Note: This is the LONG version
of my presentation [which will
be posted as such at my
website]. Not only will it be cut
by as much as 80%, but also it
will doubtless be re-arranged.
Nonetheless, if this is somehow
helpful, I am delighted. Until
tomorrow, Tom
#1
Max Kraus: My best “walking around” story took place many years ago when I was
running Electro-Nite Company. We sold some equipment to a Chinese steel mill that
would help improve their steel quality. This was just after the opening of trade with
China, and we had to plow through massive red tape with the U.S. government, get
the letter of credit, etc. But we finally made the shipment; it went by air, and we
waited to hear if all was well. Unfortunately the next word, in those days by
teletype, was that it did not work.
As a believer in “walking around” sales as well as management [remember HewlettPackard’s MBWA/Managing By Wandering Around], and also intrigued by the
possibility of a trip to China, I sent a reply saying that we guaranteed our
equipment and that if they would provide a visa for me and an engineer, we would
come to Wuhan at our expense to see the problem. In those days visas were almost
nonexistent, but within twenty-four hours we had a reply accepting our offer. Again,
paperwork took a couple of weeks, but off to China we went.
We were met at the Beijing airport, escorted to our hotel, and offered a car, guide,
and interpreter for three days to see the Wall, Summer Palace, etc.—and then flown
to Wuhan. The steel mill was massive, with over 100,000 workers, and of course a
crowd gathered to see us work on the equipment.
Much to my dismay and embarrassment, the problem turned out to be two long
screws that were causing a short circuit. I removed the screws and told the group
that while I was embarrassed, I hoped that I had demonstrated our commitment to
service and satisfaction. We stayed a week to work with them as they put the
equipment in service.
I could go on with more stories of our visit. But the bottom line was that I made
several subsequent trips, enjoyed good business and many “Chinese Banquets” for
a number of years. “Walking around” does work!
#2
Conrad
Hilton …
Conrad Hilton, at a gala
celebrating his career,
“What was the
most important lesson
you’ve learned in you
long and distinguished
career?” His immediate
was asked,
answer …
“remember
to tuck the
shower curtain
inside the
bathtub”
#3
NM, DDE
& Ben …
“Allied commands depend
on mutual confidence
[and this confidence]
is gained, above all
through the development
of friendships.”
—General D.D. Eisenhower,
Armchair General* (05.08)
*“Perhaps his most outstanding ability [at West Point]
was the ease with which he made friends and earned the
trust of fellow cadets who came from widely varied
backgrounds; it was a quality that would pay great
dividends during his future coalition command
Give
good
tea!
“The capacity to develop close and
enduring relationships is the mark of
a leader. Unfortunately, many leaders
of major companies believe their job
is to create the strategy, organization
structure and organizational
processes—then they just delegate
the work to be done, remaining aloof
from the people doing
the work.” —Bill George, Authentic Leadership
#4
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!
“Excellence …
can be obtained if you:
... care more than others think
is wise;
... risk more than others think
is safe;
... dream more than others think
is practical;
... expect more than others think
is possible.”
Source: Anon. (Posted @ tompeters.com by K.Sriram, November 27, 2006 1:17 AM)
“Strive for
Excellence.
Ignore
success.”
—Bill Young, race car
driver (courtesy Andrew Sullivan)
"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)
#5
14,000
20,000
14,000/eBay
20,000/Amazon
30/Craigslist*
*Lockheed “Skunk Works,” 125 vs. 5,000(??)
“Let us create such
a building that
future generations
will take us for
lunatics.”
—the church hierarchs at Seville
“You know, we can’t
get out of life alive! We
can either die in the
bleachers or die on the
field. We might as well
come down on the field
and go for it!” —Les Brown
(fromTimeless Wisdom, compiled by Gary Fenchuk)
BLAME NOBODY.
EXPECT NOTHING.
DO SOMETHING.
Source: Locker room sign posted by
football coach Bill Parcells
“You miss
100% of
the shots you
never take.”
—Wayne Gretzky
LONG
Tom Peters’
Excellence.
Always.
Philips Healthcare/MegaMeeting
2010 Sales/Service Kickoff
16 February/WDW Dolphin Hotel
(PP available to download at tompeters.com)
#6
MBWA
Sunday “Drive By”: The CEO of a very successful mid-sized
bank, in the Mid-west, attended a seminar of mine in
Northern California in the mid-80s—but I remember the
following as if it were yesterday. I’ve forgotten the specific
context, but I recall him saying to me, pretty much word
“Tom let me tell you the
definition of a good lending officer.
After church on Sunday, on the way
home with his family, he takes a
little detour to drive by the factory
he just lent money to. Doesn’t go in
or any such thing, just drives by and
takes a look.”
for word,
Excellence1982: The Bedrock “Eight Basics”
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
A Bias for Action
Close to the Customer
Autonomy and Entrepreneurship
Productivity Through People
Hands On, Value-Driven
Stick to the Knitting
Simple Form, Lean Staff
Simultaneous Loose-Tight
Properties”
“Breakthrough” 82*
People!
