Guy Kawasaki tells stories well. Unfortunately, he is not inspirational in this book. If you want that, you should check out The Art of the Start: The Time-Tested, Battle-Hardened Guide for Anyone Starting Anything. That book is awesome.

Here are the key messages you will get out of this book:
* Create like a god. Command like a king. Work like a slave.
* Release early, release often.
* Absorb everything you can about the industry, and spread information. (the whole "Eat like a bird, poop like an elephant" thing).

These, along with other points, are ones you have all heard by now if you read other books or blogs involving business and startups. If not, then this book may be for you as a good primer.

One noticeable negative is how this book looks and sounds like it's from the late 1990's. The messages are indeed timeless, but some of the examples and quotes seem terribly out-of-date.

The best chapter in this book is on "avoiding death magnets" (chapter 6). While not worth the price of admission, it's good enough that you should skim it at a bookstore or library.

It's been a pleasure to read this book. Actually took 3 days to finish it as Guy is capable of winning your attention and devotion since the very first pages.
It's full of practical real-world examples. Very informative and truly inspiring. Recommended!

The rules are 1) create like a god, 2) command like a kind and 3) work like a slave. I think most of the book looks like the new economy bubble: fast over-optimistic growing and suddenly crack down. However it is a nice reading and for whom are used to this kind of literature could be interesting because it gives a glimpse of how we were 8 years ago especially considering we are living the sub-prime bubble world-wide crack down just by now. What about the authors? Uhm, the sensation I received by the book and that one by reading his biography on wikipedia coincide: a good teacher for a MBA course but he does not sound like a great entrepreneur. He is too much theory and too less practical action. A business need an innovating idea in order to enter in the market but its managing should not be pushed forward by someone thinking like a samurai at the war. Synthesis: good book to read but not a entrepreneur manual, AFAIK. Another citation interesting in order to understand the soul of this book is "think digital and act analog". Umh, my grandma was used to say: "real world is not a white/black place. It contains a lot of colors and grays too", I think my granny should not need a MBA nor read books to know the basic rules of the life and the business. She was used to say, too: "work hard, think with your head, do not follow common people" which could be translated in more explicit words: "works like a slave, command over yourself, be creative". Definitely Guy did not said anything my granny was a feet or two far away however he admitted the book is also a log of his own most expensive errors! So, in the end, it is Good Thing [tm] learning from a book by whom had the patience to write down it. ;-)

After reading the Art of the Start, I decided to purchase it and this book, Rules for Revolutionaries. As with the Art of the Start, I found the book motivating and an interesting read. The one downside of the book is that there is some overlap between it and The Art of the Start.

Mr. Kawasaki is an ethusiastic author and this book is an adequate primer on the subject of entrepeneurship and general business 'starts'. The best book on this though is his 'Art of the Start'. That is the book you want for the same material, refined, updated and better organized.

Guy Kawasaki is a genius. I mean it: here's a guy who wrote a book back in 1998, who is most famous for being the Chief Evangelist at Apple. Yet his book bypasses tech talk altogether as its focus and succeeds at presenting us with a volume that, even ten years later, is loaded with wisdom that any self-respecting entrepreneur ought to be reading.

The philosophy underlying the rules for revolutionaries sounds quite simple yet it's very powerful: create like a god, command like a king, work like a slave. Each of these parts in his book is further broken down to facilitate digesting it. Since others here have done a find job at analyzing the three main components in the past, I am focusing on the aspects that stood out for me.

Work the edges: Kawasaki borrows the concept of "edges" from architecture to have revolutionaries focus their energy where it is going to be best spent. By edges, he means where one surface or material meets another or changes into another. He says: "The action is not in the centers or areas of sameness," and he is very much right about this. Examples of this are: how a customer service representative deals with a customer, even more so with a customer who is bringing up an exceptional issue; and the user interface of software or product, where the user interacts with the functionality.

"Revolutionary products don't fail because they are shipped too early. They fail because they aren't revised fast enough." He doesn't condone poor product design with this comment. He rather condemns poor product management. In coming up with a recipe for great products, he expands a concept he introduced in a previous book seven years before: DICEE,
-D for deep: the mark of a deep product is wishing it had a feature after you've used it for a while and then discovering that it already does.
-I for Indulging: it is more than what you minimally need and costs more than what you could have minimally spent.
-C for complete: this focuses on the documentation and the customer service.
-E for elegant: without elegant design, people cannot figure out how to use deep products.
-E for evocative: you should strive to create something that some people will love rather than something everyone will merely like.

