Conrad’s
Commandment …
CONRAD HILTON, at a gala celebrating
his career, was called to the podium and
“What were the
most important
lessons you learned
in your long and
distinguished
career?” His answer …
asked,
“Remember
to tuck the
shower curtain
inside the
bathtub.”
IS
“EXECUTION
STRATEGY.”
—Fred Malek
“In real life, strategy
is actually very
straightforward. Pick
a general direction …
and implement
like hell.” —Jack Welch
“Amateurs talk
about strategy.
Professionals talk
about logistics.”
—General Omar Bradley,
commander of American troops/D-Day
Tom Peters’
RE-IMAGINE!
EXCELLENCE.2015
St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort
16 November 2015
(Today’s slides and 10+ years of presentation slides at tompeters.com;
also see our annotated 23-part Master Compendium at excellencenow.com)
INNOVATE
OR PERISH!
49:
Lesson
WTTMSW
WHOEVER
TRIES
THE
MOST
STUFF
WINS
1.
A Bias for Action
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
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
READY.
FIRE!
AIM.
H. Ross Perot (vs “Aim! Aim! Aim!”/EDS vs GM/1985)
R.A.F./Ready. Aim. Fire.
1981-2010: R.F.A./Ready. Fire! Aim.
2010-20??: F.F.F./Fire! Fire! Fire!
1950-1980:
“WE HAVE A
‘STRATEGIC PLAN.’
IT’S CALLED ‘DOING
THINGS.’ ”
—Herb Kelleher
“DON’T ‘PLAN.’
DO STUFF.”
—David Kelley/IDEO
“We made mistakes, of course. Most of them were
omissions we didn’t think of when we initially wrote the
software. We fixed them by doing it over and over, again
and again. We do the same today. While our competitors
are still sucking their thumbs trying to make the design
perfect, we’re already on prototype version
#5.
By
the time our rivals are ready with wires and screws, we
are on version
#10. It gets back to
planning versus acting: We act
from day one; others plan how
to plan—for months.”
—Bloomberg by Bloomberg
“You can’t be a serious
innovator unless and until
you are ready, willing and
able to seriously play.
‘SERIOUS
PLAY’ is not an
oxymoron; it is the essence of
innovation.” —Michael Schrage, Serious Play
COROLLARY:
WTTMSASTMSUW
“The secret of fast
progress is
INEFFICIENCY,
fast and furious and
numerous failures.”
—Kevin Kelly
“Ideas Economy:
CAN YOUR
BUSINESS FAIL
FAST ENOUGH TO
SUCCEED?”
Source: ad for Economist Conference/0328.13/Berkeley CA (caps are the Economist’s)
WTTMSASTMSUW
WHOEVER
TRIES
THE
MOST
STUFF
AND
SCREWS
THE
MOST
STUFF
UP
WINS
“FAIL. FORWARD. FAST.”
—High Tech CEO, Pennsylvania
“FAIL FASTER.
SUCCEED SOONER.”
—David Kelley/IDEO
“MOVE FAST.
BREAK THINGS.”
—Facebook
“ ‘Success,’ [Soichiro] Honda
said, ‘can only be achieved
through repeated failure and
introspection. SUCCESS
REPRESENTS ONE PERCENT OF
YOUR WORK, WHICH RESULTS
ONLY FROM THE NINETY-NINE
PERCENT THAT IS CALLED
FAILURE.’ ”
—Jeffrey Rothfeder, Driving Honda: Inside the World’s Most Innovative Car Company
“REWARD
excellent failures.
PUNISH mediocre
successes.”
—Phil Daniels, Sydney exec
“In business, you REWARD people for taking
RISKS. WHEN IT DOESN’T WORK OUT
YOU PROMOTE THEM —because they were
willing to try new things.”
—Michael Bloomberg
“What really matters is
that companies that don’t continue to
experiment— COMPANIES THAT DON’T
EMBRACE FAILURE — eventually get in a
desperate position, where the only thing they
can do is make a ‘Hail Mary’ bet at the end.”
—Jeff Bezos
“It is not enough to ‘tolerate’ failure— YOU
MUST ‘CELEBRATE’ FAILURE.”
—Richard Farson (Whoever Makes the Most Mistakes Wins)
‘PROMOTE’
‘EMBRACE’
‘CELEBRATE’
Tempo:
WTTMSASTMSUTFW
“If things seem under
control, you’re just not
going fast enough.”
