NOTE: To appreciate this presentation, you
need MicrosoftWord FONTS “Showcard Gothic,”
“Ravie,” “Chiller” and “Verdana”
Master*
Excellence
part three (of 3)
people.
Leadership.
Lists.
25 May 2007
Tom Peters’ X25*
EXCELLENCE.
ALWAYS.
MASTER/0525.2007/Part Three
*In Search of Excellence 1982-2007
section six
talent
EXCELLENCE.
INDIVIDUAL.
BRAND YOU.
“You are the
storyteller of your
own life, and you can
create your own
legend or not.”
—Isabel Allende
“One of the defining
characteristics [of the
change] is that it will be less
driven by countries or
corporations and more driven
by real people. It will unleash
unprecedented creativity, advancement of
knowledge, and economic development. But
at the same time, it will tend to undermine
safety net systems and penalize the
unskilled.” —Clyde Prestowitz, Three Billion New Capitalists
Muhammad Yunus:
“All human beings
are entrepreneurs. When we
were in the caves we were all selfemployed . . . finding our food, feeding
ourselves. That’s where human history
began . . . As civilization came we
suppressed it. We became labor
because they stamped us, ‘You are
labor.’ We forgot that we are
entrepreneurs.”
Source: Muhammad Yunus/The News Hour—PBS/1122.2006
“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
“IN SILICON VALLEY …
IF YOU ARE NOT STOLEN AWAY BY SOME COMPANY
EVERY FEW YEARS (OR MONTHS) …
YOU ARE NOT CONSIDERED A ‘HOT PROPERTY.’
STABILITY IS A
MARK OF
SHAME.”
Source: Juan Enriquez/As the Future Catches You
Distinct
…
… or
Extinct
Core Mechanism:
“Game-changing Solutions”
PSF
(Professional Service Firm “model”/The Organizing Principle)
+
Brand You
(“Distinct” or “Extinct”/The Talent)
+
Wow! Projects
(“Different” vs “Better”/The Work)
New Work SurvivalKit.2007
1. MASTERY! (Best/Absurdly Good at Something!)
2. “Manage” to Legacy (All Work = “Memorable”/“Braggable” WOW Projects!)
3. A “USP”/UNIQUE SELLING PROPOSITION 4. Rolodex Obsession
(From vertical/hierarchy/“suck up” loyalty to
horizontal/“colleague”/“mate” loyalty)
5. ENTREPRENEURIAL INSTINCT (A sleepless … Eye for Opportunity!
6.CEO/LEADER/BUSINESSPERSON/CLOSER (CEO, Me Inc. 24/7!)
7. Master of Improv (Play a dozen parts simultaneously, from
Chief Strategist to Chief Toilet Scrubber)
8. Sense of Humor (A willingness to Screw Up & Move On)
9. Comfortable with Your Skin (Bring “interesting you” to work!)
10. Intense Appetite for Technology (E.g.: How Cool-Active is your
Web site? Do you Blog?)
11. EMBRACE “MARKETING” (Your own CSO/Chief Storytelling Officer)
12. PASSION FOR RENEWAL (Your own CLO/Chief Learning Officer)
13. EXECUTION EXCELLENCE! (Show up on time! Leave last!)
ACTING:
Think of a person as a
“troupe of
actors.” (“Many truths
about oneself” which must
all be understood if one is to
know oneself.)
Source: A..C. Grayling, The Meaning of Things: Applying Philosophy to Life
Personal “Brand Equity” Evaluation
– My current Project is challenging me …
– New things I’ve learned in the last 90 days include …
– I am known for [2 to 3 things]; next year at this time I’ll
also be known for [1 more thing].
– My public “recognition program”
consists of …
– Additions to my Rolodex in the last 90 days include …
– My resume is discernibly
different from last year’s
at this time …
R.D.A.
Rate: 15%?, 25%?
Therefore: Formal “Investment
Strategy”/
R.I.P.*
*Renewal Investment Plan
“The only thing you
have power over is to
get good at what you
do. That’s all there
is; there ain’t no
more!”
—Sally Field
1 Person!
Wendy Kopp, Princeton senior (1989)
Teach America (19,000-2,400)
10% Dartmouth, Yale
17,000 to date
Principal hirer of college graduates
“One of the few jobs that people pass up
Goldman Sachs for is Teach America” (Edie
Hunt, HR)
Source: Fortune, 1127.06
12January2006
th,
Happy 300
Brand You!
“It’s always
showtime.”
—David D’Alessandro, Career Warfare
“To Be
somebody or to
Do something”
BOYD: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War (Robert Coram)
“All of our artistic and religious traditions
take equally great pains to inform us that
we must never mistake a
good career for good
work. Life is a creative, intimate,
unpredictable conversation if it is nothing
else—and our life and our work are both
the result of the way we hold that
passionate conversation.” —David Whyte, Crossing
the Unknown Sea: Work as a Pilgrimage of Identity
“This is the true joy of Life, the
being used for a purpose
recognized by yourself as a
mighty one … the being a force of
Nature instead of a feverish,
selfish little clod of ailments and
grievances complaining that the
world will not devote itself to
making you happy.” —GB Shaw/
Man and Superman
Joe J. Jones
1942 – 2006
HE WOULDA DONE SOME
REALLY COOL STUFF
BUT …
HIS BOSS WOULDN’T
HIM!
LET
Getting Things Done:
Power &
The
Implementation34.
Getting to WOW
Through Mastery of …
The Sales25.
Presentation
Excellence: The
PresX56
“The problem with
communication ...is
the ILLUSION that
it has been
accomplished.”
—George Bernard Shaw
“Everyone lives
by selling
something.”
—Robert Louis Stevenson
Listening &
Interviewing
Excellence:
The IntX31
“If you don’t
listen, you don’t
sell anything.”
—Carolyn Marland/Managing Director/Guardian Group
supreme
skills
(m.i.a.)
Talk.
Listen.
“In classical times when
Cicero had finished speaking,
the people said, ‘How well he
spoke,’ but when
Demosthenes had finished
speaking, they said, ‘Let
march.’”
us
—Adlai Stevenson
“The only
reason to give a
speech is to
change the
world.”
—JFK
Joe J. Jones
1942 – 2006
HE WOULDA DONE SOME
REALLY COOL STUFF
BUT …
HIS BOSS WOULDN’T
HIM!
LET
“How Would You
Play Today If You
Knew You Could
Not Play
Tomorrow”
Source: Slogan for Loyola’s lacrosse season, from
coach Diane Geppi-Aikens (Lucky Every Day: The
Wisdom of Diane Geppi-Aikens, by Chip Silverman)
EXCELLENCE.
BEDROCK.
TALENT.
“THE FUTURE BELONGS TO …
SMALL POPULATIONS …
WHO BUILD EMPIRES OF THE MIND
… AND WHO IGNORE THE TEMPTATION OF—
OR DO NOT HAVE THE OPTION OF—
EXPLOITING NATURAL RESOURCES.”
Source: Juan Enriquez/As the Future Catches You
Hire very
good
people!
“We believe companies can increase their market cap
50 percent in 3 years. Steve Macadam at Georgia-
Pacific …
changed
20 of his
40 box plant managers
to put more talented,
higher paid managers in
charge. He increased profitability from
$25
million to
$80
million in
—Ed Michaels, War for Talent
2
years.”
C
O*
*Chief talent acquisition Officer
INVITE THEM TO
JOIN US IN A
JOURNEY TO
EXCELLENCE!
“In the end, management
doesn’t change culture.
Management
invites
the workforce itself to
change the culture.”
—Lou Gerstner
Organizing Genius / Warren Bennis
and Patricia Ward Biederman
“Groups become great only when
everyone in them, leaders and
members alike, is free to do his or
her absolute best.”
“The best thing a leader can do for a
Great Group is to allow its
members to discover their
greatness.”
Leadership’s Mt Everest/Mt Excellence
“free to do his or her
absolute best” …
“allow its members to
discover their
greatness.”
C
O*
*Chief quest-meister
EMPHASIZE
THE “SOFT
SKILLS.”
A Few Lessons from the Arts
Each hired and developed and evaluated in unique ways
(23 contributors = 23 unique contributions = 23 pathways =
23 personalities = 23 sets of motivators)
Attitude/Enthusiasm/Energy paramount
Re-lent-less!
“Practice is cool” (G Leonard/Mastery)
Team and individual
Aspire to EXCELLENCE = Obvious
Ex-e-cu-tion
Talent = Brand = Duh
“The Project” rules
Emotional language
Bit players. No.
B.I.W. (everything)
Delta events = Delta rosters (incl leader/s)
Q: “If it were your $50K
[life’s savings] and my
$50K, what sort of Waiters
would we look for?”
A: “Enthusiasts!”
Build on
strengths
“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
SO YOU’RE A
“PEOPLE
PERSON”?
PROVE IT.
“The leaders of Great Groups
love talent and know
where to find it. They
revel in the talent
of others.”
—Warren Bennis &
Patricia Ward Biederman, Organizing Genius
PARC’s Bob Taylor:
“Connoisseur
of Talent”
SO YOU’RE A
“PEOPLE
PERSON”?
PROVE IT.
“The leaders of Great
Groups love talent and
know where to find it. They
revel in the talent of
others.”
—Warren Bennis &
Patricia Ward Biederman, Organizing Genius
“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
“We are a
‘Life Success’
Company.”
Dave Liniger, founder, RE/MAX
“Do”
TALENT!
From
sweaters to …
Les Wexner:
people!
“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]
guage the mood, the thinking level
of the team that day.” —Coach K [Krzyzewski]
220 workdays
= 220 “rosters”
Source: Coach K
new goal …
every game!
Source: Coach K
“The key difference between
checkers and chess is that in
checkers the pieces all move
the same way, whereas in chess
all the pieces move differently.
… Discover what is unique
about each person and
capitalize on it.” —Marcus Buckingham,
The One Thing You Need to Know
SO YOU’RE A
“PEOPLE
PERSON”?
PROVE IT.
< CAPEX
> People!
The Value-added Ladder/ OPPORTUNITY-SEEKING
Implemented
Gamechanging
Solutions (People intensive)
Services (People & Capital intensive)
Goods (Capital intensive)
Raw Materials (Capital intensive)
SO YOU’RE A
“PEOPLE
PERSON”?
PROVE IT.
PUT HR AT THE
HEAD OF THE HEAD
TABLE. BEST
PEOPLE. NOBLEST
MISSION.
A review of Jack and Suzy Welch’s Winning claims there are but
two key differentiators that set GE “culture” apart from the herd:
First: Separating financial forecasting and performance
measurement. Performance measurement based, as it usually is, on budgeting
leads to an epidemic of gaming the system. GE’s performance measurement is
divorced from budgeting—and instead reflects how you do relative to your past
performance and relative to competitors’ performance; i.e., it’s about how you
actually do in the context of what happened in the real world, not as compared to a
gamed-abstract plan developed last year.
Putting HR on
a par with finance
and marketing.
Second:
LIVE FOR
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
Portfolio Thinking
G.M.
V.C.
M.B.S.A.
(Brand Yous)
(Wow Projects!)
(Demos. Heroes. Stories.)
Internal
“brand
promise”!
EVP/
IBP?*
What’s your company’s …
*Employee Value Proposition, per Ed Michaels et al.,
The War for Talent; IBP/Internal Brand Promise per TP
EVP/IBP = Remarkable
challenge, rapid professional
growth, respect, satisfaction,
fun, stunning opportunity,
exceptional reward, amazing
peer group, full membership in
Club Adventure, maximized
future employability
Source: Ed Michaels, The War for Talent; TP
Brand =
Talent.
“I have always
believed that the
purpose of the
corporation is to be
a blessing to the
employees.”
—Boyd Clarke
Re-imagine
People Power:
The Talent50
The Talent50
1. People first!
2. Soft is Hard.
3. FUNDAMENTAL PREMISE: We are in an
Age of Talent/ Creativity/Intellectualcapital Added.
4. Talent “excellence” in every part of the
organization.
5. P.O.T./Pursuit Of Talent = Obsession.
6. HR sits at The Head Table.
7. HR is “cool.”
The Talent50
8. Re-name “HR.” (Talent Department, Center of
Talent Excellence)
9. There’s an HR Strategy
10. There is a FORMAL Recruitment Strategy.
11. There is a FORMAL Leadership Development
Strategy.
12. There is a “world class” Leadership
Development Center.
13. There is a FORMAL-STRATEGIC HR Review
Process.
14. The “Top100,” and every unit’s Top10, are
consciously managed.
The Talent50
15. “People/Talent Reviews” are the
FIRST reviews.
16. HR Strategy = Business Strategy.
17. Make it a Cause Worth Signing Up For..
18. Set Sky High Standards.
19. Enlist everyone in Challenge Century21.
20. Pursue the Best!
21. Up or Out.
22. Ensure that the Review Process has
INTEGRITY.
23. Pay!
The Talent50
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
Training I: Train! Train! Train!
TII: 100% “business people.”
TIII: 100% Leaders.
TIV: Boss as Trainer-in-Chief.
Open Communication I: NO
BARRIERS.
Open Communication II: Share
Information. (ALL!)
Respect!
INTEGRITY!
Treat the Whole Individual.
The Talent50
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
40.
Places of “grace.”
MBWA: The “Rudy Rule.”
Thank You!
Promote for “people skills.”
(ALL ELSE IS SECONDARY.)
Honor youth.
Early leadership assignments.
Fast Tracking is the norm.
Create a System of Mentoring.
The Talent50
41. Diversity!
42. Diversity starts on the Board of
Directors.
43. WOMEN RULE.
44. Weird Wins.
45. We are all unique.
46. Bosses “win people over.”
47. GOAL: Adventures of Mutual
Discovery.
48. Foster Independence.
49. Enthusiasm!
50.
Talent
= Brand.
EXCELLENCE.
AWOL: THE
SCHOOLS
FIASCO.
“Every time I pass a
jailhouse or a
school, I feel sorry
for the people
inside.” —Jimmy Breslin,
on “summer school” in NYC [“If they haven’t
learned in the winter, what are they going to remember from
days when they should be swimming?”]
