Guy Kawasaki - A true educator
Guy Kawasaki
I am not an expert on Guy Kawasaki. I haven’t followed his career from the early days at Apple helping to launch the Macintosh. I haven’t read all of his books. I only heard of him for the first time maybe a year ago or so. But I can tell you, when I get the chance to hear him speak, I hang on every word.
Why? There are a million people that talk business and success and how to better your company/product/self. I’ve read a bunch of books on the subject, and heard from a bunch of experts in my days. I’ve learned from many, but I was inspired by few.
I have heard his talks to very high level executives, and been fortunate to join in hearing his talks to the general public on a few Teleconferences. Both of them were equally interesting, entertaining, and informative. There is something I remember about him during both talks though that made me want to take his words to heart, and to implement them in everything I did business wise.
Guy is inspiring!
Guy talks to everyone equally. There was an obvious difference in the level of crowds in these two talks. One was a crowd of C level executives with a lot of prestige, power, experience. They wwere in an event that looked to be quite exclusive, and probably cost more money to put together than I made last year. The other was a group of Twitter users that popped on a last minute free TeleConference. These were the people that are just…well..people.
The talks had sections that overlapped. Some of Guy’s staples that he references in many talks he provides, such as his 10-20-30 Rule of PowerPoint presentations, or his DICEE philosophy of product design. The presentations from those sections were not identical like he was reading a script, or has them so ingrained in his memory that it is robotic. It was the same information presented to the right group, the right way. It was natural. It was an honest effort to teach to the listener. It didn’t matter who the listener was, he was going to portray his wisdom to them the way he thought best for the situation.
I’ve seen other speakers in similar situations. Going over a ’staple’ of theirs with a common crowd, that they usually go over to a more high-level crowd. There is almost always omissions. There is shortcuts. There is a lack of importance in their voice. Guy does not portray that in any presentation, or speech I have ever heard from him. It is a sign of a man that knows greatness can come from anywhere, so treat everyone as if they have the same potential.
After all, if you are a true educator, you will bring it out of them.
Here is one of my favorite presentations by Guy. Excellent information, and entertaining to watch, especially when he is running long and they are trying to get him off stage. Enjoy!
Anthony