Here is the transcript and summary of Guy Kawasaki’s talk titled “Wise Guy – Lessons from a Life” at TEDxPaloAltoSalon conference. In this TEDx talk, chief evangelist of Canva, Guy Kawasaki shares a series of life lessons that he has learned. He emphasizes the importance of adopting a growth mindset, praising hard work, embracing grit, and being a pleasant person. Kawasaki also discusses the power of collaboration, paying it forward, and honesty. He concludes his talk by encouraging individuals to embrace their uniqueness and value in order to create a better world.
Listen to the audio version here:
TRANSCRIPT:
Good evening, good evening. Thank you very much for attending this TED Salon in Palo Alto. For many people, myself included, speaking at a TEDx is one of the high points of one’s career, so this is a real pleasure for me.
I am going to talk to you tonight about implementing anew as opposed to simply imagining and reimagining anew. You’re going to hear from some great speakers about vision and passion and all these great things going forward, and I’m taking a different tack. I’m talking all about implementation.
And these are the techniques and wisdoms and knowledge that I gained. I’ve been in the Valley about 30 years. I’ve worked for Apple. I started some software companies. I’ve been a venture capitalist. Today I work for a company out of Australia, and so I just wanted to give you a different slate that I hope this is very tactical and practical so that, in the words of Steve Jobs, you can dent the universe and you can make a difference.
OK. I always use a top-ten format. That’s because, honestly, I’ve seen so many tech speakers, and most of them, A, suck, and B, go long, so I like to give people a top ten so that they know where I am in the speech. In this format, you know I only have 18 minutes, so that solves one of the problems, but I have ten key points, and I want you to know where I am in my presentation.
Okay? So this is my top ten lessons, wisdoms, about how to implement change, how to get to the next curve.
TWO-BY-TWO MATRIX
So, the first thing that I want to communicate to you is this technique, this strategy. This is a two-by-two matrix. The vertical axis measures uniqueness of differentiation. The horizontal axis measures the value, valuableness, you know, the goodness of what you do.
And it is a two-by-two matrix. If any of you have worked with some high-end consulting firms, you know that they’ll charge you about $5 million to tell you you need to be in the upper right-hand corner. You’re getting that free from TEDx tonight.
I want to just express that, you know, as you think about your products, your services, your not-for-profits, even your own positioning, your career, yourself, use this as a model. You know, the value, the history, the denting of the universe, all that good stuff occurs in the upper right-hand corner. That is when you are both valuable and unique.
I’ll go through all four corners. The bottom right corner is where you’re valuable but not unique. In that corner, you always have to compete on price. Michael Dell slaps the same operating system on the same hardware, make billions of dollars there, but you have to compete on price.
In the upper left-hand corner, you are unique. You truly do something no one else does, but it is of no use. In that corner, you are just plain stupid. In the bottom left corner, you do something that’s not useful, and there’s a lot of other stupid people doing the same stupid thing. That’s the worst corner of all.
The corner I want you to focus on when you design stuff, services, products, even positioning yourself, upper right-hand corner, how can you be valuable and unique?
Think of the iPod when it first came out, valuable and unique. It was a way to buy music, a great breadth of music, inexpensively, easily, legally, with a user interface that a mere mortal could use. That was unique and valuable, explaining the success of iPod.
A great mental framework for you, two-by-two matrix, upper right-hand corner.
A growth mindset means that you don’t accept things for what they are, including yourself, that you will make yourself better. It’s very obvious, people always talk about, you have to improve yourself, you have to overcome your weaknesses, so that’s what you always hear.
I would make the case that there’s also another dangerous mindset, which is when you are good at something, you adopt the mindset of you don’t want to take any chances and risk your reputation and your self-image by trying something and putting yourself at risk.
Instead of complimenting them about their smartness or their natural talent, you should compliment them about how hard they work. Because you tell someone you’re really smart, then they won’t take a risk, they’ll have a limited mindset, they won’t want to risk their self-image that, my God, I’m so good at math, I better not try anything else, I want to stay this smart person.
