Tom Peters’ X25* EXCELLENCE. ALWAYS. GoDucks/Eugene/14May2007 *In Search of Excellence 1982-2007 “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 >>>>>>>>> Ws & Ls Slides at … tompeters.com EXCELLENCE. CIRCA 1982. 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” EXCELLENCE. ASPIRATION. Why in the World did you go to Siberia? Enthusiasm. Emotion. Excellence. Energy. Excitement. Service. Growth. Creativity. Imagination. Vitality. Joy. Surprise. Independence. Spirit. Community. Limitless human potential. Diversity. Only ones who do what we do. Innovation. Design. Quality. The Peters Principles: Entrepreneurialism. Wow! “enterprises that Matter & change the game … offer solutions & experiences that surprise , amaze, and transform perceptions of what’s possible —and stick like super-glue in customers’ minds.* such offerings are brilliantly conceived and flawlessly delivered by unconventional, creative, hypercommitted, energetic talent from within & outside the organization.” —Tom Peters *E.g.: Apple, Whole Foods, Cirque du Soleil, Starbucks, Wegmans, London Drugs, Griffin Hospital/Planetree Alliance, John Laing Homes, RE/MAX, Sewell Autos, Jim’s Group, The Met/Big Picture, Virgin, Commerce Bank, Google, Basement Systems Inc., Ford (circa 1917), IBM (circa 1970), Wannamaker’s (circa 1880) “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) EXCELLENCE. ASPIRATION. “Every time we come to a comfort zone, we will find a way out.” “No Cloning.” “‘Reinvent the brand’ with each new show.” “A typical day at the office for me begins by asking, ‘What is impossible that I am going to do today?’” —Daniel Lamarre, president, Cirque du Soleil “Do one thing every day that scares you.” —Eleanor Roosevelt EXCELLENCE. INNOVATE. OR. DIE. “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” —Charles Darwin “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 “To grow, companies need to break out of a vicious cycle of competitive benchmarking and imitation.” —W. Chan Kim & Renée Mauborgne, “Think for Yourself — Stop Copying a Rival,” Financial Times Characteristics of the “Also rans”* “Minimize risk” “Respect the chain of command” “Support the boss” “Make budget” *Fortune, article on “Most Admired Global Corporations” InnoTacs We become who we hang out with 1 “Normal” = “o for 800” Why Do I love Freaks? (1) Because when Anything Interesting happens … it was a freak who did it. (Period.) (2) Freaks are fun. (Freaks are also a pain.) (Freaks are never boring.) (3) We need freaks. Especially in freaky times. (Hint: These are freaky times, for you & me & the CIA & the Army & Avon.) (4) A critical mass of freaks-in-our-midst automatically make us-who-are-not-so-freaky at least somewhat more freaky. (Which is a Good Thing in freaky times—see immediately above.) (5) Freaks are the only (ONLY) ones who succeed—as in, make it into the history books. (6) Freaks keep us from falling into ruts. (If we listen to them.) (We seldom listen to them.) (Which is why most organizations are in ruts. Make that chasms.) Concoct a Parallel universe! SkunkWorks/ “Skunks” (!!!) 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 “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 “Experiment fearlessly” Source: BW0821.06, Type A Organization Strategies/ “How to Hit a Moving Target”—Tactic #1 “Learn not to be careful.” —Photographer Diane Arbus to her students (Careful = The sidelines, from Harriet Rubin in The Princessa) Screw. things. “Fail faster. Succeed Sooner.” David Kelley/IDEO “Fail . Forward. Fast.” High Tech CEO, Pennsylvania Sam’s Secret #1! “Reward excellent failures. Punish mediocre successes.” Phil Daniels, Sydney exec try. Miss. READY. FIRE! No try. No deal. “You miss 100% of the shots you never take.” —Wayne Gretzky Experience it. Dramatic difference. Experience: “Rebel Lifestyle!” “What we sell is the ability for a 43year-old accountant to dress in black leather, ride through small towns and have people be afraid of him.” Harley exec, quoted in Results-Based Leadership #1/100 “Best Companies to Work for”/2005 7X. 730A800P. F12A.* *’93-’03/10 yr annual return: CB: 29%; WM: 17%; HD: 16%. Mkt Cap: 48% p.a. Jim’s Group Jim Penman/“Empire Builders”/MT / Jan/Feb 2006/Australia Basement Systems inc/ seymour ct New Markets: women. BOOMERS. GEEZERS. women BOOMERS “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) Not Just America … “Boys Falling Seven Years Behind Girls at GCSE Level” —headline, Weekly Telegraph, UK, 10.25.06 “Girls are the new boys.” Source: The Daily Mail, 0425.2007, “Why today’s women want a girl” 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. women BOOMERS GEEZERS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! “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 20 $14,000,000,000,000$25,000,000,000,000 Boomers’-Geezers’-Women’s Trifecta+ *Buy/all *Wealth/all *time left/ lots *Eclipse of males/retire-die University of Oregon Athletics: A Few Offthe-top Thoughts (By an Outsider) “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 Excellence/Cirque du Soleil/Jerry Garcia. “Insane” Goal/Beyond anything ever Compelling part-heart of the story of a great university Department/Oregon Athletics as a whole stands for