Customers!
Action!
Values!
*In Search of Excellence
Hard Is Soft
Soft Is Hard
Hard Is Soft (Plans, #s)
Soft Is Hard (people,
customers, values,
relationships)
“I can’t tell you how many times we
passed up hotshots for guys we
thought were better people, and
watched our guys do a lot better than
the big names, not just in the
classroom, but on the field—and,
naturally, after they graduated, too.
Again and again, the blue chips faded
out, and our little up-and-comers
clawed their way to all-conference
and All-America teams.” —Bo Schembechler
(and John Bacon), “Recruit for Character,”
Bo’s Lasting Lessons
ExIn*: 1982-2002/Forbes.com
DJIA: $10,000 yields $85,000
EI: $10,000 yields $140,050
*Excellence Index/Basket of 32 publicly traded stocks
#7
… no less than
Cathedrals
in which the full and
awesome power of the
Imagination and Spirit and
native Entrepreneurial flair
of diverse individuals is
unleashed in passionate
pursuit of … Excellence.
“We are a
‘Life Success’
Company.”
Dave Liniger, founder, RE/MAX
“You have to
treat your
employees like
customers.”
—Herb Kelleher,
upon being asked his “secret to success”
Source: Joe Nocera, NYT, “Parting Words of an Airline Pioneer,”
on the occasion of Herb Kelleher’s retirement after 37 years
at Southwest Airlines (SWA’s pilots union took out a full-page
ad in USA Today thanking HK for all he had done; across the
way in Dallas American Airlines’ pilots were picketing the
Annual Meeting)
Organizations exist
to serve. Period.
Leaders live to
serve. Period.
Leadership
is a sacred
trust.*
*President, classroom teacher, CEO, shop foreman
“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
The Dream Manager
—Matthew Kelly
“An organization can only become the-best-version-of-itself to
the extent that the people who drive that organization are
striving to become better-versions-of-themselves.” “A
company’s purpose is to become the-best-version-of-itself. The
What is an employee’s purpose?
Most would say, ‘to help the company
achieve its purpose’—but they would be
wrong. That is certainly part of the
employee’s role, but an employee’s
primary purpose is to become the-bestversion-of-himself or –herself. … When a
question is:
company forgets that it exists to serve customers, it quickly
Our employees are our first
customers, and our most important customers.”
goes out of business.
“Business has to give people enriching,
or it's
simply not
worth
doing.”
rewarding lives …
—Richard Branson
Thank you Peter Drucker/AIM
Our goal is to serve our customers brilliantly
and profitably over the long haul.
Serving our customers brilliantly and profitably
over the long haul is a product of brilliantly
serving, over the long haul, the people who
serve the customer.
Hence, our job as leaders—the alpha and the
omega and everything in between—is abetting
the sustained growth and success and
engagement and enthusiasm and commitment
to Excellence of those, one at a time, who
directly or indirectly serve the ultimate
customer.
Source: The Little BIG Things: 163 Ways to Pursue EXCELLENCE
We—leaders of every stripe—are in the “Human
Growth and Development and Success and
Aspiration to Excellence business.”
“We” [leaders] only grow when “they” [each and
every one of our colleagues] are growing.
“We” [leaders] only succeed when “they” [each
and every one of our colleagues] are succeeding.
“We” [leaders] only energetically
march toward Excellence when “they” [each and
every one of our colleagues] are energetically
marching toward Excellence.
Period.
Source: The Little BIG Things: 163 Ways to Pursue EXCELLENCE
Brand =
Talent.
Our Mission
To develop and manage talent;
to apply that talent,
throughout the world,
for the benefit of clients;
to do so in partnership;
to do so with profit.
WPP
“The
ONE Question”: “In the last year [3 years, current job],
three
people
name the …
… whose growth you’ve
most contributed to. Please explain where they were at the
beginning of the year, where they are today, and where they are
heading in the next 12 months. Please explain in painstaking detail
your development strategy in each case. Please tell me your biggest
development disappointment—looking back, could you or would you
have done anything differently? Please tell me about your greatest
development triumph—and disaster—in the last five years. What
are the ‘three big things’ you’ve learned about helping people
grow along the way.”
October 1781/ “It’s the politics,
stupid!”
Winter 1776
NM/DDE
GW
3H/Drive-by/Summer 1787
Korea/40B (XX, “IBM,” KISS, ++)
XX = 90%
XFX = 50%+ XX
Lunch/Social “stuff”/Lunch > SAP
XFX
Lunch
Kudos
Learning/ Presence/Presentations
Facetime C(E)
Transparency
Awards
Co-locate/Geologists-Geophysicists
Time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Motherhood (“If don’t take credit …)
C(I) > C(E)/Gust, GE
Staff C.Sat./Unicredit
C(E)
L2, L3, L4
ATT/Women
“We”
Out-read/Out-study
Weird pals/R&D/Crowdsource
Out-listen
Out-present/Exxon
Listen-present-etc/Profession!
