Tom Peters’ X25*
EXCELLENCE.
ALWAYS.
ESPN/15August2007
PART 1
*In Search of Excellence 1982-2007
To appreciate
this presentation [and ensure
that it is not a mess], you need
Microsoft fonts:
NOTE:
“Showcard Gothic,”
“Ravie,” “Chiller”
and “Verdana”
“Excellence can be obtained if you:
... care more than others think
is wise;
... risk more than others think
is safe;
... dream more than others think
is practical;
... expect more than others think
is possible.”
Source: Anon. (Posted @ tompeters.com by
K.Sriram, November 27, 2006 1:17 AM)
“Strive for
Excellence.
Ignore
success.”
—Bill Young, PR driver
(courtesy Andrew Sullivan)
Tom Peters’ X25*
EXCELLENCE.
ALWAYS.
ESPN/15August2007
PART 1
*In Search of Excellence 1982-2007
Final slide set will appear at …
tompeters.com
Indy/No
56/barbershop SPMD
66/RVN/DMcN, JP, _Bu, McN
Dennis/Bobby & Ralph
Free Tickets
Bill
Jerry/Steve J
CT/#1
WDCPs Rule!
$10B/TP
TP/64
Mrs Gibson
26/Team
Dale C
X/Cardinal
ARF
WDCP
The Great One
Indy/No
100856/barbershop
66/RVN/McNally/Palmer/Bunker/McNally
Dennis/Bobby & Ralph (FDR & WSC)
Bill
Jerry/Steve J
CT/#1
WDCPs Rule!
$10B/TP
TP/64
Mrs Gibson
26/Team
Dale C
X/Cardinal
ARF
WDCP
The Great One
Indy/No
56/barbershop SPMD
66/RVN/DMcN, JP, _Bu, McN
Dennis/Bobby & Ralph
Free Tickets
Bill
Jerry/Steve J
CT/#1
WDCPs Rule!
$10B/TP
TP/64
Mrs Gibson
26/Team
Dale C
X/Cardinal
ARF
WDCP
The Great One
Bill Walsh
Bill Walsh
1931 – 2007
102-63-1
Bill Walsh
1931 – 2007
3 Superbowl
Wins (3-0)
Bill Walsh
1931 – 2007
He Re-invented
Offensive Football
TP#1*:
Netscape!
*Where would you rather have worked for those 5 years, Netscape
or IBM-HP-Microsoft-Oracle? (Where, 25 years from now, would you
rather to be able to tell someone—e.g., grandchild—that you worked?)
Built to Last
vs
Built to
Change/Rock
the World
Great Companies …
SET
THE
AGENDA.*
* “disturb the sleep of … ”
Built to Last v. Built to Flip
“The problem with Built to Last is that it’s a
romantic notion. Large companies are incapable
of ongoing innovation, of ongoing flexibility.”
“Increasingly, successful businesses will be
ephemeral. They will be built to yield something
of value – and once that value has been
exhausted, they will vanish.”
Fast Company
Bill Walsh
1931 – 2007
A Fine
Human Being
W. Donald
Schaefer
1921-Forever
He Cared
Joe J. Jones
1942 – 2006
HE WOULDA DONE SOME
REALLY COOL STUFF
BUT …
HIS BOSS WOULDN’T
LET HIM!
Thomas J. Peters
1942-No rush !
“In Tom’s world, it’s always
better to try a swan dive and
deliver a colossal belly flop
than to step timidly off the
board while holding your
nose.” —Fast Company
Indy/No
56/barbershop SPMD
66/RVN/DMcN, JP, _Bu, McN
Dennis/Bobby & Ralph
Free Tickets
Bill
Jerry/Steve J
CT/#1
WDCPs Rule!
$10B/TP
TP/64
Mrs Gibson
26/Team
Dale C
X/Cardinal
ARF
WDCP
The Great One
“You do not merely want to
be the best of the best. You
want to be
considered the
only ones who do
what you do.”
—Jerry Garcia
Single
greatest act
of pure
imagination
“In-sane-
ly-great”
Radically Thrilling Language!
“Radically
Thrilling.”
—BMW Z4 (ad)
The greatest danger
for most of us
is not that our aim is
too high
and we miss it,
but that it is
too low
and we reach it.
