What is the main message of Powershift?

The main message of Powershift is how to adapt in a fast-changing world and take control of your own destiny.

Who is the author of Powershift?

The authors of Powershift are Daymond John and Daniel Paisner.

Marketing & Sales

Powershift Book Summary - Powershift Book explained in key points

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Powershift summary

Name: Powershift
Rating: 4.3 (114 reviews)
Author: Daymond John with Daniel Paisner

Daymond John Daniel Paisner

Transform Any Situation, Close Any Deal, and Achieve Any Outcome

4.3 (114 ratings)

17 mins

Brief summary

Powershift by Daymond John with Daniel Paisner is a motivational book about adapting to changes in today's world. It offers insights on how to identify and pursue opportunities, build resilient teams, and develop a mindset for success.

Topics

Success Entrepreneurship

Table of Contents

Powershift
Summary of 6 key ideas

Audio & text in the Blinkist app

Key idea 1 of 6

What’s in it for me? Learn to shift power in your favor.

Successful businesses are led by people who play the long game. They spread their influence, build their reputations, and nurture relationships even when there’s no immediate reward. When the moment comes, these long-term investments pay dividends.

This is the principle of the powershift – the ability to take control of situations and create true change because you’ve already done the groundwork.

In these blinks, we’ll explore the art of the powershift as it’s practiced by one of America’s most highly-regarded entrepreneurs: Daymond John, the founder of the iconic hip-hop fashion brand FUBU.

Along the way, we’ll break down the lessons John learned in the clothing business and distill them into actionable advice that will help you make powershifts in your own industry.

In these blinks, you’ll also learn

what happens when you give a bouncer a free T-shirt;
what the investors on Shark Tank really think about the contestant pitches; and
how hate-reading a Twitter nemesis’s timeline can improve your negotiating skills.

The most successful brands don’t sell products – they sell lifestyles.

Here’s a basic fact: not all sweaters are alike. On the one hand, there’s the generic sweatshirt you can pick up just about anywhere. It’s basic, cheap, and functional. It’s the kind of thing you buy because you’ve forgotten to pack a sweater for your holiday. Who made it is pretty much irrelevant.

Then there’s the sweatshirt you buy because you want exactly this model by this brand. It’s not just that these sweaters cost more, although they usually do – it’s that there’s more to them than the fabric. They stand for something. They fit your idea of yourself and express something about who you are.

The key message in this blink is: The most successful brands don’t sell products – they sell lifestyles.

Author Daymond John first made his name in the fashion industry by making clothing that allowed its wearers to do just this. But before we get to that, let’s take a closer look at the different kinds of clothing out there.

The first type is represented by that generic sweatshirt. This category is unbranded and low-cost. Think of the basic T-shirts and pants you find in large supermarkets all over the world.

Those supermarkets also stock a second category. These clothes cost a little more and are branded, albeit with the no-frills logo of the house label. Think about Costco’s Kirkland brand. You don’t buy jeans or socks because of this label, but it’s there all the same, setting them apart from their cheaper counterparts.

If you always buy one brand of sneaker because it has better grip or padding, by contrast, you’re buying products from the third category. In this segment of the market, choices are driven by trust. When you buy from one brand, you know what you’re getting.

The American clothing label Under Armour started out in this category. Initially known for its sports T-shirts, which wicked away perspiration more effectively than competitors’ shirts, it gradually expanded into leisurewear. At this point, Under Armour was selling more than products. Wearing the label’s clothes wasn’t just about achieving a specific outcome – it was a lifestyle.

The key to this transition? Well, Under Armour practiced what it preached. It really did make the best sports shirts on the market and that built credibility. Eventually, people could use the brand’s sporty image to tell a story about who they were and what they stood for. As we’ll see in the next blink, this insight isn’t just about selling clothes – it’s also key to personal branding.

The strongest personal brands are instantly recognizable and stand for a specific value.

