Guy Kawasakis Small Businesses Tips to Cultivate Enchantment

Guy Kawasakis Small Businesses Tips to Cultivate EnchantmentGuy Kawasakis Small Businesses Tips to Cultivate EnchantmentGuy Kawasakis Small Businesses Tips to Cultivate Enchantment Blaszczyk, Managing Editor, Resource CenterAuthor, Silicon Valley venture capitalist, small business-evangelist and blogger, former Apple chief evangelistGuy Kawasaki is a force de la nature. His latest book, Enchantment The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds and Actions(Portfolio, 2011) outlines the steps to enchant customers, employees and your babo.Kawasaki argues that in business and rolleal interactions, the goal is elend merely to get what you want but to bring about a voluntary, enduring, and delightful change in other people.He offered his insights on how small businesses can cultivate enchantment.Monster Your latest books title, Enchantment, is an interesting choice of words. It brings to mind the idea of authenticity. Does what youre advocating lie somewhere between the two?Kawasaki Enchantment is bey ond authenticity. People who are enchanting are authentic, but not all authentic people are enchanting. For example, a person could be an authentic jerk, if you know what I mean. Enchanting people are both likable and trustworthy, and authenticity is a building block of trustworthiness.Monster You recommend that small businesses define their companys purpose as a means to drive employee satisfaction. Can that purpose be similar to those found in large companies?Kawasaki Purpose is purpose. There is no reason why a small businesss purpose cannot be as lofty as a large company nor, frankly, that a large businesss purpose cannot be as lofty as one from a small business. If anything, large businesses should emulate small businesses more than vice versa. The problem with the stated purposes of large businesses is that the words are usually crafted by marketing people and outside agencies. That is, defining the purpose is an exercise in marketing spin, not a true definition of the reason an organization exists.Monster You also recommend that employers set clear goals for employees and give them the autonomy to do the right thing. Can an employer expect all their employees to be capable of doing so?Kawasaki It would be naive to assume that all employees are capable of doing so, but its also stupid to manage a company for the lowest common denominator. An organization should believe that employees are good until proven bad actually proven bad at least two times because everyone makes mistakes.Im sure people can come up with horror stories of over-empowering employees, but the cure is worse than the cause, because when management distrusts employees, a downward spiral towards mediocrity occurs. On the other hand, when management trusts and empowers employees, the employees usually rise to the occasion. At the moment youre hiring someone, if you dont think you can empower the person, then you shouldnt hire the person anyway.Monster You lay out some tough love for empl oyers on how they should treat employees, including Judge yourself by what youve accomplished and others by what they intended. Why is this principle important for small business owners?Kawasaki I learned this lesson the hard way because I used to judge people who worked for me too harshly and without understanding the totality of what was going on in their lives. This principle is important for small-business owners because there usually arent layers and layers of management and years and years of practice at supervision. The owner has to embody this attitude for the organization and set the right values to remain in place as the small business grows.Monster You cite authors Bob Suttons list of the twelve beliefs of good bosses.Do bad bosses in small companies commit the same sins as those in bigger companies? Are the consequences the same?Kawasaki mora or less, a bad boss is a bad boss regardless of the size of the organization. The consequences are not the same, though. If you sc rew up in a big company, you get a huge severance package. If you screw up in a small company, you get the boot. Ive never understood the theory of severance packages for screwing up.Monster You talk about wooing employees not just job candidates and consistently telling them how much theyre valued. Is this a crucial practice for small companies?Kawasaki First, the most powerful way to enchant employees is to provide a MAP. M stands for mastery that is, a way to master new skills on the job. A stands for autonomy so that employees can master new skills while working autonomously and not be micro-managed. Finally, P stands for purpose. Employees love to master new skills in autonomous positions while working towards an organization with a high purpose such as making the world a better place.Telling employees that you appreciate them is also valuable too. Its even more valuable in a recession because in a recession theres less money to pass around as motivation and as a management team. A recession is a very interesting time because it takes real troopers to perform when the going is tough. Anyone can look good when times are booming.More on EnchantmentGuys Realistic Enchantment Aptitude test (GREAT)Enchantment Media Resources