Self-knowledge/Ben!
You/Me = Customer #1
Stuff
Listen/Eval
Thank/Measure
Flowers
Ask/Measure
Apologize/Eval
RR: Consult + Thank
Decency
Thoughtfulness
Kindness
Henry
David
Demo!!!! (P&W)
IBM
(Moore)/Schlumberger/MasterCard/Best
Buy+Geek Squad
2-cent candy
Attitude #1
1st line leaders
Hire
Leader’s track record = Development
W-L (10 in 5)
Eval/53 = 53
“Cathedral”/Customer 2nd (Hal, Herb,
Dave Liniger, Olle+)
Team3P (Passion-Politics/People-Profit)
“Too Much Cost, Not Enough Value” … “Too
Much Speculation, Not Enough Investment” …
“Too Much Complexity, Not Enough Simplicity”
… “Too Much Counting, Not Enough Trust” …
“Too Much Business Conduct, Not Enough
Professional Conduct” … “Too Much
Salesmanship, Not Enough Stewardship” …
“Too Much Focus on Things, Not Enough Focus
on Commitment” … “Too Many Twenty-first
Century Values, Not Enough EighteenthCentury Values” … “Too Much ‘Success,’ Not
Enough Character”
—chapter titles from John Bogle,
Enough. The Measures of Money, Business, and Life (Bogle is
founder of the Vanguard Mutual Fund Group)
“AS LEADERS,
WOMEN
RULE:
New Studies find that
female managers outshine their male
counterparts in almost every measure”
TITLE/ Special Report/ BusinessWeek
Women’s Strengths Match New
Economy Imperatives: Link [rather than rank]
workers; favor interactive-collaborative leadership
style [empowerment beats top-down decision
making]; sustain fruitful collaborations; comfortable
with sharing information; see redistribution of power
as victory, not surrender; favor multi-dimensional
feedback; value technical & interpersonal skills,
individual & group contributions equally; readily
accept ambiguity; honor intuition as well as
pure “rationality”; inherently flexible; appreciate
cultural diversity. —Judy B. Rosener,
America’s Competitive Secret: Women Managers
“Forget China, India
and the Internet:
Economic Growth Is
Driven by
Women.”
Source: Headline, Economist
“One thing is certain: Women’s rise to power, which is
linked to the increase in wealth per capita, is happening
in all domains and at all levels of society. Women are no
longer content to provide efficient labor or to be
consumers with rising budgets and more autonomy to
spend. … This is just the beginning. The phenomenon
will only grow as girls prove to be more successful than
For a number of
observers, we have already
entered the age of
‘womenomics,’ the economy as
thought out and practiced
by a woman.” —Aude Zieseniss de Thuin, Women’s
boys in the school system.
Forum for the Economy and Society
We are the
company
we keep
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
“Normal” =
“o for 800”
“Who’s the most
interesting person
you’ve met in the
last 90 days? How
do I get in touch
with them?”
—Fred Smith
“Freak
Fridays”
—once a month
invite somebody interesting, in any field, to have lunch
with your gang
“d”iversity
“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 Billion-man
Research Team:
Companies offering
work to online
communities are
reaping the benefits of
‘crowdsourcing.’”
—Headline, FT, 0110.07
$2.3 trillion
“The West spent …
on foreign aid over the last five decades and
still has not managed to get twelve-cent
medicines to children to prevent half of all
malaria deaths. The West spent $2.3 trillion
and still not managed to get three dollars to
each new mother to prevent five million child
But I and
other
L(+21)
= many
L(-21)
deaths. …
like-minded people keep
trying, not to abandon aid to
the poor, but to make sure it
reaches them.”
$2.3 trillion
“The West spent …
on foreign aid over the last five decades and
still has not managed to get twelve-cent
medicines to children to prevent half of all
malaria deaths. The West spent $2.3 trillion
and still not managed to get three dollars to
each new mother to prevent five million child
Leadership(21A.D.)
=
deaths. … But I and many other
Leadership(21B.C.)
like-minded people keep
trying, not to abandon aid to
the poor, but to make sure it
reaches them.”
“The doctor
interrupts
after …*
*Source: Jerome Groopman, How Doctors Think
seconds
[An obsession with] Listening is ... the ultimate mark
of Respect.
Listening is ... the heart and soul of Engagement.
Listening is ... the heart and soul of Kindness.
Listening is ... the heart and soul of Thoughtfulness.
Listening is ... the basis for true Collaboration.
Listening is ... the basis for true Partnership.
Listening is ... a Team Sport.
Listening is ... a Developable Individual Skill.* (*Though women
Listening
Listening
Listening
Listening
is
is
is
is
...
...
...