Michelangelo
Kevin Roberts’ Credo
1. Ready. Fire! Aim.
2. If it ain’t broke ... Break it!
3. Hire crazies.
4. Ask dumb questions.
5. Pursue failure.
6. Lead, follow ... or get out of the way!
7. Spread confusion.
8. Ditch your office.
9. Read odd stuff.
10.
Avoid moderation!
“Normal” =
“o for 800”
Indy/No
56/barbershop SPMD
66/RVN/DMcN, JP, _Bu, McN
Dennis/Bobby & Ralph
Free Tickets
Bill
Jerry/Steve J
X25
CT/#1
WDCPs Rule!
$10B/TP
TP/64
Mrs Gibson
26/Team
Dale C
X/Cardinal
ARF
WDCP
The Great One
Synonyms
Purity
Transcendence
Virtue
Elegance
Majesty
Antonyms
Mediocrity
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”
Indy/No
56/barbershop SPMD
66/RVN/DMcN, JP, _Bu, McN
Dennis/Bobby & Ralph
Free Tickets
Bill
Jerry/Steve J
CT/#1
WDCPs Rule!
$10B/TP
TP/64
Mrs Gibson
26/Team
Dale C
X/Cardinal
ARF
WDCP
The Great One
Basement
Systems
Inc.
*Basement Systems Inc.
*Larry Janesky
*Dry Basement Science (115,000!)
*1993: $0; 2003: $12M;
2006:
$50,000,000+
Indy/No
56/barbershop SPMD
66/RVN/DMcN, JP, _Bu, McN
Dennis/Bobby & Ralph
Free Tickets
Bill
Jerry/Steve J
CT/#1
WDCPs Rule!
$10B/TP
Mrs Gibson
26/Team
Dale C
X/Cardinal
ARF
WDCP
The Great One
Trapper:
<$20
per beaver pelt.
Source: WSJ
wdcp/“Wildlife
Damage-control
Professional”: $150 to
“remove” “problem beaver”;
$750-$1,000 for
flood-control piping … so
that beavers can stay.
Source: WSJ
7X to 50X
E.g. …
UTC/Otis +
Carrier: boxes to
“integrated
building
systems”
Indy/No
56/barbershop SPMD
66/RVN/DMcN, JP, _Bu, McN
Dennis/Bobby & Ralph
Free Tickets
Bill
Jerry/Steve J
CT/#1
WDCPs Rule!
$10B/TP
TP/64
Mrs Gibson
26/Team
Dale C
X/Cardinal
ARF
WDCP
The Great One
“This [adolescent] incident [of getting from point A to point B] is notable
not only because it underlines Grant’s fearless horsemanship and his
determination, but also it is the first known example of a very important
Grant had an
extreme, almost phobic
dislike of turning back
and retracing his steps.
peculiarity of his character:
If he
set out for somewhere, he would get there somehow, whatever the
difficulties that lay in his way. This idiosyncrasy would turn out to be one
the factors that made him such a formidable general. Grant would always,
always press on—turning back was not an option for him.”
—Michael Korda, Ulysses Grant
Relentless: “One of
my superstitions had always been
when I started to go anywhere or
not to
turn back , or stop,
to do anything,
until the thing intended was
accomplished.” —Grant
“incredible
power of
endurance”
—political
colleague, on Nicolas Sarkozy, repeatedly written off by the public and
the celestial powers of French politics (FT, 0515.07)
“Success seems to be
largely a matter
of hanging on
after others have
let go.”
—William Feather, author
Relent
25
2,500
63
48
5,000,000
2,500,000
15
Indy/No
56/barbershop SPMD
66/RVN/DMcN, JP, _Bu, McN
Dennis/Bobby & Ralph
Free Tickets
Bill
Jerry/Steve J
CT/#1
WDCPs Rule!
$10B/TP
TP/64
Mrs Gibson
26/Team
Dale C
X/Cardinal
ARF
WDCP
The Great One
“You can make more
friends in two months by
becoming interested in
other people than you can
in two years by trying to
get other people interested
in you.” —Dale Carnegie
Indy/No
56/barbershop SPMD
66/RVN/DMcN, JP, _Bu, McN
Dennis/Bobby & Ralph
Free Tickets
Bill
Jerry/Steve J
CT/#1
WDCPs Rule!
$10B/TP
Mrs Gibson
26/Team
Dale C
ix/Cardinal
TP/64
The Great One
“Forget China,
India and the
Internet: Economic
Growth Is Driven
by
Women.”
