Guy Kawasaki is the chief evangelist of Canva and the author of 16 books. He was the chief evangelist of Apple, Mercedes-Benz brand ambassador, and a special assistant to the Motorola Division of Google. Guy has a BA from Stanford, an MBA from UCLA, and an honorary doctorate from Babson College.

WATCH this conversation on YouTube. And SUBSCRIBE!

Order our NEW BOOK, The Score That Matters. “People spend far too much time obsessing about external scoreboards and not nearly enough time thinking about their internal one. Hawk and Cupps offer an important corrective, arguing the most important measure is whether or not you are living in alignment with your core values.” — Brad Stulberg, Best-Selling Author of Master of Change

Be part of “Mindful Monday” — Text Hawk to 66866

The Learning Leader Show

  • “Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” – William Arthur Ward
  • In 1977, Guy enrolled in the UCLA Anderson School of Management, where he earned an MBA. While there, Guy also worked at a jewelry company, Nova Stylings. He said, “The jewelry business is a very, very tough business, tougher than the computer business… I learned a very valuable lesson: how to sell.”
    • It’s helpful to know that we are all in sales every day. Whether you think you’re in sales or not… You are. You’re selling yourself, your ideas, projects, products. It’s useful to learn how to sell.
  • Melanie Perkins, CEO of Canva (which is an amazing product and company)… “She’s Steve Jobs with heart and soul. They are on a relentless pursuit of perfection.”
  • Guy’s counting dots story… It started in 6th grade. A teacher pushed him to go to a private school. That led to him getting into Stanford. This is where he met Mike Boich, who ended up hiring him at Apple. Then getting asked to go on the TEDx stage with Jane Goodall… Guy has made the most of the good fortune in his life…
  • Steve Jobs/Change Your Mind: Guy launched his tech career at Apple as the company’s “chief evangelist,” marketing the original Macintosh computer. 
    • When Jobs first introduced the iPhone in 2007, it was a closed system — no one outside of Apple could create an app for it. Software developers had to use a Safari plugin to make their app work on the phone, as they weren’t able to access the iPhone’s system directly in order to ensure the phone’s security. Just one year later, however, Jobs made a complete “180-degree reversal,” The founder opened the iPhone system to the public after realizing how much more the device could offer customers with apps written by anyone with a good idea. “I learned the very valuable lesson that when you’re doing something wrong when you’re doing something sub-optimally, it’s a sign of intelligence to change your mind.”
  • Throughout our conversation, Guy talks about being an evangelist, and the definition of that is to “bring the good news.” 
  • Default to yes. Make yourself indispensable.
  • Learn to say, “I’m sorry,” and “I don’t know.”
  • Guy shares a story about a disagreement he had with Steve Jobs and how that cost him millions of dollars… But he learned an important lesson from Steve that has impacted him ever since.
  • Apply to be in my Learning Leader Circle
Resources:

Time Stamps

More Learning:

Episode 078: Kat Cole – From Hooters Waitress To President of Cinnabon

Episode 216: Jim Collins — How To Go From Good To Great

Episode #300: AJ & Keith Hawk – How To Instill Work Ethic & Curiosity In Your Children

Episode #303:  General Stanley McChrystal – The New Definition Of Leadership