“In
our dreams people yield
themselves with perfect
docility to our molding
hands. … The task is simple. We will
J. D. Rockefeller’s General Education Board (1915):
organize children and teach them in a perfect
way the things their fathers and mothers are
doing in an imperfect way.”
John Taylor Gatto, A Different Kind of Teacher
“The main crisis
in school today is
irrelevance.”
—Daniel Pink,
Free Agent Nation
“The
Creative
Age is a wideopen game.”
—Richard Florida, The Rise of the Creative Class
“My wife and I went to a [kindergarten] parent-teacher conference
and were informed that our budding refrigerator artist, Christopher,
would be receiving a grade of Unsatisfactory in art. We were
shocked. How could any child—let alone our child—receive a poor
His teacher
informed us that he had
refused to color within the
lines, which was a state
requirement for
demonstrating ‘grade-level
motor skills.’ ”
grade in art at such a young age?
—Jordan Ayan, AHA!
“Our schools are not teaching
people how to think.” —Thomas Edison
“It is nothing short of a
miracle that modern methods
of instruction have not yet
entirely strangled the holy
curiosity of inquiry.” —Albert Einstein
“The key question isn’t ‘What fosters
creativity?’ But it is why in God’s name isn’t
everyone creative? Where was the human
potential lost? How was it crippled? I think
therefore a good question might be not
why do people create? But why do people
not create or innovate? We have got to
abandon that sense of amazement in the
face of creativity, as if it were a miracle if
anybody created anything.”
—Abe Maslow
Ye gads: “Thomas Stanley has not only found
no correlation between success in school and
an ability to accumulate wealth, he’s actually
found a negative correlation. ‘It seems that
school-related evaluations are poor
predictors of economic success,’ Stanley
concluded. What did predict success was a
willingness to take risks. Yet the successfailure standards of most schools penalized
risk takers. Most educational systems reward
those who play it safe. As a result, those who
do well in school find it hard to take risks
later on.”
—Richard Farson & Ralph Keyes,
Whoever Makes the Most Mistakes Wins
15 “Leading” Biz Schools
Design/Core: 0
Design/Elective: 1
Creativity/Core: 0
Creativity/Elective: 4
Innovation/Core: 0
Innovation/Elective: 6
Source: DMI/Summer 2002/Research by Thomas Lockwood
M.I.A.*: Talk. (Present.) Listen. (Interview.)
Sell. (Life = Sales.) Do. (Execution-Implementation.)
Talent. (Recruit-Develop-Retain.) Project
Management. (Create. Solicit support.
Execution. Adoption-Client “Culture Change.”)
Product. (“It.”) Innovation. (Design.
Creativity. “Buzz-building.” Politics.) Leadership.
(USMA, etc.) E.Q. (Connect.) “Culture”
Change. (Lasting impact.) Diversity. (Crosscultural Effectiveness.) Career Creation.
(Brand You life-lifestyle.) Wellness. (Life.)
*B.Schools (“M.I.A.” or at most “B.I.A.”—barely in action)
New Economy Biz Degree Programs
MBA (Master of Business Administration)
MMM1 (Master of Metaphysical Management)
MMM2 (Master of Metabolic Management)
MGLF (Master of Great Leaps Forward)
MTD (Master of Talent Development)
W/MwGTDw/oC (Woman/Man Who Gets Things
Done without Certificate)
DE (Doctor of Enthusiasm)
EXCELLENCE.
BEDROCK.
TALENT PLUS.
HEALTH.
TP ON
HEALTHCARE
“When I climb Mount
Rainier I face less
risk of death than
I’ll face on the
operating table.”
—Don Berwick
Quality!
DSS!
Prevention!
Wellness!
Chronic care!
Elder care!
Convenient care!
Childhood obesity!
H5N1!
COULD
IT TRULY BE THIS
AWFUL?
“Quality”:
90,000 killed
and 2,000,000
CDC 1998:
injured from
hospital-caused drug
errors & infections
HealthGrades/Denver:
195,000
hospital deaths per
year in the U.S., 2000-2002 = 390 full
jumbos/747s in the drink per year.
Comments: “This should give you pause
when you go to the hospital.”
National Quality Forum
—Dr. Kenneth Kizer,
. “There is little evidence
that patient safety has improved in
the last five years.” —Dr. Samantha Collier
Source: Boston Globe/07.27.04
1,000,000
“serious medication errors per
year” … “illegible handwriting,
misplaced decimal points, and
missed drug interactions and
allergies.”
Source: Wall Street Journal /Institute of Medicine
*77.9, below Costa Rica, Cuba/USN&WR, 0326.07
“We need
Florence
Nightingale
hygiene.”
Source: UK corner on problems in British
healthcare, The Daily Telegraph, 04.27.07
PLANETREE/
PLANETREE
ALLIANCE: A
DIFFERENT
MODEL
The 9 Planetree Practices
1. The Importance of Human Interaction
2. Informing and Empowering Diverse Populations: Consumer
Health Libraries and Patient Information
3. Healing Partnerships: The importance of Including Friends
and Family
4. Nutrition: The Nurturing Aspect of Food
5. Spirituality: Inner Resources for Healing
6. Human Touch: The Essentials of Communicating
Caring Through Massage
7. Healing Arts: Nutrition for the Soul
8. Integrating Complementary and Alternative Practices
into Conventional Care
9. Healing Environments: Architecture and Design Conducive
to Health
Source: Putting Patients First, Susan Frampton, Laura Gilpin, Patrick Charmel
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
PS directly related to Staff Interaction
PS directly correlated with Employee
Satisfaction
Source: Putting Patients First, Susan Frampton, Laura Gilpin, Patrick Charmel
Griffin:
Music in the parking
lot; professional musicians in
the lobby (7/week, 3-4hrs/day) ;
5 pianos ;
volunteers (120-140 hrs arts &
entertainment per month).
Source: Putting Patients First, Susan Frampton, Laura Gilpin, Patrick Charmel
Care!/Love!/Spirit!
Self-Control!
Connect!/learn!/
involve!/Engage!
Understanding!/Growth!
De-stress!/heal!
Whole patient &
family & friends!
Get well!/stay well!
Griffin Hospital/Derby CT (Planetree Alliance “HQ”) Results:
Financially successful.
Expanding programsphysically. Growing market
share. Only hospital in “100
Best Cos to Work for”—
7 consecutive years,
currently #6.
—“Five-Star Hospitals,” Joe Flower,
strategy+business (#42)
HEALTHCARE VS
HEALTH
“What’s Really Propping
Up the Economy:
Healthcare has added 1.7
million jobs since 2001.
The rest of the private
sector?
None .”
Source: Title, cover story, BusinessWeek, 0925.2006
TP Reccomendation* #1:
Dubai Healthcare City
to
Dubai Health City
*Presentation at “First Middle Eastern Healthcare Summit/01.2006
Sexy Cures vs Quality/Safety
Surgeons vs
Family Practice Physicians/CIOs
Fixing vs Preventing
Healthcare vs Health
Tom/$53K vs 1,000 Africans
[Stanford?] vs Griffin/Planetree
SF Internist vs
Tom/Canyon Ranch
Childhood
Obesity >
Terrorism
Bust
fat docs!
Sprint/Overland Park KS:
Slow elevators, distant
parking lots with
infrequent buses, “food
court” as “poorly” placed
as possible, etc.
Source: New York Times
“Bump into factor”: Extra-size
portions, eat more. Higher
% shelf space snacks, more
obesity. More liquor stores,
more crime. High vs low fat:
Japanese who emigrate to
U.S. suffer 3X increase in
heart disease.
Source: Tom Farley & Deborah Cohen, Prescription for a Healthy Nation
“Microsystems”
Paul Batalden/
DHMCIntensive Care Nursery/
X-disciplinary
$1
“Every
spent on its
wellness program ended up
$4.70
saving [Citigroup]
,
according to an academic
study.”
—WSJ/0329.07
Sexy Cures vs Quality/Safety
Surgeons vs
Family Practice Physicians /CIOs
Fixing vs Preventing
Healthcare vs Health
Tom/$53K vs 1,000 Africans
[Stanford?] vs Griffith/Planetree
SF Internist vs
Tom/Canyon Ranch
Pause …
Them-Us
“Them”
“Us”
Strategy
Planning
Marketing
Markets
Customers
Micro-segmentation
Cost minimization
Synergy/“Efficiencies”
“Strategic” supplier
Process
Effectiveness
Men
Leadership
Standardization
Big clients
Prestigious Board
EXECUTION
Action
Selling/Sales
Customers
Clients
Big Stuff (Women, Boomers)
Revenue maximization
Decentralization
Pioneering supplier
Project
Excellence
Women
Management + Leadership
Exceptionalism (53 = 53)
COOL clients
INTERESTING Board
“Them”
Big
Growth by merger
Buy market share
Efficient, streamlined
“department”
Certainty-predictability
Fearful of losing
Plan
Careful evaluation
Revised plan
People/Employees
Effective HR department
Benchmark against the
“best”-“industry leader”
“Us”
Mid-size
Organic growth
Create NEW markets
Value-creating “PSF”
Ambiguity-opportunity
Aggressive pursuit
of winning
Prototype
Another prototype
Another prototype
Talent
Rockin’ Talent
Development Center
of Excellence
Benchmark against the
“coolest”
“Them”
“Us”
Benchmark
Orderly career progression
Head
IQ
“Professional”
Stoic, humble leaders
“Future”mark
“Up or Out” (PDQ)
Heart
EQ
Passionate
Noisy, emotional
“characters” in charge
Hire for intangibles
Relentless, pig-headed
determination
Teamwork and disruptive
individuals equal billing
Lead customers
Intimate-Seamless
customer inter-twining
Hire for Resume
Measured-thoughtful
approach
Teamwork comes first
Listen to customers
Customer “involvement”
“Them”
MBM (Management
by memo)
MBA
Shareholder Value
comes first
Work smart
Built to last
Reward successes
“Us”
MBWA
MFA
Great people-product rule
Work hard
Built to Rock the World
Reward (EXCELLENT)
failures
Design 1T
Innovation 1T
Jaw-dropping Experience
Quality first!
Quality first
High-quality
transaction
CVs demo consistent CVs feature Magic Moments
performance
Good grades
Cool stuff
Operational excellence World-rocking INNOVATION
“Them”
Brand
Best analysis wins
“Beyond politics”
Outsource
“Motivate”
“Motivate”
Measured language
Product-Service
Pastel
Better
“Mission success”
Very good
“Us”
Lovemark
Best STORY wins
Politics-is-life, the
rest is details
Bestsource
Send on QUESTS
Invite
HOT language
Gamechanging SOLUTION,
Thrilling EXPERIENCE,
DREAM come true,
LOVEMARK
Technicolor
Different
“Mission EXCELLENCE”
EXCELLENCE. ALWAYS.
End
Pause
Part seven
leadership
EXCELLENCE.
BEDROCK.
LEADERSHIP.
L23. 12Ps.
EXCELLENCE.
THE LEADERSHIP23.
Leadership23/ML
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Enthusiasm. Energy. Exuberance.
Action. Execution.
Tempo. Metabolism.
Relentless.
Master of Plan B.
Accountability.
Meritocracy.
Leaders “do” people. Mentor. (“Success
creation business.”)
9. Women. Diversity.
10. Integrity. Credibility. Humanity. Grace.
11. Realism.
12. Cause. Adventures. Quests.
Leadership23/ML
13. Legacy.
14. Best story wins.
15. On the edge. (“Wildest chimera of a
moonstruck mind.”)
16. “Reward excellent failures. Punish
mediocre successes.”
17. Different > Better. (“Only ones who do
what we do.”)
18. MBWA. Customer MBWA.
19. Laughs.
20. Repot. Curiosity. Why?
21. You = Calendar. “To Don’t.” Two.
22. Excellence. Always.
23. Nelsonian! (“Other admirals more afraid
of losing than anxious to win.”)
EXCELLENCE.
BEDROCK.
LEADERSHIP.
“12 Ps.”
Tom Peters/04.18.2007
PURPOSE.
PASSION.
Potential.
Presence.
Personal.
pissed off.
Playful.
PERSISTENCE.
PEOPLE.
Peculiar.
Potent.
Positive.
st
“21 -century
Leadership” =
Bunkum
PURPOSE.
PASSION.
Potential.
Presence.
Personal.
pissed off.
Playful.
PERSISTENCE.
PEOPLE.
Peculiar.
Potent.
Positive.
“People want to be part of
something larger than
themselves. They want to be
part of something they’re
really proud of, that they’ll
fight for, sacrifice for ,
trust.”
—Howard Schultz, Starbucks (IBD/09.05)
“If you want to build
a ship, don’t gather
people together to collect
wood ,and don’t assign
them tasks and work,
but instead teach them
to long for the sea.”
—Antoine de Saint-Exupery (The Little Prince)
“A leader is
a dealer in
hope.”
—Napoleon
(+TP’s writing room pics)
USN&WR: What traits do successful activists share?
“They
have hope, and
they imbue others
with hope.”
Studs Terkel, age 91:
“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
Q: “If it were your $100K
[life’s savings] and my $100K,
what sort of Waiters
would we be looking
for?”
A: “Enthusiasts!!!!!!!!!!”
“Whenever anything is
being accomplished, I
have learned, it is being
done by a monomaniac
with a mission.”
—Peter Drucker
“A man
without a
smiling face
must not open
a shop.”
—Chinese Proverb
EX-UBERANCE!
Exuberance: The Passion for Life, by Kay Redfield Jamison+
“I believe exuberance is incomparably more important
than we acknowledge. If, as has been claimed,
enthusiasm finds the opportunities and energy makes
the most of them, a mood of mind that yokes the two of
them is formidable indeed.”
“The Greeks bequeathed to us one of the most
beautiful words in our language—the word
‘enthusiasm’—en theos—a god within. The grandeur of
human actions is measured by the inspiration from
which they spring. Happy is he who bears a god within,
and who obeys it.”—Louis Pasteur
“Exuberance is, at its quick, contagious. As it spreads
pell-mell through a group, exuberance excites, it
delights, and it dispels tension. It alerts the group to
change and possibility.”
