible for marketing their Macintosh computer line in 1984. He popularized the word evangelist in marketing the Macintosh and the concepts of evangelism marketing and technology evangelism. He is the author of fourteen other books that you can find on his Wikipedia page. You can email him at GuyKawasaki@Gmail.com.

Book Summaries