—Mario Andretti, race driver
“I’m not comfortable unless
I’m uncomfortable.”
—Jay Chiat
“If it works, it’s obsolete.”
—Marshall McLuhan
WTTMSASTMSUTFW
WHOEVER
TRIES
THE
MOST
STUFF
AND
SCREWS
THE
MOST
STUFF
UP
THE
FASTEST
WINS
WTTMSASTMSUTFW
WHOEVER
TRIES
THE
MOST
STUFF
AND
SCREWS
THE
MOST
STUFF
UP
THE
FASTEST
WINS
“EXPERIMENT
FEARLESSLY”
Source: BusinessWeek, “Type A Organization Strategies: How to Hit a Moving Target”
—TACTIC
#1
“RELENTLESS TRIAL
AND ERROR”
Source: Wall Street Journal, cornerstone of effective approach to “rebalancing” company
portfolios in the face of changing and uncertain global economic conditions
CREATING A
“TRY IT” “CULTURE”:
“100% MAD SCIENTISTS
AROUND HERE”
NOT OPTIONAL
ORGANIZATION
AS VIBRANT
LEARNING LAB
“Try It” Culture
“Experiment fearlessly”
(BusWeek/Innovators’ #1 attribute)
It’s all about attitude!
One Big Innovation Lab!
Micro-experiment budget!
Hyper-quick approval process!
Hyper-quick prototyping!
Mini-project teams born in a flash!
Do “everything at once”
(“Let 1,000 flowers bloom”)
(Boss as Gardener-in-Chief?)
“Try it” Culture
No “bad ideas” except inaction
Transparency/Publish everything
“Get it right the 79th time”
Reward clever/excellent failures
Celebrate constantly!/
Wee rewards!/Recognition!!!/
“Mad scientist club”!
Master “nudgery”
(Little BIG Things)
Encourage/Reward cross-functional excellence
special category!)
(A
‘PROMOTE’
‘EMBRACE’
‘CELEBRATE’
‘SERIOUS PLAY’
“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 of people
Yet I came to see in
my time at IBM that culture
isn’t just one aspect of the
is very, very hard.
game
—IT IS THE
GAME.”
—Lou Gerstner, Who Says Elephants Can’t Dance
“What matters most
to a company over time?
Strategy or culture?
WSJ/0910.13:
Dominic Barton, Managing Director, McKinsey & Co.:
“Culture.”
MICROMANAGE
“CULTURAL
OVERSIGHT”
Leader Job #1:
Hard is Soft.
Soft is Hard.
Hard
Soft
(numbers, plans)
(people/relationships)
is Soft.
is Hard.
We Are What
We Eat.
We Are Who We
Hang Out With.
“IT IS HARDLY POSSIBLE TO
OVERRATE THE VALUE OF PLACING
HUMAN BEINGS IN CONTACT WITH
PERSONS DIS-SIMILAR TO THEMSELVES,
AND WITH MODES OF THOUGHT AND
ACTION UNLIKE THOSE WITH WHICH
THEY ARE FAMILIAR. SUCH
COMMUNICATION HAS ALWAYS BEEN,
AND IS PECULIARLY IN THE PRESENT
AGE, ONE OF THE PRIMARY SOURCES
OF PROGRESS.” —John Stuart Mill
Diversity:
“You will become like
the five people you
associate with the
most—this can
be either a blessing
or a curse.”
—Billy Cox
The “We are what we eat”/
“We are who we hang out with”
Axiom: At its core,
every (!!!)
relationship-partnership decision
(employee, vendor, customer, etc.,
etc.) is a
strategic
decision about:
“Innovate,
‘Yes’ or ‘No’ ”
We Are What
We Eat.
Hanging Out With
… EVERYONE
“The Billion-man
Research Team:
Companies offering
work to online
communities are
reaping the benefits of
crowdsourcing.”
—Headline, FT
We Are What
We Eat: The
“Fred Smith
Question”
“Who’s the most
interesting person
you’ve met in the last
90 days? How do I
get in touch with
them?”
—Fred Smith
We Are What
We Eat.
We Are Who We
Eat With.
Start by considering
the last 10 people
you went to lunch
with. “Same-same” or
“stretch-stretch”?
