About Business Books: The Art of the Start by Guy Kawasaki

Knowledge, a vital, fundamental and ever evolving part of life experience. Entrepreneurship, and business ownership fall within the realm of life experience so the need to continuously engage knowledge is a given, especially in the pursuit of success. A major source of business knowledge is bound in books, even in the digital age of Google search. In this article I am going to begin a conversation about a business book I’m currently reading.  The Art of the Start by Guy Kawasaki. This book is one among many I plan to blog about. I want these book conversations to span several articles and who knows perhaps one day in the near future the books I choose now will become topics for my podcast or YouTube channel.

I was introduced to The Art of the Start early in the pursuit of my BAS degree in Sustainable Business Management. I often wonder if I found this book so interesting because the title had the word Art in it, given I decided to set my artistic goals to the side to pursue what would best support them. In the pursuit of my degree life continued to happen. I had a job, children, and I was attending college, so I didn’t always have the will, motivation and mindset I need to appreciate the material I took courses on. I am now on the threshold of completing that the degree and decided since I have the time, I would revisit the course materials and share a bit.  I warn you though if you’re expecting me to provide you significant details on these books these articles will disappoint you.  I hope only to create enough interest and intrigue to motivate you to go out, get the books and read them for yourself.  I look forward to your engagement.

The author of the book as you can tell by the title really cuts through the fluff and brings the heart of the knowledge into focus. Mr. Kawasaki knows his audience it seems because I really appreciate that aspect of this book. The Art of the Start is about entrepreneurship. The first section of the book is titled Causation, which I realize is more expansive than the well-known question, what’s your why? Think about that for a moment, the word causation and the question, what’s your why? Does one of them hold more value for you? At first, both the word and the question held the same meaning but the more I came back to that chapter, the more I pondered causation and how I defined the word changed.

It took me a bit to see the difference between the word causation and the question, what’s your why. I’d read and heard the question a million times in feeding my curiosity about entrepreneurship, but the word causation was new. I like the author’s word choice because for me, causation, that is a force, while the question, what’s your why? comes across to me as an exercise. In a education culture where, for me, there’s just not enough time to truly absorb what you’re learning I feel it is important to take time to note or ponder where appropriate the reasons behind the author’s choices. That’s not to say everything an author does is worth pondering or that you’ll know for certain why an author did this or that, but I think the act of pondering yields unique and potentially more absorptive value. I am sure Ancient Egyptian scholars, and their Greek student would agree.

Chapter 1 of the book, The Art of the Start, has this say it another way, a cut to the chase, main course first type vibe. The chapter touches on everything you expect when it comes to the how-to of new entrepreneurial ventures. I also like that there’s a section at the end of the chapter for corporate or internal entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurship I think is seen as something of an impossibility for employees of businesses and big corporations but it’s always happening within these entities, and it is vital to the survival of these entities. This book kept it simple, realistic, and relatable so that you come away from the pages like, ok, I see, I can do that. The hard part being, actually doing it.

My biggest take away from the first chapter was mental alignment, the right mindset. Aligning inspiration, strategy, and mission. Inspiration is the motivation that moves one to do.  Strategy is the processes of moving from one point to another, the thought-out, planned paths of actions towards an ultimate goal. The mission is the goal, the point or reason for all the effort invested. It's all about mindset. I used to treat the word mindset like it was a hype song, you know, the song you listen to before a workout or to put yourself in the right mood to get the job done. I’d say or think the word mindset and it’d be like putting on a different hat in an attempt to convince myself at a moment’s notice that I was what the embodiment of ther word. It felt like a covering, something outside of myself that I needed to draw in and that would change my thinking and pull me out of doubt, I was externalizing mindset. 

I had to learn that mindset isn’t about chanting a word in an attempt to stave off unwanted emotions when the pressure of my goals seems to be too much. Mindset wasn't about claiming I was the embodiment of the word as if doing so created some on demand shield designed to ward off negative thoughts and feelings of discomfort and uncertainty. Eventually mindset became an internal process for me, it was an equation that included what I knew my goals to be, the wisdom I gained from my experiences, how that wisdom shaped my perception, which impacted how I processed my thoughts and feelings. The output of all of that was the intentional action I took, which over time became my habits.  The right mindset also meant knowing that there will be obstacles between where you are and where you want to be and that the journey is suppose to be difficult at times. 

The author points out how vital it is as an entrepreneur, founder, and business owner to sort out what inspired you to start their business so that you can clearly communicate that inspiration and use it to motivate others. Mr Kawasaki helps the reader understand how the strategy you choose will impact your business and how to develop a winning mission that is simple and aligns with your efforts. The chapter impresses upon the reader the importance of proper alignment and provides an oppotunity compare what you think you know about starting a business versus the realty of actully starting a business. The first chapter was packed full of helpful information, examples and exercises to set the reader on the right track when it comes to start-up. This book is a must read.  

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