Art of the Start: Causation

I recently started reading Art of the Start by Guy Kawasaki. Guy was probably one of the first "recognized" technology evangelists and has written lots of books on the topic. Each of his books always seem to be slightly different variations on the same theme - on how to create something that completely changes lives (loosely: Selling the Dream was on how to sell it, How to Drive Your Competition Crazy was on how to compete with it, Rules for Revolutionaries was on creating it) - so I wasn't too sure how his new Art of the Start would read, especially since his new focus is on helping startups get venture capital. But once again, he's really done a good job.

The first chapter, Causation identifies what you really need to work on: Meaning, Mantra and MAT (Milestones, Assumptions and Timetables).

Instead of all those books that say study this and plan for that, come up with a mission statement and the like, Guy promotes the easier to remember style of a Mantra. Who wants to remember a huge mission statement when a five or six word mantra will do? In fact, one of his first exercises was to write your mantra in the following space: __________________ . Not a lot of space - but what a GREAT guideline! Now you can actually remember what you do (for all those unclear moments)

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