The Bottleneck …
“The Bottleneck is at the …
“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 …
Top of the
Bottle”
— Gary Hamel/Harvard Business Review
XFX =
#1
XFX = #1*
*Cross-Functional eXcellence
NEVER WASTE A LUNCH!
% XF
lunches*
*Measure!
Monthly! Part of evaluation!
XFX/Typical Social Accelerators
1. EVERYONE’s (more or less) JOB #1: Make friends in other functions!
(Purposefully. Consistently. Measurably.)
2. “Do lunch” with people in other functions!! Frequently!! (Minimum
10% to 25% for everyone? Measured.)
3. Ask peers in other functions for references so you can become
conversant in their world. (It’s one helluva sign of ... GIVE-A-DAMNism.)
4. Religiously invite counterparts in other functions to your team
meetings. Ask them to present “cool stuff” from “their world” to your
group. (Useful. Mark of respect.)
PROACTIVELY SEEK EXAMPLES OF “TINY”
ACTS OF “XFX” TO ACKNOWLEDGE—
PRIVATELY AND PUBLICALLY. (Bosses: ONCE
A DAY … make a short call or visit or send an
email of “Thanks” for some sort of XFX
gesture by your folks and some other
function’s folks.)
5.
6. Present counterparts in other functions awards for service to your
group. Tiny awards at least weekly; and an “Annual All-Star
Supporters (from other groups) Banquet” modeled after superstar
salesperson banquets.
Innovate
or Die:
Measure It!
Innovation Index: How many
of your Top 5 Projects
score 8 or higher (out of 10)
on a “Weird”/“Profound”/
“Wow”/“Game-changer”
Scale? (At least 3???)
Innovation Index: Move
every project (definition)
2 notches up on the
“WOW Scale”
…
THIS WEEK.
Innovate
or Die:
Ubiquitous!
The
quality and quantity
and imaginativeness
of innovation (and
formal R&D) shall be
the same in all
functions—e.g., in HR and purchasing
Iron Innovation Equality Law:
as much as in marketing or product
development.
LOSERS
WINNERS
“I am often asked by
would-be entrepreneurs
seeking escape from life
within huge corporate
structures, ‘How do I
build a small firm for
myself?’ The answer
seems obvious …
Source: Paul Ormerod, Why Most Things Fail: Evolution, Extinction and Economics
“I am often asked by would-be entrepreneurs seeking escape from
life within huge corporate structures, ‘How do I build a small firm for
Buy a
very large
one and just
wait.”
myself?’ The answer seems obvious:
—Paul Ormerod, Why Most Things Fail:
Evolution, Extinction and Economics
“Mr. Foster and his McKinsey colleagues collected
detailed performance data stretching back
years for
1,000
found that
U.S. companies.
40
They
NONE
of
the long-term survivors managed to
outperform the market. Worse, the
longer companies had been in the
database, the worse they did.”
—Financial Times
M & A success rate as
measured by adding value to the
acquirer:
15%
Source: Mark Sirower, The Synergy Trap
The Future
Is Small
—book, by Gervais Williams, superstar fund manager,
“Research shows that new and
small companies create almost all the
new private sector jobs and are
disproportionately innovative.”
FT/1217.14:
THE RED
CARPET
STORE
(Joel Resnick/Flemington NJ)
The Magicians of Motueka (PLUS)
!
W.A. Coppins Ltd.*
(Coppins Sea Anchors/
PSA/para sea anchors)
*Textiles, 1898; thrive on
“wicked problems”
U.S. Navy STLVAST (Small To Large Vehicle At Sea
Transfer); custom fabric from W. Wiggins Ltd./Wellington
(specialty nylon, “Dyneema,” from DSM/Netherlands)
—e.g.,
Middlesized Nicheor Micro-niche
Dominators!*
My “love affair” …
*"Own" a niche through EXCELLENCE/INNOVATION
!
