Reality Check by Guy Kawasaki

More uncommon common sense from the bestselling author of The Art of the Start.

A word of caution: Mr. Kawasaki's world view is very different from Peter Drucker's. Their view of innovation and entrepreneurship is also worlds apart.

In Silicon Valley slang, a "bozo explosion" is what causes a lean, mean, fighting machine of a company to slide into mediocrity. As Guy Kawasaki puts it, "If the two most popular words in your company are partner and strategic, and partner has become a verb, and strategic is used to describe decisions and activities that don't make sense" … it's time for a reality check.

For nearly three decades, Kawasaki has earned a stellar reputation as an entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and irreverent pundit. His 2004 bestseller, The Art of the Start, has become the most acclaimed bible for small business. And his blog is consistently one of the fifty most popular in the world.

Now, Kawasaki has compiled his best wit, wisdom, and contrarian opinions in handy book form. From competition to customer service, innovation to marketing, he shows readers how to ignore fads and foolishness while sticking to commonsense practices. He explains, for instance:

• How to get a standing ovation

• The art of schmoozing

• How to create a community

• The top ten lies of entrepreneurs

• Everything you wanted to know about getting a job in Silicon Valley but didn't know who to ask

Provocative, useful, and very funny, this "no bull shiitake" book will show you why readers around the world love Guy Kawasaki.

• Contents of Reality Check by Guy Kawasaki
  • Foreword 1.0
  • Foreword 2.0
  • Acknowledgments
  • Introduction
  • The Reality of Starting
    • 1. Flounders (sic) at Work
    • 2. The Inside Story of Entrepreneurship
    • 3. The Art of Intrapreneurship
    • 4. The Art of Commercialization
    • 5. Mantras for Dummies
  • The Reality of Raising Money
    • 6. The Investor Wish List
    • 7. The Art of Getting the Attention of Investors
    • 8. The Art of Executive Summary
    • 9. The 10/20/30 Rule of Pitching
    • 10. The Top Ten Lies of Venture Capitalists
    • 11. The Top Eleven Lies of Entrepreneurs
    • 12. The Art of Raising Angel Capital
    • 13. The Inside Scoop on Venture Capital Law
    • 14. The Top Sixteen Lies of Lawyers
    • 15. The Venture Capital Aptitude Test (VCAT)
  • The Reality of Planning and Executing
    • 16. The Paradox of Strategy: How Apple Blew It and Microsoft Got Lucky
    • 17. The Zen of Business Plans
    • 18. The Art of Financial Projections
    • 19. Financial Models for Underachievers
    • 20. The Art of Execution
    • 21. After the Honeymoon
    • 22. The Art of Bootstrapping
    • 23. The Art of the Board Meeting
    • 24. How I Built a Web 2.0, User-Generated- Content, Citizen-Journalism, Long-Tail, Social-Media Site for $12,107.09
  • The Reality of Innovating
    • 25. The Art of Innovation
    • 26. The Seven Sins of Solutions
    • 27. The Myths of Innovation
    • 28. The Sticking Point
    • 29. The Lies of Engineers
    • 30. How to Kick Silicon Valley's Butt
    • 31. The Purest Form of Engineering: Woz
  • The Reality of Marketing
    • 32. Stupid Ways to Hinder Market Adoption
    • 33. The Name Game
    • 34. The Art of Branding
    • 35. Frame or Be Framed
    • 36. Get a Clue: The Global Youth Market
    • 37. The Lesson of Tam's Art Gallery
  • The Reality of Selling and Evangelizing
    • 38. The Art of Selling
    • 39. The Art of Distribution
    • 40. The Art of Evangelism
    • 41. DIY PR
    • 42. Straight from the Press's Mouth
    • 43. Forget the Influencers After All?
  • The Reality of Communicating
    • 44. The Effective E-mailer
    • 45. The Zen of Presentations
    • 46. How to Get a Standing Ovation
    • 47. As Good as Steve Jobs
    • 48. Speaking as a Performing Art
    • 49. How to Be a DEMO God
    • 50. How to Kick Butt on a Panel
    • 51. How to Be a Great Moderator
    • 52. The Art of Blogging
  • The Reality of Beguiling
    • 53. The Psychology of Influencing People
    • 54. The Art of Creating a Community
    • 55. The Art of Customer Service
    • 56. Power 3.0: Kinder, Gentler, and Better
    • 57. The Art of Schmoozing
    • 58. The Art of Sucking Down
    • 59. The Art of Sucking Up
    • 60. How to Suck Up to a Blogger
    • 61. The Art of Partnering
    • 62. The Top Ten Lies of Partners
    • 63. Ten Questions "with" Jackie Onassis
  • The Reality of Competing
    • 64. The Art of Defensibility
    • 65. Counterpoint: Patents and Defensibility
    • 66. The Art of Driving Your Competition Crazy
    • 67. How to Remain Sane
  • The Reality of Hiring and Firing
    • 68. The Art of Recruiting
    • 69. Real-World Recruiting
    • 70. Thirteen Questions with Libby Sartain, Chief People Yahoo!
    • 71. Career Guidance for This Century
    • 72. Everything You Wanted to Know About Getting a Job in Silicon Valley But Didn't Know Whom to Ask
    • 73. Nine Questions to Ask a Startup
    • 74. How to Get a job on craigslist
    • 75. How to Not Hire Someone via craigslist
    • 76. The Effort Effect of Carol Dweck
    • 77. The Art of Laying People Off
    • 78. The Art of Firing
  • The Reality of Working
    • 79. Work as a Prison?
    • 80. How to Not Choke
    • 81. Mavericks in the Workplace
    • 82. Ten or So Things to Learn This School Year
    • 83. "Why Smart People Do Dumb Things"
    • 84. Why Smart Companies Do Dumb Things
    • 85. How to Prevent a Bozo Explosion
    • 86. Are You an Egomaniac?
    • 87. The No-Asshole Rule
    • 88. Is Your Boss an Asshole?
    • 89. The Top Seventeen Lies of CEOs
    • TIMEOUT. What's Your EQ (Entrepreneurial Quotient)?
  • The Reality of Doing Good
    • 90. The Six Lessons of Kiva
    • 91. Social Entrepreneurship
    • 92. Making the Transition from the Corporate to Nonprofit World
    • 93. The Art of Surviving
    • 94. My Hindsights in Life
    • CONCLUSION: The Reality Check Checklist