By Scott Abel | The Content Wrangler
In this exclusive interview for Intercom, Scott Abel, The Content Wrangler, chats with author, technology evangelist, and angel investor Guy Kawasaki about disruption, Apple, Google, and why technical communicators must overcome resistance to change.
The Content Wrangler: Guy, thanks for making time to chat with me today. I’ve been a big fan of yours for quite a while now. I remember reading one of your first books, How to Drive Your Competition Crazy. It really resonated with me. Where did the idea for that book come from?
Guy Kawasaki: The idea for How to Drive Your Competition Crazy came to me after watching small, young companies compete with large, old companies. I noticed that the underdogs frequently had the advantage—contrary to what many people thought. I also wanted to document that the best way to drive your competition crazy was not to do something to the competition, but to succeed by doing something for customers.
TCW: The subtitle of that book has become my mantra—“creating disruption for fun and profit.” And, while that book was jam-packed with all sorts of valuable insights, I think the message that sticks with me to this day is the importance of playing to win. You wrote that, “In business, playing to win is the finest thing you can do. It enables you to fulfill your potential. It enables your customers to improve their lives, and conveniently, develop high expectations for all the companies they deal with.”
Can you give us an example of disruption that led to a big change in the way the world works?
GK: My former employer, Apple, of course, is the ultimate example of a disruptor that changed how the world works. Many people would cite the iPhone as the best example of this, but Apple has been doing this for decades: Apple I, Apple II, Macintosh, iPod, iPhone, and iPad. It has a remarkable record.
TCW: Technical communicators are folks who create content designed to assist consumers in the use of all types of products and services. It’s a discipline that is divided in two. There are those who work for organizations that disrupt business as usual and challenge the status quo. They have adopted innovative ways to efficiently and effectively create, manage, and deliver content that better serves their customers. They are agile and able to respond to new challenges quickly.
Then there are others who work for organizations that have yet to see the value in changing the way they create content. They are stuck in the word processing era and use old school desktop publishing approaches. They are always rushing—only able to create mediocre content. They can’t easily respond to new challenges, like pushing content out as a service, or creating new deliverables for the increasing array of mobile devices now dominating the market.
While some of the blame for the lack of innovation in our industry can be blamed on the organizations themselves, there seems also to be resistance to change among a large segment of our audience. It’s like they think, “If we just ignore these issues for long enough, they’ll go away.”
What advice can you provide technical communication professionals who are fearful of change? Why should technology professionals today embrace change, especially in a global marketplace?
GK: I have two pieces of advice. First, ask yourself how you like to receive consumer information. I doubt that it’s only through books, magazines, and computers. It’s probably through mobile devices more and more. Second, you should always think about the “two guys/gals in a garage” who don’t have the baggage that you do. They are not afraid of change. If you don’t kill your current products by creating something better, they will.
TCW: What was it about Apple that you saw that was such a game changer?
GK: Apple, or Steve Jobs, anticipated what people needed before they could articulate their needs themselves. Or, it/he created needs where non existed before. Apple was never “market driven” in the sense of asking people what they needed and then building it. Apple took its best shot and hoped it was right.
TCW: The road traveled by Steve Jobs and crew is now a matter of historical record. Today, despite the rocky road to the top, they are now the world’s most valuable company. What lesson can we learn from Apple? Is it really just thinking “different”?
GK: There are many lessons to be learned from Apple—though they are not all actionable. For example, find a visionary CEO. Duh, every company would love a visionary CEO. The problem is that there are so few of them. The best lessons from Apple are: don’t be satisfied with the status quo; create the product that you’d like to use and pray that there are more people like you; and keep at it no matter what the so-called experts say.
TCW: I recently read one of your latest books, What the Plus? Google+ for the Rest of Us. Before I dive too deep into the Google+ pool, tell our readers what Google+ is.
GK: It depends who you ask. If you ask Google, it will tell you that it’s a “social layer” that permeates all Google products. If you ask me, it’s a social network to pursue your passions.
TCW: How is Google+ different than Facebook?
GK: Facebook is for socializing with people you already know. Google+ is for sharing passions with people you don’t already know.
TCW: How is Google+ different than Linkedin?
GK: LinkedIn is primarily for making business connections. Google+, Facebook, and Twitter are not nearly as good as LinkedIn for this purpose.
TCW: How is Google+ different than Twitter?
GK: Twitter is for sharing perceptions—for example, “The line at Starbucks is long.”
TCW: In What the Plus? you seem to be hinting (err, predicting?) the rise of Google, especially with their entry into the social sphere. Are there parallels between the types of disruptions Apple created and those that could be created by Google? Please explain.
GK: In the ’80s and ’90s, Macintosh was better that Windows, used by fewer people Windows, and experts predicted it would fail. Now Google+ is better than Facebook, used by fewer people than Facebook, and experts predict it will fail. The parallels are remarkable. Google+ is to Facebook what Macintosh is to Windows.
TCW: What is the most powerful—game-changing—feature of Google+ and why?
GK: I hardly ever use it, but Hangouts on Air would be my answer. Hangouts is to Google+ what PageMaker was to Macintosh.
TCW: If you could peek into your crystal ball and see the future—let’s say, the world in just five years—what predictions would you make?
GK: I don’t make these predictions. It’s because five years ago people predicted that MySpace would control the world. That didn’t quite work out. Five months ago people predicted Facebook’s IPO would be the greatest ever. That didn’t work out. Predictions are bull shiitake. People should just do and not worry about what might happen.
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 What the Plus!, APE, 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.