Exuberance: The Passion for Life, by Kay Redfield Jamison+
“A leader is someone who creates infectious
enthusiasm.”—Ted Turner
“‘Glorious’ was a term [John] Muir would invoke time
and again … despite his conscious attempts to eradicate
it from his writing. ‘Glorious’ and ‘joy’ and
‘exhilaration’: no matter how often he scratched out
these words once he had written them, they sprang
up time and again …”
“To meet Roosevelt, said Churchill, ‘with all his buoyant
sparkle, his iridescence,’ was like ‘opening a bottle of
champagne.’ Churchill, who knew both champagne
and human nature, recognized ebullient leadership
when he saw it.”
Exuberance: The Passion for Life, by Kay Redfield Jamison+
“At a time of weakness and mounting despair in the
democratic world, Roosevelt stood out by his
astonishing appetite for life and by his apparently
complete freedom from fear of the future; as a man who
welcomed the future eagerly as such, and conveyed the
feeling that whatever the times might bring, all would
be grist to his mill, nothing would be too formidable or
crushing to be subdued. He had unheard of energy and
gusto … and was a spontaneous, optimistic, pleasureloving ruler with unparalleled capacity for creating
confidence.”—Isaiah Berlin on FDR
Exuberance: The Passion for Life, by Kay Redfield Jamison+
“Churchill had a very powerful mind, but a romantic
and unquantitative one. If he thought about a course
of action long enough, if he achieved it alone in his
own inner consciousness and desired it passionately,
he convinced himself it must be possible. Then, with
incomparable invention, eloquence and high spirits,
he set out to convince everyone else that it was
not only possible, but the only course of action
open to man.”—C.P. Snow
“We are all worms. But I do believe that I am a
glow-worm.”—Churchill on Churchill
“The multitudes were swept forward till their pace was
the same as his.”—Churchill on T.E. Lawrence
“He brought back a real joy to music.”—Wynton
Marsalis on Louis Armstrong
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
Organizing Genius / Warren Bennis
and Patricia Ward Biederman
“Groups become great only when
everyone in them, leaders and
members alike, is free to do his or
her absolute best.”
“The best thing a leader can do for a
Great Group is to allow its
members to discover their
greatness.”
Leadership’s Mt Everest/Mt Excellence
“free to do his or her
absolute best” …
“allow its members to
discover their
greatness.”
“In the end, management
doesn’t change culture.
Management
invites
the workforce itself to
change the culture.”
—Lou Gerstner
Why in the
World did you
go to Siberia?
An emotional,
vital, innovative, joyful,
creative, entrepreneurial
endeavor that elicits
maximum concerted
human potential in
the wholehearted
service of others.***
Enterprise* ** (*at its best):
**Excellence. Always.
***Employees, Customers, Suppliers, Communities, Owners, Temporary partners
Hard Is Soft
Soft Is Hard
Hard (#s) Is Soft
Soft (people) Is Hard
“Hard” (# /“Strategy”/budgets/plans
marketing) Is Soft
s
“soft” (people/Customers/
relationships/culture/execution)
Hard
Is
Henry: strategic
Planning = Ha Ha
Larry/Ram: the
important bit =
doing it
What makes
God laugh?
People
making
plans!
“If I could have chosen not to tackle the IBM
culture head-on, I probably wouldn’t have. My
bias coming in was toward strategy, analysis and
measurement. In comparison, changing the
attitude and behaviors of hundreds of thousands
[Yet] I
came to see in my time at
IBM that culture isn’t
just one aspect of the
game—it is the game.”
of people is very, very hard.
—Lou Gerstner, Who Says Elephants Can’t Dance
PURPOSE.
PASSION.
Potential.
Presence.
Personal.
pissed off.
Playful.
PERSISTENCE.
PEOPLE.
Peculiar.
Potent.
Positive.
Jim’s
Group
Basement
Systems
Inc./
Seymour CT
PURPOSE.
PASSION.
Potential.
Presence.
Personal.
pissed off.
Playful.
PERSISTENCE.
PEOPLE.
Potent.
Positive.
MBWA*
*5,000 miles for a 5-minute face-to
-face meeting (courtesy superagent Mark McCormick)
MBWA, Grameen Style!
“Conventional banks ask their clients to come
to their office. It’s a terrifying place for the poor
and illiterate. … The entire Grameen Bank
system runs on the principle that people
should not come to the bank, the bank
should go to the people. … If any staff
member is seen in the office, it should be taken
as a violation of the rules of the Grameen Bank.
… It is essential that [those setting up a new
village Branch] have no office and no place to
stay. The reason is to make us as different as
possible from government officials.”
Source: Muhammad Yunus, Banker to the Poor
“It’s always
showtime.”
—David D’Alessandro, Career Warfare
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
“The First step in a
‘dramatic’
‘organizational change
program’ is obvious—
dramatic personal
change!” —RG
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”?]
Enthusiasm
Energy
Exuberance
Voracious Curiosity
Irritability/Dis-satisfaction
Relentlessness
Self-reliance
“Closer” (Execution)
excellence
PURPOSE.
PASSION.
Potential.
Presence.
Personal.
pissed off.
Playful.
PERSISTENCE.
PEOPLE.
Peculiar.
Potent.
Positive.
“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 …
“I wasn’t bowled over by [David Boies]
intelligence … What impressed me was
that when he asked a question, he waited
He not only
listened, he made me feel
like I was the only person
in the room.”
for an answer.
—Lawyer Kevin _____, on his first,
inadvertent meeting with David Boies, from Marshall Goldsmith,
“The One Skill That Separates,” Fast Company
Personal
What I Learned
HWBjr: Excellence, Accountability, Initiative,
K.I.S.S., Leader Love
Dick: Empowerment, Entrepreneurship,
Challenge, Execution (Project > Paper),
Accountability, MBWA, K.I.S.S., Fanatic
Customer-centrism (Customer>Command,
Marines>Regiment),
Leader Love, Output, “Do”>“Be”
Nameless: “Tangible” vs “Palpable”
(Bureaucracy, Control, Tight Leashes,
Command-centric, Demoralization, Paper >
Project, Product = Paper, K.I.C.S.)
What I Learned
Ben: Decency, Soft Power, Fanatic Customercentrism (“Do”>“Be”)
Walter: Fanatic Mission-centrism, Soft Power,
Relationship-management, Execution,
Accountability, Early to Bed …
Bob: Pos>Neg/Recognition, K.I.S.S., The Way of
the Demo (Execution), Hero-building, Missioncentrism, “Do”>“Be”
Bill: De-centralization, Recognition, Supportstaff Centrism, Measurement (K.I.S.S.), Soft
Power (Paint ’n Pride), Rapid Culture Change
Personal
DECENTRALIZATION.
EXECUTION.
ACCOUTABILITY.
6:15A.M.
DECENTRALIZATION.
EXECUTION.
ACCOUTABILITY.
6:15A.M.
End Personal
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)
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)
“Dreaming,” necessary,
or not?
TP, personal: “dream” =
concrete, practical
imaginings about the
opposite of things that
piss me off (TP “advantages”: low
boiling point, long memory, dogged determination)
“I’ve
been thinking …”
Michael Porter:
“I’m mad as
hell, and I’m not
going to take it
anymore”
TP:
Innovation:
mad. Start Doing
something
about it. Now.
Get
F(Anger/Passion)
>>>> f(Pushback
from Threatened
Fat-cats &
Bureau-crats)
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
SERIOUS
PLAY
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
READY.
FIRE!
“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
“Fail .
Forward.
Fast.”
High Tech CEO, Pennsylvania
“Fail faster.
Succeed Sooner.”
David Kelley/IDEO
“You miss
100% of the
shots you
never take.”
—Wayne Gretzky
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
“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 =
Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815-1902),
Lucretia Mott, Martha Wright,
Mary Ann McClintock, Jane Hunt
(07.13.1848/Seneca falls ny)
+
72 years, 1 month, 5 days
(08.18.1920/nashville tn)
“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
PURPOSE.
PASSION.
Potential.
Presence.
Personal.
pissed off.
Playful.
PERSISTENCE.
PEOPLE.
Peculiar.
Potent.
Positive.
Leaders Understand:
Brand =
Talent.
‘do’
“Leaders
people.
Period.”
—Anon.
“The leaders of Great Groups
love talent and know
where to find it. They
revel in the talent
of others.”
—Warren Bennis &
Patricia Ward Biederman, Organizing Genius
PARC’s Bob Taylor:
“Connoisseur
of Talent”
“We believe companies can increase their market cap
50 percent in 3 years. Steve Macadam at Georgia-
Pacific …
changed
20 of his
40 box plant managers
to put more talented,
higher paid managers in
charge. He increased profitability from
$25
million to
$80
million in
—Ed Michaels, War for Talent
2
years.”
< CAPEX
> People!
A review of Jack and Suzy Welch’s Winning claims there are but
two key differentiators that set GE “culture” apart from the herd:
First: Separating financial forecasting and performance
measurement. Performance measurement based, as it usually is, on budgeting
leads to an epidemic of gaming the system. GE’s performance measurement is
divorced from budgeting—and instead reflects how you do relative to your past
performance and relative to competitors’ performance; i.e., it’s about how you
actually do in the context of what happened in the real world, not as compared to a
gamed-abstract plan developed last year.
Putting HR on
a par with finance
and marketing.
Second:
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
“Leaders
‘SERVE’
people.
Period.”
—Anon.
Servant Leadership/Robert Greenleaf
1. Do those served grow as
persons?
2. Do they, while being served,
become healthier wiser, freer,
more autonomous, more likely
themselves to become servants?
Cause
Space
(worthy of commitment)
(room for/encouragement
for initiative)
Decency
(respect, humane)
“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
“Sorry, I’ve got to go—the
HR people get on me if I
don’t go do my ‘shake handschat up’ duty”
—president, large
division of large company in the _______
industry
“I have always
believed that the
purpose of the
corporation is to be
a blessing to the
employees.”
—Boyd Clarke
PURPOSE.
PASSION.
Potential.
Presence.
Personal.
pissed off.
Playful.
PERSISTENCE.
PEOPLE.
Peculiar.
Potent.
Positive.
We become
who we hang
out with
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
“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
The “Hang Out Axiom”: At
its core, every (!!!)
relationship-partnership
decision (employee,
vendor, customer, etc)
is a strategic decision
about:
“Innovate,
‘Yes’ or ‘No’ ”
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.)
“Normal” =
“o for 800”
“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
Keep
Austin
Weird
“Companies like
Motorola need cash
to innovate, not just
to set buybacks in
motion.”
—BW, 0409.07
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 Re-imagineer’s Credo … or, Pity the Poor Brown*
Technicolor Times
demand …
Technicolor Leaders and Boards who recruit …
Technicolor People who are then sent on …
Technicolor Quests to execute …
Technicolor (WOW!) Projects in partnership with …
Technicolor Customers and …
Technicolor Suppliers all in pursuit of …
Technicolor Goals and Aspirations fit for …
Technicolor Times.
*WSC
"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.
“Never doubt that a small
group of committed
people can change the
world. Indeed it is
the only thing that
ever has.” —Margaret Mead
eliot + 7
“Do one thing
every day
that scares
you.”
—Eleanor Roosevelt
“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
“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
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:
??? Redux: Quiet, humble …
“He was a bully, a
braggart, and a rebel
with a big chip on his
shoulder. They would
never have made it
without him.” —Time, 0507.07, on Capt
John Smith and the 400th anniversary of Jamestown
Quiet, Humble …
Unrelenting ambition
Avid pursuit of wealth
Charismatic
Source: David Stewart, The Summer of 1787
“Our whole
story is
growing
revenue.”
—Vernon Hill (Top-line driven; standard
is bottom-line driven by cost cutting)
The Commerce Bank Model
“cost cutting
is a death
spiral.”
Source: Fans! Not customers. How Commerce Bank
Created a Super-growth Business in a No-growth Industry,
Vernon Hill & Bob Andelman
P=R–C
PURPOSE.
PASSION.
Potential.
Presence.
Personal.
pissed off.
Playful.
PERSISTENCE.
PEOPLE.
Peculiar.
Potent.
Positive.
“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)
"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!
“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
EXCELLE
ALWAYS
THE.END
Part eight
lists
EXCELLENCE.
ALWAYS.
Lists.
Irreducible209+
0513.2007
The Irreducible209+
Them-Us
One Word+
The Cup Challenge
Think-DO
The Sales122
New “C-levels”
“Personal”
60TIBs
Tom-A-to, Tom-ah-to
The Irreducible209
A frustrated participant at a seminar for investment bankers in
Mauritius listened impatiently to my explanation of differences of
opinion among me, Mike Porter, Gary Hamel, Jim Collins, etc. Finally,
“What, if
anything,” he asked,
“do you believe ‘for
sure’?”
he’d had enough.
I mumbled something, but his query started
rumbling around in my mind. Three days later, wandering on a
Sunday in London, the idea of “the irreducibles” occurred to
me—and I started jotting down notes on stuff I do indeed believe “for
sure.” Before I knew it, a few days later, the list had grown to
209
items. Hence “The Irreducible209” that follows.
Tom Peters
1.
2.
3.
4.
Hare 1, Tortoise 0. (Hare-y times.)
Tempo. (O.O.D.A.)
MBWA.
Appreciation. (“Motivator” #1.)
(Can’t be faked. Good.)
5. Decency.
6. Hurry.
7. Time out.
8. One matters.
9. Big change. Short time. (Alt not work.)
10. Excellence. Always.
11. Passion. Energy. Hustle. Enthusiasm.
Exuberance. (Move mountains. No alt.)
12. You must care.
13. Emotion.
14. Hard is soft. (Soft is hard.)
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
Men. Women. Different. Contend. Connect.
Women. Buy. All. (RU listening?)
Quality. (“Mind-blowing.” Beyond 6-Sigma.)
Re-invent. Re-pot. (Required.)
Jaywalk.
Big change. Small # of people. (Always.)
Experiment. Now.
Failure. Normal.
Most failures, most success.
(Fail. Forward. Fast.)
