Rules for revolutionaries
by Guy Kawasaki · first published 1999
67% recommend33% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Short, practical book of startup and entrepreneurship rules from Guy Kawasaki, half morale-building and half how-to. It suits founders and anyone wanting to launch something new.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
"Create like a god--Command like a king--Work like a slave."--Jacket.
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…assertion about the objective truth of the matter ...unless I assert that morality is subjective. :-) As for the rest of it ... well, I do disagree. I think Guy Kawasaki outlined it best in his book, "Rules for Revolutionaries". It has a section titled, if I remember correctly, "Don't let bozosity get you down". A certain amount of criticism that a person will encounter will be, well, wrong. It can even be wrong when it's…
on “PG on trolls” ↗The excellent book by Guy Kawasaki, "Rules for Revolutionaries", has examples from lots of industries over various periods of time. I'm confused by what you mean about "business models", here. I doubt that you could say that Henry Ford had a "business model" when…
on “Ask HN: Business Model Hall of Fame” ↗I kind of agree, but with the caveat that nobody's right all the time. (See also the "Don't let bozosity get you down" section of Guy Kawasaki's "Rules for Revolutionaries".)
on “The iPhone 1.0 critics -- where are they now?” ↗…separately. Startups to large companies. The Art of Product Management - a series of articles, describes software PM in startups to larger companies. More about the role of PM rather than product itself. Rules for Revolutionaries - Guy Kawasaki's book, half entrepreneur morale book and half how to create a product quickly. --- Blogs --- Cranky Product Manager - crankypm.com Silicon Valley Product Group - svpg.com (Marty Cagan's…
on “Ask HN: Please suggest some good books on software product management.” ↗Not on the list: Guy Kawasaki's "Rules for Revolutionaries". It's been one of my guides for a long time, and it's responsible for changing the way I think about business enough to make me want to run my own.
on “Y Combinator Startup Library” ↗…domain. Guess what - the next year, 3 of the top 10 best sellers were in that category! Expensive lesson learned. And in case you think "well why should I follow pg's advice," then go read a copy of Rules for Revolutionaries by Guy Kawasaki. Same basic ideas, only about 20 years before! Good luck.
on “Startups in 13 Sentences (2009)” ↗There's a section in Guy Kawasaki's Rules for Revolutionaries which talks about exactly this. Rules is still my go-to text for general business management advice. I'll quote the relevant parts here. "Get Over the Paranoia: The story may be apocryphal, but Nordstrom…
on “My experience with WPEngine” ↗…that, because I think of criticism as a distraction that is sometimes an opportunity. To really love criticism is to dwell on what will ultimately be a distraction. I really wish I could find my copy of Rules for Revolutionaries. (I really dig that book, and it was signed! Sometimes I loan it out ... rats.) It cited some specific examples of this, sometimes where businesses had too closely followed criticism and been hurt by…
on “PG on trolls” ↗…to be able to have fun competing with the other company. Being genuinely friendly with them (and helpful to them!) while trying to think up ways of putting them out of business, that sort of thing. "Rules for Revolutionaries" is a great book that touches, in part, on handling competition. It's a quick read and fully worth it, if you have the time or inclination.
on “Ask HN: What to do when a competitor is better/faster than you?” ↗…just the typical text communication issue. My impression is that GK'S intention is not to mock other people, but to motivate them to do something great. Also, to chill out in a way, I guess. At least in "Rules for Revolutionaries" he is also mocking himself, when he lists famous blunders and also mentions him dismissing the offer to work for Yahoo in it's early days, for how could it possibly successful. I like his books, and…
on “Don't Waste Your Time With Guy Kawasaki” ↗…books that are nothing but fluff" is just not a battle cry people click on, so instead they say "don't read business books!" Read Positioning, Spin Marketing, Pricing with Confidence, Getting to Yes, Rules for Revolutionaries, Purple Cow, etc., etc. If you read, say, Purple Cow, or Positioning, or Pricing with Confidence, and don't come away with actionable ideas, you either have an empty head or were just running your eyes…
on “How to think like an entrepreneur, wherever you are” ↗- he worked for apple almost 25 years ago. - He spruiks his book for Google+ Im a big fan of Rules for Revolutionaries and Art of the Start was OK but since then I havent read anything that I have been impressed with. Not sure how his start up portfolio has faired: http://www.garage.com/portfolio/
on “Guy Kawasaki on why he gave up on iOS” ↗The impact of the writing -- the frequency with which I read something and it made me sit back and go, "hmm" -- is comparable to Rules for Revolutionaries, still my favorite book on business. I don't give out enthusiastic compliments easily. Seriously, if you enjoy doing this, you might consider turning it into a book. With your writing style, your domain…
on “What Product Companies Can Learn From Consulting Companies” ↗…based on whether or not your competitors do a particular thing. By that metric, Amazon doesn't need to provide awesome customer service because their competitors don't either. (See also Guy Kawasaki's Rules for Revolutionaries.)
on “Dreamhost St. Patrick's 92% off” ↗…express needs and desires in very vague terms, they can't usually be specific enough to actually help someone that's trying to implement an idea. I _think_ it was Guy Kawasaki that described this in "Rules for Revolutionaries", but it might've been Gladwell in "Blink" -- I don't remember now. Anyway, you're usually better off making observations about behavior and then attempting to solve the problems that you see there.…
on “Ask HN: "How to make something people want?"” ↗