Guy Kawasaki: Make Meaning in your Company

As I watched the video “Guy Kawasaki: Make Meaning in your Company”, I have realized many things. Especially about your motivations in your company. This lecture has cleared my mind on what should be my goal as an entrepreneur or a technopreneur, someday. “Make Meaning in your Company.” What does Guy Kawasaki wanted to imply with this statement? And who is Guy Kawasaki, by the way? How did he made us realized many good things? 

Before going to my reflection about the video “Guy Kawasaki: Make Meaning in your Company”, let us know who is Guy Kawasaki. Guy Kawasaki is a Japanese American. He was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. He is a very famous blogger. And aside to that, he is also one of the individuals behind the marketing of the Macintosh of Apple in the year 1984. He has this brilliant mind that made him to be a Silicon Valley venture capitalist. He started not as a technopreneur or being in the technology business. After graduating UCLA Anderson School of Management, his first work is selling jewels in Nova Jewelries, a jewelry company. And thereafter, he was employed in Apple Computers through his college friend, Mike Boich. He works there as a chief evangelist for four years but he never wish of staying there for a long time. And so he decided to make his own software company and earn big amount money. Of course, we all know that being an entrepreneur can earn a lot of money than those who are employed. But before he was able to create his own company, he was hired in ACIUS (the United States subsidiary of ACI). After leaving ACIUS, he continued writing columns and founded a new company, Fog City Software. And he bacame more successful as he returned to Apple and founded Garage Technology Vantures, Truemors, and Alltop. 

 Through his success, we can say that “I wanted to learn from him about technopreneurship”. In the video he said a lot of meaningful and sense-full things even though the video only lasted for two minutes and 54 seconds. He said that as an entrepreneur or technopreneur we thought that in business what is important is about earning money. Which is not the right mindset. He said that, the core or the essence of entrepreneurship is making meaning. He even added that in the companies that he worked at, what is important is about how to change the world. He also said that those companies who make meaning in their company are those companies that are successful. He believed that when you make meaning, you make money but if you did not make meaning you would not make money.

Guy Kawasaki said that the core, as you start your company, is making meaning, this is the first thing he said the company must have. Making meaning in a sense that the company must have motivation to continue its service to the people. Some people that the meaning of creating a business is creating or earning a lot of money. But from what the video is all about, the business must not focus in creating or earning money. Especially in technopreneurship, one technopreneur must think of ways in how his company can change the world by creating ideas that will help a lot of people. It is important that a technopreneur thinks this way. Because in this way, earning money will come after. Guy Kawasaki even said that in the computer related companies that he worked for, everyone always wake up every morning thinking on how to change the world through technology. They never stop thinking of ideas that will be helpful to every individual. It is because this is what the meaning of their company. 

He also said that there are 3 ways of making a meaning: 

(1) Increase the quality of life.

“We are not motivated by making money.... We are trying to increase the quality of life... That’s the great motivation that kept us going in many, many difficult periods.” This is what gave the company success. You should not always think of profit. Think of what is helpful. Technologies were created to make difficult things to get easier. Appliances were maid to make changes in our daily living. As a technopreneur, we should think like what he did. 

(2) Right a wrong.

“Right a wrong which means you something wrong in the world and you noticed that you want to fix that.... The very core is to end that wrong.” There are many things that are ‘wrong’ in this world. I am not questioning about God’s creation about this world but what happened to our home? Our God created the world very beautiful but the people made things that made it ugly. And these things must be corrected. This is what Guy meant about the statement. Pollution made the water, land, and air dangerous to everyone, so let us think of ways or ideas that would change this. And Techopreneur should solve this with the creation or innovation of technology.

(3) Prevent the end of something good.

“If you see something beautiful, something wonderful and you just can’t stand the fact that it has been eroded, it has been changed, it’s being ruined.” Of course, if you have seen things that have no defects, then leave it like that or it will ruin that specific thing.  

He said that if you do not have any or all of these three motivations, you must rethink what you are doing. Think about is this really the thing that you wanted to do? This is not only about technopreneurship or making business but it is applicable to anything. Think of the thing that you really love, the thing that you wanted to happen in your life, or the things that you wanted to do. Because if you don’t, you will never attain success. So I have thought many times, is this (technopreneurship) what I really wanted to do? Or is this (technopreneurship) will make me happy? And after that I said to myself, “Of course IT IS!”

Click here to see the video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQs6IpJQWXc