Enchantment: Art of Getting People to Do What You Want

by Guy Kawasaki

Summary: A number of ideas and techniques to create enchanting products and relationships for the benefit of all involved

Intended Audience: Those in positions of influence who are looking for ways to build deeper relationships

Why You Should Read It: With the availability of low-cost and easy-to-use cloud services for everything from email and source code repositories to customer management and order fulfillment, it becomes increasingly important to differentiate your company and solutions from the numerous others that are emerging. One way to do this is to increase enchantment around your product.  This book discusses foundations, techniques, and experiments to achieve this.

My Takeaways

• Enchantment is easier to achieve by pulling people along instead of
  pushing them into it.  Show your passion and lead others to share your
  excitement instead of looking for ways to force others to see your view.
• Giving the gift of time or a favour is a simple, effective, and low-cost technique to jumpstart a potential long-term relationship. Even if it doesn’t get the results you desire, it is good for your psyche and establishes the right mindset.
• People resist enchantment for a variety of valid reasons.  There are powerful and ethical techniques to bring views into alignment, including finding brightspots you can agree upon and demonstrating ways that you need the help of others to reach shared goals.

Recommended?: Somewhat enchanting; an interesting but not required read