(Writ large: Germany’s MITTELSTAND —“agile creatures
darting between the legs of the multinational monsters” )
Hidden Champions* of the 21st Century: Success
Secrets of Unknown World Market Leaders/
Hermann Simon
(*1, 2, or 3 in world market; <$4B; low public awareness)
Baader (Iceland/80% fishprocessing systems)
Gallagher (NZ/electric
fences)
W.E.T. (heated car seat
tech)
Gerriers (theater curtains
and stage equipment)
Electro-Nite (sensors for the
steel industry)
Essel Propack (India/tooth
paste tubes)
SGS (product auditing and
certification)
DELO (specialty adhesives)
Amorim (Portugal/cork
products)
EOS (laser sintering)
Beluga (heavy-lift
shipping)
Omicron (tunnel-grid
microscopy)
Universo (wristwatch
hands)
Dickson Constant
(technical textiles)
O.C. Tanner (employee
recognition/$400M)
Hoeganaes (powder
metallurgy supplies)
PEOPLE:
THE BEDROCK
People
(REALLY)
First
“Business has
to give people
enriching,
rewarding lives …
1/4,096: excellencenow.com
“Business has to give people enriching,
or it's
simply not
worth doing.”
rewarding lives …
—Richard Branson
“The role of the Director is to
create a space where the actors
become
more than they’ve ever
been before,
more than they’ve
dreamed of being.”
and actresses can
—Robert Altman, Oscar acceptance speech
“You have to
treat your
employees like
customers.”
—Herb Kelleher,
upon being asked his “secret to success”
Source: Joe Nocera, NYT, “Parting Words of an Airline Pioneer,”
on the occasion of Herb Kelleher’s retirement after 37 years at Southwest
Airlines (SWA’s pilots union took out a full-page ad in USA Today
thanking HK for all he had done) ; across the way in Dallas, American
Airlines’ pilots were picketing AA’s Annual Meeting)
Rocket Science.
NOT.
“If you want staff to
give great service,
give great service
to staff.”
—Ari Weinzweig, Zingerman’s
Source: Small Giants: Companies That Choose to Be Great
Instead of Big, Bo Burlingham
McKinsey:
Culture > Strategy
“What matters
most to a company over time?
Strategy or culture?”
Wall Street Journal, 0910.13:
Dominic Barton, Managing Director,
McKinsey & Co.:
McKinsey:
“Culture.”
People > Strategy
“People Before Strategy”
—title,
lead article, Harvard Business Review July-August 2015,
by McKinsey MD Dominic Barton et al.
Profit Through Putting People First Business Book Club
Nice Companies Finish First: Why Cutthroat Management Is Over—and Collaboration Is In, by
Peter Shankman with Karen Kelly
Uncontainable: How Passion, Commitment, and Conscious Capitalism Built a Business Where Everyone Thrives,
by Kip Tindell, CEO Container Store
Conscious Capitalism: Liberating the Heroic Spirit of Business, by John Mackey, CEO Whole
Foods, and Raj Sisodia
Firms of Endearment: How World-Class Companies Profit from Passion and Purpose, by Raj
Sisodia, Jag Sheth, and David Wolfe
The Good Jobs Strategy: How the Smartest Companies Invest in Employees to Lower Costs
and Boost Profits, by Zeynep Ton, MIT
Joy, Inc.: How We Built a Workplace People Love, by Richard Sheridan,
CEO Menlo Innovations
Employees First, Customers Second: Turning Conventional Management Upside Down, by
Vineet Nayar, CEO, HCL Technologies
Patients Come Second: Leading Change By Changing the Way You Lead by Paul Spiegelman &
Britt Berrett
The Customer Comes Second: Put Your People First and Watch ’Em Kick Butt,
by Hal Rosenbluth, former CEO, Rosenbluth International
It’s Your Ship: Management Techniques from the Best Damn Ship in the Navy,
by Mike Abrashoff, former commander, USS Benfold
Turn This Ship Around; How to Create Leadership at Every Level,
by L. David Marquet, former commander, SSN Santa Fe
Small Giants: Companies That Choose to Be Great Instead of Big, by Bo Burlingham
Hidden Champions: Success Strategies of Unknown World Market Leaders, by Hermann Simon
Retail Superstars: Inside the 25 Best Independent Stores in America,
by George Whalin
Joy at Work: A Revolutionary Approach to Fun on the Job, by Dennis Bakke, former CEO, AES
Corporation
The Dream Manager, by Matthew Kelly
The Soft Edge: Where Great Companies Find Lasting Success, by Rich Karlgaard, publisher,
Forbes
Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, by Tony Hsieh, Zappos
Camellia: A Very Different Company
Fans, Not Customers: How to Create Growth Companies in a No Growth World, by Vernon Hill
Like a Virgin: Secrets They Won’t Teach You at Business School, by Richard Branson
WHY
NOT?
