Conrad Hilton …
Excellence
NOW
Tom Peters/09 October 2012
Fall Conference-Leadership Summit
Nyenrode Business Universiteit
Breukelen/Brooklyn
(slides @ tompeters.com/excellencenow.com)
Conrad Hilton, at a gala celebrating his
career, was called to the podium and
“What were the
most important
lessons you learned
in your long and
distinguished
career?” His answer …
asked,
“remember
to tuck the
shower curtain
inside the
bathtub.”
You get ’em in the
door with “location,
location, location”—and
a terrific architect. You
keep ’em coming back
with the tucked in
shower curtain!*
*Profit rarely comes from transaction #1;
it is a byproduct of transaction #2, #3, #4 …
is
“Execution
strategy.”
—Fred Malek
You beat
yourself!
Sports:
“Execution is
the job of the
business
leader.”
—Larry Bossidy & Ram Charan/
Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done
“When assessing candidates, the
first thing I looked for was energy
and enthusiasm for execution:
Does she talk about the thrill
of getting things done, the
obstacles overcome, the role
her people played —or does she
keep wandering back to strategy or
philosophy?”
—Larry Bossidy, Execution
WOW!!
Observed closely: The use of
or
“we”
“I”
during a
job interview.
Source: Leonard Berry & Kent Seltman, chapter 6, “Hiring for Values,”
Management Lessons From Mayo Clinic
Excellence in
Execution =
Deepest “Blue
Ocean”
Does/will the next
presentation you give/
review allot more
time to the process/
details/politics of
“implementing” than
to the “analysis of the
problem/opportunity”?
Service/
Excellence/
Immoderation
Service
Organizations
exist to serve.
Period.
Leaders live to
serve. Period.
Excellence
Why in the
World did you
go to Siberia?
An emotional, vital,
innovative, joyful, creative,
entrepreneurial endeavor that elicits
maximum
Enterprise* (*at its best):
concerted human
potential in the
wholehearted pursuit of
EXCELLENCE in
service of others.**
Excellence1982: The Bedrock “Eight Basics”
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
A Bias for Action
Close to the Customer
Autonomy and Entrepreneurship
Productivity Through People
Hands On, Value-Driven
Stick to the Knitting
Simple Form, Lean Staff
Simultaneous Loose-Tight
Properties”
“Breakthrough” 82*
People!
Customers!
Action!
Values!
*In Search of Excellence
Hard is Soft.
Soft is Hard.
EXCELLENCE is not
an "aspiration.”
EXCELLENCE is …
THE NEXT FIVE
MINUTES.
EXCELLENCE is not an "aspiration."
EXCELLENCE is … THE NEXT FIVE MINUTES.
EXCELLENCE
Or not.
EXCELLENCE
Or not.
EXCELLENCE
Or not.
EXCELLENCE
Or not.
EXCELLENCE
Or not.
EXCELLENCE
Or not.
EXCELLENCE
Or not.
EXCELLENCE
Or not.
EXCELLENCE
Or not.
EXCELLENCE
Or not.
EXCELLENCE
Or not.
EXCELLENCE
Or not.
is your next conversation.
is your next meeting.
is shutting up and listening—really listening.
is your next customer contact.
is saying “Thank you” for something “small.”
is the next time you shoulder responsibility and apologize.
is waaay over-reacting to a screw-up.
is the flowers you brought to work today.
is lending a hand to an “outsider” who’s fallen behind schedule.
is bothering to learn the way folks in finance [or IS or HR] think.
is waaay “over”-preparing for a 3-minute presentation.
is turning “insignificant” tasks into models of … EXCELLENCE.
EXCELLENCE
is … THE
NEXT FIVE
MINUTES.
Or not.
Immoderation
Kevin Roberts’ Credo
1. Ready. Fire! Aim.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
If it ain’t broke ... Break it!
Hire crazies.
Ask dumb questions.
Pursue failure.
Lead, follow ... or get out of the way!
Spread confusion.
Ditch your office.
Read odd stuff.
10.
Avoid moderation!
One [really]
First thing
Before First
Things …
“Yes, Prime
Minister”
Little =
7X.
7:30A-8:00P.
F12A.
7:30AM = 7:15AM.
8:00PM = 8:15PM.
2,000,000
BEGINS
(and ENDS)
It
in the …
parking
lot*
*Disney
Carl’s
StreetSweeper
Red light flashes=
-10%
Don’t like it?
Don’t pay.
Source: Granite Rock Co.
Conveyance: Kingfisher Air
Location: Approach to New Delhi
“May I
clean your
glasses,
sir?”
“Let me
help you
down the
jetway.”
Big carts =
Source: Wal*Mart
Bag sizes = New markets:
Source: PepsiCo
<TGW
and …
>TGR
[Things Gone WRONG-Things Gone RIGHT]
TGRs.
Manage ’em.
Measure ’em.*
*I use “manage-measure” a lot. Translation: These are
not “soft” ideas; they are exceedingly important things
that can be managed—AND measured.
“Perception
is all
there is”
Promised vs Delivered:
+15%
Source; Elgin Corrugated Box
Customers describing their
service experience as
“superior”:
8%
Companies describing
the service experience they
provide as
“superior”:
80%
—Source: Bain & Company survey of 362 companies, reported in John DiJulius,
What's the Secret to Providing a World-class Customer Experience?
Comeback
[big, quick response]
>>
Perfection
Acquire vs maintain*:
*Recession goal: Higher “market share” current customers
(1) Amenable to rapid
experimentation/
failure “free” (PR, $$)
(2) Quick to implement/
Quick to Roll out
(3) Inexpensive to
implement/Roll out
(4) Huge multiplier
(5) An “Attitude”
(1) Half-day/25 ideas
(2) One week/5 experiments
(3) One month/Select best 2
(4) 60-90 days/Roll out
Four other
[really] First
things Before
First Things …
If the regimental commander lost most of his
2nd lieutenants and 1st lieutenants and captains
If he
lost his sergeants it
would be a
catastrophe. The Army and the
and majors, it would be a tragedy.
Navy are fully aware that success on the
battlefield is dependent to an extraordinary
degree on its Sergeants and Chief Petty
Officers. Does industry have the same
awareness?
“In great armies, the
job of generals is to
back up their
sergeants.”
—COL Tom Wilhelm, from Robert Kaplan,
“The Man Who Would Be Khan,” The Atlantic
#1
cause of
employee
Dis-satisfaction?
Employee retention & satisfaction & productivity:
Overwhelmingly
based on the
first-line
manager!
Source: Marcus Buckingham & Curt Coffman, First, Break All the Rules:
What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently
“People leave
managers not
companies.”
—Dave Wheeler
Suggested addition to your statement of Core
“We are obsessed with
developing a cadre of 1st line
managers that is second to
none—we understand that this
cadre per se is arguably one of
our top two or three most
important ‘Strategic Assets.’”
Values:
XFX = #1*
*Cross-Functional eXcellence
explicitly &
visibly &
relentlessly
manage to XFX
standard!
Never
waste a
lunch!
“Allied commands depend on
mutual confidence
and this confidence is
gained, above all
development
of friendships.”
through the
—General D.D. Eisenhower, Armchair General*
*“Perhaps his most outstanding ability [at West Point]
he made friends and earned
the trust of fellow cadets who came from
widely varied backgrounds; it was a quality that would pay
was the ease with which
great dividends during his future coalition command.”
“Personal relationships
are the fertile soil from
which all advancement,
all success, all
achievement in real
life grow.” —Ben Stein
% XF
lunches*
*
Measure!
Monthly! Part of
evaluation! [The PAs Club.]
XFX: Social
accelerators …
XFX/Typical Social Accelerators
1. EVERYONE’s [more or less] JOB #1: Make friends in other
functions! (Purposefully. Consistently. Measurably.)
2. “Do lunch” with people in other functions!! Frequently!!
(Minimum 10% to 25% for everyone? Measured.)
3. Ask peers in other functions for references so you can
become conversant in their world. (It’s one helluva sign of ...
GIVE-A-DAMN-ism.)
4. Religiously invite counterparts in other functions to your
team meetings. Ask them to present “cool stuff” from “their
world” to your group. (Useful. Mark of respect.)
5. PROACTIVELY SEEK EXAMPLES OF “TINY” ACTS OF “XFX”
TO ACKNOWLEDGE—PRIVATELY AND PUBLICALLY. (Bosses:
ONCE A DAY … make a short call or visit or send an email of
“Thanks” for some sort of XFX gesture by your folks and some
other function’s folks.)
6. Present counterparts in other functions awards for service
to your group. Tiny awards at least weekly; and an “Annual AllStar Supporters [from other groups] Banquet” modeled after
superstar salesperson banquets.
XFX/ Typical Social Accelerators
7. Routinely discuss—A SEPARATE AGENDA ITEM—good and
problematic acts of cross-functional co-operation at every
Team Meeting.