...
are far better at it than men.)
the basis for Community.
the bedrock of Joint Ventures that work.
the bedrock of Joint Ventures that last.
the core of effective Cross-functional
Communication* (*Which is in turn Attribute #1 of
organizational effectiveness.)
[cont.]
Questioning,
the art [and
“profession”] of.
*Listening is of the
utmost … strategic
importance!
*Listening is a proper …
core value !
*Listening is … trainable
!
*Listening is a … profession
!
Message:
Listening is a …
profession!
Listen = Profession = Study = practice = evaluation =
Enterprise value: "We
listen intently to
and fully engage
all with whom
we work."
four most
important
words in any
“The
organization are …
The four most important words in any organization
are …
“What do
you
think?”
Source: courtesy Dave Wheeler, posted at tompeters.com
“WDYT” =
Certification of me as
a person of
Importance whose
opinion is valued.
“The deepest
principle of human
nature is the
craving to be
appreciated.”
—William James
(in Timeless Wisdom, compiled by Gary Fenchuk)
“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
Tomorrow: How
many times will you
“ask the WDYT
question”?
[Count!]
[Practice
makes better!] [This is a
STRATEGIC skill!]
Tomorrow: How many
times will you mange to
blurt out, “Thank you”?
[Count ’em!]
[Practice
makes better!* *The engineer from
Manchester.]] [This is a STRATEGIC skill!]
And the answer is ….
otis
“I regard apologizing as the
most magical, healing,
restorative gesture human
beings can make. It is the
centerpiece of my work with
executives who want to get
better.” —Marshall Goldsmith, What Got You
Here Won’t Get You There: How Successful People Become
Even More Successful
Relationships
(of all varieties):
THERE
ONCE WAS A TIME WHEN A
THREE-MINUTE
PHONE CALL WOULD
HAVE AVOIDED SETTING OFF THE
DOWNWARD SPIRAL THAT RESULTED
IN A COMPLETE RUPTURE.
The “three-minute call”
often-usually-invariably
leads to a strengthening
of the relationship. It not
only acts as atonement
but also paves the path for
a “better than ever”
trajectory.
THE PROBLEM IS
RARELY/NEVER THE
PROBLEM. THE
RESPONSE TO THE
PROBLEM INVARIABLY
ENDS UP BEING THE
REAL PROBLEM.*
*PERCEPTION IS ALL THERE IS!
Comeback
[big, quick response]
>>
Perfection
*effective “Repair”/Apology is of the
utmost … strategic
importance!
*effective repair is a proper …
core value !
*effective repair is …
trainable !
*effective repair is a …
profession !
#15
“We are
thoughtful
in all we do.”
Thoughtfulness is key to customer retention.
Thoughtfulness is key to employee recruitment
and satisfaction.
Thoughtfulness is key to brand perception.
Thoughtfulness is key to your ability to look in
the mirror —and tell your kids about your job.
“Thoughtfulness is free.”
Thoughtfulness is key to speeding things up—
it reduces friction.
Thoughtfulness is key to transparency and even
cost containment—it abets rather than stifles
truth-telling.
#16
none!
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
P.S. directly related to Staff Interaction
P.P.S. directly correlated with Employee
Satisfaction
Source: Putting Patients First, Susan Frampton, Laura Gilpin, Patrick Charmel
“There is a misconception that supportive interactions require
more staff or more time and are therefore more costly. Although
labor costs are a substantial part of any hospital budget, the
interactions themselves add nothing to the budget.
Kindness is
free.
Listening to patients or answering their
questions costs nothing. It can be argued that negative
interactions—alienating patients, being non-responsive to their
needs or limiting their sense of control—can be very costly. …
Angry, frustrated or frightened patients may be combative,
withdrawn and less cooperative—requiring far more time
than it would have taken to interact with them initially in a
positive way.” —Putting Patients First, Susan Frampton,
Laura Gilpin, Patrick Charmel
“Kindness
is free.”
“Courtesies of a small and
trivial character are the
ones which strike
deepest in the grateful
and appreciating heart.”
—Henry Clay
“We don’t take people
to the elevator—we
take them down to the
street.
—David Ogilvy
“Berezovsky … came under attack from the newly
powerful Primakov, and was shunned by most of the
Putin made a point of
attending Berezovsky’s wife’s
birthday party. Berezovsky
repaid Putin by championing
his candidacy to run the F.S.B.,
Russia’s secret police, formerly
the K.G.B., and ultimately by
suggesting that the Family
make him president. To sum up, the man’s
political elite.
qualifications were: he did not take a bribe from a car
dealership and had been unafraid to go to a party for an
acquaintance who had fallen into disfavor.” —”Dead Soul,”
Vanity Fair, October 2008
#17
problem #1.
Opportunity #1.
X =XFX*
*Excellence = Cross-functional Excellence
Never
waste a
lunch!
????
% XF
lunches*
*Measure! Monthly! Part of evaluation! [The PA’s
Club.]