"Sometimes you have to 'hear' what people would say if only they knew better." How many times, while managing a product, have you heard nice-to-have feature requests that sounded like essential to the people requesting them?

"A significant gulf, the 'chasm,' exists between the market made up of early adopters, and the markets of more pragmatic buyers." Do everything you possibly can to make the chasm as small as possible, which means tearing down barriers for your product users to learn about your product, care about your product enough to change their existing habits, gain access to your product, be able to afford it and learn how to use it.

After you have broken down or lowered the typical barriers to adoption of your product, you should build a cocoon around your customers so the competition can't attack you.

Evangelism starts with a great product or service. With success typically being equal to Facts (features customers want) divided by price, one can increase success by adding more features (increase the numerator) or reducing the Price. Evangelism provides a third method for increasing the numerator: adding Emotions to the Facts before dividing them by the Price.

"Make the optimal solution feasible -as opposed to making the feasible solution optimal." -this is one of the most brilliant phrases in the whole book!

"Ensure backward compatibility for evolutionary improvements to your product. But when it comes to revolutionary leaps, make your product so innovative that people won't care about backward compatibility."

"The more information you give away, the more you get as people come to trust you and see mutual benefits." -who remembers that movie?

"Big titles mean little to revolutionaries. All you care about is that a person 'gets it' and wants to help you." -very true!

"Tolerate criticism. Not only should people feel free to plug competitive products, they should be able to criticize your own... first, this produces good PR because tolerating criticism on a company-sponsored site is unheard of; second, this produces few and voluminous customer feedback."

And last, but not least: "As long as customers are still complaining, they still want to do business."

Now I am reading "Selling the Dream", another one of his books. I am convinced!

This is one of my favorite books on the right mindset for startups. Go against the grain, overcome all obstacles, spend as little as possible, be excellent. Highly recommend.

I like this book a lot, it's clear, simple and fun to read. It has a step by step approach. And if you like to know certain clues about how nice products like the iPod and the Macs have created their way into the consumer's world, you will like this book even better.

I will start by saying that I have not finish reading it. It took me over a year to complete Art of the Start, and the reason is that there was so much inspiration, that I felt it was going to be eclipsed by the excitment of the next chapter.

Its not a how-to book, is how to face yourself and ispire you to get throgh the obstacles, inner or outer, that will surge along the way.

Kawasaki presents foundational theories for starting new companies or providing new services in this book. The reader benefits greatly from Kawasaki's experiences and knowledge. Further, the book is written in an open, readable manner.

Being an Apple fan I read GK's books. This is basically a book of quotes and biz examples from organizations and people that have done innovative things. GK sprinkles some of his own toughts from years of experience at Apple and other startups that he has been involved with.

The only problem I had was some the advice is not really easy to follow in the real world. For example: ignoring market research and with your gut. Fine that may work for small biz but larger corporations simply do not approve a project unless there is positive market research behind it.

Also some of the biz that are mentioned here are companies that were either acquired or no longer in biz. Also the recommended reading is mostly works that are outdated.

If you like GK you may enjoy this one otherwise you might want to pass on it.

Being an Apple fan I read GK's books. This is basically a book of quotes and biz examples from organizations and people that have done innovative things. GK sprinkles some of his own toughts from years of experience at Apple and other startups that he has been involved with.

The only problem I had was some the advice is not really easy to follow in the real world. For example: ignoring market research and with your gut. Fine that may work for small biz but larger corporations simply do not approve a project unless there is positive market research behind it.

Also some of the biz that are mentioned here are companies that were either acquired or no longer in biz. Also the recommended reading is mostly works that are outdated.

If you like GK you may enjoy this one otherwise you might want to pass on it.

Overall this book feels a bit dated, it was written in a pre-Google era that feels like it was decades ago.

The book is too short but has a few good ideas. Don't be fooled by the excellent marketing behind it: Create like a God, Command like a King, Work like a slave. This is what made me buy the book, but the chapters on these subjects are paltry and offer little in hands-on practical advice.

A very decent quick read, but not worth the price.

Overall this book feels a bit dated, it was written in a pre-Google era that feels like it was decades ago.

The book is too short but has a few good ideas. Don't be fooled by the excellent marketing behind it: Create like a God, Command like a King, Work like a slave. This is what made me buy the book, but the chapters on these subjects are paltry and offer little in hands-on practical advice.