8. When someone in another function asks for assistance,
respond with … more … alacrity than you would if it were the
person in the cubicle next to yours—or even more than you
would for a key external customer. (Remember, XFX is the key
to Customer Retention which is in turn the key to “all good
things.”)
9. Do not bad mouth ... “the damned accountants,” “the bloody
HR guy.” Ever. (Bosses: Severe penalties for this—including
public tongue-lashings.)
10. Get physical! “Co-location” may well be the most powerful
“culture change lever.” Physical X-functional proximity is
almost a … guarantee … of remarkably improved cooperation—to aid this one needs flexible workspaces that can
be mobilized for a team in a flash.
11. Establish “adhocracy” as S.O.P. To improve the new “Xfunctional Culture” (and business results), little XF teams
should be formed on the spot to deal with an urgent issue—
they may live for but ten days, but it helps the XF habit,
making it normal to be “working the XF way.”
XFX/ Typical Social Accelerators
12. Early project “management” experience. Within days, literally,
of coming aboard folks should be “running” some bit of a bit of a
bit a project, working with folks from other functions—hence, “all
this” becomes as natural as breathing.
13. Work proactively to give as large as possible numbers of
people temporary assignments in other functions—especially
Finance.
14. “Get ’em out with the customer.” Rarely does the accountant
or bench scientist call on the customer. Reverse that. Give
everyone more or less regular “customer-facing experiences.”
She or he learns quickly that the customer is not interested in
our in-house turf battles!
15. Consider creating a special role, or even position. Specialty
chemical company Buckman Labs established “knowledge
transfer facilitators,” effectively former “middle managers,” with
100% of discretionary pay based on success at spurring
integration across previously impermeable barriers.
XFX/: Typical Social Accelerators
16. Formal evaluations. Everyone, starting with the receptionist,
should have a significant XF rating component in their
evaluation. (The “XFX Performance” should be among the Top 3
items in all managers’ evaluations.)
17. Every functional unit should have strict and extensive
measures of “customer satisfaction” based on evaluations from
other functions of its usefulness and effectiveness and valueadded to the enterprise as a whole.
18. Demand XF experience for, especially, senior jobs. For
example, the U.S. military requires all would-be generals and
admirals to have served a full tour in a job whose only goals
were cross-functional achievements.
19. “Deep dip.” Dive three levels down in the organization to fill a
senior role with some one who has been noticeably pro-active on
adding value via excellent cross-functional integration.
20. XFX is … PERSONAL … as well as about organizational
effectiveness. PXFX [Personal XFX] is arguably the #1
Accelerant to personal success—in terms of organizational
career, freelancer/Brand You, or as entrepreneur.
Excellence!
21.
There is a “State of XF Excellence” per
se. Talk it up constantly. Pursue it. Aspire to nothing less.
More than “performance
evaluation/award”
More than “team accomplishment
evaluation/award.”
Rather: Specific and frequent and
VISIBLE recognition to
INDIVIDUALS who have helped
INDIVIDUALS in other functions—
or, for that matter, our own group.
E.g. BIG VISIBLE RECOGNITION
for specific acts, small acts more
than large acts, of selflessly
helping others per se.
“You’re
spending too
much time
with your
customers!”
[bill-paying]
C(I)>C(E)
“Success doesn’t depend on the number of
people you know; it depends on the number
high places!”
of people you know in
or
“Success doesn’t depend on the number of
people you know; it depends on the number
of people you know in
‘low’
places!”
XFX = #1*
*Cross-Functional eXcellence
Suggested addition to your statement of Core
“We will not rest until
seamless cross-functional
integration/communication
has become our primary
source of value-added.
EXCELLENCE in crossfunctional integration shall
become a daily operational
passion for 100% of us.”
Values:
hundreds of
times better here
“I am
[than
because of
the support system. It’s like
you were working in an
organism; you are not a
single cell when you are out
there practicing.’”
in my prior hospital assignment]
—quote from Dr. Nina Schwenk, in
Chapter 3, “Practicing Team Medicine,” from Leonard Berry & Kent Seltman,
from Management Lessons From Mayo Clinic
"When I was in medical school, I
spent hundreds of hours looking
into a microscope—a skill I never
needed to know or ever use. Yet
I didn't have a single class that
taught me communication or
teamwork skills—something I
need every day I walk into the
hospital.” —Peter Pronovost, Safe Patients, Smart Hospitals
“The doctor
interrupts
after …*
*Source: Jerome Groopman, How Doctors Think
18 …
seconds!
[An obsession with] Listening is ... the ultimate mark
of
Listening
Listening
Listening
Listening
Listening
Listening
Listening
is
is
is
is
is
is
is
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
Listening
Listening
Listening
Listening
is
is
is
is
...
...
...
...
the heart and soul of Engagement.
the heart and soul of Kindness.
the heart and soul of Thoughtfulness.
the basis for true Collaboration.
the basis for true Partnership.
a Team Sport.
a Developable Individual Skill.* (*Though women
are far better at it than men.)
the basis for Community.
the bedrock of Joint Ventures that work.
the bedrock of Joint Ventures that grow.
the core of effective Cross-functional
Communication* (*Which is in turn Attribute #1 of
organizational effectiveness.)
[cont.]
Respect
.
Listening
Listening
Listening
Listening
Listening
Listening
Listening
Listening
Listening
Listening
Listening
Listening
Listening
Listening
Listening
Listening
Listening
is
is
is
is
is
is
is
is
is
is
is
is
is
is
is
is
is
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
EXECUTION
the engine of superior
.
the key to making the Sale.
the key to Keeping the Customer’s Business.
Service.
the engine of Network development.
the engine of Network maintenance.
the engine of Network expansion.
Social Networking’s “secret weapon.”
Learning.
the sine qua non of Renewal.
the sine qua non of Creativity.
the sine qua non of Innovation.
the core of taking diverse opinions aboard.
Strategy.
Source #1 of “Value-added.”
Differentiator #1.
Profitable.* (*The “R.O.I.” from listening is higher than
from any other single activity.)
Listening is … the bedrock which underpins a Commitment to
EXCELLENCE
“It’s amazing how this
seemingly small thing—
simply paying fierce
attention to another, really
asking, really listening,
even during a brief
conversation—can evoke
such a wholehearted
response.”
Fierce Conversations:
—Susan Scott,
Achieving Success at Work and in Life, One Conversation at a Time
“Fierce conversations
often do take time.
The problem is,
anything else takes
longer.”
—Susan Scott, Fierce Conversations:
Achieving Success at Work and in Life, One Conversation at a Time
Listen = “Profession”
= Study = practice =
evaluation =
Enterprise value
Is there a full-bore
training course in
100%
"Listening" for
of employees, CEO
to temps? If not, There
[damn well] ought to be.
Suggested addition to your statement of Core
“We are Effective
Listeners—we treat
Listening EXCELLENCE as
the Centerpiece of our
Commitment to Respect
and Engagement and
Community and Growth.”
Values:
Complain all you
want, but
meetings
are what you
[boss] do!
Meetings = #1
leadership
opportunity
Every meeting that
does not stir the imagination
and curiosity of attendees and
increase bonding and cooperation and engagement
and sense of worth and
motivate rapid action and
enhance enthusiasm is a
permanently lost opportunity.
Meeting:
FYI: This is … not
… a rant about
“conducting
better meetings.”
Prep! Prep!! Prep!!!
Meetings.
Phone calls.
Emails.
Conversations.
Meeting = Theater
People First!
People Second
People Third!
eople Fourth
“Business has to give
people enriching,
rewarding lives …
People First!
People Second
People Third!
eople Fourth
“Business has to give people enriching,
or it's
simply not
worth
doing.”
rewarding lives …
—Richard Branson
“You have to
treat your
employees like
customers.”
—Herb Kelleher,
upon being asked his “secret to success”
Source: Joe Nocera, NYT, “Parting Words of an Airline Pioneer,”
on the occasion of Herb Kelleher’s retirement after 37 years at Southwest
Airlines (SWA’s pilots union took out a full-page ad in USA Today
thanking HK for all he had done) ; across the way in Dallas, American
Airlines’ pilots were picketing AA’s Annual Meeting)
"If you want staff to
give great service,
give great service to
staff."
—Ari Weinzweig, Zingerman's
"When I hire
someone, that's
when I go to
work for
them.”
—John DiJulius, "What's the Secret to
Providing a World-class Customer Experience"
“Employees who
don't feel significant
rarely make
significant
contributions.”
—Mark Sanborn
“No matter what the
situation, [the great manager’s] first
response is always to think
about the individual
concerned and how things
can be arranged to help that
individual experience
success.”