24. “Reward excellent failures. Punish
mediocre successes.”
25. Women leaders. (Altered times.)
26. Extremism. (Good business. Bad politics.)
27. Innovation source. Only. Extreme irritation.
28. Smile.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
You must care.
Mentor. (Highest ROI.)
Best “roster” wins.
Wow. (Okay in biz.)
We all have customers. (Biz. Personal.)
All contacts = Experiences.
Cirque du Soleil. (Peerless.)
Leaders create space for growth.
Quests. (Only.)
High aspirations, “high” results.
(Self-fulfilling prophecy.)
39. Attitude 1, Skills 0. (Mostly.)
(Attitude 1, Skill 0.3?)
40. Sometimes: Skill 1, Attitude 0.1.
41. Must “love,” not “like.”
42. Wegmans.” (No excuses. “Mere” groceries.)
43. Less than your best. Cheating.
44.
45.
46.
47.
48.
49.
50.
51.
52.
53.
54.
55.
Brand You. (No alt.)
Self-sufficiency. (Biggest LT turn-on.)
In the moment.
The moment wins.
Tomorrow = Never.
Action 1, Plan 0.1.
“Execution” can be a “system.”
Realism.
Own up. Move on.
Accountability.
Work hard > Work smart. (Mostly.)
Feedback. Necessary. Fast. (R.F.A. in
“RFA times.”)
56. Customers. Listen. Lead. (Paradox.)
57. “On stage.” Always. (GW, FDR, RG =
Supreme actors.)
58.
59.
60.
61.
62.
63.
64.
65.
66.
Master statistical analysis.
Excellence = Set the table.
Legacy. (Will it have mattered?)
“Great.” (Why not?)
Radicals rule. (Think … Olympics.)
!!! = Good.
Red 1, Brown 0. (Red times.)
Talk. Listen. (“Big 2.” Master.)
Politics. (Normal-inevitable state
of affairs. Master.)
67. Student. Forever.
68. “Why?” (Question #1.)
69. Don’t belittle.
70. Respect.
71. All we have: this moment.
(“Moments matter most”?)
72. Now. (Procrastination. Death.)
73.
74.
75.
76.
Exercise.
Paint. (Leader. Portraits of Excellence.)
Best story wins.
“You must be the change you wish
to see in the world.”
77. Two “big ones.” Max. (Priorities.)
78. No “I” in Team. (“I” in Win.)
79. “I” in Win. (No “I” in Team.)
80. Different 1, Better 0. (Better = 0.1)
81. Imitation = Mistake. (Learn, from who?)
82. Choose/battle the “right” competitor.
83. Schools. Creativity. Entrepreneurship.
(Not.)
84. MBAs. Creativity. Entrepreneurship.
Leadership. (Not.)
85. Design. Under-rated. Wildly.
(Still.) (Everything.)
86.
87.
88.
89.
You = Calendar. (Calendar. Never. Lies.)
Laugh.
Handshake. (Quantity. Quality.)
Don’t fold your hands in front of your
chest. Ever. (Never.)
90. Grace. (“Works” in biz.)
91. Weird. Wins. (Weird times.)
92. Crazy times. Crazy orgs.
93. Internet. All.
94. Women. Boomers-Geezers. Market. All.
95. Passion.
(Repeat. So what?)
96. Energy.
(Repeat. So what?)
97. Hustle.
(Repeat. So what?)
98. Enthusiasm. (Repeat. So what?)
99. Exuberance. (Repeat. So what?)
100. Smile.
(Repeat. So what?)
101. Care.
(Repeat. So what?)
102. Simplicity. Redundancy. Resilience. Bloodymindedness. Visible optimism. (Success.)
103. Act. (Repeat. So what?)
104. Appreciate. (Repeat. So what?)
105. Fun. (Biz. Why not?)
106. Joy. (Biz. Why not?)
107. Sales = Life.
108. Marketing = Life.
109. Long-term. “Top line.” c.r.o.
110. Great company = Creates the most
individual success stories. (RE/MAX)
111. Talent first, performance byproduct.
112. Sustained Wow* 1, “Shareholder
value,” 0.2 (*Product, People.)
113. Commitment. by invitation only.
114. Creativity. by invitation only.
115. HR = #1. (Ought to.)
116. Face-to-face. (5K miles, 5 minutes.) 117.
Negotiation. Make all winners.
(Save face.)
118. Grace makes enemies friends.
119. Network.
120. Invest in relationships. (Think ROIR.
Return On Investment in Relationships.)
118. Relationship investment. Forethought.
Calendar item. Intensity.
119. Innovation. Easy. (Hang out
with weird.)
120. Weird = Win. (Weird times.)
121. “The bottleneck is at the top
of the bottle.”
122. Good Board = Weird Board.
(At least, surprising.)
123. No contention, no progress.
R.O.I.R.*
*Return On Investment In Relationships
124. “Crucial conversations.” “Crucial
confrontations.” (Study. Learn. Do.)
125. Honest feedback.
126. Gaspworthy. Yes.
127. “Insanely great.”
128. “Astonish me.”
129. “Make it immortal.”
130. “Will you remember it in 20 years?”
131. No small opportunities. (Reframe.)
132. One playmate, one playpen = Enough.
133. End run. Sensible.
134. Allies are there for the finding.
135. Find successes. Build on successes.
(Pos > Neg. Encourage > Fix.)
136. Somebody’s doing it today. Find ’em.
137. Someone is living 2016 in 2006.
(Find ’em. Study ’em.)
138. Don’t “benchmark.” “futuremark.”
139. “PMA.” It works. (Positive. Mental.
Attitude.)
140. There are no experts. (You are the expert.)
141. Life is short.
142. “Sustained success.” Fat chance.
Make today matter. (“Sustained.” Ha.)
143. Collaborate. (Networked world.)
144. Go solo. (Individual. Unit of
Intellectual Capital.)
145. There are no “perfect” plans. (Do. Wins.)
146. Plans motivate. (Right or wrong.
Sense of purpose.)
147. Never rest.
148. Get some sleep.
149. Winning = Embracing paradox.
150. Ambiguity = Opportunity.
151. Resilience.
152. Relentless-ness.
153. None. Above. Comeuppance.
No. “ultimate.” “business model.”
(GM. Sears. U.S. Steel. DEC.)
154. Be yourself. Period.
155. Never work with jerks. Including
customers. (Life. Too short.)
156. Under-promise, over-deliver.
157. Talent. (Powerful word.)
158. “Customer = Anyone whose actions
affect your results.”
159. Competition stinks. (Seek the soft
spots where you can dominate.)
160. K.I.S.S./Keep It Simple, Stupid.
161. Beauty. (Good biz word.)
162. “See the beauty in a hamburger bun.”
(Go. Ray.)
163.
164.
165.
166.
Own up. Quick. ( Denial. Cancer.)
Celebrate. Often.
78 people = 78 approaches. (Each. Unique.)
Weed. Ceaselessly. (Prune. Stupid.
Rules. Non-stop.)
167. Get out of the way. (You = The problem.)
168. Smile. Sunny. Optimism. (If it kills you.)
169. Flowers. (Cheery workplace.)
170. Enjoy. (Or get the hell.)
171. Be intolerant of “sour.” (1 = Major pollution)
172. No “quick trigger” on promotion.
(Too important.)
173. Evaluation = Lots of study-time.
174. Evaluation = “Life or death” to evaluee.
175. “360” evaluation. No fad.
176. Exit when you’re done. (Done.
Sooner than you think.)
177. Today. Now. My Project. Am. Is. I. Period.
178. “Beautiful” systems. (Good biz phrase.
Not oxymoron.)
179. Build on strengths > Fix weaknesses.
180. “To don’t” = “To do.” (“To don’t” >
“To do” ?)
181. Leaders “Do” People. (Period.)
182. Leaders enjoy leading.
183. Serious leadership training = Serious.
184. Priorities. Obvious. (Or else.)
185. 5 “Priorities” = 0 Priorities.
(3 “Priorities” = 0 Priorities?)
186. People. First. Last. Always.
187. It. Is. Always. The. People.
188. Handshake. (Quantity. Quality.)
189. Don’t fold your hands in front of
your chest. Ever. (Never.)
190. Simplicity. Redundancy. Resilience.
Bloody-mindedness. Visible
optimism. (Success.) (Repeat.)
191. Employee Entrance = Guest
Entrance.
192. Put the customer … SECOND.
(Thanks, Hal.)
193. Flowers. (Or did I say that before?
No matter if I did.)
194. Big Mergers don’t work. Small
acquisitions can/do work—if you
don’t screw with their energy.
195. Instinctively “head for the front
line.” (In all contexts.)
196. Success = DDMMPR/"D-squared,
M-squared, PR” = DramDiff +
Money-Financial Acumen + Good
“Marketing” Instincts + Stellar People
+ Resilience (The “fab five”: What.
Every. Small. Biz. Needs.) (Big too.)
197. Core Mechanism (“Game-changing
Solutions”): PSF (Professional Service
Firm “model”) + Wow! Projects
(“Different” vs “Better”) + Brand You
(“Distinct” or “Extinct”)
198. 2011/2016 has already happened.
Find it.
199. Kids “know” kids. Oldies “know” oldies.
Women “know” women. (Staff accordingly.)
200. Everybody is my customer.
201. Cosset “vendors.”
202. I want to run a Housekeeping department.
(And you?)
203. The military doesn’t follow the “military
model.” (Initiative = Excellence.)
204. No such thing as “going to absurd lengths”
to serve the Customer. (HSM & Lefties.)
205. Forget the “customer.” All = “Clients.”
206. It takes decades to get over “sleights.”
(So don’t sleight.)
207. Don’t “dumb down.” Ever.
208.
209.
NO LESS THAN
EXCELLENCE.
EVER.
EXCELLENCE.
ALWAYS.
Work In Progress
XXX. One size fits. One. Only. (Evaluations. Period.)
XXX. Teaching. Individualized. Only. (6 billion people =
6 billion learning trajectories.) (Montessori.)
XXX. First impression. Matters. Shapes all that comes.
Hard to overcome. (Understatement.)
XXX. Jerks. Don’t work with. (Life = Too short.)
XXX. Manage [the hell out of] first impressions.
XXX. Last impression. Matters. Dominates memory.
Hard to overcome. (Understatement.)
XXX. Manage [the hell out of] last impressions.
XXX. Plain English.
XXX. K.I.S.S. (450/8.)
XXX. $798. $55,000,000,000. 3,000,000,000.
7AM-7PM. 6:15AM.
XXX. Donnelly Weatherstrip rules.
XXX. Managers do things right. Leaders do the
right thing. NOT.
EXCELLE
ALWAYS
Them-Us
“Them”
“Us”
Strategy
Planning
Marketing
Markets
Customers
Micro-segmentation
Cost minimization
Synergy/“Efficiencies”
“Strategic” supplier
Process
Effectiveness
Men
Leadership
Standardization
Big clients
Prestigious Board
EXECUTION
Action
Selling/Sales
Customers
Clients
Big Stuff (Women, Boomers)
Revenue maximization
Decentralization
Pioneering supplier
Project
Excellence
Women
Management + Leadership
Exceptionalism (53 = 53)
COOL clients
INTERESTING Board
“Them”
Big
Growth by merger
Buy market share
Efficient, streamlined
“department”
Certainty-predictability
Fearful of losing
Plan
Careful evaluation
Revised plan
People/Employees
Effective HR department
Benchmark against the
“best”-“industry leader”
“Us”
Mid-size
Organic growth
Create NEW markets
Value-creating “PSF”
Ambiguity-opportunity
Aggressive pursuit
of winning
Prototype
Another prototype
Another prototype
Talent
Rockin’ Talent
Development Center
of Excellence
Benchmark against the
“coolest”
“Them”
“Us”
Benchmark
Orderly career progression
Head
IQ
“Professional”
Stoic, humble leaders
“Future”mark
“Up or Out” (PDQ)
Heart
EQ
Passionate
Noisy, emotional
“characters” in charge
Hire for intangibles
Relentless, pig-headed
determination
Teamwork and disruptive
individuals equal billing
Lead customers
Intimate-Seamless
customer inter-twining
Hire for Resume
Measured-thoughtful
approach
Teamwork comes first
Listen to customers
Customer “involvement”
“Them”
MBM (Management
by memo)
MBA
Shareholder Value
comes first
Work smart
Built to last
Reward successes
“Us”
MBWA
MFA
Great people-product rule
Work hard
Built to Rock the World
Reward (EXCELLENT)
failures
Design 1T
Innovation 1T
Jaw-dropping Experience
Quality first!
Quality first!
High-quality
transaction
CVs demo consistent CVs feature Magic Moments
performance
Good grades
Cool stuff
Operational excellence World-rocking INNOVATION
“Them”
Brand
Best analysis wins
“Beyond politics”
Outsource
“Motivate”
“Motivate”
Measured language
Product-Service
Pastel
Better
“Mission success”
Very good
“Us”
Lovemark
Best STORY wins
Politics-is-life, the
rest is details
Bestsource
Send on QUESTS
Invite
HOT language
Gamechanging SOLUTION,
Thrilling EXPERIENCE,
DREAM come true,
LOVEMARK
Technicolor
Different
“Mission EXCELLENCE”
EXCELLENCE. ALWAYS.
“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)
EXCELLE
ALWAYS
THE.END
ONE WORD+
ONE WORD+
Drill more wells
R.F.A.
Accountability
Realism
Decentralization
Execution
Action bias
Most mistakes wins
6:15am
Energy
Enthusiasm
Do>Plan
Act>Think
Behavior>Attitude
Passion
ONE WORD+
5 min/5,000 miles
Women
Decency
Grace
Innovate or Die
Re-imagine
Fight irrelevance
Just Do It
Care (You Must)
Flowers (Say It With)
I’m sorry
Thank You
Insanely Great
Silence
2-cent candy
ONE WORD+
Emotion
Intuition
Sell
O.O.D.A.