Embrace a growth mindset.
EMBRACE GRIT
Number three is to embrace grit. I have to tell you that I’ve been working in the Valley for about 35 years, and to me, what separates the people who succeed from the people who fail is the willingness to work hard. There are lots of smart people. Grit is a rare quality.
So if you want to truly reimagine and imagine new, get ready to work hard. Grit counts. I would argue that grit is a more flexible, more achievable goal. You can only be so smart, I think, within limits, but grit, anybody can be gritty. So embrace grit.
GO THROUGH LIFE SMILING
Number four is my recommendation that you go through life smiling. Just smiling, being a pleasant person. Listen, I work for someone named Steve Jobs. He didn’t smile all the time, to put it mildly. In fact, I actually fulfill my moral obligation. I’ll tell you a Steve Jobs story, I promise you, in this 18 minutes that I have.
But my aspect here is that, God, if you smile, you make life easier. There’s no reason to be a tough guy. I think that many people, they look at some of the leaders in industry and the leaders in the government, and they say, wow, those people are really cranky, angry, scary people. That’s what it must take to succeed. And I would disagree.
I think if you look at a Richard Branson, Arianna Huffington, there are as many people who are very happy and can succeed. So smile, do the world a favor, smile.
ALWAYS DEFAULT TO YES
Number five, number five is a recommendation that you always default to yes. That is, when you meet people, you should always be thinking, how can I help that person? I think a lot of people go through life thinking, well, my God, I don’t want to be taken advantage of. My default is to no. And if you somehow bludgeon me into agreeing to yes, hallelujah. But generally speaking, the answer is no until you force me to change to yes.
My experience in my career is that if you default to yes, it will lead to relationships, it will lead to deals, it will lead to such great upside. The upside of defaulting to yes far surpasses the downside of possibly being used. Default to yes.
RISING TIDE FLOATS ALL BOATS
Number six, number six is to adopt the philosophy that the rising tide floats all boats. I think that many, many people, many institutions have this attitude that it is a zero-sum game. You know, if Apple sells a computer, somebody else doesn’t sell a computer. If Apple sells a phone, somebody else doesn’t sell a phone.
If somebody else sells a phone, Apple doesn’t sell a phone. And I think that’s wrong. I think that when you’re instituting great changes, personal computing, internet, IoT, artificial intelligence, the rising tide floats all boats. It’s good for everybody.
It’s not about fighting for market share. It’s to legitimize the technology, legitimize the market, legitimize what you all do. The rising tide floats all boats.
I’LL PAY IT FORWARD
Number seven, number seven is an attitude very closely related to defaulting to yes, which is to have the perspective of I’ll pay it forward.
I think that there is a karmic scoreboard in the sky. And this scoreboard records what you’re doing to help people. And you want that scoreboard to be hugely positive. And the way you do that is you pay it forward without the expectation of any reward. You simply do it for the intrinsic reward of paying it forward.
And I think you will be surprised that all the goodness will flow back to you. That has been my experience. A very tactical example might be when I was at Apple, you know, we didn’t exactly have the most press-friendly relationship. And I was one of the few people at Apple who would just meet with anybody from the press. It could be the Milpitas Gazette. I could not care less. It didn’t have to be Businessweek, the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, or Washington Post.
I would meet with anybody. I would help them. And then for the rest of my career, guess what? The person who’s the Milpitas Gazette assistant reporter suddenly became the Wall Street Journal San Francisco bureau chief. Hmm, what a concept.
I wish I could tell you I was so smart to have planned that. I’m giving you the benefit of my experience so that you pay it forward. Pay it forward.
EXAMINE EVERYTHING
Number eight. Number eight is, you know, the unlived life is not worth examining, but the unexamined life is not worth living. You need to examine everything. You need to be skeptical. Not pessimistic, not a naysayer, but examine everything, especially because of social media. Examine everything.