—Marcus Buckingham,
The One Thing You Need to Know
EMPLOYEES FIRST, CUSTOMERS SECOND:
Turning Conventional Management Upside Down
Vineet Nayar/CEO/HCL Technologies
“hostmanship”/
“consideration
renovation”
hostmanship
“The path to a
culture paradoxically does not go through
the guest. In fact it wouldn’t be totally wrong to say that the guest has nothing to
do with it. True hostmanship leaders focus on their employees. What drives
exceptionalism is finding the right people and getting them to love their work and
see it as a passion. ... The guest comes into the picture only when you are ready to
ask, ‘Would you prefer to stay at a hotel where the staff love their work or where
“We went
through the hotel and made a ...
‘consideration renovation.’ Instead of
redoing bathrooms, dining rooms, and
guest rooms, we gave employees new
uniforms, bought flowers and fruit, and
changed colors. Our focus was totally on
management has made customers its highest priority?’”
the staff. They were the ones we wanted
to make happy. We wanted them to wake up every morning excited
about a new day at work.” —Jan Gunnarsson and Olle Blohm, Hostmanship:
The Art of Making People Feel Welcome.
“ … The guest comes into
the picture only when you
are ready to ask, ‘Would you
prefer to stay at a hotel
where the staff love their
work or where management
has made customers its
highest priority?’”
Brand =
Talent.
Our Mission
To develop and manage talent;
to apply that talent,
throughout the world,
for the benefit of clients;
to do so in partnership;
to do so with profit.
WPP
… no less than
Cathedrals
in which the full and
awesome power of the
Imagination and Spirit and
native Entrepreneurial flair
of diverse individuals is
unleashed in passionate
pursuit of … Excellence.
Oath of Office: Managers/Servant Leaders
Our goal is to serve our customers brilliantly and profitably over
the long haul.
Serving our customers brilliantly and profitably over the long
haul is a product of brilliantly serving, over the long haul, the
people who serve the customer.
Hence, our job as leaders—the alpha and the omega and
everything in between—is abetting the sustained growth and
success and engagement and enthusiasm and commitment to
Excellence of those, one at a time, who directly or indirectly
serve the ultimate customer.
We—leaders of every stripe—are in the “Human Growth and
Development and Success and Aspiration to Excellence
business.”
“We” [leaders] only grow when “they” [each and every one of our colleagues] are
growing.
“We” [leaders] only succeed when “they” [each and every one of our colleagues]
are succeeding.
“We” [leaders] only energetically march toward Excellence when
“they” [each and every one of our colleagues] are energetically marching
toward Excellence.
Period.
“Tom, you
left out one
thing …”
“Tom, you left out one
Leaders
enjoy
leading!”
thing …
From
sweaters to
people!*
Les Wexner:
*Limited Brands founder Les Wexner queried on astounding longterm success—said, in effect, it happened because he got
as excited about developing people as he had been about
predicting fashion trends in his early years
“The leaders of Great
Groups … love talent
… and know where to find
revel in …
the talent of
others.”
it. They …
—Warren Bennis & Patricia Ward Biederman,
Organizing Genius
Three
People!
2/year =
legacy.
“The
ONE Question”: “In the last year [3 years, current job],
three
people
name the …
… whose growth you’ve
most contributed to. Please explain where they were at the
beginning of the year, where they are today, and where they are
heading in the next 12 months. Please explain … in painstaking
detail … your development strategy in each case. Please tell me
your biggest development disappointment—looking back, could you
or would you have done anything differently? Please tell me about
your greatest development triumph—and disaster—in the last five
years. What are the ‘three big things’ you’ve learned about helping
people grow along the way?”
Promotion Decisions
“life and
death
decisions”
Source: Peter Drucker, The Practice of Management
53 = 53
People are not
“Standardized.”
Their evaluations
should not be
standardized. Ever.
Standardized Evaluations?
Sports?*
Arts?*
*“Pure” talent-driven enterprises
“The key difference between checkers and
chess is that in checkers the pieces all move
the same way, whereas in chess all the pieces
Discover what
is unique about each
person and capitalize
on it.”
move differently. …
—Marcus Buckingham, The One Thing You Need to Know
Evaluating people =
#1 differentiator
Source: Jack Welch/Jeff Immelt on GE’s
strategic skill (
!!!!)
#1
70 cents
“Development can help great
but if
I had a dollar to
spend, I’d spend 70
cents getting the
right person in the
door.”
people be even better—
—Paul Russell, Director, Leadership and Development, Google
the
most important
aspect of business
and yet remains woefully
misunderstood.”
“In short, hiring is
Source: Wall Street Journal, 10.29.08,
review of Who: The A Method for Hiring,
Geoff Smart and Randy Street
“How to throw
$500,000 into
the sea in one
easy lesson!!”
TP:
< CAPEX
> People!
Source: Container Store/Goal: increase average sale per shopper
“C-level”?
In the Army, 3-star
generals worry about
training. In most
businesses, it's a “ho
hum” mid-level staff
function.
Why is intensiveextensive training
obvious for the army &
navy & sports teams &
performing arts
groups--but not for
the average business?
(1) Training merits
“C-level” status!
(2) Top trainers should
be paid a king’s
ransom—and be of
the same caliber as
top marketers or
researchers.
I would hazard a guess
that most CEOs see IT
investments as a
“strategic necessity,” but
see training expenses as
“a necessary evil.”
No company ever
Expended too much
thought/Effort/
$$$$ on training!*
*ESPECIALLY … small company
Meanwhile in
Rochester NY
and Sao Paulo
Brazil …
Wegmans.
Luiza Helena,
Magazine
Luiza
4 Words!
four most
important
words in any
“The
organization are …
The four most important words in any organization
are …
“What do
you
think?”
Source: courtesy Dave Wheeler, posted at tompeters.com
Tomorrow: How
many times will you
“ask the WDYT
question”?
[Count ’em!!]
[Practice makes better!] [This is a
STRATEGIC skill!]
8 Words
12 Words
Change the World With EIGHT Words
What do you think?*
How can I help?**
*Dave Wheeler: “What are the four most important words in the boss’ lexicon?”
**Boss as CHRO/Chief Hurdle Removal Officer **********************************
Change the World
With TWELVE Words
What do you think?*
How can I help?**
What have you learned?***
*Dave Wheeler: “What are the four most important words in the boss’ lexicon?”
**Boss as CHRO/Chief Hurdle Removal Officer **********************************
***What [new thing] have you learned [in the last 24 hours]? ********************* *
Helping
Some Help With Helping …
Help works when the recipient subsequently feels
smarter—not dumber.
Regularly help too soon—and you will set up expectation of inaction until your "help" is provided.
Help poorly conveyed spawns powerlessness
and resentment in recipient.
Helping requires a sniper's rifle or surgeon's
scalpel—not a shotgun or machete.
Helping strategies vary [significantly] from individual to individual—leave the “cookie cutter” at
home.
Effectively "helping" may
be the most difficult
leadership task of all!
"Help" is only truly successful when the recipient
says, and believes: "I did it myself!"
Near truism: Nobody wants help. But we would
all liked to have received help.
"Don't be helpful. Be available.
Helpful people are a nuisance."
Guitarist Robert Fripp:
2%
/98%
New day.
New Game.
“Things don’t stay the same. You
have to understand that not only
your business situation changes,
but the people you’re working with
aren’t the same day to day.
Someone is sick. Someone is
having a wedding. You must gauge
the mood, the thinking level of the
team that day.” —Coach K [Krzyzewski]
230 workdays
= 230 “rosters”
The Memories
That Matter.
The Memories That Matter
The people you developed who went on to
stellar accomplishments inside or outside
the company.
The (no more than) two or three people you developed who went on to
create stellar institutions of their own.
The long shots (people with “a certain something”) you bet on who
surprised themselves—and your peers.
The people of all stripes who 2/5/10/20 years
later say “You made a difference in my life,”
“Your belief in me changed everything.”
The sort of/character of people you hired in general. (And the bad
apples you chucked out despite some stellar traits.)
A handful of projects (a half dozen at most) you doggedly pursued that
still make you smile and which fundamentally changed the way
things are done inside or outside the company/industry.
The supercharged camaraderie of a handful of Great Teams aiming to
“change the world.”
The Memories That Matter
Belly laughs at some of the stupid-insane things you and your mates
tried.
Less than a closet full of “I should have …”
A frighteningly consistent record of having
invariably said, “Go for it!”
Not intervening in the face of considerable loss—recognizing that to
develop top talent means tolerating failures and allowing the
person who screwed up to work their own way through and out of
their self-created mess.
Dealing with one or more crises with particular/memorable aplomb.
CIVILITY
Demanding …
… regardless of circumstances.
Turning around one or two or so truly dreadful situations—and
watching almost everyone involved rise to the occasion (often to
their own surprise) and acquire a renewed sense of purpose in the
process.
Leaving something behind of demonstrable-lasting worth. (On short as
well as long assignments.)