Integrity
Weird
Appreciate
Celebrate
Respect
Listen
Wander
Calendar rules
Calendar doesn’t lie
“To don’t
Max priorities = 3
ONE WORD+
Gasp-worthy
Insanely great
Different>better
Impact>longevity
Dramatic Difference
Only ones do what we do
Smile
$798
7-7-7
Design rules
Beautiful Systems
450/8
VP S.O.U.B.
Women buy all
Women lead better
ONE WORD+
MBWA
Why?
PSF
Wow!
! (red)
Buy a Mirror
Know thyself
Invite
Quest
Adventure
Talent
Brand You
Lovemark
Experience
Dreamketing
ONE WORD+
Boomers-geezers own all
2.6/21
25
25
3,000,000,000
(900,000,000)
26 minutes
43 hours
Perception Is All There Is
Enthusiasm: The Ultimate Virus
EXCELLE
ALWAYS
For Starbucks …
The Cup
Challenge*
Tom Peters/1107.2006
*Potential Quotes for Cups
Enthusiasm!
The Ultimate
Virus!
Re-imagine!
Re-do!
Re-vise!
Re-vo-lu-tion!
“Passion!”
“Energy!”
“Enthusiasm!”
“Passion! Energy! Enthusiasm!”
"Enthusiasm! Enthusiasm! Enthusiasm!"
"Enthusiasm Moves Mountains!"
"Nothing Matches Enthusiasm as a 'Motivator'!"
“Technicolor Times Demand Technicolor Actions”
“Technicolor Times Demand Technicolor People”
“Wow. Now.”
“Re-imagine!”
“Re-imagine! Re-do! Re-vise! Re-vo-lu-tion!”
Excellence.
Always.
“No Less
Than
Excellence.
Ever.”
No Excellence.
no excuse.
"Respect!"
“Leaders ‘Do’ People. Period.”
“Credibility. Asset No. 1.”
“Tell the Truth.”
“Truth Wins.”
“Challenge. Challenge. Challenge.”
“Two Big Goals. Tops.”
“Focus. Your Calendar Never Lies”
“Good Story. Good Leader.”
“Best Story Wins.”
“Live the Story.”
“Change the World. Accept Nothing Less.”
"Dream!"
“Dream. The Only Worthwhile Reality.”
“Beware Those Who Agree With You”
“Seek Dissidents. Nurture Dissidents. Cherish Dissidents”
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
try it. Try it. Try it
ry it. Try it. Try it. Tr
t. Try it. Try it. Try it
ry it. Try it. Try it. Tr
t. Try it. Try it. try it
ry it. Try it. try it. Tr
t. Try it. Try it. Try it
iMplementation
… The “last 98%”
Do it.
Now.
start.
Now.
Most.
Relentless.
wins.
“Excellence!”
“Demand Excellence!”
“Demand Excellence. The Greatest
Gift.”
“Excellence, Life’s Gold Standard”
“Stop Talking! Start Doing!”
“Execute. Execute. Execute.”
“‘Good Execution’ Beats ‘Good
Strategy’”
“Agility Trumps Size”
"Women make the best bosses!"
“Women Rule. Believe It.”
"You must care!"
“Listen.”
“Ask. ‘Why?’”
distinct.
Or …
Extinct.
2007.
Self-reliance.
No option.
2007.
Excellence.
No option.
Excellence.
Not optional.
it’s a …
“brand you”
world.
“‘Me Too’ =
‘Me Dead’”
“‘Different’ beats ‘Better.’”
“‘Distinct’ or ‘Extinct.’”
“Innovate or Die”
“‘Me Too’ = ‘Me Dead’”
“Talent Time!”
“Best Talent Wins.”
“Best Roster Wins.
“Moderation Fails in Immoderate Times”
“Moderation
Fails in
Immoderate
Times”
“freaks win in
freaky times.”
Seek Dissidents.
Nurture Dissidents.
Cherish Dissidents.
“best
talent
wins.”
women = best leaders.
Women = biggest
market.
Women = control
wealth.
Women = rule.
Roir/return on
investment in
relationships
Respect =
magic.
“thank
you” =
magic.
“thank you”
= magic
potion #1.
EXCELLE
ALWAYS
Think!
vs.
do!
“We design intelligent strategies—
but they fall miles short of their for
one reason. Poor organizational
effectiveness which in turn leads to
a gaping ‘implementation deficit.’
Tom, I want you to get a handle on
the best thinking and best
practices from around the world.”
—Ron Daniel (1977*)
*TP/1977/first (?) Stanford Ph.D. thesis
studying implementation per se.
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”
1979-2006
Still missing
after all these
years …
“too
much talk,
too little
do”
TP/BW on BigCo Sin #1:
Think!
vs.
do!
“Never forget
implementation , boys.
In our work, it’s what I
call the ‘last 98
percent’ of the client
puzzle.”
—Al McDonald, former Managing
Director, McKinsey & Co, to a project team that included TP
The (Strange) Case of Peter Drucker &
Michael Porter vs. The “Non-linearists”
HERBERT SIMON. (Administrative Behavior.) JAMES
MARCH. KARL WEICK. (The Social Psychology of
Organizing.) EUGENE WEBB. Henry
MINTZBERG. (The Rise and Fall of Strategic Planning.)
JAMES UTTERBACK. THOMAS KUHN. (The
Structure of Scientific Revolutions.) CHARLES
LINDBLOM. Daniel goleman.
INNOVATION BIOGRAPHERS.* (*Transcontinental
Railroad, Electrification, Radio, Television, Containerization, DNA,
MOST POLITICAL
SCIENTISTS. SILICON VALLEY. Etc.
Computers, Military History, Etc.)
think!
“Non-linearist”: do!
“Linearist”:
Plan it!
“Non-linearist”: Try it!
“Linearist”:
“Linearist”:
hypothesize!
“Non-linearist”:
experiment!
failure =
unnecessary
“Linearist”:
“Non-linearist”:
failure = life
a>b*
“Non-linearist”: b>a**
“Linearist”:
*Attitude shapes behavior
**Behavior shapes attitude
deliberate!*
“Non-linearist”: relentless!**
“Linearist”:
* “Do it right the first time” (Hero: Phil Crosby)
**Never retreat (Hero: U.S. Grant)
“Linearist”:
logical!
“Non-linearist”:
passionate!
give me
genius!
“Non-linearist”: give me
luck!
“Linearist”:
spotless
academic
record!
“Non-linearist”: a.d.d.
“Linearist”:
measured
pace!
“Non-linearist”: Tempo!
Tempo! Tempo!
“Linearist”:
think! Plan!
(r.a.f.*)
“Non-linearist”: Try it!
Screw it up! Fix it!
Try it again! (r.f.a.**)
“Linearist”:
*Ready. Aim. Fire.
**ready. Fire. Aim. (Or, circa 2006: fire. Fire. Fire.)
Cheap Shot
minimize cost.
“Non-linearist”: maximize
revenue.
“Linearist”:
marketing
rules.
“Non-linearist”: sales
rules.
“Linearist”:
“Linearist”
Background:
planning, marketing &
finance.
“Non-linearist”
background:
sales & operations.
“Linearist”
likes: ideas.
“Non-linearist”
likes: people.
“Linearist”
likes: parts.
“Non-linearist”
likes: wholes.
“Linearist”
office: walls.
“Non-linearist”
office: none.
“Linearist”
style: meetings.
“Non-linearist”
style: m.b.w.a.*
*Managing by wandering around
“Linearist”
reads: michael porter.
Peter drucker.*
“Non-linearist”
reads: waterman &
peters. Tom clancy.**
*Michael & peter
**Bob & tom & tom
“Linearist”
reads: michael porter.
Peter drucker.
“Non-linearist”
reads: doesn’t
“Linearist”
drives: lincoln town
car. Ford explorer
(weekends).
“Non-linearist”
drives: bmw. Harleydavidson (weekends).
“Linearist”
preferred baseball
score: 1-0.
“Non-linearist”
preferred baseball
score: 11-9.
“Linearist”
preferred football
score: 7-0.
“Non-linearist”
preferred football
score: 41-38.
“Linearist”
criminal record:
none.
“Non-linearist”
criminal record:
disorderly conduct.
Chronic jaywalking.
do!
Addendum!
“The secret of
getting ahead
is getting
started.” —
Agatha Christie
“Action is the
foundational
key of all
success.”
—Picasso
Translating Picasso
“Doing something
is the key to
getting something
done.”
In Search of
—TP (Co-author,
Excellence, first “Basic”: “A BIAS FOR ACTION”)
“Intelligent people
can always come up
with intelligent
reasons to do
nothing.”
—Scott Simon
EXCELLE
ALWAYS
GE
(more or less)
:
The Sales122:
122 Ridiculously
Obvious Thoughts
About Selling Stuff
Tom Peters/0402.2006
This list was first prepared for GE Energy
sales & marketing people in January. It
started with a half-dozen items, and grew
like Topsy. Possibly, given its origins, it’s a
little tilted toward complex, engineeringbased sales. In any event, it makes a perfect
companion to “The Irreducibles209.” This,
too, is effectively a list of “irreducibles.”
Tom Peters
1. “Strategy” overrated, simply “doin’ stuff” underrated. See
Kelleher and Bossidy: “We have a ‘strategic plan,’ it’s called
doing things.”—Herb Kelleher. “Execution is a systematic
process of rigorously discussing hows and whats, tenaciously
following through, and ensuring accountability.” —Larry
Bossidy & Ram Charan/ Execution: The Discipline of Getting
Things Done. Action has its own logic—ask Genghis Khan,
Rommel, COL John Boyd, U.S. Grant, Patton, W.T. Sherman.
2. What are you personally great at? (Key word: “great.”) Play
to strengths! “Distinct or Extinct.” You should aim to be
“outrageously good”/B.I.W. at a niche area (or more).
3. Are you a “personality,” a de facto “brand” in the industry?
The Dr Phil of ...
4. Opportunism (with a little forethought) mostly wins.
(“Successful people are the ones who are good at Plan B.”)
5. Little starts can lead to big wins. Most true winners—think
search & Google—start as something small. Many big deals—
Disney & Pixar—could have been done as little-er deals if you’d
had the guts to jump before the value became obvious.
“Everyone lives
by selling
something.”
—Robert Louis Stevenson
6. Non-obvious targets have great potential. Among many
other things, everybody goes after the obvious ones. Also,
the “non-obvious” are often good Partners for technology
experiments.
7. The best relationships are often (usually?) not “top to
top”! (Often the best: hungry division GMs eager to make a
mark.)
8. IT’S RELATIONSHIPS, STUPID—DEEP AND FROM MULTIPLE
FUNCTIONS.
9. In any public-sector business, you must become an avid
student of “the politics,” the incentives and constraints,
mostly non-economic, facing all of the players. Politicians are
usually incredibly logical—if you (deeply!) understand the
matrix in which they exist.
10. Relationships from within our firm are as important—
often more important—as those from outside—again broad is
as important as deep. Allies—avid supporters!—within and
from non-obvious places may be more important than
relationships at the Client organization. Goal: an “insanely
unfair ‘market share’” of insiders’ time devoted to your
projects!
C(I)>C(X)
11. Interesting outsiders are essential to innovative proposal
and sales teams. An “exciting” sales-proposal team is as
important as a prestigious one.
12. Is the proposal-sales team weird enough—weirdos come
up with the most interesting, game-changer ideas. Period.
13. Lunch with at least one weirdo per month. (Goal: always
on the prowl for interesting new stuff.)
14. Gratuitous comment: Lunches with good friends are
typically a waste of (professional) time.
15. Don’t short-change (time, money, depth) the proposal
process. Miss one tiny nuance, one potential incentive that
“makes my day” for a key Client player—and watch the whole
gig be torpedoed.
16. “Sticking with it” sometimes pays, sometimes not—it
takes a lot of tries to forge the best path in. Sometimes you
never do, after a literal lifetime. (Ah, life.)
17. WOMEN ARE SIMPLY BETTER AT RELATIONSHIPS—don’t
get hung up—particularly in tech firms—on what industriescountries “women can’t do.” (Or some such bullshit.)
18. Work incessantly on your “story”—most economic value
springs from a good story (think Perrier)! In sensitive public
or quasi-public negotiations, a compelling story is of immense
value—politics is about the tension among competing stories.
(If you don’t believe me, ask Karl Rove or James Carville.)
(“Storytelling is the core of culture.” —Branded Nation: The
Marketing of Megachurch, College Inc., and Museumworld,
James Twitchell)
19. Call this 18A, or 18 repeat: Become a first-rate
Storyteller! (“A key – perhaps the key – to leadership is the
effective communication of a story.”—Howard Gardner,
Leading Minds: An Anatomy of Leadership)
20. Risk Assessment & Risk Management is more about
stories than advanced math—i.e., brilliant scenario
construction.
21. Good listeners are good sales people. Period.
22. Lousy listeners are lousy sales people. Period.
23. GREAT LISTENERS ARE GREAT SALES PEOPLE. (Listening
“skills” are hard to learn and subject to immense effort in
pursuit of Mastery. A virtuoso “listener” is as rare as a
virtuoso cello player.) (“If you don’t listen, you don’t sell
anything.”—Carolyn Marland/MD/Guardian Group)
24. Things that are funny to me (American) are often-mostly not
funny to those in other cultures. (Humor is as fine-edged as it
gets, and rarely travels.)
25. You don’t know Jack Squat about other peoples’ cultures—
especially if you are a typically myopic American. (Like me.)
26. Are you a great interviewer? It’s a make or break skill.
(Think Barbara Walters’ skill at extracting unwanted truths from
pros in persona-protection ... in front of 10s of millions of
people.
27. Are you a great (not merely “good”) presenter? Mastering
presentation skills is a life’s work—with stupendous payoff.
28. Work like hell on the Big 2: LISTENING/INTERVIEWING,
PRESENTING. These are “the essence of [sales] life”—and
usually picked-up in an amateurish fashion. Mistake! (Become a
“professional student” of these two areas, achieve Mastery.)
29. Are you good at flowers? Think: FLOWER POWER! (see Harvey
Mackay’s “Mackay 66”—what you should know about a Client;
e.g., birthdays & anniversaries.) (My “flowers budget” is out of
control. Hooray for me.)
