Продуктивное интервью (with Guy Kawasaki)
MS: Right now the dark clouds of crisis are approaching and the whole planet seems to be affected. No job is secure now and we learn each day of many companies falling. Any tips for entrepreneurs, as well as employed professionals, on how to survive the crisis?
GK: I wish I had the definitive answer to this question. Right after Christmas, I was at the Stanford Shopping Center. There were three kinds of stores: (a) 50-70% off sales; (b) no sales but no customers; (c) no sales with customers. The only store in the third category was Apple. It’s easy for me to say, but there’s a lesson there: create stuff that’s compelling and unique. That’s the key in hard times. We’re in the middle of a drought right now, so maybe you can’t do anything right away, but you can prepare for the end of the drought by keeping this concept in mind. Also, you have to believe that “this too shall pass.” Business is cyclical, and business is also deceptive because things are never as good or as bad as they seem. This is one of those times that you just have to gut it out. There’s no magical solution.
MS: It really inspired me when you said “entrepreneurs shouldn’t be focused on making money, but on making meaning”. I’m reminded about it each time I get an email from a user of my Nozbe app saying how it improved their life and how much they can get done thanks to it. Are there still many startups coming to you focused only on making money?
GK: Don’t get me wrong: approaching a venture capitalist with a pitch that starts off, “We don’t care about making money…” isn’t going to succeed. My issue is the order of priorities: If you change the world, you’ll probably make money. But if you set out to only make money, you’ll probably attract the wrong kind of employees and strive to achieve the wrong metrics. Obviously, a balance is needed because you can’t change the world if you don’t have revenue–unless you are a not for profit, though even these organizations do need donations and that is revenue of a sort. However, when all is said and done, the companies that changed the world, like Apple, eBay, Google and Cisco, also make a ton of money… Returning to the venture capitalist pitch, the right approach is “This is how we want to change the world…. When we do it, this is how we’ll make money…”
MS: Speaking of apps, I know your killer app is Twitter. I even heard you say you could easily give up your mobile phone but you wouldn’t give up Twitter. Why do you prefer Twitter to your beautiful iPhone?
GK: I can easily give up my iPhone or any other cell phone. I don’t talk much on my iPhone, and I use it mostly as a portable email and Twitter machine. I’m just not a phone person–when I need a phone, I can use a landline as a substitute or grab someone else’s phone for a quick call. By contrast, I know of no substitute for Twitter. How else can I reach 144,000 people instantly and for free? Twitter is the best marketing tool since television, and unlike television, you don’t need to spend millions of dollars to buy exposure.
MS: Isn’t constant Twittering distracting you from daily activities and daily work? I often shut down my Skype, IM, and other tools to make sure I can get stuff done. With you being constantly on Twitter, how do you get stuff done?
GK: Maybe this is rationalization, but Twitter is not a social diversion for me. It is core to my business. I am in the business of, for example, promoting Alltop right now. Twitter enables me to do that, and the more people who follow me on Twitter, the better I can promote Alltop. For many people, Twitter is a way to make friends, entertain oneself, and have fun. For me, Twitter is a weapon. In this sense, Tiger Woods approaches golf differently than the weekend duffer. For him, it’s a business— he probably enjoys golf, but it is a business. I enjoy Twitter, but it’s a business.
MS: Speaking of getting things done, did you read the GTD book by David Allen? Do you apply any of the GTD principles in your life? Or do you have your own way of getting things done?
GK: I haven’t! I need to get it because I need to get more done. The secret to my success is that I am willing–I even enjoy–grinding it out. I used to think that the key to success was the brilliance of the idea and implementation was easy. Now I think that ideas are easy, and the key to success is implementation.
Full interview and source : April’s Issue of Productive Magazine