The Memories That Matter
Having almost always (99% of the time) put “Quality” and “Excellence”
ahead of “Quantity.” (At times an unpopular approach.)
A few “critical” instances where you stopped short and could have
“done more”—but to have done so would have compromised your and
your team’s character and integrity.
A sense of time well and honorably spent.
The expression of “simple” human kindness and consideration—no
matter how harried you may be/may have been.
Understood that your demeanor/expression of character always set
the tone—especially in difficult situations.
Never (rarely) let your external expression of enthusiasm/
determination flag—the rougher the times, the more your expressed
energy and bedrock optimism and sense of humor showed.
The respect of your peers.
A stoic unwillingness to badmouth others—even in private.
The Memories That Matter
An invariant creed: When something goes amiss, “The buck stops with
me”; when something goes right, it was their doing, not yours.
A Mandela-like “naïve” belief that others will
rise to the occasion if given the opportunity.
A reputation for eschewing the “trappings of power.” (Strong selfmanagement of tendencies toward arrogance or dismissiveness.)
Intense, even “driven” … but not to the point of being careless of others
in the process of forging ahead.
Willing time and again to be surprised by ways of doing things that are
inconsistent with your “certain hypotheses.”
Humility in the face of others, at every level,
who know more than you about “the way
things really are.”
Bit your tongue on a thousand occasions—and listened, really
really listened. (And been constantly delighted when, as a result, you
invariably learned something new and invariably increased your
connection with the speaker.)
The Memories That Matter
Unalloyed pleasure in being informed of the fallaciousness of your
beliefs by someone 15 years your junior and several rungs below you
on the hierarchical ladder.
Selflessness. (A sterling reputation as “a guy always willing to help out
with alacrity despite personal cost.”)
As thoughtful and respectful, or more so, toward thine “enemies” as
toward friends and supporters.
Always and relentlessly put at the top of your list/any
list being first and foremost “of service” to your
internal and external constituents. (Employees/Peers/
Customers/Vendors/Community.)
Treated the term “servant leadership” as holy writ. (And “preached”
“servant leadership” to others—new “non-managerial” hire or old
pro, age 18 or 48.)
The Memories That Matter
Created the sort of workplaces you’d like your kids to
inhabit. (Explicitly conscious of this “Would I want my
kids to work here?” litmus test.)
A “certifiable” “nut” about quality and safety and integrity. (More or
less regardless of any costs.)
A notable few circumstances where you resigned rather than
compromise your bedrock beliefs.
Perfectionism just short of the paralyzing variety.
A self- and relentlessly enforced group standard of
“EXCELLENCE-in-all-we-do”/“EXCELLENCE in our
behavior toward one another.”
A 15-Point
Human Capital
Asset
Development
Manifesto
Tom Peters/0615.12
Q3 2011/BLS
+3.1/Non-farm productivity growth
+3.8/Non-farm output
+0.6/Non-farm hours worked
+5.4/Manufacturing productivity
+4.7/Manufacturing output
-0.6/Manufacturing hours worked
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics/03 November 2011
“A bureaucrat is
an expensive
microchip.”
—Dan Sullivan, consultant and executive coach
G
N
R
enetics
anotechnology
obotics
Or: GRIN/ Genetics, Robotics, Information technology,
Nanotechnology
Or: NBIC/ Nanotechnology, Biotechnology, Information
technology, Cognitive science
A 15-Point Human Capital Development Manifesto
“Corporate social responsibility” starts at
home—i.e., inside the enterprise! MAXIMIZING
1.
GDD/Gross Domestic Development of the
workforce is the primary source of mid-term and
beyond growth and profitability—and maximizes
national productivity and wealth. (Re profitability:
If you want to serve the customer with uniform
Excellence, then you must FIRST effectively and
faithfully serve those who serve the customer—
i.e. our employees, via maximizing tools and
professional development.)
2. Regardless of the transient external situation,
development of “human capital” is always the #1
priority. This is true in general, in particular in
difficult times which demand resilience—and
uniquely true in this age in which IMAGINATIVE
brainwork is de facto the only plausible survival
strategy for higher wage nations. (Generic
“brainwork,” traditional and dominant “whitecollar activities, is increasingly being performed
by exponentially enhanced artificial intelligence.)
Three-star generals and admirals (and
symphony conductors and sports coaches and
police chiefs and fire chiefs) OBSESS about
training. Why is it an almost dead certainty that
3.
in a random 30-minute interview you are unlikely
to hear a CEO touch upon this topic? (I would
hazard a guess that most CEOs see IT
investments as a “strategic necessity,” but see
training expenses as “a necessary evil.”)
Proposition/axiom: The CTO/Chief TRAINING
Officer is arguably the #1 staff job in the
enterprise, at least on a par with, say, the CFO or
CIO or head of R&D. (Again, external
4.
circumstances—see immediately above—are
forcing our hand.)
The training budget takes precedence over
the capital budget. PERIOD. It’s easier fun to get
5.
you picture taken next to a hew machine. But
how do you get a photo of of a new and much
improved attitude in a key distribution center?
But the odds are 25:1 that the new attitude will
add more to the bottom line than will the
glorious state-of-the-art machine.
Human capital development should routinely
sit atop any agenda or document associated
with enterprise strategy. Most any initiative you
6.
undertake should formally address implications
for and contributions to human capital asset
development.
Every individual on the payroll should have a
benchmarked professional growth strategy.
7.
Every leader at every level should be evaluated
in no small measure on the collective
effectiveness of individual growth strategies—
that is, each individual’s absolute growth is of
direct relevance to every leader’s assessed
performance.
“Knowledge becomes
obsolete incredibly fast.
The continuing
professional education
of adults is the No. 1
industry in the next 30
years.” —Peter Drucker
Given that we ceaselessly lament the
“leadership deficit,” it is imperative, and just
plain vanilla common sense, that we maximize
the rate of development of women leaders at
every level—little if anything has a higher
priority. (It is an outrage that this has not been
8.
the case until now—and is still not the case in
far too many institutions.) (And, while there are
no guarantees, women are more likely
dispositionally to take a shine to the imperative
of maximizing human asset development.)
Maximum utilization of and continued
development of “older workers” (to age 70—or
even beyond?) is a source of immense
organizational and national growth and wealth.
9.
The rapidly aging population, with oldies far
more healthy and vital than ever, Ought to be
an opportunity rather than a pain-in-the-butt to
deal with.
The practical key to all human asset
development activities is the 1st-line manager.
10.
(“Sergeants run the Army” is an accurate
commonplace. observation—supported by
development resources.) Hence development of
the full cadre of 1st-line managers is an
urgent—and invariably underplayed—strategic
imperative. Arguably, the collective quality and
development trajectory of 1st-line leaders is an
organization’s #1 human asset development
priority. (Consistent with all the above, the 1stline leader’s skill at “people development” is her
or his top priority—for which she or he must be
rigorously and continually trained.)
11. The national education infrastructure—from
kindergarten to continuing adult education—may
well be National Priority #1. Moreover, the
educational infrastructure must be altered
radically to underpin support for the creative
jobs that will be more or less the sole basis of
future employment and national growth and
wealth creation.
“Human creativity
is the ultimate
economic
resource.”
—Richard Florida
12. Associated with the accelerated priority of
the national education infrastructure is a
dramatically enhanced and appreciated and
compensated role for our teachers—this must
necessarily be accompanied by rigorous
accountability. There is no doubt that
“teaching” (instilling) insatiable curiosity, say,
which is the #1 attribute of a creative person, is
no easy task; however, there is no way that it
can be ducked if one looks at future definitions
of employability.
“Every child is born
an artist. The trick
is to remain an
artist.” —Picasso
The great majority of us work in small
enterprises; hence national growth objectives
based upon human capital development MUST
necessarily extend “downward” to even 1person enterprises. Collective productivity
13.
improvement through human capital
development among small businesses has an
unimaginably large—and underappreciated—
payoff. While many small business appreciate
the notion, they are unprepared to take the
steps necessary to engage their, say, dozen
employees in seeking productivity
improvements.
Needless to say, the activities imagined
here will only be possible if abetted by a
peerless National Information and
Communication Infrastructure. Indeed, the work
14.
here is being done—and the need is appreciated
and reasonably well funded. The effort must
not falter; the new information-based tools are
the coin of the realm.
15. Associated with the above is a RADICAL
reorientation of leadership education and
development—throughout the
enterprise/education/continuing education
infrastructure. (E.g., Among other things, the
MBA and executive education will require
open-heart surgery—aimed at shifting focus
from finance and marketing to human resource
development. ) To deal with the most likely
future employment scenarios, leaders will need
to be masters of the liberal arts—said arts are,
again, the determinant of responding to the
emerging world.
Blame nobody.
Expect nothing.
Do something.