30. You can’t do it all—be clear at what you are good at, bad at,
indifferent at. Hubris sucks.
FLOWER
POWER
31. The point is not to “prove yourself.” (That’s ego-talk.) Let
the best person present to the Client—perhaps a “lower level”
geek. (“Control freaks” get their just desserts in the long haul—
or sooner.)
32. The numbers will more or less take care of themselves over
the long haul—if the relationship/s is/are solid gold.
33. The Gold Standard in selling: INDISPENSABLE to the Client.
No other goal is worthy.
34. Never stop growing-broadening-deepening the relationship.
The key to “indispensability” is to get the Client more and more
… and more … and then more … imbedded in “our” web. Hence
the so-called “selling process” is only the first step!
35. USE THE WORD “WE” … CONSTANTLY & RELIGIOUSLY!
(E.g.: “We”—the Client & me—“are going to change the world
with this service.”)
36. Don’t waste your time on jerks—it’ll rarely work out in the
mid- to long-term.
37. Genius is walking away from lousy “scores” (deals)—and
accepting the attendant heat. Big Business is the premier home
to Big Egos overpaying by a factor of 2 to 22 with billion$$$$ at
stake. (Think Jerry Levin and AOL Time Warner.)
“If you don’t
listen,
you don’t sell
anything.”
—Carolyn Marland/
Managing Director/
Guardian Group
38. You haven’t a clue as to how this situation will actually play
out—be prepared to move fast in a different direction.
39. Keep your word.
40. KEEP YOUR WORD.
41. Underpromise (i.e., don’t over-promise; i.e., cut yourself a
little slack) even if it costs you business—winning is a long-term
affair. Over-promising is Sign #1 of a lack of integrity. You will
pay the piper.
42. There is such a thing as a “good loss”—if you’ve tested
something new and developed good relationships. A half-dozen
honorable, ingenious losses over a two-year period can pave the
way for a Big Victory in a New Space in year 3.
43. It’s a competitive world out there. New, innovative products
are harder to sell than old stand-bys. Nonetheless, you will be a
long-term star to the extent that you are willing to push the
harder-to-sell-at-the-moment Innovative Products that cement
long-term Client success (Indispensability!) —even if it means a
#s hit this quarter. PART OF YOUR JOB: TAKE CLIENTS ON AN
ADVENTURE THAT PUTS THEM AHEAD OF THE GAME CALLED
(GAMECHANGING—hopefully) COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE!
“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
44. Think “legacy”—what the hell is all this really about for you
and the world? (“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one
wild and precious life?”
—Mary Oliver)
45. THERE ARE NO “MODERATES” IN THE HISTORY BOOKS!
46. Keep it simple! (Damn it!) No matter how “sophisticated” the
product. If you can’t explain it in a phrase, a page, or to your 14year-old ... you haven’t got it right yet.
47. Know more than the next guy. Homework pays. (of course
it’s obvious—but in my work it is too often honored in the
breach.)
48. Regardless of project size, winning or losing invariably
hinges on a raft of “little stuff.” Little stuff is and always has
been everything!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!—or, “one man’s little stuff is
another man’s 7.6 Richter deal-breaker.”
49. In public settings in particular, face saving is all. When
something changes, allow the other guy to come out looking like
a winner, especially if he has lost. (Even if you must accept the
egg on your face—he will always remember you!)
50. Don’t hold grudges. (It is the ultimate in small mindedness—
and incredibly wasteful and ineffective. There’s always
tomorrow.)
51. IT’S ALWAYS “THE POLITICS”—wee private-sector deal or
giant public sector deal. (Every player, small or large, is angling
for something. Master the calculus of advantage.)
52. To beat the “turnover problem” in key Client posts amidst
long negotiations, invest outrageous amounts of time building a
wide & deep set of relationships with mid-level (& lower!!)
“plodding” “careerists.” The invisible careerists are the
bedrock upon which repeated success is built! (My “Capitol Hill
Axiom”: It’s the 24-year-old LA who in the end briefs the
Senator right before she goes to the Floor to vote.)
53. Speaking of “she”: Gender differences are Enormous—
dealing with a woman and dealing with a man are different
kettles of fish—you must become an A+ student of gender
differences. (E.g.: Men are typically more interested in the
short-term “score.” Women are more interested in the longterm consequences.)
54. “LITTLE PEOPLE” OFTEN HAVE BIG FRIENDS.
55. This is not war, damn it. All parties can win (or not lose,
anyway). And losing bidders can walk away from a deal with
increased respect for you and your team.
56. Never, ever dump on a competitor—the Tom Watson IBM
glory-days mantra.
57. Never forget the “Law of Cousins!” In developing nations
in particular, power brokers at all levels are at least cousins!
Consideration for a second cousin can pay off big time.
58. Speaking of “favors,” jail sucks.
59. Work hard beats work smart. (Mostly.)
60. REPEAT: HE/SHE WHO HAS THE MOST-BEST
RELATIONSHIPS WINS. RELATIONSHIPS ARE THE ESSENCE OF
THE WORK OF THE SALESPERSON. THE HARD ... AND LONG ...
WORK OF THE SALESPERSON.
61. Mano v mano “hardball” is seldom the answer—end runs
based and patient multi-level relationship building via deeperwider networks win.
62. If the deal is wired from below, truly wired, than the socalled “big negotiations” are essentially irrelevant.
63. If every quarter is a “little better” than the prior quarter—
then you are not taking any serious risks.
64. Phones beat email.
“Nothing is so
contagious as
enthusiasm.”
—Samuel Taylor Coleridge
65. A THREE-MINUTE CALL TODAY CAN AVOID A GAME-LOSER
OF A FIASCO NEXT MONTH. There was always a time when a
little thing could have been addressed that headed off a
subsequent big thing. As to avoiding that call, didn’t someone
say, “Pride goeth before the fall”?
66. Be hyper-organized about relationship management—you
are in the anthropology business. Study the great pols! Brilliant
NRM (network relationship management) is not accidental! It is
not catch-as-catch can. (Football analogies are cute—but deep
political understanding pays the private-school tuition.)
67. Obsess on ROIR (Return On Investment In Relationships).
68. “THANK YOU” NOTES: World’s highest-return investment!!
69. The way to anyone’s heart: Doing a nice thing for their kid.
(But, gawd, does this take a gentle touch.)
70. Scoring off other people is stupid. Winners are always in the
business of creating the maximum # of winners—among
adversaries at least as much as among “partners.”
71. Your colleagues’ successes are your successes. Period.
(Trust me, my greatest personal success—financially as well as
artistically—has been creating a bigger pond in which everyone
wins, even if my “market share” is down.)
72. Lend a helping hand, especially when you don’t have the
time. E.g. share relationships—the more you give away the
more you get in return (just like they say in church).
73. Listen up: “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 college
president. He was seriously interested in who you were and
what you had to say.” —Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot, Respect.
(I.e., Respect is Cool.)
74. Mentoring is a thrill—and the practical payoff is
enormous. The best mentors have the whole world working
its buns off for them!
75. Hire for enthusiasm. Promote for enthusiasm. Cherish
enthusiasm. REMOVE NON-ENTHUSIASTS—THEY ARE
CANCERS. (“Nothing is so contagious as enthusiasm.”—
Samuel Taylor Coleridge. “A man without a smiling face
must not open a shop.”—Chinese Proverb.)
76. IT’S ALWAYS YOUR PROBLEM—you sold it to them.
77. It’s never over: While there may be an excellent service
activity in your company, the “relationship” belongs to You!
Hence the “aftersales” “moments of truth” are at least as—if
not more than*--important to the Continuing Relationship as
the sale “transaction” itself. (*I vote for “more than.”) You’ll
get your biggest “points” with the Client for being an effective
after-the-fact go-between with your company.
78. Don’t get too hung up on “systems integration”—first &
foremost, the individual bits have got to work.
79. For God’s sake don’t over promise on “systems
integration”—it’s nigh on impossible to deliver.
80. On the other hand … winners clamber Up the Value-added
Ladder, and offer ever so much more than “mere” product. ALL
SUCCESSFUL SALES PEOPLE ARE IN THE “SOLUTIONS
BUSINESS”—no matter how jargony that may sound.
81. “Systems” / “Solutions” selling means grappling directly
with “culture change” in Client organizations. (“The business of
selling is not just about matching viable solutions to the
customers that require them. It’s equally about managing the
change process the customer will need to go through to
implement the solution and achieve the value promised by the
solution”—Jeff Thull, The Prime Solution: Close the Value Gap,
Increase Margins, and Win the Complex Sale)
82. Shit happens. That’s what they pay you for.
83. This is not a “GE” or “Ben & Jerry’s” sale—it is a Joe
Jones/Jane Jones sale. YOU ARE THE “BRAND” THE CLIENT
BUYS—especially over the long haul.
84. Duh: You make money, the company makes money—on
repeat business.
85. Master—yes, you—the “PR” Game. “Word of Mouth” is not
accidental! You want Word of Mouth? Make it happen!
86. GOAL #1: MAKE YOUR CLIENT A HERO—YOU ARE NOT THERE
TO GET CREDIT. (“Taking credit” is for egomaniacs. And losers.)
87. “Decent margins,” over the mid- to long-term, are a product
of better relationships, not better “negotiating skill.” (Mostly.)
“You can’t behave
in a calm, rational
manner. You’ve got
to be out there on
the lunatic fringe.”
—Jack Welch
88. In the immortal words of ex-GE Vice Chairman Larry
Bossidy, more or less, “Realism rocks.” (“Bullshit artist” and
“great salesperson,” contrary to conventional wisdom, are
Diametric Opposites. “Truthteller” and Great Salesperson is
more like it.)
89. Be the first to tell the Client bad news (e.g., slipped
delivery); his intelligence sources will tell him fast—you want to
be there first with your story and to enhance your rep as
Truthteller!
90. Work like hell to get a reputation as a valued industry
expert, to become an industry resource.
91. Work the Trade Association angle for all its worth—it may
take a decade to pay off—e.g., when you become an officer or
are on an important panel or testify Before Congress.
92. PAY YOUR DUES IN THE CLIENT ORG AND IN YOUR OWN
ORG!
93. It’s all bloody tactics.
94. You must ... LOVE .... the product! (Period.)
95. YOU MUST LOVE THE PRODUCT!
96. Don’t over-schedule. “Running late” is inexcusable at any
level of seniority; it is the ultimate mark of self-importance
mixed with contempt.
97. Women are better salespeople. (See Addendum.)
98. Women alone understand Women.
99. Actually, Women by and large understand Men better than
Men understand Men.
100.Women purchasers buy Stories and recommendations.
101. Women take longer to become Loyal purchasers, but then
stay Loyal.
102. Men buy Stats.
103. Men decide fast, but are fickle.
104. Men & Women are … VERY, VERY … Different.
105. Women buy most things. Consumer. Increasingly,
professional goods and services.
106. Women’s Market is Opportunity #1.
107. Boomers. Many, many. Lots & lots & lots of … $$$.
108. Boomers-Geezers are very different purchasers than those
in other categories.
Women Rock … as Salespersons (From Item #97.)
And the answers are?
“TAKE THIS QUICK QUIZ: Who manages more things at
once? Who puts more effort into their appearance?
Who usually takes care of the details? Who finds it
easier to meet new people? Who asks more questions
in a conversation? Who is a better listener? Who has
more interest in communication skills? Who is more
inclined to get involved? Who encourages harmony and
agreement? Who has better intuition? Who works
with a longer ‘to do’ list? Who enjoys a recap to the
day’s events? Who is better at keeping in touch with
others?”
Source: Selling Is a Woman’s Game: 15 Powerful Reasons Why
Women Can Outsell Men, Nicki Joy & Susan Kane-Benson
109. It takes time to get to know people. (DUH.)
110. The very idea of “efficiency” in relationship
development is ... STUPID.
111. MBWA (still) rules.
112. “Preparing the soil” is the “first 98 percent.” (Or
more.)
113. WORK THE PHONES!
114. Rule 5K-5M: 5K miles for a 5-Minute meeting often
makes sense. (Yes, often.) (Even with constrained travel
budgets.) (Thanks, super-agent Mark McCormack.)
115. Become a student! Study great salespeople!
(Including Presidents.) (“Natural” is a little bit true—but
then Naturals are always the ones who study hardest—
e.g., Jerry Rice.)
116. Become a student! Yes, you can study Relationship
Building. So, study …
117. Beware complexifiers and complicators. (Truly
“smart people” ... Simplify things.)
118. The smartest guy in the room rarely wins—alas,
he usually is aware he’s the smartest guy. (And
needn’t waste his time on that “soft relationship
crap.”)
119. Be kind. It works.
120. Be especially kind when there are screw-ups.
(There’s plenty of time later to Play the Great
Accountability Game.)
121. Presidents never tire of being treated like
Presidents.
122.
Luck matters.
Good luck!
EXCELLE
ALWAYS
THE.END
EXCELLENCE.
NEW VALUE
EQUATION.
NEW “C-levels”.
C
*Chief
O*
Revenue
Officer
C
*Chief e
O*
Xperience
Officer
C
O*
*Chief Festivals Officer
O*
C
*Chief
Design
Officer
C
*Chief Dream Merchant
C
O*
*Chief Storytelling Officer
C
*Chief Portal Impresario
C
O*
*Chief Conversations Officer
C
W
M*
*Chief WikiWorld Maniac
C
O*
*Chief Lovemark Officer
C
O*
*Chief Seduction Officer
C
O*
*Chief talent acquisition Officer
C
O*
*Chief freaks acquisition Officer
C
FAP
O*
*Chief freaks acquisition & Protection Officer
C
O*
*Chief quest-meister
C
O*
*Chief Thrills Officer
C
O*
*Chief WOW Officer
C
*Chief
O*
!
Officer
EXCELLE
ALWAYS
THE.END
EXCELLENCE.
PERSONAL.
EXCELLENCE.
ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW.
(ABOUT ME.)
A Few Biases You Should Know About
*I am not a macro-economist.
*I am wholly biased by 30 years (1970-2000) in Silicon Valley.
*I would rather work for eBay than BankAmerica.