R.O.I.R.
Return On
Investment In
Relationships
???????
“Success doesn’t depend on the number of
people you know; it depends on the number
of people you know in
high places!”
or
“Success doesn’t depend on the number of
people you know; it depends on the number
of people you know in
low
places!”
S = ƒ(#&DR; -2L, -3L, 4L, I&E)
Success is a function of: Number and depth of relationships
2, 3, and 4 levels down inside and outside the organization
S = ƒ(SD>SU)
Sucking down is more important than sucking up—the idea is
to have the [your] entire organization working for you.
S = ƒ(#non-FF, #non-FL)
Number of friends not in my function
S = ƒ(#XFL/m)
Number of lunches with colleagues in other
functions per month
S = ƒ(#FF)
Number of friends in the finance organization
#18
You = Your
calendar*
*Calendars
never
lie
“You must
be
the change you
wish to see in the
world.”
Gandhi
“Dennis, you need a …
‘To-don’t ’
List !”
Don’t >
Do*
* “Don’ting,” systematic, > WILLPOWER
“To develop others,
start with yourself.”
—Marshall Goldsmith
“Being aware of
yourself and how you
affect everyone around
you is what
distinguishes a superior
leader.” —Edie Seashore
(Strategy + Business #45)
<TGW
and …
>TGR
[Things Gone WRONG-Things Gone RIGHT]
2-cent
candy
“May I
clean your
glasses,
sir?”
2,000,000
BEGINS
(and ENDS)
It
in the …
parking
lot*
*Disney
“Experiences
are as distinct
from services as
services are from
goods.”
—Joe Pine & Jim Gilmore, The
Experience Economy: Work Is Theatre & Every Business a
Stage
M.M.M.O.T. =
Manage To
Memorable
“Moments Of
Truth”*
*with thanks to Jan Carlzon, SAS
C
*Chief e
O*
Xperience Officer
All Equal Except …
“At Sony we assume that all products
of our competitors have basically the
same technology, price, performance
and features. Design is the
only thing that
differentiates one product
from another in the
marketplace.” —Norio Ohga
Message (?????):
cannot
Men
design for women’s
needs.
2.6 vs.
Up,
Up,
Up,
Up
the Value-added Ladder.
“Big Brown’s New Bag: UPS
Traffic
Manager for
Corporate
America”
Aims to Be the
—Headline/BW/2004
MasterCard
Advisors
The Value-added Ladder
Customer Success/
Gamechanging
Solutions
Services
Goods
Raw Materials
(1) LAN Installation Co. (3%)
“Geek Squad” (30%)
(2)
(3) Best Buy contracts
(4) Best Buy purchases
(5) Best Buy’s
“brand promise”
Source: Best Buy (Circuit City: fire senior, hire junior)
Excellence. Always.
If not Excellence,
what?
If not Excellence now,
when?
Appendices
A1
Forty-four “Secrets”
and “clever Strategies”
For dealing with the
Recession of 2007++
I am constantly asked for
'secrets'
“strategies/
for
surviving the recession.” I try
to appear wise and informed—
and parade original,
sophisticated thoughts. But if
you want to know what’s
really going through my
head, see the list that follows.
44 “Secrets” and “Clever Strategies” For
Dealing with the Recession of 2007+
You come earlier.
You leave later.
You work harder.
You may well work for less; and, if so, you
adapt to the untoward circumstances with a
smile—even if it kills you inside.
You volunteer to do more.
You dig deep and always bring a good attitude
to work.
You fake it if your good attitude flags.
You literally practice your "game face" in the
mirror in the morning, and in the loo
mid-morning.
You give new meaning to the idea and intensive
practice of “visible management.”
44 “Secrets” and “Clever Strategies” For
Dealing with the Recession of 2008-XXXX
You take better than usual care of yourself and
encourage others to do the same—physical
well-being determines mental well-being and
response to stress.
You shrug off shit that flows downhill in your
direction—buy a shovel or a “pre-worn”
raincoat on eBay.
You try to forget about “the good old days”—
nostalgia is self-destructive.
You buck yourself up with the thought that
“this too shall pass”—but then remind yourself
that it might not pass any time soon, and so
you re-dedicate yourself to making the
absolute best of what you have now.
44 “Secrets” and “Clever Strategies” For
Dealing with the Recession of 2008-XXXX
You work the phones and then work the
phones some more—and stay in touch with
positively everyone.
You frequently invent breaks from routine,
including “weird” ones—“changeups” prevent
wallowing and bring a fresh perspective.
You eschew all forms of personal excess.
You simplify.
You sweat the details as never before.
You sweat the details as never before.
You sweat the details as never before.
You raise to the sky and maintain at all
costs the Standards of Excellence by which
you unfailingly evaluate your own performance.
You are maniacal when it comes to responding
to even the slightest screw-up.