Globalization1.0: Countries globalizing (1492-1800)
Globalization2.0: Companies globalizing (18002000)
Globalization3.0
:
(2000+)
Individuals
collaborating
& competing globally
Source: Tom Friedman/The World Is Flat
“If there is nothing
very special about
your work … no matter
how hard you apply yourself
you won’t get noticed, and
that increasingly means you
won’t get paid much either.”
—Michael Goldhaber, Wired
The Rule of Positioning
“If you can’t describe
your position in
eight words or less,
you don’t have a
position.”
— Jay Levinson and Seth Godin,
Get What You Deserve!
“You are the
storyteller of your
own life, and you
can create your own
legend or not.”
—Isabel
Allende
Distinct
or …
Extinct.
“BRAND YOU.”
NO OPTION.
The Brand You50: Fifty Ways to Transform Yourself
from an “Employee” into a Brand That Shouts
Distinction, Commitment, and Passion!
"The illiterate of the
21st Century will not
be those who cannot
read or write, but
those who cannot
learn, unlearn and
relearn."
—Alvin Toffler
“Do one thing
every day that
scares you.”
—Eleanor Roosevelt
Leading
MBWA
“I’m always stopping by our
at least 25
a week. I’m also in other
stores—
places: Home Depot, Whole Foods,
Crate & Barrel. … I try to be
a sponge to pick up as much
as I can. …” —Howard Schultz
Source: Fortune, “Secrets of Greatness”
MBWA
Managing By Wandering Around/HP
5K/5M
Source: Mark McCormack
5,000
kilometers for
a 5-minute
face-to
-face meeting
Even when
times are tight
… don’t short
change travel!
You = Your
calendar*
*The calendar
never
lies.
Your calendar
knows Precisely
what you
really care about.
Do you????
Don’t >
Do*
* “Don’ting” must be systematic >
WILLPOWER
“The one thing you need
to know about
sustained individual
success: Discover what
you don’t like doing and
stop
doing it.”
—Marcus Buckingham, The One Thing You Need to Know
one
“If there is any
‘secret’
to effectiveness, it is
concentration. Effective
executives do first things first
and they do
one thing at a
time.”
…
—Peter Drucker
“It’s always
showtime.”
—
“You must
be
the change you
wish to see in the
world.”
Gandhi
“It’s always
showtime.”
—David D’Alessandro, Career Warfare
“Nothing is so
contagious as
enthusiasm.”
—Samuel Taylor Coleridge
“The leader must have
infectious optimism. …
The final test of a leader
is the feeling you have
when you leave his
presence after a
conference. Have you a
feeling of uplift and
confidence?”
—Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery
“A leader is
a dealer in
hope.”
—Napoleon
Be explicit!
Hire for it!
Promote for it!
“We look for ...
listening, caring,
smiling, saying
‘Thank you,’ being
warm.”
— Colleen Barrett, former President, Southwest Airlines
Me first!
“Being aware of
yourself and how you
affect everyone around
you is what
distinguishes a superior
leader.” —Edie Seashore (Strategy +
Business #45)
“How can a high-level leader like _____ be so out
of touch with the truth about himself? It’s more
common than you would imagine. In fact, the
higher up the ladder a leader climbs,
the less accurate his self-assessment is
likely to be. The problem is an acute lack of
feedback [especially on people issues].”
—Daniel Goleman (et al.), The New Leaders
"Everyone thinks
of changing the
world, but no one
thinks of changing
himself"
- Leo Tolstoy
“To develop
others, start with
yourself.”
—Marshall Goldsmith
The “Have
you …” 50
“Mapping your
competitive
position”
or …
1. Have you in the
last 10 days …
visited a customer?
2. Have you called a
customer …
TODAY ?
1. Have you … in the last 10 days … visited a
customer?
2. Have you called a customer … TODAY?
3. Have you in the last 60-90 days … had a seminar in which several folks from the customer’s
operation (different levels, different functions, different divisions) interacted, via facilitator, with
various of your folks?
4. Have you thanked a front-line employee for a
small act of helpfulness … in the last three
days?
5. Have you thanked a front-line employee for a small act of helpfulness …
last three hours?
in the
6. Have you thanked a front-line employee for carrying around a great attitude … today?
7. Have you in the last week recognized—publicly—one of your folks for a small act of crossfunctional co-operation?
8. Have you in the last week recognized—publicly—one of “their” folks (another function) for a
small act of cross-functional co-operation?
9. Have you invited in the last month a leader of another function to your weekly team priorities
meeting?
10. Have you personally in the last week-month called-visited an internal or external customer to
sort out, inquire, or apologize for some little or big thing that went awry? (No reason for doing
so? If true—in your mind—then you’re more out of touch than I dared imagine.)
11. Have you in the last two days had a chat with someone (a couple of levels down?) about specific deadlines
concerning a project’s next steps?
12. Have you in the last two days had a chat with someone (a couple of levels down?) about specific deadlines
concerning a project’s next steps … and what specifically you can do to remove a hurdle? (“Ninety percent of
what we call management consists of making it difficult for people to get things done.”—Peter “His eminence”
Drucker.)
13. Have you celebrated in the last week a “small” (or large!) milestone reached? (I.e., are you a milestone
fanatic?)
14. Have you in the last week or month revised some estimate in the “wrong” direction and apologized for making
a lousy estimate? (Somehow you must publicly reward the telling of difficult truths.)
15. Have you installed in your tenure a very
comprehensive customer satisfaction scheme for
all internal customers? (With major consequences for hitting or missing the mark.)
16. Have you in the last six months had a week-long, visible, very intensive visit-“tour” of external customers?
17. Have you in the last 60 days called an abrupt halt to a meeting and “ordered” everyone to get out of the office,
and “into the field” and in the next eight hours, after asking those involved, fixed (f-i-x-e-d!) a nagging “small”
problem through practical action?
18. Have you in the last week had a rather thorough discussion of a “cool design thing” someone has come
across—away from your industry or function—at a Web site, in a product or its packaging?
19. Have you in the last two weeks had an informal meeting—at least an hour long—with a front-line employee to
discuss things we do right, things we do wrong, what it would take to meet your mid- to long-term aspirations?
20. Have you had in the last 60 days had a general meeting to discuss “things we do wrong” … that we can fix in
the next fourteen days?
21. Have you had in the last year a one-day, intense offsite with each (?) of your
internal customers—followed by a big celebration of “things gone right”?
22. Have you in the last week pushed someone to do some family thing that you fear
might be overwhelmed by deadline pressure?
23. Have you learned the names of the children of everyone who reports to you? (If
not, you have six months to fix it.)
24. Have you taken in the last month an interesting-weird outsider to lunch?
25. Have you in the last month invited an interesting-weird outsider to sit in on an
important meeting?
26. Have you in the last three days discussed something interesting, beyond your
industry, that you ran across in a meeting, reading, etc?
27. Have you in the last 24 hours injected into a meeting “I ran across this interesting
idea in [strange place]”?
28. Have you in the last two weeks asked someone to report on something, anything
that constitutes an act of brilliant service rendered in a “trivial” situation—restaurant,
car wash, etc? (And then discussed the relevance to your work.)
29. Have you … in the last 30 days … examined
in detail (hour by hour) your calendar to evaluate the
degree “time actually spent” mirrors your “espoused
priorities”? (And repeated this exercise with everyone on
team.)
30. Have you in the last two months had a presentation to the group by a “weird”
outsider?
31. Have you in the last two months had a presentation to the group by a customer,
internal customer, vendor featuring “working folks” 3 or 4 levels down in the vendor
organization?
32. Have you in the last two months had a presentation to the group of a cool,
beyond-our-industry ideas by two of your folks?
33. Have you at every meeting today (and forever more) re-directed the conversation
to the practicalities of implementation concerning some issue before the group?
34. Have you at every meeting today (and forever more) had an end-of-meeting
discussion on “action items to be dealt with in the next 4, 48 hours”? (And then
made this list public—and followed up in 48 hours.) And made sure everyone has at
least one such item.)
35. Have you had a discussion in the last six months about what it would take to get
recognition in local-national poll of “best places to work”?
36. Have you in the last month approved a cool-different training course for one
of your folks?
37. Have
you … in the last month … taught a front-line
training course?
38. Have you in the last week discussed the idea of Excellence? (What it means, how
to get there.)
39. Have you in the last week discussed the idea of “Wow”? (What it means, how
to inject it into an ongoing “routine” project.)
40. Have you in the last 45 days assessed some major process in terms of the
details of the “experience,” as well as results, it provides to its external or internal
customers?
41. Have you in the last month had one of your folks attend a meeting you were supposed to go
to which gives them unusual exposure to senior folks?
42. Have you in the last 60 (30?) days sat with a trusted friend or “coach” to discuss your
“management style”—and its long- and short-term impact on the group?
43. Have you … in the last three days … considered a
professional relationship that was a little rocky and made
a call to the person involved to discuss issues and
smooth the waters? (Taking the “blame,” fully deserved
or not, for letting the thing-issue fester.)