Robert Craig Knievel was just a guy who liked pulling tricks on motorcycles. But he had an instinct for marketing. His stunts, which included a jump over a cage of rattlesnakes, turned heads. Soon he had a label – he was that guy.

Word spread and folks began remembering his name. It wasn’t a great name, though, so when a cop gave him a ticket for dangerous driving and jokingly called him “Evel Knievel,” he owned it. It was perfect for posters and told audiences what to expect from his rodeos.

You don’t have to win over the big names to open doors.

FUBU, the name of John’s label, stands for “For Us, By Us.” Founded in the early nineties, it had a single mission: putting the clothes worn by New York’s hip-hop artists and fans on the fashion map.

Spreading the word back then wasn’t easy – these were the pre-internet days, after all. Sure, there was some attention from the press. They were a young company run by black entrepreneurs rooted in the neighborhoods in which hip-hop was blossoming. But a few interviews here and there weren’t enough.

Do your homework, and you’ll boost your chances of success.

If you want to pass an exam, you review. If you want your first meeting with a partner’s parents to go well, you ask questions, get the lay of the land, and figure out which subjects to avoid.

It’s the same in business. If you want to win an investor over, negotiate a deal, or land a job, you need to bone up on the people sitting on the other side of the table. Preparation, in other words, brings home the bacon. Pretty obvious, right?

If you want to thrive, you have to work with others.

You know the clichés. Business is a dog-eat-dog world, and nice guys finish last. Whatever your hustle, you’re better off keeping your head down and looking out for yourself because no one else will. Right?

There’s a grain of truth in this. Business is tough, and you are surrounded by people looking to make their own powershifts. But there’s more to it than that.

It’s not just your mouth that does the talking – your body also speaks.

Every Shark Tank episode starts the same way. A contestant enters the set and walks over to the investors before launching into her pitch.

On air, it looks like she begins speaking immediately. In the studio, though, it’s a little different. The camera crew first film the walk before resetting their equipment for the pitch. This usually takes a couple of minutes. During that time, both the investors and the contestant are supposed to remain silent. For the sharks, this is one of the key moments of the show. Why is that? Well, it’s during this interval that they get to size up the person in front of them.

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What is Powershift about?

Powershift (2020) is a guide to setting yourself up for success. Drawing on author Daymond John’s experience as an entrepreneur in the clothing industry and show business, it provides a host of tips, tricks, and ideas that will help you expand your influence and win others over to your cause.

Powershift Review

Powershift (2020) is a book that explores the role of personal influence and adaptability in navigating today's rapidly changing world. Here's why this book is worth reading:

With insightful analysis and real-life stories, it sheds light on the importance of constantly evolving and embracing change.
Daymond John's experiences as an entrepreneur and investor offer practical lessons and strategies for thriving in any industry.
The book's emphasis on personal empowerment and taking control of one's destiny makes it an engaging and motivating read.

Best quote from Powershift

We wanted them to know we had their backs. We were doing them a solid, and when we needed them to do a solid for us, we werent coming at them cold.

—Daymond John with Daniel Paisner

Who should read Powershift?

Entrepreneurs at the start of their journeys
Hustlers looking to build a reputation
Dealmakers struggling to create sustainable partnerships

About the Author

Daymond John is the founder and CEO of FUBU, a lifestyle brand that has racked up over $6 billion in global sales. A regular guest on ABC’s Shark Tank, he’s one of America’s most respected businessmen and consultants. John is the author of numerous bestsellers including The Power of Broke and Rise and Grind. He was also a Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship, a position created by Barack Obama in 2014 to support young entrepreneurs.

Daniel Paisner is a New York–based journalist and author best known for his collaborative work. He has published over 60 titles, including 14 New York Times best sellers, among them The Girl in the Green Sweater with Krystyna Chiger and Last Man Down with Richard Picciotto.

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Marketing & Sales Entrepreneurship

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