*****
“Why in the
World did you
go to Siberia?”
An emotional,
vital, innovative, joyful, creative,
entrepreneurial endeavor that elicits
maximum
ENTERPRISE* (*AT ITS BEST):
concerted human
potential in the
wholehearted pursuit of
EXCELLENCE in
service of others.**
**Employees, Customers, Suppliers, Communities, Owners, Temporary partners
“It may sound radical, unconventional, and
bordering on being a crazy business idea.
However— as ridiculous as it sounds—joy is the
core belief of our workplace.
Joy
is the reason my company,
Menlo Innovations, a customer software design
and development firm in Ann Arbor, exists. It
defines what we do and how we do it. It is the
single shared belief of our entire team.”
Joy, Inc.:
How We Built a Workplace People Love
—Richard Sheridan,
THE MORAL
IMPERATIVE:
PEOPLE
DEVELOPMENT
“Human level capability has not turned out
to be a special stopping point from
an engineering perspective.”
—Illah Reza Nourbakhsh, Robot Futures/2013
“SOFTWARE IS EATING THE WORLD.”
—Marc Andreessen/2014
“The intellectual talents of highly trained professionals
are no more protected from automation than is the
driver’s left turn.” —Nicholas Carr, The Glass Cage: Automation and Us
“If you think being a ‘professional’ makes
your job safe, think again.” —Robert Reich
“Ten Million Jobs at Risk from Advancing Technology: Up
to 35 percent of Britain's jobs will be eliminated by new
computing and robotics technology over the next 20
years, say experts
”
Telegraph
[Deloitte/Oxford University].
—Headline,
(UK), 11 November 2014
“A bureaucrat is
an expensive
microchip.”
—Dan Sullivan, consultant and executive coach
Your principal
moral obligation as a leader is to
develop the skillset, “soft” and
“hard,” of every one of the people
in your charge (temporary as well
as semi-permanent) to the
maximum extent of your abilities.
The bonus: This is also the
#1 mid- to long-term …
profit maximization strategy!
CORPORATE MANDATE #1 2015:
TRAINING =
Investment
#1
3-star
generals worry
In the Army,
about training. In most
businesses, it's a
“ho-hum” mid-level
staff function.
Is your CTO/Chief
Training Officer your top
paid “C-level” job (other
than CEO/COO)?
Are your top trainers
paid/cherished as much as
your top marketers/
engineers?
Is your CTO/Chief Training Officer your top paid “C-level” job (other than CEO/COO)?
If not, why not?
Are your top trainers paid as much as your top marketers and engineers?
If not, why not?
Are your training
courses so good they
make you … JUMP
FOR JOY?
If not, why not?
Randomly stop an employee in the hall: Can she/he meticulously describe her/his development plan for the next 12
months?
If not, why not?
Why is your world of business any different than the (competitive) world of rugby, football, opera, theater,
the military?
If “people/talent first” and hyper-intense continuous training are laughably obviously for them, why not you?
Gamblin’ Man
>> 5 of 10 CEOs see
training as expense rather than
investment.
Bet #2: >> 5 of 10 CEOs see
training as defense rather than
offense.
Bet #3: >> 5 of 10 CEOs see
training as “necessary evil”
rather than “strategic
opportunity.”
Bet #1:
>> 8 of 10
CEOs, in 45-min
“tour d’horizon” of
their biz, would
NOT mention
training.
Bet #4:
Promotion
Promotion Decisions
“life and
death
decisions”
Source: Peter Drucker, The Practice of Management
2/Year =
Legacy
Evaluation
EVALUATING
#1
PEOPLE =
DIFFERENTIATOR
Source: Jack Welch, now Jeff Immelt, on GE’s
top strategic skill (!!!!)
LEADERSHIP:
SOME “STUFF”
st
1 -Line
Bosses
(Cadre of) =
Productivity Asset
#1!
If the regimental commander lost most of his
2nd lieutenants and 1st lieutenants and captains
If he
lost his sergeants it
would be a
catastrophe. The Army and the
and majors, it would be a tragedy.