44. Have you in the last … two hours … stopped by someone’s (two-levels “down") officeworkspace for 5 minutes to ask “What do you think?” about an issue that arose at a more or
less just completed meeting? (And then stuck around for 10 or so minutes to listen—and
visibly taken notes.)
45. Have you … in the last day … looked around you to assess whether the diversity pretty
accurately maps the diversity of the market being served? (And …)
46. Have you in the last day at some meeting gone out of your way to make sure that a normally
reticent person was engaged in a conversation—and then thanked him or her, perhaps
privately, for their contribution?
47. Have you during your tenure instituted very public (visible) presentations of performance?
48. Have you in the last four months had a session specifically aimed at checking on the
“corporate culture” and the degree we are true to it—with all presentations by relatively junior
folks, including front-line folks? (And with a determined effort to keep the conversation
restricted to “real world” “small” cases—not theory.)
49. Have you in the last six months talked about the Internal Brand Promise?
50. Have you in the last year had a full-day off site to talk about individual (and group)
aspirations?
The Recession 44:
Forty-four “Secrets”
and “clever Strategies”
For dealing
Progressively with the
Great Recession of 2007++
No peacetime generals in
the history books: You
will be measured by what
you accomplish during
tough times. (And
remembered by how
you accomplished it.)
44 “Secrets” and “Clever Strategies” For
Dealing with the Recession of 2007++
You come in earlier.
You leave later.
You work harder.
You may well work for less; and, if so, you
adapt to the untoward circumstances with a
smile—even if it kills you inside.
You volunteer to do more.
You dig deep and always bring a good attitude
to work.
You fake it if your good attitude flags.
You literally practice your "game face" in the
mirror in the morning, and in the loo
mid-morning.
You give new meaning to the idea and intensive
practice of “visible management.”
44 “Secrets” and “Clever Strategies” For
Dealing with the Recession of 2008-XXXX
You take better than usual care of yourself and
encourage others to do the same—physical
well-being determines mental well-being and
response to stress.
You shrug off shit that flows downhill in your
direction—buy a shovel or a “pre-worn”
raincoat on eBay.
You try to forget about “the good old days”—
nostalgia is self-destructive.
You buck yourself up with the thought that
“this too shall pass”—but then remind yourself
that it might not pass any time soon, and so
you re-dedicate yourself to making the
absolute best of what you have now.
44 “Secrets” and “Clever Strategies” For
Dealing with the Recession of 2008-XXXX
You work the phones and then work the
phones some more—and stay in touch with
positively everyone.
You frequently invent breaks from routine,
including “weird” ones—“changeups” prevent
wallowing and bring a fresh perspective.
You eschew all forms of personal excess.
You simplify.
You sweat the details as never before.
You sweat the details as never before.
You sweat the details as never before.
You raise to the sky and maintain at all
costs the Standards of Excellence by which
you unfailingly evaluate your own performance.
You are maniacal when it comes to responding
to even the slightest screw-up.
44 “Secrets” and “Clever Strategies” For
Dealing with the Recession of 2008-XXXX
You find ways to be around young people and
to keep young people around—they are less
likely to be members of the “sky is falling”
school.
You learn new tricks of your trade.
You remind yourself that this is not just
something to be “gotten through”—it is the
Final Exam of character.
You network like a demon.
You network inside the company—get to know
more of the folks who “do the real work.”
You network outside the company—get to
know more of the folks who “do the real
work” in vendor-customer outfits.
44 “Secrets” and “Clever Strategies” For
Dealing with the Recession of 2008-XXXX
You thank others by the truckload if good
things happen—and take the heat yourself if
bad things happen.
You behave kindly, but you don't sugarcoat or
hide the truth--humans are startlingly
resilient and rumors are the real killers.
You treat small successes as if they were
Super Bowl victories—and celebrate and
commend accordingly.
You shrug off the losses (ignoring what's going
on in your tummy), and get back on the
horse and immediately try again.
You avoid negative people to the extent you
can—pollution kills.
You eventually read the gloom-sprayers the
riot act.
44 “Secrets” and “Clever Strategies” For
Dealing with the Recession of 2008-XXXX
You give new meaning to the word "thoughtful.“
You don’t put limits on the flowers budget—
“bright and colorful” works marvels.
You redouble, re-triple your efforts to "walk in
your customer's shoes." (Especially if the
shoes smell.)
You mind your manners—and accept others’
lack of manners in the face of their strains.
You are kind to all mankind.
You keep your shoes shined.
You leave the blame game at the office door.
You call out the congenital politicians in no
uncertain terms.
You become a paragon of personal accountability.
And then you pray.
K=R=P
139,380 former
patients from 225 hospitals:
Press Ganey Assoc:
none
of THE top 15 factors
determining Patient Satisfaction
referred to patient’s health outcome.
Instead: directly related to Staff
Interaction; directly correlated with
Employee Satisfaction
Source: Putting Patients First, Susan Frampton, Laura Gilpin, Patrick Charmel
“There is a misconception that supportive interactions require more
staff or more time and are therefore more costly. Although labor
costs are a substantial part of any hospital budget, the interactions
themselves add nothing to the budget.
Kindness is
free.
Listening to patients or answering
their questions costs nothing. It can be argued that negative
interactions—alienating patients, being non-responsive to
their needs or limiting their sense of control—can be very costly. …
Angry, frustrated or frightened patients may be combative, withdrawn
and less cooperative—requiring far
more time than it would have taken to interact with them initially in a
positive way.”
Source: Putting Patients First, Susan Frampton, Laura Gilpin, Patrick Charmel
(Griffin Hospital/Derby CT; Plantree Alliance)
K=R=P
Kindness =
Repeat Business =
Profit.
K = R = P/Kindness = Repeat business = Profit
Kindness:
Kind.
Thoughtful.
Decent.
Caring.
Attentive.
Engaged.
Listens well/obsessively.
Appreciative.
Open.
Visible.
Honest.
Responsive.
On time all the time.
Apologizes with dispatch for screw-ups.
“Over”-reacts to screw-ups of any magnitude.
“Professional” in all dealings.
Optimistic.
Understands that kindness to staff breeds kindness to others/outsiders.
Applies throughout the “supply chain.”
Applies to 100% of customer’s staff.
Explicit part of values statement.
Basis for evaluation of 100% of our staff.
“Courtesies of a small and
trivial character are the
ones which strike
deepest in the grateful
and appreciating heart.”
—Henry Clay,
American Statesman (1777-1852)
"Let's not forget
that small
emotions are the
great captains of
our lives."
–—Van Gogh
Acknowledgement/
Appreciation/
“Thank you!”
“The deepest principal
in human nature is the
craving* to be
appreciated.”
—William James
*“Craving,” not “wish” or “desire” or
“longing”/Dale Carnegie, How to Win
Friends and Influence People (“The BIG
Secret of Dealing With People”)
“The deepest urge
in human nature
is the desire to be
important.”
—John Dewey
(In Dale Carnegie, How to Win Friends and Influence People
(“The BIG Secret of Dealing With People”)
"Appreciative words are
the most powerful force
for good on earth.”
—George W. Crane, physician, columnist
“The two most powerful
things in existence:
a kind word and a
thoughtful gesture.”
—Ken Langone, co-founder, Home Depot
“Acknowledge” …
perhaps the most
powerful word (and
idea) in the English
language—and
manager’s tool kit!
Responsiveness/
Apology/
“I’m sorry!”
“I regard apologizing as the
most magical, healing,
restorative gesture human
beings can make. It is the
centerpiece of my
work with executives who
want to get better.”
—Marshall Goldsmith, What Got You Here Won’t Get You There:
How Successful People Become Even More Successful.
With a new and forthcoming policy on
apologies … Toro, the lawn mower folks,
reduced the average cost of settling a
$115,000 in 1991 to
$35,000 in 2008 … and the
claim from
company hasn’t been
to trial in the last
15 years!
Relationships
(of all varieties):
THERE
ONCE WAS A TIME WHEN A
THREE-MINUTE
PHONE CALL WOULD
HAVE AVOIDED SETTING OFF THE
DOWNWARD SPIRAL THAT RESULTED
IN A COMPLETE RUPTURE.*
*divorce, loss of a BILLION $$$ aircraft sale, etc., etc.
THE PROBLEM IS
RARELY/NEVER THE
PROBLEM. THE
RESPONSE TO THE
PROBLEM INVARIABLY
ENDS UP BEING THE
REAL PROBLEM.*
*PERCEPTION IS ALL THERE IS!
Key
Market
Strategies
“Experiences are
as distinct
from services
as services are
from goods.”
—Joe Pine & Jim Gilmore, The Experience Economy:
Work Is Theatre & Every Business a Stage
<TGW
and …
>TGR
[Things Gone WRONG-Things Gone RIGHT]
TGRs.
