The Art of the Start
Author: Guy Kawasaki
MLA: Kawasaki, Guy. The Art of the Start. London: Portfolio, 2004.
Whilst this book is primarily intended as a guide for starting a new business, very many of the strategies Kawasaksi recommends apply equally well to getting a laptop initiative started. If you believe that a one-to-one program is like a startup then the ideas presented will resonate for you. For instance, the book begins with GIST (Great Ideas for Starting Things):
- Make meaning: the best reason to start an organization is to make meaning - to create a product or service that makes the world a better place.
- Make mantra: rather than a long and boring mission statement, focus on making meaning then making a mantra out of it.
- Get going: start creating and delivering your product or service rather than on pitching, writing and planning.
- Define your business model: the greatest idea is short-lived without a sustainable business model.
- Weave a mat: compile three lists: a) major milestones you need to meet; b) assumptions that are built into your business model; c)tasks you need to accomoplish to create an organization.
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