A very decent quick read, but not worth the price.

Revolutionary products and companies outperform their competitors by completely changing the way things are done -- not by doing the same thing better. Perhaps the best book on this subject is Rules for Revolutionaries by Guy Kawasaki.

The book is based on 3 principles:

1) Create like a god
"Develop revolutionary products and services by analyzing how to solve current problems."

First, Guy walks you through the 3-step revolutionary thought process that leads to breakthrough product creation. It's very practical, and if followed, will generate amazing ideas for your business.

Next, Guy introduces you to a concept he calls, "Don't Worry, Be Crappy." Simply put, don't worry about perfecting a product before sending it to market. Focus on getting your product quickly to the market, but be ready to make constant improvements based on user feedback. He says effective companies have a circular built-in system for continuous product perfection, rather than viewing the product life cycle as linear. It's not how good you can make your product the first time, but rather how quickly you can respond to feedback after it launches.

Finally, Guy explains DICEE -- a formula for creating great products. If you've ever wondered what makes Apple products so attractive, it would be beneficial for you to examine this formula and evaluate how it can be added to your own products.

2) Command like a king
"Take charge with strategic decisions that break down barriers of product adoption."

For any revolutionary product, there will be barriers to overcome. Here, Guy gives us 5 common ones: Ignorance, Inertia, Complexity, Channel, and Price. The revolutionary entrepreneur anticipates this, and uses one or more of the book's 6 "barrier busters."

Interestingly, after removing barriers to adoption it then becomes necessary to form new barriers to retain users. These "positive" barriers, if developed correctly, can also promote the creation of "customer evangelists" -- people that love your product so much they act as an unpaid sales force for you.

3) Work like a slave
"Relentlessly absorb information from your environment, then spread the knowledge you've gained."

The revolutionary keeps up to date by viewing the situation from different viewpoints, spending time with typical users, and then gaining information from those encounters. Businesspeople that stay (physically) close to their target customers are more likely to produce successful products.

Guy also reminds his readers that if a new concept will be an inevitable long-term success, the best strategy is to focus on gaining market share rather than reaping big profits initially. While obvious in concept, startup cashflow reality often makes companies do the opposite. He uses the example of Apple and Microsoft in the 80's -- Apple unwisely choose a fat profit margin at the expense of long-term market share.

For any entrepreneur wanting to make a difference, I would highly recommend Rules for Revolutionaries. The book is highly readable, and Guy Kawasaki's entrepreneurial experience at Apple Computer and later as CEO of seed capital firm garage.com is evident throughout.

Revolutionary products and companies outperform their competitors by completely changing the way things are done -- not by doing the same thing better. Perhaps the best book on this subject is Rules for Revolutionaries by Guy Kawasaki.

The book is based on 3 principles:

1) Create like a god
"Develop revolutionary products and services by analyzing how to solve current problems."

First, Guy walks you through the 3-step revolutionary thought process that leads to breakthrough product creation. It's very practical, and if followed, will generate amazing ideas for your business.

Next, Guy introduces you to a concept he calls, "Don't Worry, Be Crappy." Simply put, don't worry about perfecting a product before sending it to market. Focus on getting your product quickly to the market, but be ready to make constant improvements based on user feedback. He says effective companies have a circular built-in system for continuous product perfection, rather than viewing the product life cycle as linear. It's not how good you can make your product the first time, but rather how quickly you can respond to feedback after it launches.

Finally, Guy explains DICEE -- a formula for creating great products. If you've ever wondered what makes Apple products so attractive, it would be beneficial for you to examine this formula and evaluate how it can be added to your own products.

2) Command like a king
"Take charge with strategic decisions that break down barriers of product adoption."

For any revolutionary product, there will be barriers to overcome. Here, Guy gives us 5 common ones: Ignorance, Inertia, Complexity, Channel, and Price. The revolutionary entrepreneur anticipates this, and uses one or more of the book's 6 "barrier busters."

Interestingly, after removing barriers to adoption it then becomes necessary to form new barriers to retain users. These "positive" barriers, if developed correctly, can also promote the creation of "customer evangelists" -- people that love your product so much they act as an unpaid sales force for you.

3) Work like a slave
"Relentlessly absorb information from your environment, then spread the knowledge you've gained."

