Rating: Summary: Clearly this man is a genius. Review: But this book is really badly written. It will only be inspiring for the truly uninspired marketing dullard.
Rating: Summary: Rules for Revolutionaries Review: Excellent book! Very simply written and easy to read, yet brilliantly points out the seemingly simple, but important business rules of marketing a product or a service. Looking forward to read more from this "revolutionary" enterpreneur.
Rating: Summary: Good Ideas, Bad Title Review: Guy Kawasaki has written an informative, interesting, entertaining, and often-irreverent book. Although many of the concepts in the book are not new, they are presented in a fresh imaginative way that may actually break through the barriers of NIH, TWIABD, idols, frames, bozosity and management myths and be put into practice. I had one problem with the book, though. I didn't think revolutionaries followed rules. But don't let this stop you. Read the book; you'll get some revolutionary ideas. Oh, and one rule I think Guy missed: Don't just spread your own poop around, spread everyone else's also. Actually, he didn't really miss this rule; he just didn't state it. Do as he does, not just as he says. It will make your revolution seem like it is well supported. * NIH = Not Invented Here, TWIABD = The Way It's Always Been Done.
Rating: Summary: my kinda book Review: I always say that I love books that make me think and laugh. This one doesn't disappoint in either respect. I picked it up in the bookstore, flipped it over (I always read the back and index first!), and laughed out loud at what was written under "Work Like a Slave,": "Get ready for hard work, and lots of it. To go from revolutionary to visionary, you'll need to eat like a bird-- relentlessly absorbing knowledge about your industry, customers, and competition-- and poop like an elephant-- spreading the large amounts of information knowledge that you've gained." Ah, finally. Someone else who understands, but says it much more humorously and eloquently! I'd love to chat with him in "real life!" I read this book in one afternoon, then read parts of it again. I also liked the bits of Latin thrown in, who'd of thunk of that! I'm glad he did, it made the book more enjoyable to read. Humor, wit, Latin, and quotes from Brancusi. Works for me!
Rating: Summary: Good book, interesting read Review: I enjoyed the book, even though I'm not in marketing. Found some interesting points.
Rating: Summary: An extremey informative and easy to understand book. Review: I enjoyed this book for a few different reasons. This book was very informative. Not only did Kawasaki incorporate great ideas into his book, but he made them humorus and very easy to understand. These qualities allowed me to enjoy the book as well as get a better understandng of what he was talking about. His chapter titles alone show his humor, "Don't worry, Be crappy". This is one section that I enjoyed a great deal. This section mentioned that failure is part of success and in order to succeed and tha it's better to fail at first so that you can improve your product or service. Another reason that I enjoyed this book was because it had many examples that made the book easily comprehendable. Overall, I thik that Kawasaki's book was a good because it taught me a lot about how to create a successful product or service and it did so in an easy to understand manner.
Rating: Summary: Don't be so dammed gullible Review: I kept hearing it, over and over: "You've gotta read "Rules for Revolutionaries, Kent, it will change your life!" As if reading this book would help me become even more effective. Well that's a bunch of crap. Here's an idea of how you'll feel after reading just a few pages of this book: Have you ever got stuck in Coach, window seat, next to someone who sells Amway? Who won't stop talking to you about their neat idea? It gave me an even dimmer picture of those I work with. They were inspired by this book? Gawd. Look, I'm iconoclastic to the core. This helps me innovate, and I understand how to build a team...one that creates and harvests ceative contention. This book made me feel like I was in some weird sort of Marketing locker room getting snapped by towels after some irritating pep talk by a flag waving USMC jocko. Look, I don't get excited about reading about how to get excited about business. You know? But it wasn't worthless. Here's my big two take-aways: 1.) Evangelists typically burn out after about 3-5 years. Ok, I'll staff accordingly. 2.) Eat like a bird, poop like a elephant. Thanks for giving me a phrase that makes my three year old laugh. The rest of that stuff is total common sense. I didn't need a book to tell me how to be revolutionary.
Rating: Summary: Don't be so dammed gullible Review: I kept hearing it, over and over: "You've gotta read "Rules for Revolutionaries, Kent, it will change your life!" As if reading this book would help me become even more effective. Well that's a bunch of crap. Here's an idea of how you'll feel after reading just a few pages of this book: Have you ever got stuck in Coach, window seat, next to someone who sells Amway? Who won't stop talking to you about their neat idea? It gave me an even dimmer picture of those I work with. They were inspired by this book? Gawd. Look, I'm iconoclastic to the core. This helps me innovate, and I understand how to build a team...one that creates and harvests ceative contention. This book made me feel like I was in some weird sort of Marketing locker room getting snapped by towels after some irritating pep talk by a flag waving USMC jocko. Look, I don't get excited about reading about how to get excited about business. You know? But it wasn't worthless. Here's my big two take-aways: 1.) Evangelists typically burn out after about 3-5 years. Ok, I'll staff accordingly. 2.) Eat like a bird, poop like a elephant. Thanks for giving me a phrase that makes my three year old laugh. The rest of that stuff is total common sense. I didn't need a book to tell me how to be revolutionary.
Rating: Summary: The 'Overhyped' Capitalist Manifesto Review: I was introduced to Kawasaki by a friend as the person that made Apple what it was (and Jobs) and how his concept of 'evangelist marketing' has inspired many people. So... I brought the book looking forward to learn something amazing... but as a marketing grad, I have to say what a disappointment the book is! The reason is that there are nothing new in Kawasaki's views... its technically word-of-mouth marketing through various different channels. However, the book is a great refresher for business people to rethink their current practice. The ideas by Kawasaki is nothing new but considering so, a lot of major businesses are not practicing these simple ideas. The book is smooth and easy to read... and did not consume much of my time. Overall, the book was good and the views and opinions offered by Kawasaki are good... but the fact that my friend overhyped Kawasaki left me rather disappointed...
Rating: Summary: This is what you need to read if you want to succeed. Review: It doesn't matter if you're already on the barricades or just a Walter Mitty dreaming of turning your garage into a factory, you'll want to read this book. Actually, you'll need to read this book. It tells you how "create like a god, command like a king, and work like a slave" (no, Kawasaki didn't write that himself but he was smart enough to quote one of the best: Brancusi). Better than telling you though, Kawasaki shows you with plenty of examples for each stage of this process. And unlike a lot of the business books I read, this is not just a book about marketing, product development, etc., etc. Kawasaki relates each stage of this 3-step process to a broad audience and always shows the important principles behind each. For once, I can honestly say that the subtitle of a business book is truthful (a manifesto for creating and marketing new products and services). In fact, it may even be a bit limited. I've gleaned information from here that I've found very useful just for the everday business of living. This is definitely on the top shelf of my library.
|