44 “Secrets” and “Clever Strategies” For
Dealing with the Recession of 2008-XXXX
You find ways to be around young people and
to keep young people around—they are less
likely to be members of the “sky is falling”
school.
You learn new tricks of your trade.
You remind yourself that this is not just
something to be “gotten through”—it is the
Final Exam of character.
You network like a demon.
You network inside the company—get to know
more of the folks who “do the real work.”
You network outside the company—get to
know more of the folks who “do the real
work” in vendor-customer outfits.
44 “Secrets” and “Clever Strategies” For
Dealing with the Recession of 2008-XXXX
You thank others by the truckload if good
things happen—and take the heat yourself if
bad things happen.
You behave kindly, but you don't sugarcoat or
hide the truth--humans are startlingly
resilient and rumors are the real killers.
You treat small successes as if they were
Superbowl victories—and celebrate and
commend accordingly.
You shrug off the losses (ignoring what's going
on in your tummy), and get back on the
horse and immediately try again.
You avoid negative people to the extent you
can—pollution kills.
You eventually read the gloom-sprayers the
riot act.
44 “Secrets” and “Clever Strategies” For
Dealing with the Recession of 2008-XXXX
You give new meaning to the word "thoughtful.“
You don’t put limits on the flowers budget—
“bright and colorful” works marvels.
You redouble, re-triple your efforts to "walk in
your customer's shoes." (Especially if the
shoes smell.)
You mind your manners—and accept others’
lack of manners in the face of their strains.
You are kind to all mankind.
You keep your shoes shined.
You leave the blame game at the office door.
You call out the congenital politicians in no
uncertain terms.
You become a paragon of personal accountability.
And then you pray.
A2
Skip the map
“Mapping your
competitive
position”
or …
The “Have
you …” 50
1. Have you in the
last 10 days …
visited a
customer?
2. Have you called a
customer … TODAY?
1. Have you in the last 10 days … visited a
customer?
2. Have you called a customer … TODAY?
3. Have you in the last 60-90 days … had a seminar in which several folks from the
customer’s operation (different levels, different functions, different divisions) interacted,
via facilitator, with various of your folks?
4. Have you thanked a front-line employee for a
small act of helpfulness … in the last three days?
5. Have you thanked a front-line employee for a small act of helpfulness … in the
last three hours?
6. Have you thanked a frontline employee for carrying around a great attitude … today?
7. Have you in the last week recognized—publicly—one of your folks for a small act of
cross-functional co-operation?
8. Have you in the last week recognized—publicly—one of “their” folks (another function)
for a small act of cross-functional co-operation?
9. Have you invited in the last month a leader of another function to your weekly team
priorities meeting?
10. Have you personally in the last week-month called-visited an internal or external
customer to sort out, inquire, or apologize for some little or big thing that went awry? (No
reason for doing so? If true—in your mind—then you’re more out of touch than I dared
imagine.)
11. Have you in the last two days had a chat with someone (a couple of levels down?) about specific deadlines
concerning a project’s next steps?
12. Have you in the last two days had a chat with someone (a couple of levels down?) about specific deadlines
concerning a project’s next steps … and what specifically you can do to remove a hurdle? (“Ninety percent of
what we call management consists of making it difficult for people to get things done.”—Peter “His eminence”
Drucker.)
13. Have you celebrated in the last week a “small” (or large!) milestone reached? (I.e., are you a milestone
fanatic?)
14. Have you in the last week or month revised some estimate in the “wrong” direction and apologized for making
a lousy estimate? (Somehow you must publicly reward the telling of difficult truths.)
15. Have you installed in your tenure a very
comprehensive customer satisfaction scheme
for all internal customers? (With major consequences for hitting or missing
the mark.)
16. Have you in the last six months had a week-long, visible, very intensive visit-“tour” of external customers?
17. Have you in the last 60 days called an abrupt halt to a meeting and “ordered” everyone to get out of the office,
and “into the field” and in the next eight hours, after asking those involved, fixed (f-i-x-e-d!) a nagging “small”
problem through practical action?
18. Have you in the last week had a rather thorough discussion of a “cool design thing” someone has come
across—away from your industry or function—at a Web site, in a product or its packaging?
19. Have you in the last two weeks had an informal meeting—at least an hour long—with a frontline employee to
discuss things we do right, things we do wrong, what it would take to meet your mid- to long-term aspirations?
20. Have you had in the last 60 days had a general meeting to discuss “things we do wrong” … that we can fix in
the next fourteen days?
21. Have you had in the last year a one-day, intense offsite with each (?) of your
internal customers—followed by a big celebration of “things gone right”?
22. Have you in the last week pushed someone to do some family thing that you fear
might be overwhelmed by deadline pressure?
23. Have you learned the names of the children of everyone who reports to you? (If
not, you have six months to fix it.)
24. Have you taken in the last month an interesting-weird outsider to lunch?
25. Have you in the last month invited an interesting-weird outsider to sit in on an
important meeting?