The revolutionary keeps up to date by viewing the situation from different viewpoints, spending time with typical users, and then gaining information from those encounters. Businesspeople that stay (physically) close to their target customers are more likely to produce successful products.

Guy also reminds his readers that if a new concept will be an inevitable long-term success, the best strategy is to focus on gaining market share rather than reaping big profits initially. While obvious in concept, startup cashflow reality often makes companies do the opposite. He uses the example of Apple and Microsoft in the 80's -- Apple unwisely choose a fat profit margin at the expense of long-term market share.

For any entrepreneur wanting to make a difference, I would highly recommend Rules for Revolutionaries. The book is highly readable, and Guy Kawasaki's entrepreneurial experience at Apple Computer and later as CEO of seed capital firm garage.com is evident throughout.

The book is full of pie in the sky mentality and ideals as seen through rose colored glasses.

If you are interested in the entrepreneurial world, you might find this book an entertaining read. However, if you are an entrepreneur or want to be one, this book is most likely not going to help you.

I have read so many business books (including books on start-ups) and invariably with the exception of a couple of books, those for start-ups are of low value and do not provide sufficient information desperately needed by entrepreneurs.

With so many fluff books on start-up companies and entrepreneurs, there is a great need for more in-depth how-to books. This one certainly has not bucked the trend. It seems that so many of the reviewers are just so proud and honored to speak of Mr. Kawasaki's previous stent with Apple or his garage.com firm (which I still do not think he is sure what their mission is) that they have not given the book a truly subjective and unbiased review.

When reviewing a book for entrepreneurs you should ask yourself the foillowing question:

Does the book really show you how to be successful? Is the information so valuable that you will study it and take notes or refer back to it for future use?

There are very few sources of valuable education for entrepreneurs anywhere. Therefore it is important that the authors of these books provide what is left out in business schools. Traditional business topics are covered well in business schools so there is more room for business fluff books. Despite this fact, there are still many books on traditional business topics.

In contrast, for entrepreneurs, the only source of education is the book market so you should stay away from fluff books or motivational type books, all of which teach you nothing.

The only regret I have about this book is that it is too good. That is, much of the content has been scooped by the writers who have come later, so if you have read many business books written within the last couple years parts of Guy's book will seem cliche. At the same time, many of Guy's insights are still unique and cannot be found anywhere else. Especially important are his explanations on why never to compromise and allow your product to be invented and marketed by a committee. This is very counter intuitive, but true, and it takes a lot of time for most people to grasp this concept. But that being said, it is the defining characteristic that separates revolutionaries from mere mortals.

I'd recommend this book to anyone who has a world changing idea but still has doubts about whether or not it is workable or worth pursuing.

I really have to say that this is the worst management book I read. [...] Moreover, the book is full of clichýs. I kept reading it, expecting that the good part was coming, but there was no good part! I eventually reached the end of the book where he says "If you don't try, you will never know", and "don't let anything grind you down", as if these were very revealing statements. This is what we tell little kids, and we all learned this when we were 5 years old, and I find pitiful that the author has no other ideas to conclude his book with. I would never recommend this book to anyone in any business field.

Kawasaki, formerly with Apple Computer and now founder of Garage.com, a Silicon Valley-based firm that helps start-ups find seed money, is a legend in his own time. Unorthodox to say the least, Rules For Revolutionaries is a sure fire shot of adrenaline for serious entrepreneurs wanting to "rock the world."

Nearly everyone in business wants to say they're an entrepreneur, when in fact their certainly walking a well worn path - they are the status quo.

The book is divided into three sections, whose titles alone spring to life. First, Create Like a God discusses the way that radical new products and services must really be developed. Second, Command Like a King explains why take-charge leaders are truly necessary for such developments to succeed. And third, Work Like a Slave focuses on the commitment required to beat the odds and change the world.

Divided into 10 chapters, Rules For Revolutionaries will energize you and make you feel ready to take on the world:

May this be one of the first books you read in 2005. If you've already read it, read it again (it's already on my to-do list). Finally, if you really are a fellow revolutionary, I'd love to hear from you - just send me an email.

Michael Davis, Byvation

---> To swing for the fence, entrepreneurs must avoid the shark-infested red water and sail into the deep blue sea.

Rules for Revolutionaries does a good job of presenting many good suggestions for succeeding with a new product and/or company. It also presents interesting reasoning why numerous companies repeat the same mistakes (called death magnets in the book). The book is well written, with considerable humor and history thown in to make it more enjoyable.