—Headline,
Economist, April 15, 2006, Leader, page 14
Women’s Trifecta+
*Buy
*Wealth
*Lead
+ECLIPSE
OF MALES
(Old/Retire; Young/Poorly educated)
“Girls are
the new
boys.”
Source: The Daily Mail, 0425.2007,
“Why today’s women want a girl”
Not Just America …
“Boys Falling
Seven Years
Behind Girls
at GCSE Level”
—headline, Weekly Telegraph, UK, 10.25.06
“Women are
the majority
market”
—Fara Warner/The Power of the Purse
Women
Household spending: 80%
Investment decisions: 53%
Home improvement purchase decisions: 80%
New cars: 60%+
Computers: 60%
Managers and professionals, overall: 51%
New businesses started: 70%* (*Women-owned
businesses as a share of all new businesses: Employee
growth, 3X; Sales growth, 4X.)
Source: Marti Barletta, PrimeTime Women (2007)
????
Riding Lawnmowers
1970-1998
Men’s median income: +0.6%
Women’s median income:
+ 63%
Source: Martha Barletta, Marketing to Women
91% women:
“ADVERTISERS DON’T
UNDERSTAND US.”
(58% “ANNOYED.”)
Source: Greenfield Online for Arnold’s Women’s Insight Team
(Martha Barletta, Marketing to Women)
“Women don’t buy
They
join them.”
brands.
EVEolution
Selling to men:
The
TRANSACTION Model
Selling to Women:
The
RELATIONAL Model
Source: Selling to Men, Selling to Women, Jeffery Tobias Halter
10 UNASSAILABLE REASONS WOMEN RULE
Women make [all] the financial decisions.
Women control [all] the wealth.
Women [substantially] outlive men.
Women start most of the new businesses.
Women’s work force participation rates have
soared worldwide.
Women are closing in on “same pay for same
job.”
Women are penetrating senior ranks rapidly
[even if the pace is slow for the corner
office per se].
Women’s leadership strengths are exceptionally well
aligned with new organizational effectiveness &
value-added imperatives.
Women are better salespersons than men.
Women buy [almost] everything—commercial
as well as consumer goods.
So what exactly is … the point of men?
“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 boys in the school
For a number of observers, we
have already entered the age of
‘womenomics,’ the economy as
thought out and practiced by a
woman.” —Aude Zieseniss de Thuin, Financial Times, 10.03.2006
system.
Indy/No
56/barbershop SPMD
66/RVN/DMcN, JP, _Bu, McN
Dennis/Bobby & Ralph
Free Tickets
Bill
Jerry/Steve J
CT/#1
WDCPs Rule!
$10B/TP
Mrs Gibson
26/Team
Dale C
X/Cardinal
TP/64
The Great One
BOOMERS.
GEEZERS.
MONEY.
ALL.
NOW.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
“People turning 50
more
than half of
today have
their adult life
ahead of them.”
—Bill Novelli,
50+: Igniting a Revolution to Reinvent America
We are the Aussies & Kiwis & Americans &
Canadians. We are the Western Europeans &
Japanese. We are the fastest growing, the
biggest, the wealthiest, the boldest, the
most (yes) ambitious, the most
experimental & exploratory, the most
different, the most indulgent, the most
difficult & demanding, the most service &
experience obsessed, the most vigorous,
(the least vigorous) the most health
conscious, the most female, the most
profoundly important commercial market
in the history of the world—and we will be
the Center of your universe for the next
twenty-five years. We have arrived!
Boomers’-Geezers’-Women’s Trifecta+
*Buy/all
*Wealth/all
*time left/ lots
*Eclipse of males/retire-die
80,000,000*
* N America, W Europe, Japan (800,000,000)
Subject: Marketers & Stupidity
“It’s 18-44,
stupid!”
Subject: Marketers & Stupidity
Or is it:
“18-44
is stupid,
stupid!”
2000-2010 Stats
18-44: -1%
55+: +21%
(55-64:
+47%)
See me.
Watch me.
respect me.
Suck up to me.
Serve me.
Love me.
Love my longevity.
Love my m-o-n-e-y.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
(more or less) (circa 0331.2007)
See “her.”
Watch her.
respect her.
Be obsequious to her.
Serve her.
Love her.
Love her long longevity.
Love her m-o-n-e-y.
(which is damn near a-l-l
the mon-$$$$$$.)
