Selling the Dream

by Guy Kawasaki

Guy Kawasaki's phenomenal success at Apple Computer and as a start-up entrepreneur was the result of an innovative approach to sales, marketing, and management called evangelism. Evangelism means convincing people to believe in your product or ideas as much as you do, by using fervor, zeal, guts, and cunning to mobilize your customers and staff into becoming as passionate about a cause as you are. Selling the Dream is a handbook and workbook for putting evangelism into action. Kawasaki charts a complete blueprint for the beginning evangelist that covers such topics as how to define a cause (whether it is a business, like Windham Hill Records or the Body Shop, or a public interest concern, like the National Audubon Society or Mothers Against Drunk Driving), how to identify good and bad enemies, how to deliver an effective presentation, and how to find, train, and recruit new evangelists. One of the highlights of the book is a short course in developing an evangelistic business plan, illustrated by the complete, original Macintosh Product Introduction Plan. Selling the Dream will teach you how to become a raging, inexorable thunder lizard of an evangelist -- a leader whose words will never fall on deaf ears again.

Genres: Business, Nonfiction, Leadership, Self Help, Entrepreneurship

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

I was born in Honolulu, Hawaii in 1954. My family lived in a tough part of Honolulu called Kalihi Valley. We weren’t rich, but I never felt poor-because my mother and father made many sacrifices for my sister and me. My mother was a housewife, and my father was a fireman, real estate broker, state senator, and government official during his long, distinguished career.

I attended Iolani School where I graduated in 1972. Iolani is not as well known as its rival, Punahou because no presidents of the U. S. went there, but I got a fantastic and formative education there. (Punahou is “USC,” and Iolani is “Stanford”—but I digress.) I pay special tribute to Harold Keables, my AP English teacher.He taught me that the key to writing is editing. No one in the universe would be more shocked that I have written ten books (or one book ten times) than Harold Keables.

After Iolani, I matriculated to Stanford; I graduated in 1976 with a major in psychology—which was the easiest major I could find. I loved Stanford. I sometimes wish I could go back in time to my undergraduate days “on the farm.”

After Stanford, I attended the law school at U.C. Davis because, like all Asian-American parents, my folks wanted me to be a “doctor, lawyer, or dentist.” I only lasted one week because I couldn’t deal with the law school teachers telling me that I was crap and that they were going to remake me.

The following year I entered the MBA program at UCLA. I liked this curriculum much better. While there, I worked for a fine-jewelry manufacturer called Nova Stylings; hence, my first real job was literally counting diamonds. From Nova, its CEO Marty Gruber, and my Jewish colleagues in the jewelry business, I learned how to sell, and this skill was vital to my entire career.

I remained at Nova for a few years until the the Apple II removed the scales from my eyes. Then I went to work for an educational software company called EduWare Services. However, Peachtree Software acquired the company and wanted me to move to Atlanta. “I don’t think so.” I can’t live in a city where people call sushi “bait.”

Luckily, my Stanford roommate, Mike Boich, got me a job at Apple; for giving me my chance at Apple, I owe Mike a great debt. When I saw what a Macintosh could do, the clouds parted and the angels started singing. For four years I evangelized Macintosh to software and hardware developers and led the charge against world-wide domination by IBM. I also met my wife Beth at Apple during this timeframe—Apple has been very good to me.

Around 1987, my job at Apple was done. Macintosh had plenty of software by then, so I left to start a Macintosh database company called ACIUS. It published a product called 4th Dimension. To this day, 4th Dimension remains a great database.

I ran ACIUS for two years and then left to pursue my bliss of writing, speaking, and consulting. I’ve written for Macuser, Macworld, and Forbes. I call these the “Wonder Years” as in “I wonder how I came to deserve such a good life.”

In 1989, I started another software company called Fog City Software with three of the best co-founders in the world: Will Mayall, Kathryn Henkens, and Jud Spencer. We created an email product called Emailer which we sold to Claris and then a list server product called LetterRip.

In 1995 I returned to Apple as an Apple fellow. At the time, according to the pundits, Apple was supposed to die. (Apple should have died about ten times in the past twenty years according to the pundits.) My job on this tour of duty was to maintain and rejuvenate the Macintosh cult.

A couple years later, I left Apple to start an angel investor matchmaking service called Garage.com with Craig Johnson of Venture Law Group and Rich Karlgaard of Forbes. Version 2.0 of Garage.com was an investment bank for helping entrepreneurs raise money from venture capitalists. Today, version 3.0 of Garage.com is called Garage Technology Ven

Reviews

[Parth Desai · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very nice book, Must Read

[CV Rick · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm too much of a cynic when it comes to business and marketing. Kawasaki has done some amazing things in his life in the field, but . . .

And there's always a but, isn't there.

