[The short version if you're in a hurry: Buy this book. It rocks. I love it. Two thumbs up.]

Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions

Let me start by saying that once I started this book, I could not put it down.  I read it in one sitting.  It’s that good.  Coming in at just over 200 pages, I can honestly say that Guy hasn’t wasted a single page.  This book is filled with ideas and practical ways to implement them in your business.

If you don’t need this book for yourself, one of my thoughts while reading it was that it would make a very cool gift for anyone that’s thinking of going into business for themselves. It will motivate them and give them some very solid advice on how they should be doing business.  Ok…now that I got that out of my system, let’s get on with the official details. I’ll wax poetic again at the end of this post. lol.

This is Guy’s tenth book. In it, he explains how to influence what people will do while maintaining the highest standards of ethics. The book explains when and why enchantment is necessary and then the pillars of enchantment: likability, trustworthiness, and a great cause. The next topics are launching, overcoming resistance, making enchantment endure, and using technology. There are even special chapters dedicated to enchanting your employees and your boss.

However, that description doesn’t do his book the justice it deserves. Any informed or intelligent reader will see that this book also talks about a philosophy of business. And it’s an incredibly valid one. It’s about doing business the right way. The way that everybody wins.  I’ve never read a business book in just one sitting, nor found one without any wasted pages. This book broke both of those rules.

Guy Kawasaki is the co-founder of Alltop.com, an “online magazine rack” of popular topics on the web, and a founding partner at Garage Technology Ventures. Previously, he was the chief evangelist of Apple. Kawasaki is the author of ten books including Enchantment, Reality Check, The Art of the Start, Rules for Revolutionaries, How to Drive Your Competition Crazy, Selling the Dream, and The Macintosh Way. Kawasaki has a BA from Stanford University and an MBA from UCLA as well as an honorary doctorate from Babson College.

I’m pretty sure you’ve heard of Richard Branson and Steve Wozniak.  Here’s what they had to say:

“Guy’s book captures the importance — and the art — of believing in an idea that delivers something entirely unique to the customer. The power of a really good idea to transform the marketplace and individual customer experiences is huge, and this book offers a wealth of insights to help businesses and entrepreneurs tap into that potential.”
— Sir Richard Branson, Founder of the Virgin Group

“Read this book to create a company as enchanting as Apple.”
— Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple

Here’s an infographic of “the process” of enchantment:

Go buy this book. For yourself and for someone trying to get started. It’s worth the investment. It’s one of the few books on my shelves that I’ll be referring to pretty often.  It’s not one that will be getting dusty sitting on the shelf. You can see it and order it on Amazon.com by clicking here.

Thank you.  Be well.

 John