26. Have you in the last three days discussed something interesting, beyond your
industry, that you ran across in a meeting, reading, etc?
27. Have you in the last 24 hours injected into a meeting “I ran across this
interesting idea in [strange place]”?
28. Have you in the last two weeks asked someone to report on something, anything
that constitutes an act of brilliant service rendered in a “trivial” situation—
restaurant, car wash, etc? (And then discussed the relevance to your work.)
29. Have you in the last 30 days examined in detail (hour
by hour) your calendar to evaluate the degree “time
actually spent” mirrors your “espoused priorities”?
(And repeated this exercise with everyone on team.)
30. Have you in the last two months had a presentation to the group by a “weird”
outsider?
31. Have you in the last two months had a presentation to the group by a customer,
internal customer, vendor featuring “working folks” 3 or 4 levels down in the vendor
organization?
32. Have you in the last two months had a presentation to the group of a cool,
beyond-our-industry ideas by two of your folks?
33. Have you at every meeting today (and forever more) re-directed the conversation
to the practicalities of implementation concerning some issue before the group?
34. Have you at every meeting today (and forever more) had an end-of-meeting
discussion on “action items to be dealt with in the next 4, 48 hours? (And then made
this list public—and followed up in 48 hours.) And made sure everyone has at least
one such item.)
35. Have you had a discussion in the last six months about what it would take to get
recognition in local-national poll of “best places to work”?
36. Have you in the last month approved a cool-different training course for one
of your folks?
Have you in the last month taught a front-line
training course?
37.
38. Have you in the last week discussed the idea of Excellence? (What it means, how
to get there.)
39. Have you in the last week discussed the idea of “Wow”? (What it means, how
to inject it into an ongoing “routine” project.)
40. Have you in the last 45 days assessed some major process in terms of the
details of the “experience,” as well as results, it provides to its external or internal
customers?
41. Have you in the last month had one of your folks attend a meeting you were supposed to go
to which gives them unusual exposure to senior folks?
42. Have you in the last 60 (30?) days sat with a trusted friend or “coach” to discuss your
“management style”—and its long- and short-term impact on the group?
43. Have you in the last three days considered a professional
relationship that was a little rocky and made a call to the person
involved to discuss issues and smooth the waters? (Taking the
“blame,” fully deserved or not, for letting the thing-issue fester.)
44. Have you in the last … two hours … stopped by someone’s (two-levels “down") officeworkspace for 5 minutes to ask “What do you think?” about an issue that arose at a more or
less just completed meeting? (And then stuck around for 10 or so minutes to listen—and
visibly taken notes.)
45. Have you … in the last day … looked around you to assess whether the diversity pretty
accurately maps the diversity of the market being served? (And …)
46. Have you in the last day at some meeting gone out of your way to make sure that a normally
reticent person was engaged in a conversation—and then thanked him or her, perhaps
privately, for their contribution?
47. Have you during your tenure instituted very public (visible) presentations of performance?
48. Have you in the last four months had a session specifically aimed at checking on the
“corporate culture” and the degree we are true to it—with all presentations by relatively junior
folks, including front-line folks? (And with a determined effort to keep the conversation
restricted to “real world” “small” cases—not theory.)
49. Have you in the last six months talked about the Internal Brand Promise?
50. Have you in the last year had a full-day off site to talk about individual (and group)
aspirations?
A3
SF50: Success
Is a Function
of* ...
*What follows are not in fact true mathematical formulae—
obviously. Nonetheless, in tribute to my own scientific
background, and, more important, that of many seminar
participants, I have chosen this format—which seems to work
for those of “my ilk” to whom it has been exposed
S = ƒ( ___ )
Success Is a
Function of …
SF50:
50 “Equations” on
achieving success
… at pretty much
anything
S = ƒ(#&DR; -2L, -3L, 4L, I&E)
Success is a function of: Number and depth of relationships
2, 3, and 4 levels down inside and outside the organization
S = ƒ(SD>SU)
Sucking down is more important than sucking up—the idea is
to have the [your] entire organization working for you.
S = ƒ(#non-FF, #non-FL)
Number of friends not in my function
S = ƒ(#XFL/m)
Number of lunches with colleagues in other
functions per month
S = ƒ(#FF)
Number of friends in the finance organization
S =ƒ(#PK“W”P)
S = ƒ(#PK“L”P)
# of people you know in the “wrong” places
# people you know in “low” places
S = ƒ(OF)
Number of oddball friends
S = ƒ(PDL)
Purposeful, deep listening—this is very hard
S = ƒ(“DSTM,” EH, TTAGFG)
Don’t shoot the messenger—embrace him! Truth-tellers are
gifts from God!
S = ƒ(#EODD3MC)
Number of end-of-the-day difficult (you’d rather avoid) “3minutecalls” that sooth raw feelings, mend fences, etc.
