Guy Kawasaki inspired me to be, in his words, “valuable and unique.” The veteran Silicon Valley marketing specialist came to downtown San Diego and talked about next-level approaches to making any business more successful.
Generally immune to buzzy inspirational speakers, I heard him.
The 71-year-old former “evangelist” for Apple, who now preaches the word of Canva, tossed some jargon salad during a February 23 presentation at UC San Diego Park & Market. He was keynoteing the official launch of a Division of Extended Studies program. UC Your Future is for adults aged 45 to 65+ looking to explore new careers and face the next phase of professional life with confidence.
His latest book is Wiser Guy: Life-Changing Revelations and Revisions from Tech’s Chief Evangelist.
There were more than 100 attendees inside Park & Market’s Guggenheim Theatre listening to Kawasaki’s speech. I felt like he was there just to talk to me.
If you regularly read Forbes, Fortune or Fast Company you’re probably familiar with biz-speak. For one of the first times ever, I tuned in when Kawasaki spewed advice like:
- Go and be (don’t just watch).
- Ask simple questions (such as, “Is there a better way?”).
- Plant many seeds (because many won’t ever sprout).
- Use all your weapons (yes, even AI).
- Make your decision right (in other words: Do something and then worry about correcting your output, as opposed to waiting for perfection before putting forth a product).
Kawasaki began his remarks with down-to-earth anecdotal advice for anyone making a presentation.
“Try to keep it short,” he said. “If you go long and suck, that’s bad. If you’re short and suck it’s not so bad. If you’re long and good, that’s okay.”
In the course of an hour, Kawasaki explained why he was wearing a baseball cap (it was holding down a pair of cochlear implants that allow him to hear); that it was less helpful to ask top U.S. health secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. about vaccines than Chat GPT (even with AI’s hallucinatory problems); and that in all his world travels he’s never, ever been to Jeffrey Epstein’s island (Kawasaki was was insistent).
Maybe it was candid, folksy stories, delivered in a measured, articulate voice that sounds like a Hawaiian version of SNL’s Lorne Michaels, that prompted me to take his advice and write this story in first person (far differently than I report most news accounts).
He said that in Silicon Valley: “There’s a lot of shit that gets thrown against the wall. Then what you do is go paint a bullseye on that wall after you throw the shit.”
Throwing a lot of shit is the bold decision. Fitting the feces into a bullseye later represents course correction after you took initiative to act.
I loved this idea, along with the f-bombs he integrated into another anecdote about The Handmaid’s Tale author Margaret Atwood and her unorthodox copy editing technique (she gives first drafts to friends who resemble the story’s characters).
Kawasaki, whose podcast is called “Remarkable People,” also interviewed the late, renowned anthropologist Jane Goodall. He advised her to take a vacation. The indefatigable Goodall declined, telling Kawasaki there was far too much work to do to save the world. At the time, Goodall was 91 years old.
Goodall, through Kawasaki, inspired me not to waste time. And to wonder if I was using all the weapons at my disposal, asking myself if there was a better way to do what I do, and participating in my stories rather than just watching.
My conundrum: I’m an old-school journalist. My former college professor would cringe at this personal “I” writing style.
While I still respect the basics of traditional news writing, I can’t be a dinosaur. Today’s younger readers seem to crave opinion in their news. Many deem a story more authentic if the writer includes their thoughts along with the who, what, where, when and why.
This article was an attempt to plant a different seed. I was impressed that Kawasaki learned to surf when he was 60. Maybe I can learn new tricks. We’ll see if it’s appropriate here and in the future to let readers know my stance on the story topics I’m presenting.
I suppose it’s possible to throw this up against the wall and consider moving the bullseye after the fact. SDSun