Navy are fully aware that success on the
battlefield is dependent to an extraordinary
degree on its Sergeants and Chief Petty
Officers. Does industry have the same
awareness?
Employee retention
& satisfaction & productivity:
Overwhelmingly
based on the
first-line
manager!
Source: Marcus Buckingham & Curt Coffman, First, Break All the
Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently
“People leave
managers not
companies.”
—Dave Wheeler
Is there ONE “secret” to
productivity and
employee satisfaction?
YES!
The Quality of your
FULL CADRE of …
1st-line Leaders.
25/50
“A desk is a
dangerous place
from which to
view the world.”
—John Le Carré
MBWA
(Managing By Wandering Around)
“I’m always stopping by our
at least
a week.
stores—
25
I’m also in other
places: Home Depot, Whole Foods,
Crate & Barrel. I try to be a sponge to
pick up as much as I can.” —Howard Schultz
Source: Fortune, “Secrets of Greatness”
YOU ARE NOT
A JERK.
“Most managers spend a great deal of time thinking about what they plan to do, but relatively little time thinking about what
they plan not to do. As a result, they become so caught up … in fighting the fires of the moment that they cannot really attend to
the long-term threats and risks facing the organization. So the first soft skill of leadership the hard way is to cultivate the
Let me
put it bluntly: every leader should
routinely keep a substantial portion of
his or her time—I would say as much as
perspective of Marcus Aurelius: avoid busyness, free up your time, stay focused on what really matters.
50
percent—unscheduled.
… Only when you have substantial ‘slop’ in your schedule—unscheduled time—will you have the space to reflect on what you are
doing, learn from experience, and recover from your inevitable mistakes. Leaders without such free time end up tackling issues
only when there is an immediate or visible problem. Managers’ typical response to my argument about free time is, ‘That’s all
Yet we waste so much time in unproductive
activity—it takes an enormous effort on the part of the leader to keep
free time for the truly important things.”
well and good, but there are things I have to do.’
—Dov
Frohman (& Robert Howard), Leadership The Hard Way: Why Leadership Can’t Be Taught—
And How You Can Learn It Anyway (Chapter 5, “The Soft Skills Of Hard Leadership”)
“The
4 most
important
words in any
organization are …
THE FOUR MOST IMPORTANT WORDS IN ANY ORGANIZATION
“WHAT
DO YOU
THINK?”
ARE …
Source: courtesy Dave Wheeler, posted at tompeters.com
MICROMANAGE
“CULTURAL
OVERSIGHT”
Leader Job #1:
The “Have
you …”
50
“Mapping your
competitive
position”
or …
1. Have you in the
last 10 days …
VISITED
a customer?
2. Have you called a
customer …
TODAY ?
1.
2.
Have you … in the last 10 days … visited a customer?
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?
Have you thanked a front-line employee for a small act of
helpfulness … in the last three days?
4.
5. Have you thanked a front-line employee for a small act of helpfulness …
last three hours?
in the
6. Have you thanked a front-line employee for carrying around a great attitude … today?
7. Have you in the last week recognized—publicly—one of your folks for a small act of crossfunctional co-operation?
8. Have you in the last week recognized—publicly—one of “their” folks (another function) for a
small act of cross-functional co-operation?
9. Have you invited in the last month a leader of another function to your weekly team priorities
meeting?
10. Have you personally in the last week-month called-visited an internal or external customer to
sort out, inquire, or apologize for some little or big thing that went awry? (No reason for doing so?
If true—in your mind—then you’re more out of touch than I dared imagine.)
The/Your
ONLY
Truthteller
You = Your
calendar*
*The calendar
NEVER
lies.
“Dennis, you need a …
‘TO-DON’T ’
List !”
“If there is any
ONE
‘secret’
to effectiveness, it is concentration.
Effective executives do first things first …
and they do
ONE thing at
a time.”
—Peter Drucker
I left out
one (BIG)
thing …
“Tom, you left out one
Leaders
enjoy
leading!”
thing …
Les Wexner: FROM FASHION
TRENDS GURU TO JOY
FROM PICKING/
DEVELOPING PEOPLE!*
*Limited Brands founder Les Wexner queried on astounding
(>>Welch) long-term growth & profitability: It happened, he said,
“I got as excited
about developing
people”
because
as he had been about predicting fashion
trends in his early years.
