Ex-Apple Evangelist Stumps for IBM--and Technology

Guy Kawasaki turns blue, offering levity and insight for dot-com survivors.

Tom Spring, PCWorld.com

ATLANTA-- It wasn't a exactly a cold day in hell, but eyebrows went up when longtime Apple Computer evangelist Guy Kawasaki delivered a pep rally for 4000 IBM loyalists at its annual PartnerWorld 2001 convention here Tuesday.

"This is a historic moment," Kawasaki professed, referring to his choice of an IBM ThinkPad over an Apple PowerBook to run his PowerPoint presentation. "If Steve Jobs could only see me now."

Kawasaki spent years as an Apple spokesperson, taking public snipes at archrival Microsoft and the Windows world of computing while promoting Apple business. Today, as chief executive of consultancy Garage.com, he helps launch young companies and has adjusted his anti-Microsoft rhetoric.

At IBM's conference, Kawasaki offered a welcome respite from the tickertape of bad news flowing from the technology sector. On this point, he both reflected on lessons learned and waxed on how companies should march forward.

Watch the Tide

The new economy bubble hasn't burst; it's just that the tide is out, according to Kawasaki. He called the oft-used "dot-com bubble" metaphor a sloppy one, considering when bubbles burst there is nothing left. The technology industry operates more like the tides, Kawasaki said: Wait around long enough, and it'll come back in.

Dot-com casualties should have spent more time drafting a business plan on Excel, instead of drafting presentations on PowerPoint, Kawasaki said. In hindsight, too much money was spent on things like marketing and designer office furniture, and too little time spent drafting prudent dot-com budgets.

For example, Pets.com spent $60 million on marketing and advertising in its last 90 days of business, Kawasaki said. "Dogs need leashes," he said. Give a dog too long a leash or a start-up too much money, and there's bound to be trouble.

Start-ups don't need Super Bowl-sized marketing budgets, Kawasaki said. "If you need a flamethrower instead of matches to jumpstart your company, then something is wrong," he added.

Beware of Bozos in Armani

Kawasaki offers four characteristics to avoid in entrepreneurs:

• Driving a German automobile
• Using cologne
• Sporting a goatee
• Wearing Prada apparel

Kawasaki's advice: Applicants who have two or more of those characteristics should not be hired.

And, he expects, entrepreneurs will continue to have opportunities as the tides get higher. The outspoken Kawasaki also urges engineers to "think digital and act analog" when it comes to designing future gadgets and software. Too often companies develop cool microdrives,-monitors, and-technologies that don't resonate with consumers. "Digital is great only when it makes analog people happy," Kawasaki advises.

Technology that asks users to jump through too many hoops is no good," he explains. "Don't ask people to do something that you wouldn't do." For example, he said, "Have you ever seen a flight attendant take their bags off the plane because their carry-on luggage couldn't fit in an overhead compartment?" Or, when was the last time you troubleshot Windows?

Forecasting From Experience

Kawasaki's parting advice dares companies not to "let the bozos grind you down" when it comes to risk taking. It's not bozos you already know, he said, but the well-dressed ones with lots of money.

His message is still synonymous with Apple's cheeky and accurate goal of changing the world. Pointing to famous missteps by shortsighted companies, he invoked a famous comment by Digital Equipment founder Ken Olsen, who wondered why anyone would ever want a PC in their home. Another famous foresight flop was Western Union's original turn-of-the-century notion that the telephone was too unreliable to replace the telegraph.

Kawasaki urged corporations to have a heart. "Don't build companies that make a lot of money. Build companies that will make the world a better place."

The audience didn't pause long on the point. Many people said they are just waiting for the tide to come back in.