something/Department = A whole > Sum of its parts We are here for the program, not as a stepping stone Sport! “Insane” level of Integrity/Beacon for integrity/Best in the University/Best in the NCAA. (Skip Kenney?) Model for teamwork (sport, university), not just individual excellence Integrity: Accountability Insanely Great Language! “Insanely great.” —Steve Jobs Customer/For the students (student body) Customer/For the students (participants) Customer/For the total institution Customer/For the alumni Customer/Community Part of every student’s physical development (eg, Excellence in intramural sports) National beacon (Fitness? Obesity?) Fun/Program Fun/Great experiences Innovation/Coach-by-coach Innovation/Recruiting Innovation/Fund raising Innovation/Execution Radically Thrilling Language! “Radically Thrilling.” —BMW Z4 (ad) Women! Women! Women! “Minor” sports aren’t minor! Top decile graduation rate across the board Risk-taking/Experimentation Surprising Goals beyond improvement of record/ How is the program—qualitatively—better than at the start of the year? Constant learning/From each other Constant learning/Best programs Constant learning/Non-Division 1A programs!!!!!!!!! “Gaspworthy”initiatives/Each program “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 >>>>>>>>> Ws & Ls bonus. “Little Stuff.” “Courtesies of a small and trivial character are the ones which strike deepest in the grateful and appreciating heart.” —Henry Clay Jim Jeffords oversight! The … THE PROBLEM IS RARELY THE PROBLEM. THE PROBLEM IS RARELY/NEVER THE PROBLEM. THE RESPONSE TO THE PROBLEM INVARIABLY ENDS UP BEING THE REAL PROBLEM.* *RMN, M Stewart, WJC, “Scooter” Libby OFTEN AS NOT/MORE OFTEN THAN NOT THE UNDERLYING PROBLEM IS NOT MUCH OF A PROBLEM. Relationships THERE ONCE WAS A TIME WHEN A (of all varieties): THREE-MINUTE PHONE CALL WOULD HAVE AVOIDED SETTING OFF THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL THAT RESULTED IN A COMPLETE RUPTURE. RESPECT “It was much later that I realized Dad’s secret. He gained respect by giving it. He talked and listened to the fourth-grade kids in Spring Valley who shined shoes the same way he talked and listened to a bishop or a He was seriously interested in who you were and what you had to say.” college president. Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot, Respect “The [Union senior] officers rode past the Confederates smugly without any sign of recognition except by one. ‘When General Grant reached the line of ragged, filthy, bloody, despairing prisoners strung out on each side of the bridge, he lifted his hat and held it over his head until he passed the last man of that living funeral cortege. He was the only officer in that whole train who recognized us as being on the face of the earth.’*” *quote within a quote from diary of a Confederate soldier “Ph.D. in leadership. Short course: Make a short list of all things done to you that you abhorred. Don’t do them to others. Ever. Make another list of things done to you that you loved. Do them to others. Always.” — Dee Hock THE ONE THING YOU NEED TO KNOW (Marcus Buckingham) “The mediocre manager believes that most things are learnable and therefore that the essence of management is to identify ach person’s weaker areas and eradicate them. The great manager believes the opposite. He believes that the most influential qualities of a person are innate and therefore that the essence of management is to deploy these innate qualities as effectively as possible and so drive performance.” —Marcus Buckingham, The One Thing You Need to Know “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 end. “Little Stuff.” University of Oregon Athletics: A Few Offthe-top Thoughts (By an Outsider) “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 Excellence/Cirque du Soleil/Jerry Garcia. “Insane” Goal/Beyond anything ever Compelling part-heart of the story of a great university Department/Oregon Athletics as a whole stands for something/Department = A whole > Sum of its parts We are here for the program, not as a stepping stone Sport! “Insane” level of Integrity/Beacon for integrity/Best in the University/Best in the NCAA. Model for teamwork (sport, university), not just individual excellence Integrity: Accountability Insanely Great Language! “Insanely great.” —Steve Jobs Customer/For the students (student body) Customer/For the students (participants) Customer/For the total institution Customer/For the alumni Customer/Community Part of every student’s physical development (eg Excellence in intramural sports) National beacon (Fitness? Obesity?) Fun/Program Fun/Great experiences Innovation/Coach-by-coach Innovation/Recruiting Innovation/Fund raising Innovation/Execution Radically Thrilling Language! “Radically Thrilling.” —BMW Z4 (ad) Women! Women! Women! “Minor” sports aren’t minor! Top decile graduation rate across the board Risk-taking/Experimentation Surprising Goals beyond improvement of record/ How is the program—qualitatively—better than at the start of the year? Constant learning/From each other Constant learning/Best programs Constant learning/Non-Division 1A programs!!!!!!!!! “Gaspworthy”initiatives/Each program “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 EXCELLENCE. BEDROCK. LEADERSHIP. “12 Ps.” Tom Peters/04.18.2007 PURPOSE. PASSION. Potential. Presence. Personal. pissed off. Playful. PERSISTENCE. PEOPLE. Peculiar. Potent. Positive. PURPOSE. PASSION. Potential. Presence. Personal. pissed off. Playful. PERSISTENCE. PEOPLE. Peculiar. Potent. Positive. “Management has a lot to do with answers. Leadership is a function of questions. And the first question for a ‘Who do we intend to be?’ Not ‘What are we going to leader always is: do?’ but ‘Who do we intend to be?’” —Max De Pree, Herman Miller Ah, kids: “What is your vision for the future?” “What have you accomplished since your first book?” “Close your eyes and imagine me immediately doing something about what you’ve just said. What would it be?” “Do you feel you have an obligation to ‘Make the world a better place’?” Leader Job One Paint Portraits of Excellence! PURPOSE. PASSION. Potential. Presence. Personal. pissed off. Playful. PERSISTENCE. PEOPLE. Peculiar. Potent. Positive. “Nothing is so contagious as enthusiasm.” —Samuel Taylor Coleridge “Whenever anything is being accomplished, I have learned, it is being done by a monomaniac with a mission.” —Peter Drucker PURPOSE. PASSION. Potential. Presence. Personal. pissed off. Playful. PERSISTENCE. PEOPLE. Peculiar. Potent. Positive. “The role of the Director is to create a space where the actors and become more than they’ve ever been before, more than they’ve dreamed of being.” actresses can —Robert Altman, Oscar acceptance speech PURPOSE. PASSION. Potential. Presence. Personal. pissed off. Playful. PERSISTENCE. PEOPLE. Potent. Positive. PURPOSE. PASSION. Potential. Presence. Personal. pissed off. Playful. PERSISTENCE. PEOPLE. Peculiar. Potent. Positive. “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” Gandhi Questions: What do others think of you? [Are you sure?] What do you think of you? [Are you sure?] What is your impact on others? [Are you sure?] What is your impact on others? [Are you sure?] What is your impact on others? [Are you sure?] What are the “little things” you (perhaps unconsciously) do that cause people to shrivel—or blossom? [Are you sure?] What do you want? [Are you sure?] Are you aware of your changing moods? [Are you sure?] How fragile is your ego? [Are you sure?] Do you have a true confidant? [Are you sure?] Do you perform brief or not-so-brief self-assessments? Do you talk too much? [Are you sure?] Do you know how to listen? [Are you sure?] Do you listen? [Are you sure?] What is your style of “hashing things out”? Are you perceived as (a) arrogant, (b) abrasive (c) attentive, (d) genuinely interested in people, (e) etc? [Are you sure?] Are you flexible? Have you changed your mind about anything important in a while? Are you comfortable-uncomfortable with folks on the front line? Do you think you’re “in touch with the pulse of things around here”? [Are You Sure?] Are you too emotional/intuitive? Are you too unemotional/rational? Do you spend much time with people who are new to you? [Do you think questions like this are “so much BS”?] PURPOSE. PASSION. Potential. Presence. Personal. pissed off. Playful. PERSISTENCE. PEOPLE. Peculiar. Potent. Positive. Pissed Off* ** *As in “I’m pissed off and I’m not gonna take it any more …” **Innovation Stems from Irritation (Re-imagining Results from Rage) PURPOSE. PASSION. Potential. Presence. Personal. pissed off. Playful. PERSISTENCE. PEOPLE. Peculiar. Potent. Positive. “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 READY. FIRE! PURPOSE. PASSION. Potential. Presence. Personal. pissed off. Playful. PERSISTENCE. PEOPLE. Peculiar. Potent. Positive. “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 “Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go.” —William Feather, author PURPOSE. PASSION. Potential. Presence. Personal. pissed off. Playful. PERSISTENCE. PEOPLE. Peculiar. Potent. Positive. ‘do’ “Leaders people. Period.” —Anon. “Leaders ‘SERVE’ people. Period.” —Anon. PURPOSE. PASSION. Potential. Presence. Personal. pissed off. Playful. PERSISTENCE. PEOPLE. Peculiar. Potent. Positive. “Normal” = “o for 800” PURPOSE. PASSION. Potential. Presence. Personal. pissed off. Playful. PERSISTENCE. PEOPLE. Peculiar. Potent. Positive. 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! "The reasonable man adapts himself to the world. The unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends upon the unreasonable man.” —GB Shaw, Man and Superman: The Revolutionists' Handbook. “If I had any epitaph that I would rather have more than any other, it would be to say disturbed the sleep of my generation.” that I had … —Adlai Stevenson PURPOSE. PASSION. Potential. Presence. Personal. pissed off. Playful. PERSISTENCE. PEOPLE. Peculiar. Potent. Positive. “[other] admirals more frightened of losing than anxious to win” On NELSON: “Never doubt that a small group of committed people can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has.” —Margaret Mead PURPOSE. PASSION. Potential. Presence. Personal. pissed off. Playful. PERSISTENCE. PEOPLE. Peculiar. Potent. Positive. “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 /October2003 "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) Geron-imo!