Number nine. Number nine. So Windows remote. I sort of got, I pressed it three times, okay. So number nine. I hope you’re covering for me.
TELL THE TRUTH
Number nine is a very pragmatic approach to honesty. And I suggest that if you want to change the world, you never lie and you seldom shade the truth. At a very pragmatic level, it’s because it’s much easier to always tell the truth. Because as soon as you start lying, you have to keep track of how you lied so you can consistently lie.
But if you tell the truth, usually there’s only one truth. So it’s much easier to remember the one truth than every lie that you’ve told. And there are going to be times where, you know, there’s a line between lying and exaggerating and being, shall I say, sly, shading the truth. So this is where the Steve Jobs story comes in.
So one day, I’m in my cubicle. And Steve Jobs shows up with someone I’d never met in my life. And he asked me, “Guy, what do you think of this company called Knoware, K-N-O-W-A-R-E?” It was an educational software company, knowledge software truncated to nowhere.
I said, “Well, Steve, I’ve got to tell you. Steve, it’s kind of a mediocre company with a mediocre product. It doesn’t take real advantage of the Macintosh graphics, WYSIWYG display, color, two plus two equals four, simple arithmetic, Steve. Not a strategic product, not a strategic company for us.”
The next thing Steve says is, “I want you to meet the CEO of Knoware.”
Now, the lesson that I learned from that story is, tell the truth. Because if I had lied or even shaded the truth, let me tell you something, Steve Jobs probably knew that that product sucked. And if I had said, Steve, it’s insanely great, we ought to do something, it’s a great product, we really love this thing, I would have flunked the Steve Jobs IQ test. And you can only flunk that test once.
So that’s the day I learned, you know, never lie, never shade the truth, just tell the truth.
ENABLE PEOPLE TO PAY YOU BACK
Number 10. Number 10 is something that’s very counterintuitive. And I’ll give you two little tips, because I’m running fast, I have four minutes and 46 seconds. I didn’t even know I could do this so fast.
Another author that I truly admire is the author named Robert Cialdini. Now, when an author, I’ve written 14 books, tells you to buy another author’s book, there is no higher form of praise. So I’m telling you to buy two books, Carol Dweck and Bob Cialdini. He has a book called Influence. It’s the social psychology of influencing people.
And so, power tip number one is, let’s say that I default to yes, I do something for you, I pay it forward, and so you thank me. Now here’s the question, what is the optimal response when you thank me? It is not simply you’re welcome, it is, I know you would do the same for me. I’m telling her she’s a good person, I know you will do the same for me. You know what else I’m telling her? I know you will do the same for me. That’s the optimal response.
Cialdini also has this message, which is, you may think, you may think that when somebody does owe you, you should let them off the hook. To say to her, you know, I know you would do the same for me but don’t worry about it, forget about it. That’s not optimal.
What you should in fact do, is you should tell her how she can pay you back. Because, as a defaulter to yes, someone who believes in the karmic scoreboard, I’m willing to do more for you, but I am not clairvoyant, I have no idea what else I can do for you. You being a good person, you’re hesitant to tell me what you want, because you know you already owe me.
So if I could just tell you, this is how you can pay me back, we can clear the decks, and she can ask me to do more stuff, and we can have a stronger relationship.
So contrary to what you might think, you should enable people to pay you back. And now in my last 2 minutes and 41 seconds, I’m going to tell you one last story.
So my wife and I were living in San Francisco on Union Street, right near the Presidio, so a very nice part of San Francisco. And one day I’m in front of our house, and I’m clipping the bougainvilleas, okay?
And this older white woman comes up to me and says, Do you do lawns too? And I said to her, you know, I’m Japanese, so you assume I’m the yard man, right? She goes, no, no, you’re just doing a great job cutting your bougainvilleas. I wanted to know if you do yards. So that’s kind of a good story in and of itself about racial profiling, stuff like that. But wait, it gets better.