Manage ’em.
Measure ’em.*
*I use “manage-measure” a lot. Translation: These are
not “soft” ideas; they are exceedingly important things
that can be managed—AND measured.
C
*Chief e
O*
Xperience Officer
Words!
— Magician of Magical Moments
— Maestro of Moments of Truth
— Recruiter of Raving Fans
— Impresario of First Impressions
—Chief of Last Impressions
— Wizard of WOW!
— Captain of Brilliant Comebacks
— Director of Electronic Customer Experiences
— Conductor of Customer Intimacy
— King of Customer Community
— Queen of Customer Retention
— CEO of Ownership Experience
— Managing Director of After-sales Experience
Design!
Design Rules!
APPLE market cap
> Exxon Mobil*
*August 2011
“Design is everything.
Everything is design.”
“We are all designers.”
Inspiration: The Power of Design: A Force for
Transforming Everything, Richard Farson
“Only one company
can be the cheapest.
All others must use
design.”
—Rodney Fitch, Fitch & Co.
Source: Insights, definitions of design, the Design Council [UK]
“Design is
treated like
a religion at
BMW.”* —Fortune
*APPLE market cap > Exxon Mobil (August 2011)
“We don’t have a good language to talk
about this kind of thing. In most people’s
vocabularies, design means veneer. …
But to me, nothing could be further from
Design is
the fundamental
soul of a man-made
creation.”
the meaning of design.
—Steve Jobs
Hypothesis:
DESIGN is
the principal
difference
love
and hate!*
between
*Not “like” and “dislike”
Design is …
never
neutral.
O*
C
*Chief
Design
Officer
Design As Governmental Competitiveness Strategy
New Zealand
(“Better By Design”)
Korea
Hypothesis: Men
cannot
design for women’s
!!??
needs
… this will be
the woman’s
century …
“I speak to you with a feminine
voice. It’s the voice of democracy,
of equality. I am certain, ladies
and gentlemen, that this will be
the woman’s century. In the
Portuguese language, words
such as life, soul, and hope are
of the feminine gender, as are
other words like courage and
sincerity.” —President Dilma Rousseff of Brazil,
1st woman to keynote the United Nations General Assembly
“Forget China, India
and the Internet:
Economic Growth Is
Driven by
Women.”
Source: Headline, Economist
“One thing is certain: Women’s rise to power, which is
linked to the increase in wealth per capita, is happening
in all domains and at all levels of society. Women are no
longer content to provide efficient labor or to be
consumers with rising budgets and more autonomy to
spend. … This is just the beginning. The phenomenon
will only grow as girls prove to be more successful than
For a number of
observers, we have already
entered the age of
‘womenomics,’ the economy as
thought out and practiced
by a woman.”
boys in the school system.
—Aude Zieseniss de Thuin, Women’s Forum for the Economy and Society
“Women are
the majority
market”
—Fara Warner/The Power of the Purse
W = 28T > 2(C + I)
W>
2X (C + I)*
*“Women now drive the global economy. Globally, they control about $20
trillion in consumer spending, and that figure could climb as high as
$28 trillion in the next five
years
. Their $13 trillion in total yearly earnings could reach $18
trillion in the same period.
In aggregate, women represent a growth market bigger than China and
India combined—more than twice as big in fact. Given those numbers, it would be foolish to ignore or underestimate
the female consumer. And yet many companies do just that—even ones that are confidant that they have a winning
strategy when it comes to women. Consider Dell’s …”
Source: Michael Silverstein and Kate Sayre, “The Female Economy,” HBR, 09.09
The Perfect Answer
Jill and Jack buy
slacks in black…
Cases! Cases! Cases!
McDonald’s
(“mom-centered” to F as
“majority consumer”; not via kids)
Home Depot (“Do it [everything!] Herself”)
P&G (more than F as “house cleaner”)
DeBeers (“right-hand rings”/$4B)
AXA Financial
Kodak (women = “emotional centers of the household”)
Nike
(> jock endorsements; new def sports; majority consumer)
Avon
Bratz (young girls want “friends,” not a blond stereotype)
Source: Fara
Warner/The Power of the Purse
“Women don’t ‘buy’
They
‘join’ them.”
brands.
—Faith Popcorn, EVEolution
Purchasing Patterns
Harder to convince;
more loyal once convinced.
Women:
Men:
Snap decision; fickle.
Source: Martha Barletta, Marketing to Women
Selling to men:
The
TRANSACTION Model
Selling to Women:
The
RELATIONAL Model
Source: Selling to Men, Selling to Women, Jeffery Tobias Halter
2.6 vs.
“AS LEADERS,
WOMEN
RULE:
New Studies find that
female managers outshine their male
counterparts in almost every measure”
TITLE/ Special Report/ BusinessWeek
Women’s Strengths Match New
Economy Imperatives: Link [rather than
rank] workers; favor interactivecollaborative leadership style
[empowerment beats top-down decision
making]; sustain fruitful collaborations;
comfortable with sharing information; see
redistribution of power as victory, not
surrender; favor multi-dimensional feedback;
value technical & interpersonal skills,
individual & group contributions equally;
readily accept ambiguity; honor intuition as
well as pure “rationality”; inherently
flexible; appreciate cultural diversity.
Source: Judy B. Rosener, America’s Competitive Secret: Women Managers
“Headline 2020:
Women Hold
80 Percent of
Management and
Professional Jobs”
Source: The Extreme Future: The Top Trends That Will
Reshape the World in the Next 20 Years, James Canton
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
14 168*
to
*Leadership Positions/D&T/1992-2002/WIAR
(Women’s Initiative Annual Report)
“Are men
obsolete?”
—Headline, USN&WR
“Men Are
Finished”
Source: Slate conference 0920/NYU
22/1/10 (USA adult
population will have grown
by 23 million between 2006
and 2016. Ages 18-49 will
have grown by one million,
age 50+ will have grown
by 22 million)
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
“People turning 50
more
than half of
today have
their adult life
ahead of them.”
—Bill Novelli,
50+: Igniting a Revolution to Reinvent America
55+ > 55-*
*“[55-plus] are more active in online
finance, shopping and entertainment than
those under 55?”—Forrester Research
(USA Today, 8 January 2009)
44-65:
“New
Customer
Majority”
Source: Ageless Marketing, David Wolfe & Robert Snyder
“The New Customer
only
Majority is the …
… adult market with
realistic prospects for
significant sales growth
in dozens of product lines
for thousands of
companies.”
—David Wolfe & Robert Snyder, Ageless Marketing
“Marketers attempts at reaching
those over 50 have been miserably
No market’s
motivations and
needs are so
poorly understood.”
unsuccessful.
—Peter Francese, founding publisher, American Demographics
“agile creatures
darting between
the legs of the
multinational
monsters"
“I am often asked by wouldbe entrepreneurs seeking
escape from life within huge
corporate structures,
‘How
do I build a small
firm for myself?’ The
answer seems obvious …
Source: Paul Ormerod, Why Most Things Fail: Evolution, Extinction and Economics
“I am often asked by would-be entrepreneurs seeking escape from
life within huge corporate structures, ‘How do I build a small firm for
Buy a
very large
one and just
wait.”
myself?’ The answer seems obvious:
—Paul Ormerod, Why Most Things Fail:
Evolution, Extinction and Economics
“Mr. Foster and his McKinsey colleagues
collected detailed performance data stretching
back
40 years for 1,000
They found that
U.S. companies.
none
of
the long-term survivors managed to
outperform the market. Worse, the
longer companies had been in the
database, the worse they did.”
—Financial Times
MittELstand* **
*
“agile creatures darting between
the legs of the multinational
monsters" (Bloomberg BusinessWeek, 10.10)
**E.g. Goldmann Produktion
Retail Superstars:
Inside the 25 Best
Independent Stores
in America
—by George Whalin
Jungle Jim’s International Market, Fairfield, Ohio: “An
adventure in
‘shoppertainment,’
as Jungle Jim’s
1,600
cheeses and, yes, 1,400 varieties of hot
sauce —not to mention 12,000 wines priced
from $8 to $8,000 a bottle; all this is brought to
you by 4,000 vendors. Customers come from every
call it, begins in the parking lot and goes on to
corner of the globe.”
Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland, Frankenmuth, Michigan, pop
98,000-square-foot “shop” features the
likes of 6,000 Christmas ornaments,
50,000 trims, and anything else you can name if it
5,000:
pertains to Christmas.
Source: George Whalin, Retail Superstars
“Be the best.
It’s the only
market that’s
not crowded.”
From: Retail Superstars: Inside the 25 Best
Independent Stores in America, George Whalin
“Satisfaction”
to
“Success”
M
IB
to
B
I
M
“Never mind computers
and tech services.
IBM’s radical new focus
is on revamping
customers’ operations
—and running them.”