*I believe that the Giant Merger Game is the single greatest
waste of energy in the world of business.
*Economies of scale are wildly over-rated.
*I find the entire notion of “career” to be disturbing and a little silly.
*I find the notion of “built to last” hilarious.
*Between 1965 and 1980 I turned 179.9 degrees from “Mr Big
Government” to “Mr ‘Cool’ Entrepreneur.” (Thank you,
Frank Perdue.)
*Joseph Schumpeter (“gales of creative destruction”) and F.A. Hayek
are my economist “gods”; JK Galbraith is my bête noir.
*“Innovation” is a wonderfully messy & chaotic process—not
amenable to “strategic plans.”
*I believe in Luck. (Fooled by Randomness—best book
I’ve ever read.)
A Few Biases You Should Know About
*I find most strategic plans (and strategic planners) to be amusing.
*I am not … Mike Porter.
*I am not … Peter Drucker.
*I am not … Jim Collins.
*I believe that the resilience of Giant Companies is
wildly-absurdly over-rated.
*I believe that America’s productivity edge comes from car
dealers more than Giant Cos.
*No “business model” is “the last word.”
*I am a Great Believer in “the basics”: product, people,
customers, execution. (Hence there is nothing very interesting,
save one thing, in In Search of Excellence.)
*I believe that EXCELLENCE is a legitimate aspiration for each
of us; and that any lesser aspiration is unconscionable.
Execution. (Discipline.)
Accountability.
Action, a Bias for. (S.A.V./R.F.A.)
Relentless.
Experimentation. (“Innovate or Die.” “He who makes …”)
Adaptability. (Plan B; “We eat …”)
“In the moment.” (Bertolucci.)
Senility.
Exuberance.
Fun.
Technicolor. Wow! (Extreme Language.)
Quest-Adventure.
By Invitation.
Talent. Roster. ($21M.)
Weird. (Hangin’ Out + Bottlenecks.)
D-squared/“Dramatic Difference.”
Up-Up-Up the “VA Ladder.”
Trifecta: Wow Projects-Brand You-PSF. (No Option.)
Design.
Women.
4-40/D.E.A.615. (60TIBs; IRR209.)
EXCELLENCE.
EXCELLENCE.
ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW.
“STRATEGY.”
Paul Allaire: “We are in a
brawl with no rules.”
TP: “There’s only one
possible answer—S.A.V.”*
*Screw Around Vigorously
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”
TP’s
“23Passions”
by date:
1942-2006
B>A* (R.F.A.) (*Behavior drives Attitude) … ’71-’07
Implementation = #1 … ’73-’77 (’07)
“Soft is Hard” (“Management Style”) … ’77-’79 (’07)
(Org) Structure>Strategy … ’77-’83 (’07)
Strategy-Structure+/ “McKinsey 7-S” Model ... ’77-’81
Action>Planning … ’74-’07
Mess = Reality ... ’77-’07
Skunkworks/Skunks (“Offline” Innovation/Innovators) … ’84-’91
MBWA … ’80-’85 (’07)
Excellence I … ’79-’84
Mid-size biz is cool … ’84-’89 (’07)
Customer service … ’84-’88
Innovation … ’87-’92
Free trade/Hayek … ’90-’92
New Org Models … ’92-’96
PSF … ’92-’06
WOW! (WOW Projects) … ’93-’06
Brand You … ’94-’00
Design … ’94-’06
Women (Markets-Leaders) … ’96-’06
Boomers (“insane” $$$$$) … ’05-’07
EXCELLENCE II … ’06-’07
Healthcare (Quality-Wellness-PatientCentric) … ’06-’07
Exuberance-Passion (Soft is Hard) … ’42-’06
Worth.
The.
hassle.
Why I Work/Stuff I Care About
*“Hard is soft. Soft is hard.” Social stuff, Emotional stuff =
Good stuff = The Right Stuff!
*Mess = Normal = Reality. Rationality = Delusional.
Non-linearity = Life 101. (Embrace it! Design accordingly!)
*Failure = Normal/Necessary/Good! “Reward excellent failure.
Punish mediocre success.” “Fail faster. Succeed sooner.”
“Fail. Forward. Fast.” Fail. Sam Walton Secret #1: Fail. Fast.
*Do > Think. Act > Talk. Action bias! RELENTLESS
EXPERIMENTATION! R.F.A./Ready. Fire. Aim.
S.A.V./Screw Around Vigorously.
*Decentralization = Holy writ = More independent tries.
*Success for Mortals: Indirection. SkunkWorks. End Runs.
Parallel Universe. 4F/Find a Fellow Freak Faraway.
Demos. Heros. Stories.
*The “Missing 98%”: Implementation-Execution.
*Strategic planning, limits thereto. Severe.
*Pitiful performance of Huge Companies. Needed: C.D.O./
Chief Destruction Officer.
*Severe limits to scale advantage. Mega-mergers = Stupid.
*“Built to last.” Why??? Instead: Built to change the world.
*People First! People Power! Best “Roster” Wins. HR (should)
rule! Leaders “DO” People! Respect-Appreciation Rules!
*Freaks for Freaky Times!
Why I Work/Stuff I Care About
*WOMEN’S WORLD!/WOMENOMICS! #1 MARKET! WEALTH/ALL!
LEADERS/BETTER! (Also: Boomers/Geezers/Many/Money.)
*Aesthetics! Beauty! Grace! (Design primacy.)
*MBWA! (Managing By Wandering Around.)
*Basics Rule: Don’t over-complicate. (Product, People, Action …)
*Educate for Risk-taking, Creativity, Independence.
*B-schools suck. Teach all … except what’s important.
D-School = Cool.
*Healthcare’s Big Three: Quality. Prevention. Wellness.
*R>C. (Adding Revenue > Cutting cost.) Help Wanted: C.R.O./
Chief Revenue Officer.
*S>M (Selling > Marketing.)
SELL! SELL! SELL! SELL!
*Free markets work! Free trade works! Rise of India-China =
Good thing. Respond with Excellent Performance: Add “insane”
amounts of value! Become a “Lovemark”!!
*Brand You. Self-reliance!! Mastery !! Liberation!!
*Survival = PSF/Professional Service Firm “mindset.” Goal #1:
Enable clients to become successful beyond their dreams!
*Fun! (“Cool” is Cool.)
*Service-obsessed!/Experience-obsessed! (Object: “Raving fans.”)
*PASSION-EXUBERANCE-ENTHUSIASM.
*“Hot” Language! WOW! Insanely great!
*EXCELLENCE. ALWAYS.
TOM PETERS.
THE “DAMN ITS.”
To The Mat:
The “5 Damn Its”
Women.
PSF.
Brand you.
R.f.a.
EXCELLENCE. ALWAYS.
M.I.A.
Action! *
Implementation! **
The Work Itself! ***
*R.F.A.
**Execution
***WOW Projects!
“Never forget
implementation
boys. In our work it’s
what I call the
‘missing 98
percent’ of the client
puzzle.”
—Al McDonald
“The first 90% of a
project takes 90% of
the time. The last 10%
takes the other 90% of
the time.”
—Richard Templar,
The Rules of Management
TOM PETERS.
THE DEAL.
Revolution-Transformation.
(No long runs on Broadway-Senility.)
“Soft”>“Hard.”
(Culture or Bust.)
Execution-Action.
(Do>Think.)
Clean Sheet of Paper.
(Web2.0, Transparency, New Org Form—Itinerant Potential Machines.)
PSF-Brand You-Wow Projects.
Up-Up-Up the VA Ladder.
(Gamechanging Solutions-Eyepopping Experiences-Dream Merchants-Lovemarks.)
Weird.
(Innovation “Easy.”)
Energy-Enthusiasm-Relentlessness.
Excellence. Always.
EXCELLE
ALWAYS
Tom’s
60TIBs*
*TIB = This I Believe
Sixty for Sixty: Tom’s 60TIBs
The architect Bill Caudill was a contrarian. He pioneered the
idea of working intimately with clients to create spaces that
met their needs; this flew in the face of conventional wisdom,
which held that the architect was pure artist, barely
deigning to make client contact. Caudill’s approach was
wildly successful—so much so that today it’s become
conventional wisdom.
Over the years Bill jotted notes on this and that, and began to
organize them for his children. The title of his musings: This I
Believe. After Caudill’s death, his colleagues collected the
notes and published them. That is, The TIBs of Bill Caudill.
A sixtieth birthday is a monumental occasion, and I chose,
among other things, to give myself a present to mark the/my
date in November 2002. I sat on a hill overlooking my farm
in Vermont, and scribbled down 60 thoughts, one for each
year, that seemed to capture my professional and, to
some extent, my personal journey. Those thoughts—Tom’s
60TIBs—herewith.
1. TECHNICOLOR RULES!
(Passion Moves Mountains!)
2. Audacity Matters!
3. Revolution Now!
4. Question Authority! (& Hire
Disrespectful People.)
5. Disorganization Wins! (LOVE
THE MESS!)
6. Think 3M: Markets Matter Most. ONLY EXTREME
COMPETITION STAVES OFF STALENESS. (You can
take the boy out of Silicon Valley, but you can’t take
Silicon Valley out of the boy!)
7. Three Hearty Cheers for Weirdos. (Bill Gates, Steve
Jobs, Larry Ellison, Scott McNealy, Craig Venter
et al.)
8. Message 2003: Technology Change (Info-sciences,
Biosciences) Is in Its Infancy! (WE AIN’T SEEN
NOTHIN’ YET!)
9. Everything Is Up For Grabs! Volatility Is Thy Name!
(Forever & Ever. Amen.) RE-INVENT … OR DIE!
10. Big Sucks. (Mostly.) (VERY Mostly.)
11. “Permanence” Is a Snare & a Delusion.
(Forget “Built to Last.” It’s Yesterday’s
Idea.)
12. Kaizen” (Continuous Improvement) Is …
Dangerous.
13. DESTRUCTION RULES!
14. Forget It! (“Learning” = Easy. “Forgetting” =
Nigh on Impossible.)
15. Innovation Is Easy: Hang Out with Freaks.
(Employees, Board Members, Customers,
Suppliers, Alliance Partners, Consultants.)
16. Boring Begets Boring. (Cool Begets Cool.)
17. Think “Portfolio.” (We’re All V.C.s.)
18. Perception Is All There Is. (“Insiders” …
ALWAYS … overestimate the Radicalism of
What They’re Up To.)
19. Action … ALWAYS … Takes Precedence.
Think: R.F!A./Ready. Fire! Aim. (REWARD
SUCCESS. REWARD FAILURE. PUNISH …
INACTION.)
20. He Who Makes & Tests the Quickest &
Coolest Prototypes Reigns!
21. Haste Makes Waste. (SO GO WASTE!)
22. Screw-ups are … the … Mark of Excellence.
(“Do It Right the First Time” Is a Very Stupid
Idea.)
23. Play Hard! Play Now! (Cherish Play!)
24. TALENT TIME! (He/She Who Has the Best
“Roster” Rules!)
25. Re-do Education. Totally. (FOSTER
CREATIVITY … NOT UNIFORMITY.) (THE
NOISIEST CLASSROOM WINS.)
26. Diversity’s Hour Is Now!
27. SHE … Is the Best Leader!
28. MARKETING MANTRA: Embrace the “BIG THREE”
Demographics. (1) SHE … is the Customer. (For
everything.) (2) Rapidly Aging Boomers Have …
ALL THE MONEY. (3) Green … Matters.
(TRILLIONS OF $$$$$ Are at Stake.) (NOBODY …
Gets It.) (Mere “Programs” Will Not Suffice.)
29. Re-boot Healthcare. (UNDERSTATEMENT.)
30. WHAT ARE WE SELLING? “Experiences” &
“Solutions” > “Quality” & “Satisfaction.” (The
Traditional Value-added Equation Is Being Set on
Its Ear.)
31. DESIGN = New Seat of the Soul.
32. Branding Is for … EVERYONE. He Who Has
the … BEST STORY … Takes Home the
Marbles.
33. DRAMATIC DIFFERENCE = Only Difference.
34. WORDS/Language Matters … a Lot. (E.g.:
Three Hearty Cheers for “Wow”!)
35. WHAT MATTERS IS STUFF THAT MATTERS.
(Query #1: “Are You Proud of It?”)
36. eALL. (IS/IT: Half-way = No Way.)
37. DREAM … Big! DREAM … Enormous.
DREAM … Gargantuan. (These Are XXXL
Times.)
38. THINK MIKE! (Michelangelo: “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.”)
39. There Is Only … ONE BIG ISSUE. Crossfunctional Communication.
40. Stop Doing Dumb Shit. (SYSTEMATIZE THE
PROCESS OF “UN-DUMBING.”)
41. Beautiful Systems Are … BEAUTIFUL.
42. The … WHITE-COLLAR REVOLUTION … Will
Devour Everything in Its Path.
43. Take Charge of Your Destiny! BrandYou
Moment! DISTINCT … OR EXTINCT!
44. “Powerlessness” Is a State of Mind! Think:
King. Gandhi. De Gaulle.
45. Pursue Adventure … in Every Task.
46. EXCELLENCE … Is a State of Mind.
(Excellence Takes a Minute.) (No Bull.)
47. SHOW UP! (If You Care, You’re There.)
48. YOUR CALENDAR KNOWS ALL. (You =
Calendar.) (Mind Your “TO DON’T” List.)
49. LIFE IS SALES. (The Rest Is Details.)
50. Boss Mantra #1: “I DON’T KNOW.” (“I Don’t
Know” = Permission to Explore.)
51. Management Role 1: GET OUT OF THE WAY.
(Clear the Way.) (“Manager” = Hurdle
Removal Professional.)
52. Epitaph from Hell: “He Woulda Done Some
Truly Cool Stuff … But His Boss Wouldn’t
Let Him.”
53. Change Takes However Long You Think It
Takes. (Eschew … “Incrementalism.”)
54. Respect! (Rule 1: Don’t Belittle!)
55. “Thank You” Trumps All!
56. Integrity Matters! Integrity = Credibility.
(Dennis K. Is a Jerk.)