Two weeks later, my father comes, visits me from Hawaii, comes to San Francisco. I’m third generation Japanese American, so he’s second. He served in the U.S. Army, the whole thing. And I tell him this story. And I fully expect him to go off and just say, My God, this woman, just because you’re Japanese, she thought you were a yard man. She didn’t know you went to Stanford, you worked for Apple, you bought this house, right? I fully expected that.
And listen, to my utter amazement, you know what he tells me? He says, Guy, son, in this neighborhood, a Japanese man cutting the hedge, logically, mathematically, probability, you were the yard man. So get over it. Don’t look for problems. Don’t look for prejudice. Don’t complicate everything. You can’t go through life if you’re always looking for a problem.
And that’s the message I want to leave with you. If you want to reimagine or imagine anew, you can’t go through life angry and negative and assuming people have the worst intentions.
The rising tide floats all boats. Pay it forward. And above all, get into that upper right-hand corner where you are unique and valuable. And then you truly will imagine and reimagine anew and change the world. Thank you very much.
Guy Kawasaki’s TED Salon talk, titled “Wise Guy – Lessons from a Life,” provides valuable insights and practical advice on implementing change and making a difference in the world. Here is a summary of his key takeaway points:
The Two-by-Two Matrix: Guy Kawasaki introduces a simple yet powerful technique – the two-by-two matrix. It involves assessing the uniqueness of differentiation on the vertical axis and the value on the horizontal axis. The goal is to position yourself or your offerings in the upper right-hand corner, where you are both valuable and unique.
Embrace a Growth Mindset: Kawasaki emphasizes the importance of adopting a growth mindset. This mindset entails a commitment to continuous improvement and not shying away from taking risks or trying new things, even when you excel in a particular area.
Embrace Grit: Success often hinges on one’s willingness to work hard. Kawasaki believes that grit, the determination to persevere through challenges and setbacks, is a critical factor that separates successful individuals from the rest.
Go Through Life Smiling: Kawasaki suggests that being a pleasant, positive person can make life easier. Contrary to the belief that success requires a tough, stern demeanor, he points out that many successful leaders, like Richard Branson and Arianna Huffington, maintain a positive attitude and a smile.
Always Default to Yes: Kawasaki advises that you should default to a “yes” mindset when interacting with people. Rather than fearing being taken advantage of, he encourages you to look for ways to help others, as this can lead to valuable relationships and opportunities.
Rising Tide Floats All Boats: Kawasaki encourages the belief that progress benefits everyone. Instead of viewing success as a zero-sum game where one’s gain comes at the expense of others, he suggests that embracing technological advancements, for instance, can benefit all parties involved.
I’ll Pay It Forward: Kawasaki stresses the importance of paying it forward without expecting immediate rewards. He believes that good deeds and acts of kindness contribute to a positive karmic balance, which can ultimately lead to opportunities and goodwill.
Examine Everything: In the age of social media and rapid information dissemination, Kawasaki advises that we should be vigilant and skeptical of information and claims. While not advocating pessimism, he encourages a critical examination of everything presented.
Tell the Truth: Honesty is a pragmatic approach. Kawasaki insists on telling the truth, as it is easier to remember than lies. He shares a story about Steve Jobs to highlight the importance of straightforwardness and honesty in communication.
Enable People to Pay You Back: Kawasaki’s final point is counterintuitive. He recommends enabling others to repay your kindness by suggesting ways they can reciprocate. This approach strengthens relationships and ensures that opportunities for mutual assistance are not missed.
In conclusion, Guy Kawasaki’s talk is a treasure trove of practical advice for individuals looking to implement change and make a positive impact. His emphasis on embracing a growth mindset, working hard, maintaining a positive attitude, and fostering good relationships resonates with those seeking to create meaningful change in their lives and the world.
