EP 391: Guy Kawasaki on Marketing, Macintosh, and More

Silicon Valley icon Guy Kawasaki recalls his childhood in Hawaii, his start in the jewelry business, and how his skills at jewelry sales came in surprisingly handy when he became chief evangelist for Macintosh. He talks about personally witnessing the genius and dark side of Apple founder Steve Jobs, he shares some rules that he calls "the Gospel According to Steve," and opens up about the argument that led him to quit Apple in the 90s. He talks about honor and honesty in the tech industry, his litmus test for doing business with someone, and why many of his best deals are done on a handshake. He shares plenty of of sage marketing advice including what he calls "Guy’s Golden Rule" and gives me a crash course in how to be a social media influencer without letting it dominate your life. Plus Guy discusses the costly mistake Hillary Clinton made with her Silicon Valley supporters, a cost/benefit analysis of standing up to Donald Trump, and the two asian celebrities for whom Guy always gets mistaken!

Order Guy Kawasaki's book WISE GUY: LESSONS FROM A LIFE on Amazon, Audible, and wherever books are sold. Keep up with him at www.guykawasaki.com, like him on Facebook, and on Twitter at @GuyKawasaki. Special thanks to Live Talks LA for hosting our interview. Visit www.livetalksla.org to learn more about their terrific line-up of speakers coming up including Malcolm Gladwell, George Will, and many more. Today's episode was sponsored by Kronos and Ben & Jerry's.