"When I hire
someone, that's
when I go to
work for
them.”
—John DiJulius, "What's the Secret
to Providing a World-class Customer Experience"
Leading Me
!
“Being aware of yourself
and how you
affect everyone
around you is
what distinguishes a
superior leader.”
—Edie Seashore
“How can a high-level leader like _____ be
so out of touch with the truth about
himself? It’s more common than you
In fact, the
higher up the ladder a
leader climbs, the less
accurate his selfassessment is likely to be.
would imagine.
The problem is an acute lack of feedback
[especially on people issues].”
—Daniel Goleman (et al.), The New Leaders
“To develop
others, start
with yourself.”
—Marshall Goldsmith
"Everyone thinks
of changing the
world, but no one
thinks of changing
himself."
—Leo Tolstoy
R.O.I.R.
>>
R.O.I.
RETURN ON
INVESTMENT IN
RELATIONSHIPS
“Allied commands depend on
mutual confidence and this
confidence is gained, above
all through the
DEVELOPMENT
OF FRIENDSHIPS.”
—General D.D. Eisenhower*
*“Perhaps his most outstanding ability [at West Point]
he made friends and earned the
trust of fellow cadets who came from widely
varied backgrounds; it was a quality that would pay great
was the ease with which
dividends during his future coalition command.”
“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
“If I had to
#1
pick the
failing of CEOs,
it’s that …
“If I had to pick one failing of
they
don’t read
enough.”
CEOs, it’s that …
!
Your* (*My )
Judgment
Stinks
“The first principle
is that you must
not fool yourself,
and you are the
easiest person to
fool.”
—Richard Feynman
“Unfortunately, Kahneman argues
[Nobel laureate Daniel
Kahneman’s masterpiece
Thinking, Fast and Slow],
very often our brain is to lazy to think
slowly and methodically. Instead, we let
the fast way of thinking take over. As a
consequence, we often ‘see’ imaginary
causalities, and thus fundamentally
misunderstand the world.”
Source: Big Data: A Revolution That Will Transform How We Live, Work,
and Think, by Viktor Mayer-Schonberger and Kenneth Cukier
For a list of
159
cognitive
biases, see …
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cognitive_biases
Acknowledgement
!
“The deepest principle
in human nature is the
craving* to be
appreciated.”
—William James
*“‘Craving,’ not ‘wish’ or ‘desire’ or ‘longing,’”
per Dale Carnegie, How to Win Friends and Influence People
(chapter, “The BIG Secret of Dealing With People”)
“Acknowledge” …
perhaps the most
powerful word (and
idea) in the English
language—and
in the manager’s
tool kit!
“Employees who
don't feel significant
rarely make
significant
contributions.”
—Mark Sanborn
2/3/5
“I’M
SORRY”
*******************
“I regard apologizing as the
most magical, healing,
restorative gesture human
beings can make. It is the
CENTERPIECE of
my work with executives
who want to get better.”
—Marshall Goldsmith, What Got You Here Won’t Get You There:
How Successful People Become Even More Successful.
With a new and forthcoming policy on
apologies … Toro, the lawn mower folks,
reduced the average cost of settling a claim
$115,000 in 1991 to
$35,000 in 2008 … and the
company hasn’t
been to trial in the
last15 years!
from
THERE ONCE
WAS A TIME WHEN A
Relationships
(of all varieties):
THREE-MINUTE
PHONE CALL WOULD
HAVE AVOIDED SETTING OFF THE
DOWNWARD SPIRAL THAT
RESULTED IN A COMPLETE
RUPTURE.*
*Divorce, loss of a BILLION $$$ aircraft sale, etc., etc.
THE PROBLEM IS
RARELY/NEVER THE
PROBLEM. THE
RESPONSE TO THE
PROBLEM INVARIABLY
ENDS UP BEING THE
REAL PROBLEM.*
*PERCEPTION IS ALL THERE IS!
“It
takes 20 years to
build a reputation
and five minutes to
ruin it. Also, the Internet and
Welcome to the Age of Social Media:
technology have made customers more
demanding., and they expect information,
answers, products, responses, and
resolutions sooner than ASAP.”
—John DiJulius, The Customer Service Revolution
Meetings
ROCK
!
