Guy Kawasaki should know the Art of the Start, the title of his new book. With his impressive background as an Apple-Fellow at Apple Computer and an employee partially responsible for the success of the Macintosh brand, Guy Kawasaki then had the brass to start his own company, Garage Technology Ventures, an early-stage venture film, for which he is managing director.

 Kawasaki's new book, The Art of the Start: The Time-Tested Battle-Hardened Guide for Anyone Starting Anything could not be more aptly named. Here, Kawasaki lays out practical and yet not obviously intuitive (which is what gives this book it's real value, for if we all knew what Kawasaki knew, we'd be golden - thank god he's the sharing sort) strategies for anyone who, as the title says, is starting anything, and while I won't go through the entire book step-by-step (because I highly recommend you read it), I will say that many of the steps not obvious and are some real gems. The first step before starting anything: Add Meaning, Kawasaki tells us. However we define that, whether it's to change the world, continue a good thing, whatever the case, our project or goal must have some deeper meaning that we really believe in.

Without meaning, we have nothing.  At first reading, this may seem trite, but really think about it and look deeper and you'll see that  Kawasaki is absolutely right. Most entrepreneurs are insanely driven and have a unique vision that either adds meaning in a way that did not previously exist or an idea that builds on an already existing technology or idea in a way that enhances it for the rest of us -- a technique that Kawasaki endorses by the way - why create a business model from scratch when there are so many good ones that you can follow. It's an excellent strategy, and one that any branding expert or publicist worth her salt will tell you is that one of the first things you want to do when presenting an unknown or new product or service or even marketing a book as i did as a publisher is to compare yourself and draw clear parallels between your product or idea to an already existing and successful model - to give the VCs, the public, whomever, something to latch onto so that they know what you are about. It's far simpler to understand an idea if you have a reference point or a touchstone of sorts.

For example, from my own experience, when i started and was Editorial Director of Lumen Editions, a publishing house that i founded and that specialized in literary translations - a tough market to be sure - we had, among others,  a Spanish author who was well-known in Europe, but largely unknown here. Reading his book reminded me somewhat of Dostoevsky's Underground Man, and so, in the press release, i compared the book to Dostoevsky. It was a cocky move, and by no means was i saying this was "the new Dostoevsky" but what this did do was give the book buyers and the book reviewers, more importantly, a sense of what this guy was all about.  Pretty much every review that came out then compared this new author to Dostoevsky - so the theory holds true.  In short, i did what Kawasaki suggest here - i spoon-fed the public or the reviewers in this case, what i wanted them to see so that they would have that touchstone and assign meaning.  And Kawasaki is quick to add too that if you are going to make a comparison or draw that parallel, be sure that it's a line you want to make and a connection that is valid or that you really want. Remember, that the stronger the connection, the more you stand to gain and to lose. If you compare yourself to Enron for example and Enron, as we know, goes down, then you may lose out yourself, so be careful and use caution and good judgement when doing this. It's best, as Kawasaki points out, to find parallels that have withstood the test of time (so in my case,i chose Dostoevsky because he had a reputation for the market that i was trying to reach and also, he was dead and couldn't have a "flop" so to speak, so it worked). I should point out that we did this at Lumen time and time again and it never failed, so Kawasaki's advice, while i did not know it at the time and was working on my own instinct as he is when he did these things, have proven to work. Certainly, they worked for Kawasaki and many others, and as i judge this book and review it, i can tell you first hand that even before i read this, these very intuitive (and this is Kawasaki's gift, or one of them anyway) ideas really work in the real world and that is key.

There are many things that are enjoyable in this book, not only Kawasaki's ideas and excellent practical tips, but his loose and easy writing style and his lack of pretentiousness and willingness to call us or anyone who overuses words, or as he says so succinctly, "Find unique language or offer scientific proof points, and don't be tempted to think that you have the only product described with such over-familiar adjectives as <I>intuitive, secure, fast, and scalable</I>." God, is he right. I remember being in meetings and hearing the words "actionables" and "scalable" and "vertical market" and playing bullshit bingo for hours on end; problem was, one could reach <I>Bingo</I>! within a few short minutes, alas.