He can't relate to what I do because he's always had virtually an unlimited budget, unlimited talent, and unlimited innovation to promote. It's not difficult to sell the world magic.

I felt like it didn't apply and I'm immune to motivational mumbo-jumbo.

[Ermal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Firstly, Guy Kawasaki seems to be a nice, funny and entertaining person. However, I think that this Book is a bit outdated, which makes sense since it its almost 40 years old.
It basically talks about the idea of having a „real“ Bond with your customers or so called „Evangelists“. Additionally, it talks about your cause, which is crucial for Building a Business.
Ideas that seem to be mainstream nowadays.

Still a solid Book!

[Chu Qiao · Rating 3 out of 5]

Only the customer determines which organizations win and which organization lose.
resist trying to push people away from your enemies, and ignore the temptations of revenge and retribution. instead, create a superior alternative that pulls people away.
honey works better than vinegar. do what is right for your customer.
Let people experience your cause.

if you praise an evangelistic enemy, you excite it. if you criticize it, you incit it. if you ignore it, you make it nervous, and a nervous enemy makes mistakes, besides, there is little you can do to harm an enemy.. this doesn't mean you don't want to know as much as you can about your enemy. its product plans, distribution practices, management structure, and financial resources. you do. just don;t compare your product or organization with your enemy's in full view of the publi.
aikido offers reasonable rsponses and promotes your casue without a negative tone.

hire evangelist candidates for jobber
what is th emission of our cause?
do you believe in our cause?
why is our cause important to you?

what does being an evangelist mean to you?
how would you attack our cause if you were our enemy?

what is our organizaiton doing wrong?

[Zane Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Seems conventional. Maybe so much of its message is now the norm that it’s hard to see what’s valuable.

The original mac launch plan is interesting though.

[Robb Lightfoot · Rating 4 out of 5]

A decent read. It's a bit dated, of course, but it's helpful to anyone involved in a business, non-profit or activity that requires recruits. The latter parts were, to my mind, a bit obvious. But most of the book had very practical tips on how to generate interest. I particularly like the section where he talks about your rivals. "No small enemies" is his motto, and it's aimed at having you not get sucked into energy-wasting conflicts. But it is good to have a large and symbolic/metaphoric adversary that represents the opposite of what you stand for.

[Michael Carnell · Rating 5 out of 5]

OK, I have to be honest, I love this book. And that has nothing to do with the fact that I read rough for Guy and so had a hand in its final form. This was the first time I was actually able to walk into a book store and see my name in print in a real book. Quite intoxicating! Regardless of that though, it is a fantastic read for those starting a business or trying to get people to believe in their ideas.

[Ryan Fisher]

Guy Kawasaki is a really interesting author with a lot to offer about both business and faith. The book is a little dated in some areas, but very well written. Although it is probably primarily meant to be a business book, I think as a crossover it is one of the best books on evangelism ever written. Guy's evangelistic technique is far more developed and better thought out than most Christians. Great book, with many applications.

[T.F. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read. Give some good insights on the right way of marketing both at a practical and philosophical level. This author adds credibility to what he says having been there done that as against some of the authors who rely entirely on secondary sources. Of courses he generalize to other areas based on his experience in one area. Did not found any paht breaking ideas. But a some what useful read I would say..

[Eric · Rating 2 out of 5]

Don't bother. I read this book, originally published in 1991, on the advice of a colleague who seemed to say that it held up nearly 30 years later. It doesn't, not even close. The concepts are basic, even trite. Every technology example is severely dated. Certainly, technology evolves rapidly. The solution is to tread carefully when choosing examples so that the examples and the book do not feel dated after a few years. Kawasaki fails on this account. Disappointing!

[Mimi · Rating 1 out of 5]

I only read this book because it was on Mark Leblanc's list of recommended books and I love his book and workshop on "Growing Your Business". However, Guy Kawasaki is so obnoxious that I can't go any further. Never have I seen notations used for snide remarks and bad jokes- it's impossible to glean any information because of that very irritating habit. Oy!

[Don Gonzalez · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got introduced to this book years ago when I was in financial services. I recently revisited the book to compare Kawasaki's concepts of business evangelism to John Paul II's idea of the New Evangelization. I recommend the book to those in the trenches of evangelization and discipleship. Since Kawasaki uses secular examples, I think it's easier to transfer his concepts to everyday life.

[Connor · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was not very good, or maybe it just wasn't for me. Something about it was really off-putting, though the ideas seemed sound. I guess its just that it describes a (secularly phrased) idea constantly used by the super-religious, and I hate organized religion.

[Lysergius · Rating 3 out of 5]

More marketing BS. Explains a lot about how Apple lost their way and became an empty shell.

[Lori Grant · Rating 3 out of 5]

An optional-read book on marketing for the knowledge worker, manager, executive, or entrepreneur.

[Neville Ridley-smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Historical interest