Average # of cars purchased per
household, “lifetime”:
13
Average # of cars bought per household
after the “head of household” reaches age
50:
7
Source: Marti Barletta, PrimeTime Women
Median Household Net Worth
<35: $7K
35-44: $44K
45-54: $83K
55-64: $112K
65-69: $114K
70-74: $120K
>74: $100K
Source: U.S. Census
44-65:
“New
Customer
Majority” *
*45% larger than 18-43; 60% larger by 2010
Source: Ageless Marketing, David Wolfe & Robert Snyder
“Fifty-four years of age has been
the highest cutoff point for any
marketing initiative I’ve ever been
involved in. Which is pretty weird
when you consider age 50 is right
about when people who have
worked all their lives start to have
some money to spend.” —Marti Barletta,
PrimeTime Women
“While Fox’s overall ratings are down about 6% from last year, the network
has moved from fourth place into first among viewers from ages 18 to 49,
define as the only
competition that counts.” *
which all the networks other than CBS
—NYT/11.01.2004*
dumb./
ignorant./
stupid./
all three.
*Translation …
Brand Loyalty: Stable
or Unstable/Fickle?
Serial Monogamy:
A Personal Odyssey
Tom Peters/0411.07
“The mature
market cannot be
dismissed as
entrenched in its
brand loyalties.”
—Carol Morgan & Doran Levy, Marketing to the Mindset
of Boomers and Their Elders
“Advertisers pay more to reach the kid
because they think that once someone
hits middle age he’s too set in his ways
to be susceptible to advertising. … In
fact, this notion of
impressionable kids and
hidebound geezers is little
more than a fairy tale, a
Madison Avenue gloss on
Hollywood’s cult of youth.”—
James Surowiecki (The New Yorker/04.01.2002)
Beer: National Boh to Bud to Anchor Steam to Zilch
Car: Chevrolet (1942-1962) to misc to Subaru
Biz Clothes: Various warehouses to Brooks to Nordstrom to Milan
Biz: Big (U.S. Navy, McKinsey) to Small (de facto self-employed)
Sports clothes: Misc-cheap to Northface
Spouse: “Sexy broad” (wife #1) to Best friend/Brainy (+sexy)
School: Cornell to Stanford to RISD (Go Nads!)
Pens: Cross to Bic
Food: Safeway to Whole Foods
Music: Beatles to Queen
Home Furnishings: With it to Comfortable
Home: SF Bay Area to West Tinmouth VT
Favorite sport: Lacrosse-Crew to Speed Walking-Trekking-Rowing
Favorite MLB, NFL: Orioles-Baltimore Colts to A’s-Raiders (Warriors!)
Favorite magazine: Life to Wired
Favorite media: Print-Radio to Web-Radio
Favorite airline: TWA to American to Lufthansa
Home: East to West
Vacations: USA to New Zealand
Price: Cheap to Varied (Wal*Mart to Milan)
Hotel: Ramada/Holiday Inns to Four Seasons/Leading Hotels
Restaurants: McDonald’s to Hole in the wall
Stores: Misc/Big to Little shops
Loyalty: Serial monogamy (just as loyal now as then; “love ’em, then leave ’em”)
Indy/No
56/barbershop SPMD
66/RVN/DMcN, JP, _Bu, McN
Dennis/Bobby & Ralph
Free Tickets
Bill
Jerry/Steve J
CT/#1
WDCPs Rule!
$10B/TP
TP/64
Mrs Gibson
26/Team
Dale C
X/Cardinal
ARF
WDCP
The Great One
Indy/No
56/barbershop SPMD
66/RVN/DMcN, JP, _Bu, McN
Dennis/Bobby & Ralph
Free Tickets
Bill
Jerry/Steve J
CT/#1
WDCPs Rule!
bonus
$10B/TP
TP/64
Mrs Gibson
26/Team
Dale C
X/Cardinal
ARF
WDCP
The Great One
The Black
Swan: The
Impact of
the Highly
Improbable
Nassim Nicholas Taleb
1982 (-) =
200
Years (+)
1982/Default Latin
America =
years
200
[Total historical earnings]
The Black Swan: The Impact of the
Highly Improbable, Nassim Nicholas Taleb
This book
will (should!)
TP:
change
your life.