But this book is really badly written. It will only be inspiring for the truly uninspired marketing dullard.

I enjoyed the book, even though I'm not in marketing. Found some interesting points.

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.

This book is a very concise guidebook on product evangelism. The author was Apple Computer's chief evangelist, and I myself an Apple evangelist, really enjoyed the author's description of the product evangelism process, of which I was part as a customer.

The authro uses some analogies, like "eat like a bird, poop like an elephant", which oozes unconventional thinking, however the topics he addresses are pretty standard. Rather than innovative thinking, I think this is a good way of repackaging thoughts into a coherent framework.

It seems to try to speak to the actors of the internet revolution in their language, which in many ways alienates some of the other audiences. However, if we ignore this segmentation, it is a pretty nice, short guide.

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.

This book is humorous and frank while practical for individual innovators who by nature can be shy yet brilliantly creative. It says you've got to believe in yourself, and unfortunately it says that mainstream organizations will likely take your ideas and repackage them into mainstream boring product improvements. The revolutionary must be willing to take personal risk including entering a startup if the "immune system" and "in the box" thinking of the corporate systems is to be avoided. Key innovation lessons in this book (even if you don't want to totally "revolt") are: test prototypes of your idea early, often, and fast and expect it to be full of bugs and fail initially - value customers even small ones if they tell you exactly how to improve your idea and what it would take for them to buy it over other options. Focus on differentiating your product if you want a piece of the market. At the end of the day, the book teaches teaches how to communicate/deliver new innovations in terms customers and marketplace understand and value. Less emphasis was made about technically how to innovate.

Thanks Guy. Now that was a great book, I always wondered what I should call myself. Entrepreneur never seemed enough. Everyone with an MBA, claims to be an entrepreneur. The Entrepreneur From Hell, did not sound correct either.

I am a Revolutionary, that is what I am. Thank you for the insight and thoughts, I needed that. I will recommend this book to everyone who has what it takes to go the distance.

Hope we meet someday,

Lance Winslow III The Car Wash Guy

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...

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.

Im not a professional book reviewer although I play one on tv. This is the 6th book of Mr. Kawasaki's that I have bought and is my favorite. It is interesting from the first page and you may very well want to read it all the way thru at one sitting. Guy talks about business from the perspective of the computer / software industry, but the principles apply to any area of business or industry. He speaks in concepts instead of cold hard facts (although he includes some of those too) which tends to communicate better to me. He uses examples of what NOT to do as well as what to do. If you have any entrepreneuring desires in you, read this book, then read it again, then give it to a friend, but be sure to get it back so you can read it again! Its war out there friends, this book will give you some strategy.

This book is subtitled the "Capitalist Manifesto for Creating and Marketing New Products and Services." The name says it all. This short book is a good quick read and I quickly devoured it after Guy sent me the book for Christmas one year.

The nice thing about this book is that it is well written and short -- so you get all the info you want without the fluff.

I love this book. Guy Kawasaki is one of those rare business writers who really knows what he is talking about. This may be one of his best! Buy this book!

Readers familiar with Tom Peters and similar business gurus probably won't find anything truly "revolutionary" here. But Kawasaki distills some of the best such thinking into one little volume that's a great read... and far less annoying than the dime-a-dozen brag books of ego-tripping CEOs. "Rules" is a tremendous motivator and inspiration (note to managers: if you're looking for holiday gifts for your people, quit looking). Especially fun is the list of "bozoisity" in the conclusion. My only real quibble with the book is its title: true revolutionaries, after all, don't follow rules...

Guy has done a great job writing this book. The book can be used no matter the business you're in. It includes all the traps, do's and dont's, in product development and product marketing. If you're about to start working this way, prepare to develop a revolutionary personality and attitude!

I like his book, his style and what he says. He - in some senses - speaks my language. Though this is no 'academic textbook', it is somehow a crossing between such a book and a fun story. You can learn a lot and have fun at the same time. I consider his book recomm. especially interesting and ordered already some the recommended book (if he has cut a profit sharing deal with the publishers / authors... ;-) ).

This is a great book for people for people who want to make a difference - If you're content with corporate ladder-climbing and love to think "inside the box", you will probably feel threatened by most of Guy's ideas. This book stands out from the business book crowd because it's packed with "exercises" for real-life application. I really enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone venturing into a new career or a new life. A must read if your in an Internet start up....