S = ƒ(UFP, UFK, OAPS)
Unsolicited favors performed, UFs involving co-workers’ kids,
overt acts politeness-solicitude toward co-workers’ spouses,
parents, etc.
S= ƒ(TSHRO)
Time spent ... Hurdle Removing for Others
S = ƒ(A#C, PTS/“OLC”, SAPA)
Absolute # of consultations, perception of being taken seriously
(Responsible for “one line of code”), small acts of public
appreciation
S = ƒ(1D)
Seeking the assignment of writing first drafts, minutes, etc. (1787)
S = ƒ(#SEAs)
Number of solid relationships with Executive Assistants
S = ƒ(%UL/w-m)
% useful lunches per week, month
S = ƒ(FG, FOC-BOF, CMO)
Favors given, favors owed collectively, balance of favors, conscious
management thereof
S = ƒ(SU)
Showing up (Woody Allen, Delaware’s ridiculous influence on the
Constitution of the USA)
S = ƒ(KSU, R)
Keep showing up; relentlessness (U.S. Grant!!)
S = ƒ(DW, TMSTTOG)
Drill wells, try more stuff than the other guy (John Masters, Mike
Bloomberg)
S= ƒ(CM)
Conscious calendar management
(the calendar never lies)
S = ƒ(CPRM, TS)
Conscious-planned Relationship management,
time spent thereon
S = ƒ(TN/d, FG/m, AA/d)
Thank you notes per Day, flowers given per Month, Acts of
Appreciation per Day
S = ƒ(WLHAO)
Willingness to laugh heartily at oneself
S = ƒ(PTA100%A“T”S, E“NMF, TTT)
Proactive, timely, 100% apologies for “tiny” screw-ups, even if not
my fault (it always takes two to tango)
S = ƒ(AMR, NBS-SG)
Acceptance of mutual responsibilities for all affairs, no blameshifting, scape-goating
S = ƒ(RP, PRP>>P)
Never forget, and act accordingly: Response to the screwupproblem and perception thereof is (far, far) more important
than the problem itself!
S = ƒ(APLSLFCT)
Awareness, perception of little snubs—and lightening fast
correction thereof
S= ƒ(RCV)
Reduced customer visits (& more time on internal “customer”
relationships—that allow us to deliver on customer promises)
S= ƒ(U“PIATI”)
Understanding … “Perception is all there is!”
S= ƒ(“EM”/NSTLT; “F”ITU, -80%)
“Everything matters”/No such thing as a “little thing”—etching of fly
in the urinal in Amsterdam airport reduces “spillage” by 80%
S= ƒ(A“L”IOE)
Attention to “little” Indicators Of Excellence—e.g. fresh flowers
at the reception desk
S= ƒ(“GGT”)
“Give good tea”—Ben Franklin in Paris in 1777, Norm Schwarzkopf
with the Saudi Crown Prince during Gulf War I; effectiveness at
socializing with the “power behind the throne”
S = ƒ(TN/d, FG/m, AA/d)
Thank you notes per Day, flowers given per Month, Acts of
Appreciation per Day
S = ƒ(WLHAO)
Willingness to laugh heartily at oneself
S = ƒ(RP, PRP>>P)
Never forget, and act accordingly: Response to the screwupproblem and perception thereof is (far, far) more important
than the problem itself!
S = ƒ(APLSLFCT)
Awareness, perception of little snubs—and lightening fast
correction thereof
S= ƒ(3X“O”C)
“Over”-communicate (status, problems)
by a factor of three
S = ƒ(PTA100%A“T”S, E“NMF, TTT)
Proactive, timely, 100% apologies for “tiny” screw-ups, even if not
my fault (it always takes two to tango)
S = ƒ(AMR, NBS-SG)
Acceptance of mutual responsibilities for all affairs, no blameshifting, scape-goating
S = ƒ(G)
Grace
S = ƒ(GA)
Grace toward adversary
S = ƒ(GW)
Grace toward the wounded in bureaucratic firefights
S = ƒ(PD)
Purposeful decency
S = ƒ(MB“TSS”MR)
Purposeful management of this Soft Stuff by people reporting
to me
S = ƒ(EC, MMO)
Emotional connection, mgt & maintenance of
S = ƒ(IMDOP)
Investment in Mastery of detailed organizational processes
S = ƒ(H-TS)
Time spent on Hiring
S = ƒ(TSPD, TSP-L1)
Time spent on promotion decisions, especially for 1st
level managers
S = ƒ(%“SS,” H-PD)
% soft stuff involved in Hiring, Promotion decisions
S = ƒ(%WLP)
% women in leadership positions
S = ƒ(TWA, P, NP)
Time wandering around, purposeful, non-planned
S = ƒ(SBS)
Slack built into Schedule
S = ƒ (%TM“TSS,”
PM“TSS,”
D“TD”“TSS”)
% of time, measured, on This Soft Stuff,
purposeful management of this Soft Stuff, daily
“to do” concerning “this Soft Stuff”
The end