Guy Kawasaki: How to turn hostility into loyalty and turn skeptics into adepts

- What role does the opportunity to share your dream with potential customers and users play in the success of the company?

- The three pillars on which the charm of the company rests are a high degree of trust, novelty of ideas and external attractiveness. Talking about your goals is important for two reasons. It’s not that everyone knows how big your goal is. You need to share your knowledge with people so they understand it. No one will come to you just like that, even if you come up with something brilliant. Second, your primary goal is to have a deep, stable and joyful relationship with consumers. Such relationships do not arise from ordinary sales. When you buy a Mac, you are buying a new vision of the world. So Apple fascinates, and other firms just sell.

“When you buy a Mac, you buy a new vision of the world. So Apple fascinates and other firms just sell. - There is a feeling that initially Apple did not expect such high performance and creative development. How did the company come to this?

- Like most of today’s big tech corporations, Apple began with “let’s do what we want to do” and “would be great if” rather than a super-idea of global power. Ultimately, it is the buyers who determine the status of the company.

- In the book you talk a lot about the availability of the company and its constant interaction with customers.

Thousands of people waited in line a few days before the launch of iPad sales in the United States. Skeptics call this devotion to the product sectarianism. Don’t get me wrong: you don’t have to go all the time and look everyone in the eye. Responding to emails, tweets, and other requests will make you better than most. Charm requires only courtesy and respect. Unfortunately (or fortunately for my readers), these simple things are no longer obvious in our time.

- Can a very good product be successful without a clear vision?

- Of course, this whole story of long-term planning is grossly overrated. Most entrepreneurs don’t have far-reaching plans and grand plans for the product or service they’re just launching. At the very beginning, the right approach is “would be great if,” not “someday the whole world will be at our feet.” Megalomans are rarely charming or successful.

People with ambitious and far-reaching plans immediately try to chew a nut that they clearly can not teeth. Using another analogy, they try to boil the ocean, and they should start by boiling the kettle. I very much doubt Richard Branson foresaw the scale of the Virgin Group. I bet he just wanted to build an airline that was better than everyone else.

Responding to emails, tweets, and other requests in a timely manner will make you better than most. Charm requires only politeness and respect. Once you have achieved something significant, you can backdate that you always planned to do it. You are entitled to it, but in fact we will know that you have achieved much more success than you ever imagined.

- You talk a lot about virtual social media. What do you think about the power of charm when a company communicates with consumers? Is a face-to-face conversation stronger than a written word?

- Live communication is more effective, but also more difficult than written communication, because when communicating live, much more is expected of you. However, live communication still suggests that you can respond politely and promptly in writing (within 24 hours). The advantage of the written word is that you reach more people faster, as Twitter and Facebook now allow.

[Business evangelism] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evangelism_marketing) is a type of marketing in which the role of promoters is performed by dedicated consumers who convince others of the advantage of the product in which they believe. One of the founders of this type of product promotion is Guy Kawasaki.- How to make a great live presentation?

- The key points of the presentation are brevity, graphics and demonstrativeness. First, I suggest you stick to the following rule: 10 slides, 20 minutes, 30 font size. Secondly, use more graphic elements: tables, graphs, diagrams - your thought should be visual. Third, a visual demonstration is worth a thousand slides.

- Generosity, reciprocity, modesty, pleasure, passion – all these concepts are mentioned in the book. You might think it’s about being a good person, not about building a successful company. Can a business grow without a charismatic leader?

- Of course it can. The word “charisma” never appears in the book. The danger is that under the guise of a charismatic leader lies an insecure narcissist who needs the attention of sycophants. Such a person usually surrounds himself with his own small copies, which entails a number of other problems. I do not advocate a cult of personality and blind faith in anyone. Reliability and ability to dispose of themselves are the main qualities of a leader. If you want to define a leader, it’s “worthy,” not “charismatic.” Calm, pleasant, reliable, thinking about the interests of other people.

“Reliability and the ability to attract oneself are the main qualities of a leader. If you want to define a leader, it’s “worthy,” not “charismatic.” Calm, pleasant, reliable, thinking about the interests of other people - How do you fascinate yourself, especially when you’re working on a long and complex project that doesn’t have a clear ending?

- Enchanting yourself and others is a process, not a single event. It’s like fitness: you can’t stay in shape without constant training. Perhaps there is something oriental in this: it is easy to learn, but it will take a lifetime to master it perfectly. The best way is to enjoy the process. At Apple, we had a saying: “The journey itself is the reward.”

Source: theoryandpractice.ru