(Make that: SHOULD Rock)
(Make that CAN Rock)
(Make that MUST Rock)
Complain all
you want,
but meetings
are what you
(boss/leader)
do .
Meetings =
#1
leadership opportunity* **
(*pure THEATER)
(**prep prep prep prep!)
Every meeting that
does not stir the imagination
and curiosity of attendees
and increase bonding and
co-operation and engagement
and sense of worth and
motivate rapid action and
enhance enthusiasm is a
permanently lost opportunity.
Meeting:
100
“The problem with
communication
is the illusion that
it has been
accomplished.”
——George Bernard Shaw
Leaders:
Communications
failure …
100%*
*Your fault!
14 = 14
LISTENING:
IN A LEAGUE
OF ITS OWN
“The doctor
interrupts
after …*
*Source: Jerome Groopman, How Doctors Think
18 …
18 …
seconds!
(An obsession with) Listening is ... the ultimate mark
of
Listening
Listening
Listening
Listening
Listening
Listening
Listening
is
is
is
is
is
is
is
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
Listening
Listening
Listening
Listening
is
is
is
is
...
...
...
...
Respect
the heart and soul of Engagement.
the heart and soul of Kindness.
the heart and soul of Thoughtfulness.
the basis for true Collaboration.
the basis for true Partnership.
a Team Sport.
a Developable Individual Skill.* (*Though women
are far better at it than men.)
the
the
the
the
basis for Community.
bedrock of Joint Ventures that work.
bedrock of Joint Ventures that grow.
core of effective Cross-functional
Communication.*
(*Which is in turn Attribute #1 of
organization effectiveness.)
.
Listening
Listening
Listening
Listening
Listening
Listening
Listening
Listening
Listening
Listening
Listening
Listening
Listening
Listening
Listening
Listening
Listening
is
is
is
is
is
is
is
is
is
is
is
is
is
is
is
is
is
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
EXECUTION
the engine of superior
.
the key to making the Sale.
the key to Keeping the Customer’s Business.
Service.
the engine of Network development.
the engine of Network maintenance.
the engine of Network expansion.
Social Networking’s “secret weapon.”
Learning.
the sine qua non of Renewal.
the sine qua non of Creativity.
the sine qua non of Innovation.
the core of taking diverse opinions aboard.
Strategy.
Source #1 of “Value-added.”
Differentiator #1.
Profitable.* (*The “R.O.I.” from listening is higher than
from any other single activity.)
Listening is … the bedrock which underpins a Commitment to
EXCELLENCE
#
Core Value
#1: “We are Effective
Suggested
Listeners—we treat Listening
EXCELLENCE as the
Centerpiece of our Commitment
to Respect and Engagement and
Community and Growth and
Innovation and Profitability.”
Part ONE:
LISTEN*
(pp11-116, of 364)
*“The key to every one of our [eight] leadership
attributes was the vital importance of a leader’s
ability to listen.” (One of Branson’s personal keys to listening
is notetaking—he has hundreds of notebooks.)
Source:
Richard Branson, The Virgin Way: How to Listen, Learn, Laugh, and Lead
A Profession
*Listening is of the
utmost … STRATEGIC
importance!
*Listening is a proper …
CORE VALUE !
*Listening is … TRAINABLE !
*Listening is a …
PROFESSION !
Step
#1*
*Right now
“I always write
‘LISTEN’ on
the back of my hand
before a meeting.”
Source: Tweet viewed @tom_peters
AVOID MODERATION
AVOID
MODERATION
!
Kevin Roberts’ Credo
1. Ready. Fire! Aim.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
If it ain’t broke ... Break it!
Hire crazies.
Ask dumb questions.
Pursue failure.
Lead, follow ... or get out of the way!
Spread confusion.
Ditch your office.
Read odd stuff.
10.
AVOID MODERATION!
“INSANELY GREAT”
STEVE JOBS
“RADICALLY THRILLING”
BMW
“ASTONISH ME”
SERGEI DIAGHLEV, TO A LEAD DANCER
“BUILD SOMETHING GREAT”
HIROSHI YAMAUCHI, NINTENDO, TO A SENIOR GAME DESIGNER
“MAKE IT IMMORTAL”
DAVID OGILVY, TO A COPYWRITER.
“You can’t behave in
a calm, rational
manner. You’ve got
to be out there on
the lunatic fringe.”
— Jack Welch
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