Practical advice runs the gamut from Make Meaning, with a lovely quote from Beethoven ("I have never thought of writing for reputation and honor. What I have in my heart must come out: that is the reason why I compose.") which brings to this writer's mind another and similar, I think, quote by Van Gogh who once said that when he felt taken with seizures (most know that Van Gogh, like many great artists, including some have speculated Beethoven was epileptic). Van Gogh said that (and I paraphrase), when he feels that fire there is nothing left to do but "take my revenge by painting the stars."  If you do not know what it is that your company adds to the world or to the market, then essentially, you have nothing. Make Meaning does not have to mean change the world, though certainly it could mean that, but however big or small it is, you want to know what that meaning is and believe in it. More, you need  every single person who works for you to believe in that meaning and this is where Kawasaki says you must create a Mantra - an expresssion, thought, idea that is not public, but is known by all involved in the company and that motivates and helps them want to make that meaning every day. Kawasaki provides excellent examples of various Mantras and has tables of Mantras versus Taglines - all of which are a valuable resource for anyone interested in business but also and perhaps more importantly, that serves as a kind of guide for the person starting up so that they really understand the difference between the two.
 

As Kawasaki notes, there are some things that are just essential to running a company and without them one is doomed to fail. Yes, first, find meaning. After, then you find your Mantra as i've said above, but never confuse this with your Tagline. The difference, one is internal, the other external - the internal to motivate and inform employees and even employer as required as to the company's original mission purpose. The Tagline, to inform the public.  Note too, that Kawasaki provides excellent examples of the greatest taglines, like IBM's "Think" and Nike "Authentic athletic performance." IT should evoke "power and emotion," writes Kawasaki, and indeed, he does. His advice, postpone writing your mission statement until you know what your mantra is. In short, until you're sold on your idea and have a mantra that can motivate others, then your mission statement is useless.  Other ideas abound in this book that are unconventional and one should read the whole book to get the sense, but others include having satellite branches of the company where new products are developed to help forge a sense of almost rebellious drive that has certainly proven to work for companies like Apple, and Kawasaki should know.  These details while they may seem small are infact, vital to the success of the start -up for what you are really doing is not only asking all the tough questions first, but answering them in a more profound way than you ever will in a business plan, though that's important, but this is different. Here, Kawasaki sounds more like a philosopher who wants to get to the deeper meaning and asks, like Aristotle did, ask of anything what it's real purpose is - what is it at it's core, what does it do, what is it's <i>nature</i>.  There will come a time for business plans and PowerPoint Presentations, but those often come too soon before the big questions are asked and answers and this may well be why so many companies indeed fail. 

There are too many great quotes in this book to pull them all out, but one that sits well with anyone who has felt overlooked in a company small or large (but i would imagine, especially a large corporation) is the following, taken from Kawasaki's advice "Give Hope to the Hopeful." He writes<b>"Good people in big companies may be trampled, but they are not dead. When you show them that you're driving a stake in the heart of the status quo you will attract support and resources. Then your goal is to advance these people from wanting to see innovation happen to helping you make it happen."</b>

 So, hear ye, all of you rebels out there, all of you who were told "it's not possible" and have sat at frustratingly dull and soul-deadening jobs for years on end when you knew all along that if you had been given the chance, you could have, or would have at least tried, to do something really revolutionary, then read Guy Kawasaki because he does indeed offer what he promises, which is <I>hope to the hopeful</I>.

There's a lot here for everyone, and I would even say that to venture forth if you are starting a business now and purposefully not read this book would be perhaps a fatal mistake. I think even for the seasoned business person, there is a great deal to be learned from Kawasaki, and if you're anything like I am, take copious notes, underline and outline and take what you need, but what I can say is that it is all there for the offering in this book, and that more, it is written with verve, spirit and great courage and insight.

 I can't wait to read Kawasaki's other books, especially <I>Rules for Revolutionaries</I>. I think this man and I have a great deal in common. I think anyone who has ever had to deal with office politics and been stuck in a cubicle and all the while knowing that they had an idea that would be not only great for them, but could perhaps do something truly great for the company and take it to a whole other level, will really admire Kawasaki's ideas, energy, and forthrightness. Who wouldn't want to be chosen as a one of his revolutionaries and be sent off-site to a think tank where you could just create for the sake of making meaning as he says, chanting your mantra all the while and just believing against all odds because deep down, you know this is good and right.

sadi ranson-polizzotti
this article first appeared on www.blogcritics.org
please stay tuned for a forthcoming interview with Guy Kawasaki coming up soon.