57. SOFT IS HARD. HARD IS SOFT. (Numbers
Are Soft. People Are Not.)
58. Try Sunny! (Sunny Begets Sunny.
Gloomy Begets Gloomy.)
59. DISPENSE ENTHUSIASM!
60. FUN …Is Not a 4-Letter Word. So, too …
JOY. (And … GRACE.)
EXCELLE
ALWAYS
Tom Peters’
to-mA-to
to-mah-to
New Delhi. Thirteen September 2004. I awoke,
jetlagged and sweaty, at 3A.M. I’d had a
nightmare. Stark realism. I was, as usual,
accused of overstatement and a few (or more)
too many exclamation marks (!!!!!). Only this
time I’d acceded to “They.” The “They” who
believe in “The Plan” and “Built to Last” and
“Continuous Improvement” and “Quiet,
Humble Leaders.” No! No! I had failed, in my
dream, to live up to my Fervent Beliefs! This
must not pass! In a sweat, fearful that the time
would not come ‘round again, I turned on the
light, picked up a pad of paper, and began to
scribble frantically. Herewith the result.
Tom’s Re-imagine Manifesto!
They say … my (Tom) language is extreme.
I say … the times are extreme.
They say I’m extreme.
I say I’m a realist.
They say I demand too much.
I say they accept mediocrity & continuous improvement
too readily.
They say “We can’t handle this much change.”
I say “Your job and career are in jeopardy; what other
options do you have?”
They say Brand You is not for everyone.
I say the alternative is unemployment.
They say “What’s wrong with a ‘good product’?”
I say Wal*Mart or China or both are about to eat your
lunch. Why can’t you provide instead a Fabulous
Experience?
Tom’s Re-imagine Manifesto!
They say “Take a deep breath. Be calm.”
I say “Tell it to Wal*Mart. Tell it to China. Tell it
to India. Tell it to Dell. Tell it to Microsoft.”
They say the Web is a “useful tool.”
I say the Web changes everything. Now.
They say “We need an Initiative.”
I say “We need a Dream. And Dreamers.”
They say Great Design is “nice.”
I say Great Design is “necessary.”
They say I “overplay” the “women’s thing.”
I say the share of Women in Senior Leadership
Positions is a Waste and a Disgrace and a
Strategic Marketing Error.
Tom’s Re-imagine Manifesto!
They say the Women’s Market Opportunity I harp on is “doubtless
important.”
I say 9 out of 10, make that 99 out of 100, companies aren’t
within striking distance of accurately estimating the potential
of the Women’s Market … let alone exploiting it.
They say the boomer-geezer market is also “doubtless important.”
I say the boomer-geezer market amounts to a Redefining
Moment.
They say we need a “project” to exploit the women-boomer-geezer market.
I say we need Total Strategic Realignment to exploit the
Women-Boomer-Geezer Opportunity.
They say “Wow” is “typical Tom.”
I say “WOW” is a Minimum Survival Requirement.
They say “effective governance” is important.
I say bold-brash Boards that are representative of the market
served—more than a token woman or two and an empty seat
for the “forthcoming Hispanic”—are an Imperative. Now.
They say
“Better.”
I say
“Different!”
Tom’s Re-imagine Manifesto!
They say “Plan it.”
I say “DO IT.”
They say “We need more steady, loyal employees.”
I say “WE NEED MORE FREAKS WHO ROUTINELY TELL
THOSE ‘IN CHARGE’ TO TAKE A FLYING LEAP …
BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE.”
They say “We need Good People.”
I say “We need Quirky Talent.”
They say “We like people who, with steely determination, say,
“I can make it better.’”
I say “I love people who, with a certain maniacal gleam
in their eye, perhaps even a giggle, say, ‘I can turn
the world upside down. Watch me!’”
They say “We must speed things up.”
I say “We must Radically change the Corporate
Metabolism until Insane Urgency becomes
a Sacrament.”
Tom’s Re-imagine Manifesto!
They say, “Sure, we need ‘Change.’”
I say we need “REVOLUTION NOW.”
They say (acknowledge), “Okay, we need revolution.”
I say,
“REVOLUTION.”
They say “fast follower.”
I say “battered and bruised leader.”
They say “Conglomerate & Imitate!”
I say “Create & Innovate!”
They say “Market share.”
I say “Market CREATION.”
They say “Improve & Maintain.”
I say “DESTROY & RE-IMAGINE.”
Tom’s Re-imagine Manifesto!
They say “We like words such as ‘calm’ … ‘certainty’ … ‘is.’”
I say “I like words/phrases such as ‘turbulent’
‘opportunity’ … ‘might be’.”
They vote for Republicans and Democrats.
I vote for Independents and Libertarians.
They say “Normal.”
I say “Weird.”
They say “Happy balance.”
I say “Creative Tension.”
They say they favor a “team” that works & lives in “harmony.”
I say “give me a raucous brawl among the most
creative people imaginable.”
They say “Peace, brother.”
I say “Bruise my feelings. Flatten my ego.
SAVE MY JOB.”
Tom’s Re-imagine Manifesto!
They say “Vanilla.”
I say “Cherry Garcia.”
They say “Basic Black.”
I say “TECHNICOLOR RULES!”
They say “Branding is for the likes of Nike.”
I say “Branding is for Everyone & Anyone with the
Passion & Tenacity to foist their Wonderful & Weird
Point of View on the world … and the New World’s
(read: Web’s) power allows-encourages such “silly”
(until recently) visions-of-ubiquity to become reality,
perhaps overnight.”
They say we need “happy customers.”
I say “Give me pushy, needy, nasty, provocative
customers who will drag me down Innovation
Boulevard.”
They say they want to partner with “best of breed.”
I say “Give me Coolest of Breed.”
Tom’s Re-imagine Manifesto!
They say we need “supply chain harmony.”
I say we need “supply chain Innovation.”
They say “We seek Harvard MBAs.”
I say I seek Certificate-free “PhDs” from the School
of Hard Knocks.
They say they want recruits with a “spotless records.”
I say “the Spots are what matter most.”
They say “Integrity is important.”
I say “Tell the Unvarnished Truth, All the Time …
or take a Long Hike.”
They read Jim Collins and grok on “quiet, humble leaders.”
I say “Give me the Bold, the Brash, the Brassy, the
Egocentric Dreamers who, like Steve Jobs,
‘Dent the Universe.’”
They say
“Improve.”
I say
“Re-imagine!”
Tom’s Re-imagine Manifesto!
They say they need a “vision” born of McKinsey.
I say we need a “Grandiose Dream” born of a Passionate
& Intemperate Belief that the world can be a different,
better place.
They say healthcare, our biggest industry, is “a mess.”
I say our hospitals, which kill over 100,000 patients a
year, are part of a system that is “a disgrace.”
They say “obesity is a problem” … “lose some weight.”
I say Re-imagine the entire healthcare system …
NOW … to focus on Prevention & Wellness.
They say “no child left behind.”
I say “education” is leaving ALL our children behind,
as it is totally mis-aligned to deal with tomorrow’s
(this afternoon’s) uncertain, ambiguous, creativitydriven economy.
Tom’s Re-imagine Manifesto!
They say, “Of course we believe in marketing.”
I say “Is the CMO [Chief Marketing Officer] on the Board
of Directors?”
They say “Of course we believe in marketing.”
I say “Has your customer data base won numerous major industry awards?”
They say “Of course we believe in marketing.”
I say “Is your Web site Sooooo Cool, Sooooo Fresh, Sooooo
Friendly to Use that it gives you goose pimples just to e-visit,
even though you’ve seen it 1000 times?”
They say “Of course we believe in marketing.”
I say “How many in-depth customer visits did the CEO make
last month?”
They say “Yes, the ‘Women’s thing’ is important.”
I say “Do women hold at least 1/3rd of your Board seats?”
They say “We’re coming around on the design bit.”
I say “Is, as at Braun, your Chief Design Officer on the Board
of Directors?”
Tom’ Re-imagine Manifesto!
They say “Of course we think the ‘experiences thing’ is
important.”
I say “Is there an ‘EVP Experiences’?”
They say “Of course innovation is important.”
I say “Is your percentage of revenue devoted to R&D
at least 1.5 (2.0? 2.5?) times the industry average?”
They say “Of course we believe in IS/IT.”
I say “Is the CIO on the Board of Directors?” (Only 5% of
Fortune500 CIOs are on the Board. One example:
Wal*Mart.)
They say “Of course we believe in IS/IT.”
I say “How many members of your Board are under 35
years old?”
They say “We believe in having a ‘flat organization.’”
I say “Is your headquarters in a Tower?”
Tom’s Re-imagine Manifesto!
They say we need to “bring effectiveness to the supply chain.”
I say we need an IS/IT/Best Sourcing revolution based
on nothing less than an Entirely Original Vision of what
organizations are and how they interact.
They say “Globalization is a bumpy road.”
I say India and China and Asia in general are within two
decades of running the show: Get ready or get
trounced.
They say “defense” and “consolidation” are musts for a global
game.
I say encourage Offense, nurture a Generation (or 10) of
Entrepreneurs, cherish Creativity & Risk-taking from
primary school onwards … and don’t expect to be
saved by a bunch of bulky, retro behemoth commanded
by a phalanx of Old White Guys who think 30 minutes a
day on the corporate treadmill and 27 holes on the
links are a fit defense against Revolution.
Tom’s Re-imagine Manifesto!
They say “Get an MBA.”
I say “Get an MFA.”
They say “If it can’t be precisely measured then it isn’t real.” (And I
suppose if it can be measured it is real? Think Enron? Adelphia?
WorldCom?)
I say “If it can be precisely measured it isn’t real.” (Think
Age of Intangibles & Relationships.) (Think: “He knew
the price of everything and the value of nothing.”)
They say “Rationality is the Bedrock of Modern Society.”
I say “Irrationality [irrational exuberance?] is the Mother
of all True Entrepreneurial Pilgrimages.”
They say “Order is the necessary precursor to measured,
sustainable success.”
I say “Dis-order is the precursor to Opportunistic Sorties,
Market Creation, Quantum Leaps, and Entrepreneurial
Adventure.
Tom’s Re-imagine Manifesto!
They say “To get anywhere, you have to know exactly where the
hell you’re headed.”
I say “If you know precisely where you’re headed and
exactly how you’re gonna get there, then you clearly
suffer from Advanced Shrivelus Imaginationus.”
(This disease is fatal.)
They say “Employees need Well-defined Structure.”
I say “Talent should be encouraged to embark on Quests
to the Unknown.”
They say “I’m here to maximize shareholder value.”
I say “I’m here to inflame each & every member of my
Awesome Staff to embark with Vigor & Determination
& Passion & Enthusiasm on a Quest of Monumental
Consequence.” (And if I come even close to succeeding,
it will, in fact, dramatically up the odds of Thriving
Amidst Today’s Chaos—and creating untold shareholder
value in the process.)
Tom’s Re-imagine Manifesto!
They say “men.”
I say “WOMEN.”
They say Diversity is a “good thing.”
I say Diversity is a Fresh Breath of Creative Air … Absolutely
Necessary for Economic Salvation in perilous times.
They say “Wait your turn, honor those who have marched these corridors
before you.”
I say Get Off Your Butt & Go for the Gold … TODAY … or sign
the transfer papers willing your job in perpetuity to a
Chinese or Indian who Gives a Shit and Gets Up
(VERY) Early and works Saturdays & Sundays.
They say “offshoring” is a “blight.”
I say the Earth proved not to be the center of the Solar
System … and the USA is not the epicenter-in-perpetuity
of the Earth … and that we had best learn … NOW … to
prosper and take pleasure in a dynamic, exciting, creative,
multi-polar economic environment. (Damn it.)
Tom’s Re-imagine Manifesto!
They say “It’s a fright.”
I say “It’s a Helluva Ride.”
They say it’s “daunting.”
I say it’s “a bronco-bustin’ day at the rodeo.”
They say “Life is a marathon; husband your strength.”
I say “Life is a sprint. Begin planning your World-beating
Me Inc. start-up … TODAY.”
They say lifetime employment was a boon.
I say lifetime employment was Indentured Servitude,
modern-day Slavery.
They say “safety net.”
I say “I am my safety net; give me some version of the
‘Ownership Society.’”
They say “zero defects.”
I say “A day without a screwup or two is a day pissed
away.”
Tom’s Re-imagine Manifesto!
They say “Think about it.”
I say “Try it.”
They say “Plan it.”
I say “Test it.”
They say “continuous improvement.”
I say “Bold Leaps.”
They say “Keep on Improvin’.”
I say “Keep on Leapin’.”
They say “Built to last.”
I say “Built to Soar. We’re all dead in the long run …
live your Insane Fantasy. Devil take the hindmost.”
They (Jim Collins) say “Walgreens is Cool.”
I say “I love Larry Ellison.” (Oracle rules … at least
for the next ten minutes.)
Tom’s Re-imagine Manifesto!
They say “Play the odds.”
I say “Reward excellent failures. Punish mediocre
successes.” (Thanks, Phil Daniels.)
They say “Eighty-hour weeks will kill you.”
I say “Work 35-hour weeks, and the Chinese will
kill you.”
They say “Install cost controls with teeth.”
I say “Ha. Ha. Ha. Blow Up the existing enterprise and
start with a Clean Sheet of Paper.”
They say “Install cost controls with teeth.”
I say “Grow the Top Line.”
They say “Radical change takes a decade.”
I say “Radical change takes a Minute.” (See AA.)
They say “Times are changing.”
I say “Everything has already changed. Tomorrow is the
First Day of Your Revolution … or you’re Toast.”
Tom’s Re-imagine Manifesto!
They say “We can’t all be Anita Roddick or Maxine Clark or Stan
Shih or Les Wexner or Jerry Yang.”
I say “Why not?”
They say “We can’t all be Revolutionaries.”
I say “Why not?”
They say “We can’t all be a Brand.”
I say “Why not?”
They say “Beware the Hype.”
I say “Been to China lately? Visited Infosys in
Bangalore lately?”
They say this is just a Rant.
I say this is just Reality.
They say “The man is not nice.”
I say “The times are not forgiving.”