I recently wrote a post on Guy Kawasaki's new book: Enchantment: The Art of Changing Minds, Hearts, and Actions. I focused on the cover, which is probably the most beautiful I have ever seen for any business book — look at that thing, it is so damn pretty! If you know one that is more lovely, I want to see it. And it resulted from an amazing story that Guy tells in the book, starting with design contest that Guy ran… and then much more happened.
I was planning on writing a review today, as the book comes out Tuesday, March 7th. I was going to do it in the morning, as I just finished reading the book yesterday. But I learned some amazing news that convinced me I best write a short review before I go to sleep (it is after midnight in California). The upshot is that this is Guy's best book — he was born to write on the topic of persuasion. Buy this book and Robert Cialdini's classic Influence, and you've got the best two book on the subject. I am not alone in this opinion, as Enchantment just got a glowing review from Kirkus, a group that is very tough on authors. They offered praise including:
"Kawasaki transforms the otherwise exhausted and overwrought tropes of how to win friends and influence people with a complete makeover here, whether he's talking about wardrobe choice or tips for effective swearing. The author, a modern-day Dale Carnegie, offers explanations on how to wield the most influence in the digital age: Push Technologies like presentations, e-mails and Twitter are discussed as active means of enchanting others, while Pull Technologies like Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn passively draw them in. The author's suggestions for achieving likeability and trustworthiness, as well as overcoming resistance, are thoroughly explained and can easily translate from the workplace to the real world….. Informative, concise guide from one of America's most influential and, yes, enchanting entrepreneurs."
You were probably going to buy it anyway, but as Guy is the master of influence, he — or someone, I am not quite sure how this is happening — is offering a deal that expires midnight on March 7th, so roughly 48 hours from now. If you buy a copy of Enchantment (at a bookstore or online), and fill out this form, yes this form, you will get copy of Guy's last book, Reality Check, sent to you for free as a bonus. Reality Check is a also a great book (although I confess to being even more taken with Enchantment). As I wrote when it came out:
"If you love Guy's smarts and irreverent charm, you've got to read this book. If you have never read his blog or books — or seen him speak — this is the place to start if you want to understand why Guy has such a huge and loyal army of fans. Guy has had a lot of different careers, including at Apple as an evangelist, a venture capitalist, the master of ceremonies at wildly popular entrepreneurship Boot Camps during the boom."
The form is really easy to fill out, all you need is a pdf of the purchase (which is simple to produce, for example, from the email that Amazon sends you when you order it). Be warned there are limited quantities of Reality Check and this offer only holds for U.S. addresses. Enchantment will be the best-seller that everyone will be talking about in the coming months, and if you don't own Reality Check, here is a chance to get it for free. I just did it myself, and I am getting copy of both books (I bought Enchantment at Amazon) for $13.74. I timed myself and it took me just under 160 seconds to order the book, make the pdf, and fill out the form. Such a deal!