—Headline/ BW
Planetary Rainmaker-in-Chief!
“[CEO Sam] Palmisano’s
strategy is to expand tech’s
borders by pushing users—
and entire industries—toward
radically different business
models. The payoff for IBM would be
access to an ocean of revenue—Palmisano
estimates it at $500 billion a year —
that technology companies have never been
able to touch.” —Fortune
IDEO
Product Design
Product Design Training
Innovation Training
UPS
“THE GIANT STALKING BIG OIL: How
Schlumberger Is
Rewriting the Rules of the Energy
Game.”: “IPM [Integrated Project
Management] strays from
[Schlumberger’s] traditional role
as a service provider and moves
deeper into areas once dominated
by the majors.”
Source: BusinessWeek cover story, January 2008
“We’ll do
just about anything
an oilfield owner
would want, from
drilling to
production.”
IPM’s Chief:
“Instant
Infrastructure: GE
Becomes a General
Store for Developing
Countries”
—headline/ NYT
MasterCard
Advisors
Huge: Customer
“Satisfaction with
product/Service”
versus
Customer
“Success”
“ ‘Results’ are
measured by the
success of all those
who have purchased
your product or
service” —Jan Gunnarsson & Olle Blohm,
The Welcoming Leader
Innovation’s
BIG THREE
R.F.A.
READY.
FIRE.
AIM.
H. Ross Perot (vs “Aim! Aim! Aim!” /EDS vs GM/1985)
“We made mistakes, of course. Most of them were
omissions we didn’t think of when we initially wrote the
software. We fixed them by doing it over and over, again
and again. We do the same today. While our competitors
are still sucking their thumbs trying to make the design
perfect, we’re already on prototype version
#5.
By
the time our rivals are ready with wires and screws, we
are on version
#10. It gets back to
planning versus acting: We act
from day one; others plan how
to plan—for months.”
—Bloomberg by Bloomberg
Culture of Prototyping
“Effective prototyping may
the most
valuable core
competence an
be
innovative organization can
hope to have.” —Michael Schrage
“Experiment
fearlessly”
Tactic #1
Source: BusinessWeek, “Type A Organization Strategies: How to Hit a Moving Target”—
“relentless trial
and error”
Source: Wall Street Journal, cornerstone of effective approach to “rebalancing” company
portfolios in the face of changing and uncertain global economic conditions (11.08.10)
“What are Rutan’s management rules? He
insists he doesn’t have any. ‘I don’t like
rules,’ he says. ‘Things are so easy to change
if you don’t write them down.’ Rutan feels
good management works in much the same
Instead
of trying to figure out the best
way to do something and
sticking to it, just try out an
approach and keep fixing it.”
way good aircraft design does:
—Eric Abrahamson & David Freedman, Chapter 8, “Messy Leadership,”
from A Perfect Mess: The Hidden Benefits of Disorder
In Search of Excellence /1982:
The Bedrock “Eight Basics”
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
A Bias for Action
Close to the Customer
Autonomy and Entrepreneurship
Productivity Through People
Hands On, Value-Driven
Stick to the Knitting
Simple Form, Lean Staff
Simultaneous Loose-Tight
Properties
“Fail.
Forward.
Fast.”
High Tech CEO, Pennsylvania
“Fail faster.
Succeed
Sooner.”
David Kelley/IDEO
“The secret of fast
progress is
inefficiency, fast
and furious and
numerous failures.”
—Kevin Kelly
Read It
Richard Farson & Ralph Keyes:
Whoever Makes
the Most Mistakes
Wins: The Paradox
of Innovation
“Reward
excellent failures.
Punish mediocre
successes.”
—Phil Daniels, Sydney exec
“It is not enough to
‘tolerate’ failure—
you must
‘celebrate’
failure.”
—Richard Farson (Whoever Makes the
Most Mistakes Wins)
Lesson46:
WTTMTW
Whoever
Tries
The
Most
Things
Wins
Better yet:
WTTMTASTMTUTFW
Whoever
Tries
The
Most
THINGS
And
Screws
The
Most
Things
Up
The
Fastest
Wins
1/4096
“You miss
100% of
the shots you
never take.”
—Wayne Gretzky
Stay Hungry.
Stay Foolish.
Steve Jobs
“We Are
What
We Eat.”
We
are What We
Eat/We Are the
company
we keep
The “Hang Out Axiom I”:
“You will become
like the five people
you associate with
the most—this can
be either a blessing
or a curse.”
—Billy Cox
The “We are what we eat”/
“We are who we associate with”
Axiom: At its core, every (!!!)
relationship-partnership decision
(employee, vendor, customer, etc,
etc) is a strategic decision about:
“Innovate,
‘Yes’ or ‘No’ ”
Measure “Strangeness”/Portfolio Quality
Staff
Consultants
Vendors
Out-sourcing Partners (#, Quality)
Innovation Alliance Partners
Customers
Competitors (who we “benchmark” against)
Strategic Initiatives
Product Portfolio (LineEx v. Leap)
IS/IT Projects
HQ Location
Lunch Mates
Language
Board
“Futuredefining customers may
account for only 2% to
3% of your total, but
CUSTOMERS:
they represent a
crucial window on the
future.”
—Adrian Slywotzky, Mercer Consultants
“[CEO A.G.] Lafley has shifted P&G’s focus on
inventing all its own products to developing …
others’
inventions at
least half the
time.
One successful
example, Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, based on a product
found in an Osaka market.” —Fortune
“Don’t
benchmark,
futuremark!”
Impetus: “The future is already here; it’s just
not evenly distributed” —William Gibson
“Don’t
benchmark,
‘Other’ mark!”
We Are the
company
we keep!
Manage it!
Whoops …
“The
Bottleneck …
“The Bottleneck … Is at
the Top of the Bottle”
“Where are you likely to find people
with the least diversity of experience,
the largest investment in the past,
and the greatest reverence for
industry dogma …
At the top!”
— Gary Hamel/Harvard Business Review
Diversity/
Curiosity/
Creativity
“Diverse groups of problem solvers—groups
of people with diverse tools—consistently
outperformed groups of the best and the
brightest. If I formed two groups, one
random (and therefore diverse) and one
consisting of the best individual performers,
the first group almost always did better. …
Diversity trumped
ability.”
—Scott Page, The Difference:
How the Power of Diversity Creates Better Groups,
Firms, Schools, and Societies
Diversity … per se
… is a key … maybe
the key … to
effective and
innovative
decision making.
“Who’s the most
interesting person
you’ve met in the
last 90 days? How
do I get in touch
with them?”
—Fred Smith
Vanity Fair:
“What is your most marked
characteristic?”
Mike Bloomberg:
“Curiosity.”
“Do one thing
every day that
scares you.”
—Eleanor Roosevelt
We Are the
company
we keep!
Manage it!
Co-creation
“The Billion-man
Research Team:
Companies offering
work to online
communities are
reaping the benefits of
‘crowdsourcing.’”
—Headline, FT
Rob McEwen/CEO/
Goldcorp Inc./
Red Lake
gold
Wikinomics: How Mass
Collaboration Changes Everything,
Don Tapscott & Anthony Williams
Source:
Forgetting >>
Learning
Forget>“Learn”
“The problem is never
how to get new,
innovative thoughts
into your mind, but
how to get the old
ones out.”
—Dee Hock
Wow
Zappos 10 Corporate Values
Deliver
“WOW!”
Embrace and drive change.
Create fun and a little weirdness.
Be adventurous, creative and open-minded.
Pursue growth and learning.
Build open and honest relationships with
communication.
Build a positive team and family spirit.
Do more with less.
Be passionate and determined.
Be humble.
Source: Delivering Happiness, Tony Hsieh, CEO, Zappos.com
through service.
“Insanely Great”
Steve Jobs
“Radically thrilling”
BMW
“We are crazy. We should do
something when people say
If people
say something is
‘good’, it means
someone else is
already doing it.”
it is ‘crazy.’
—Hajime Mitarai, Canon
14,000
20,000
14,000/eBay
20,000/Amazon
30/Craigslist
“There’s no use trying,’ said
Alice. ‘One cannot believe
impossible things.’ ‘I daresay
you haven’t had much practice,’
said the Queen. ‘When I was
your age, I always did it for half
an hour a day. Why, sometimes
I’ve believed as many as six
impossible things before
breakfast.’” — Lewis Carroll
Where’s
your “Craig’s List
Every project:
[WOW!]
option”?
Kevin Roberts’ Credo
1. Ready. Fire! Aim.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
If it ain’t broke ... Break it!
Hire crazies.
Ask dumb questions.
Pursue failure.
Lead, follow ... or get out of the way!
Spread confusion.
Ditch your office.
Read odd stuff.
10.
Avoid moderation!
Excellence.
Always.
If not Excellence,
what?
If not Excellence
now, when?