But Does It Enchant? A Review of Guy Kawasaki’s Latest Book

When I first opened Guy Kawasaki’s latest book, Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions, I thought I knew what I was getting: a great marketing book that outlined terrific strategies for winning people to your product or service.

I was disappointed. At first.

Early in the first chapter, Guy shattered my expectations: “When you enchant people, your goal is not to make money from them or to get them to do what you want, but to fill them with great delight.” It took me several chapters more to realize that what he was giving me was better than another how-to book—it was a who-to-be book.

Enchantment isn’t about marketing, or even about winning friends and influencing people. It’s about delighting them. And delighting someone isn’t about strategy, it’s about philosophy (although his chapters on technology are a bit more practical and hands-on).

So What’s In It?

Enchantment starts with you: why you need to enchant others, and the kind of character (not personality!) that requires. Guy spends three chapters discussing this, including specific ways to be a likable person (e.g., smile a lot, swear occasionally, give intrinsically at all times). The remaining nine chapters cover

• Starting up your project
• Persevering and enchanting for the long-term
• Marketing (ah! There it is)
• Enchanting your employees and your boss
• Resisting enchantment (which surprised me, but it makes sense—not everyone enchants for noble reasons)

Each chapter ends with a quick little story of an average Joe (or Josephina) who was enchanted by something or someone in a way that changed them. These are great, inspiring stories that made me want to enchant and be enchanted.

Frankly, before reading the book I was worried that Enchantment was going to be all about how to get people to fulfill your agenda, but early on Guy writes that enchantment is “the process of delighting people with a product, service, organization, or idea. The outcome of enchantment is voluntary and long-lasting support that is mutually beneficial.” It’s more about wooing your bride than it is about making a sale. And that won me over—yes, I was enchanted.

And really, the book is quite enchanting. It’s very personable—Guy’s character and personality shine through, as if we were meeting for coffee. In fact, I think I learned as much about him as I did about enchanting others—Guy loves hockey and his family, enjoys new adventures and exploring different cultures, has an appreciation for his Japanese heritage, loves hockey, is crazy about Macintosh and Robert Cialdini, loves hockey, and enjoys a good joke as much as a bad one. Guy is enchanting, and as he enchants, so does his book.

Who’s It For?

Guy writes about changing the world and generating a mass following. At times it can seem like he’s primarily addressing big companies; but as he writes, even the biggest companies start out small. They got big by enchanting others, one person at a time.

So whether you’re the CEO of a Fortune 500 company or a mechanical engineer in a start-up of 20, this book is for you. We all have causes, ideas, aspirations, services, or products we care about. We all get enchanted by something and long to enchant others.

My clients are small businesses. Truly, I’ve found each one of them to be enchanting. This is the kind of book I’d love my clients to dig into, sit with, and apply – so that the rest of the world can be as enchanted by them as I have been.