Siegfried and Roy =
1,000X
[gambling variability]
The Black Swan: The Impact of the
Highly Improbable, Nassim Nicholas Taleb
10/50/50*
*10 days in 50 years = 50% returns
The Black Swan: The Impact of the
Highly Improbable, Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Indy/No
56/barbershop SPMD
66/RVN/DMcN, JP, _Bu, McN
Dennis/Bobby & Ralph
Free Tickets
Bill
Jerry/Steve J
CT/#1
WDCPs Rule!
bonus
$10B/TP
TP/64
Mrs Gibson
26/Team
Dale C
X/Cardinal
ARF
WDCP
The Great One
Indy/No
56/barbershop SPMD
66/RVN/DMcN, JP, _Bu, McN
Dennis/Bobby & Ralph
Free Tickets
Bill
Jerry/Steve J
CT/#1
WDCPs Rule!
$10B/TP
TP/64
Mrs Gibson
26/Team
Dale C
X/Cardinal
ARF
WDCP
The Great One
“You miss
100% of
the shots you
never take.”
—Wayne Gretzky
Try it. Try it. Try it
ry it. Try it. Screw
up. Try it. Try it. Try
t. Try it. Try it. Try
t. Try it. Screw it up
t. Try it. Try it. try
What makes
God laugh?
People
making
plans!
“It is not the
strongest of the
species that survives,
nor the most
intelligent, but the
one most responsive
to change.”
—Charles Darwin
“We have a
‘strategic plan.’
It’s called doing
things.”
— Herb Kelleher
“This is so simple it sounds stupid, but it is amazing
how few oil people really understand that
you only find
oil if you drill
wells.
You may think you’re finding it
when you’re drawing maps and
studying logs, but you have to drill.”
Source: The Hunters, by John Masters, Canadian O & G wildcatter
“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
“You can’t be a serious
innovator unless and until
you are ready, willing and
able to seriously play.
‘Serious play’ is not an
oxymoron; it is the essence
of innovation.”
—Michael Schrage, Serious Play
“Learn not to
be careful.”
—Photographer Diane Arbus
to her students (Careful = The sidelines, from
Harriet Rubin in The Princessa)
Try
Lots of
things.
6:15A.M.
“But it’s
only
2am!”
“Where are you going? … But it’s
only 2am. … You see, you can live
your life at 120 miles an hour, and
that’s pretty impressive. But it’s not
good enough. Unless you live at
150 miles an hour, the world will
pass you by,” HRH Prince Alwaleed*
*1 day: 573 people met separately, 200 phone calls, 100 text messages, etc
Source: “Prince Alwaleed, Inside the private world of the Middle East’s
most powerful investor” cover story, The Business, 0519.07
Screw.
things.
“Fail .
Forward.
Fast.”
High Tech CEO, Pennsylvania
Sam’s
Secret
#1!
“Reward
excellent failures.
Punish mediocre
successes.”
Phil Daniels, Sydney exec
“If people tell me
they skied all day
and never fell
down, I tell them to
try a different
mountain.”
—Michael Bloomberg (BW/0625.07)
Read This!
Richard Farson & Ralph Keyes:
Whoever Makes
the Most Mistakes
Wins: The Paradox
of Innovation
0 for 60
China. Iran/79. USSR/bomb/49.
Eastern Europe/90.
S Korea/50. Cuba/62. ArabIsraeli/73. Afghanistan/79.
USSR/1989. Kuwait/90. India/98.
WMDs/02-03. Etc.
Source: Legacy of Ashes* ** —Tim Weiner
*Eisenhower, on the CIA
**“The agency has a great reputation but a terrible
record.”—Donald Gregg, nat’l security advisor, VP Bush
Indy/No
56/barbershop SPMD
66/RVN/DMcN, JP, _Bu, McN
Dennis/Bobby & Ralph
Free Tickets
Bill
Jerry/Steve J
CT/#1
WDCPs Rule!
$10B/TP
TP/64
Mrs Gibson
26/Team
Dale C
X/Cardinal
ARF
WDCP
The Great One
“You miss
100% of
the shots you
never take.”
—Wayne Gretzky
“[other]
admirals more
frightened of
losing than
anxious to win”
On NELSON:
“Do one thing
every day
that scares
you.”
—Eleanor Roosevelt
"Life is not a journey to the
grave with the intention of
arriving safely in one pretty
and well preserved piece, but
to skid across the line
broadside, thoroughly used
up, worn out, leaking oil,
shouting ‘GERONIMO!’ ”
—Bill McKenna, professional motorcycle racer
(Cycle magazine 02.1982)