If you expect to find anything "revolutionnary" in this book,you might be a bit disappointed : the "do" and "don't" list are known from anyone involved in management BUT their application is hardly ever seen. The reason why - and what to do about it - are well explained in guy's book and that's the main interset of the book !

The book is divided in three parts around product devloppement : the creation part is - to me - the most interesting. The other part are more specific to the software industry - even though, it is not a sector specific reading.

Finally, the last chapter about BOZOZITY will allow to see that even bill gates - among other celebrity - can be one !

Guy's viewpoint in his book is hard-to-understand, profound, and not reader-friendly. He uses hard to understand examples to explain simple theory which makes a dull business books 'duller'?

I hate to admit it again, but Guy has done it again. For the entrepreneur in our day and age there is no way around this book. Just read the book, and thousands of ideas for new ventures will pop up in your mind. I would even go as far as saying that any businessman today would benefit from this collection of insights. I give it 5 stars because of the above + the fact it is such an enjoyable and not beat around the bush read. I am looking forward to Guy's next book.

With "Rules" Kawasaki has managed to once again effect a "V-8" moment; that moment when you smack yourself in the forehead. What he details is so blindingly obvious that you just never saw it before. (At least obvious for those of us who learned from the bottom up, as opposed to those MBA types who keep telling me that they "just don't get it".

Read this book. Then make a list of the death magnets, and hang them in front of your face.

I'm tempted to spend copies to every exec in my company, so we can learn exactly what we are doing wrong (and why evangelism is important).

Yes, this one is a "must read" for anyone competing in today's business world. The book has exactly what it takes to grab my attention: it is concise, to the point, well written and even amusing. But original? Had you read any of the latest books on eCRM or relationship marketing, even "Permission Marketing" then you can guess what this one is about. Slightly more amusing then the rest, but hardly original.

Guy Kawasaki has an amazing gift of culling the business wisdom of the ages, and decimating it by showing the rules have changed. He's quite the motivational writer (should he start speaking, I might have to change my church) and the points he brings forth in "Rules" do help filter and focus the motivations needed to run a megabusiness on the Internet. I especially love the quotations (tech epithets?) in the back of the book...talk about the wisdom of the ages!

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!

If you have a product that will change the world, this is the map to use to get it out there and successful. Guy brings real world proof to the pages to ensure you understand, this is not just a 'what to say' book, this is a book that makes you believe you can do it. The proof is in the pages, and you have to read it to get it.

This is the de facto standard in which to prepare for war against the juggernauts in any industry. Guy should know, he helped put Apple on the Map.

This is a must read for those established brick and mortars who want to defeat or contain the evil Ciscos, Siebels and IBMs of the industry.

If you are in sales sor marketing, you have to absolutely purchase and read this book. You won't just win, you'll win and have fun doing it.

I am a recent college graduate and someday, hopefully soon, I want to go into business for myself. This book serves very well as THE intro book for getting into the correct entrepreneur mindset. But I also think it offers a lot for the experienced business person as well. Even if I knew everything in this book prior to reading it, I would have came out much more inspired at the very least.

Guy has been able to bring together a buffet of examples and stories that provide even the novice 'Revolutionary' with excellent advice. The lessons learned should allow some of us to avoid some of those 'Death' pitfalls.

Great book... I read it on a flight back from a Sales Conference after hearing Guy speak. Awesome!

This is NOT the kind of book you'd find being taught in most colleges. It's a bit rough, isn't loaded with pretty prose or complex academic justifications. In other words, it goes right to the point.

Starting a company that could be great is not an orderly business. You may know that you're going to do it, but once you commit for the ride, it's like lowering yourself onto a bronco as the rodeo chute opens. This book can help you deal with the unexpected twists and turns, giving you a better shot to make it to the end of the ride.

Author, Guy Kawasaki, has lived it. As the former "chief evangelist" for the Apple Macintosh, and the founder/CEO of Garage.com, a development and funding source for start-up companies, he knows a lot about what it takes to break the mold of "but everybody does it that way" and succeed. He's not shy about sharing things that didn't work out the way he thought they would, either. For example, he quotes himself, upon being asked to interview for the Chief Executive Officer position at Yahoo!, "It's too far to commute. And how can you make a business out of a search engine?"

If you're looking for a book with practical advice that can really help you change the way you approach problems, this is packed with good information. If you're looking for "thud factor" (how much your desk shakes when you drop the book on it) give it a pass.