Notes on Guy Kawasaki Commencement Speech at UCLA Anderson

I'm excited about having graduated on Friday from UCLA Anderson. Our commencement speech was entertaining and inspirational, and I wanted to share the top 10 list that Guy Kawasaki shared with us.

Guy shares alma maters with me (Stanford followed by UCLA Anderson), so I identified with him immediately. He was the chief evangelist at Apple and author of ten books (two of which I've read and really enjoyed: Enchantment and The Art of the Start).

You can watch his speech in the video above, and my notes are below.

Guy's Top 10 Practical Tips for Succeeding

1. Aspire to jump to the next curve.
Instead of working on a better sameness

2. Don't worry, be crappy.
When you're on the next curve, it's time to ship.
Ship and then test.

3. Never ask people to do something you wouldn't do.
Whether it's asking customers or employees
Importance of ethics

4. Obey the absolutes.
There's a hard line between right and wrong.

5. Default to yes.
Positive attitude
Always thinking "how can I help others?"

6. Drop everything when your boss asks you to do something.
Make your boss or wife look good.

7. Become a baker not an eater.
For baker's, life's not a zero sum game.

8. Hire people better than you.
A people hire A people. B people hire C people (and so on).
Hire people better than you to prevent a "bozo explosion."
(See my notes on the book Who.)

9. Change your mind.
It's a sign of intelligence.
Steve Jobs changed his mind all the time (and convinced you he was right before and after).

10. 10/20/30 rule of PowerPoint
Optimal slides: 10
Optimal time: 20 minutes
Optimal font size: 30
Figure out oldest person in room and divide age by 2 and that is the font size.

11. Suck it up
Need to pay dues.
Do the dirty job.

12. Have children.
True success is happiness in life.
Children are his greatest joy in life.
Nothing came close in his life in joy.