LONG
Tom Peters’
EXCELLENCE.
ALWAYS.
The basics.
World Marketing and Innovation Forum/HSM
Mexico D.F./05 November 2008
To appreciate
this presentation [and ensure
that it is not a mess], you need
Microsoft fonts:
NOTE:
“Showcard Gothic,”
“Ravie,” “Chiller”
and “Verdana”
Slides at …
tompeters.com
“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.”
Gazelles’ opinion/Recession duration:
6 Months: 7%
1 Year: 33%
2 years: 39%
3-5 years: 21%
Internal
organizational
excellence =
Deepest “Blue
Ocean”
Howard’s Lesson:
Advice for
tough times.
Win With the “2Es.”
Execution.
Excellence.
Tom Peters/1104.08
My advice for tough times:
**Put “clever” on hold.
**Basics rule!
Execution rules!
**
**Opportunism—and there may be some or a lot
of room for it—is pulled off through excellence
in execution, not ingenuity.
**The game is won or lost at the front line!
(More than ever, if that’s possible.)
**Showing up rules!
**Excellence rules!
**MBWA rules!
“Execution
is strategy.”
—Fred Malek
Conrad Hilton, at a gala
celebrating his life,
was asked, “What was the
most important lesson
you’ve learned in you long
and distinguished career?”
His immediate answer …
Conrad Hilton, at a gala celebrating his life,
was asked, “What was the most important lesson you’ve learned
in you long and distinguished career?”
His immediate answer:
“remember
to tuck the
shower curtain
inside the
bathtub”
My advice for tough times:
**Put “clever” on hold.
**Basics rule!
**Execution rules!
**Opportunism—and
there may be
some or a lot of room for it—
is pulled off through excellence
in execution, not ingenuity.
**The game is won or lost at the front line!
(More than ever, if that’s possible.)
**Showing up rules!
**Excellence rules!
**MBWA rules!
“I [will] not
accept the explanation of a
recession negatively
affecting the [new] business.
There are still people
traveling. We just have to get
them to stay in our hotel.”
Horst’s Lesson:
—Horst Schulze, on his new chain, Capella, from Prestige
(06.08) The Return of History and the End of Dreams
My advice for tough times:
**Keep it simple!
**Transparency rules: shoot straighter than
straight!
**Go for “small wins”!
**“Thoughtful in all we do”—regardless
of how much yogurt (shit) is hitting
the fan.
**In tough times, those who play the blame
game in any way, shape or form get the first
pink slips!
**Special for BigCo CEOs: “opportunistically”
bulking up by buying big pieces of crap at
bargain prices is tempting but truly a sign of
advanced brain damage.
“We are
thoughtful
in all we do.”
My advice for tough times/Managers:
**Banish gloomy from your personal demeanor—
if it kills you!
**“Sunny” is pretty stupid too: Who do you think
you’re kidding.
**“Determined”-“Gettin’ on with gettin’ on” is
best.
**The great juggling act: PMA while preparing
for the worst. (Positive Mental Attitude—but
know the drill if the recession goes 24
months, which it easily might.
MBWA
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))
Yes: Dilution, other
control and shareowning issues.
Yes: Scale-as-power.
Yes: Market share.
No: People.
No: Product.
No: Value to customer.
Yes: People.
Yes: Product.
Yes: Value to customer.
No: Dilution, other
control and shareowning issues.
No: Scale-as-power.
No: Market share.
Thank you ,
Herb , Robert,
Peter &
Siberia …
“You have to
treat your
employees like
customers.”
—Herb Kelleher,
complete answer, upon being asked his “secrets 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)
“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
… 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.
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 service of
others.**
**Employees, Customers, Suppliers, Communities, Owners, Temporary partners
Thank you Ben
& Norm, Ike ,
Nelson M., and
Delaware/Woody …
Give
good
tea!
“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.”
“I am a
dispenser of
enthusiasm.”
—Ben Zander
“eighty percent
of success is
showing up.”
—Woody Allen
L(+21) = L(-21)
Leadership(21A.D.) =
Leadership(21B.C.)
Thank
you , Team
Planetree …
“Kindness
is free.”
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
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
Access to nurses station:
“Happen to”
vs
“Happen with”
Source: Putting Patients First, Susan Frampton, Laura Gilpin, Patrick Charmel
“Courtesies of a small and
trivial character are the
ones which strike
deepest in the grateful
and appreciating heart.”
—Henry Clay
Thank you ,
Dave and
Dr. Groopman …
“The four most important
words in any
organization
‘What do
you think?’ ”
are …
Source: courtesy Dave Wheeler, posted at
tompeters.com, source of original unknown (0609.08)
Thank you ,
Marshall , Edie,
Richard and
Mr Gandhi …
“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)
“How can a high-level leader like _____ be so
out of touch with the truth about himself? It’s
more common than you would imagine. In fact,
the higher up the ladder a leader climbs, the less
accurate his self-assessment is likely to be. The
problem is an acute lack of feedback [especially
on people issues].”
—Daniel Goleman (et al.), The New Leaders
“I used to have a rule for myself that at any point in
time I wanted to have in mind — as it so happens,
also in writing, on a little card I carried around with
me — the three big things I was trying to get done.
Three.
Not two.
Not four.
Not five.
Not ten.
Three.”
— Richard Haass, The Power to Persuade
“Dennis, you need a …
‘To-don’t ’
List !”
You = Your
calendar*
*Calendars
never lie
“You must
be
the change you
wish to see in the
world.”
Gandhi
Relationships
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.
(of all varieties)
:
THE PROBLEM IS
RARELY/NEVER THE
PROBLEM. THE
RESPONSE TO THE
PROBLEM INVARIABLY
ENDS UP BEING THE
REAL PROBLEM.* **
*Watergate, M Stewart, BR
**And: PERCEPTION IS ALL THERE IS!
Thank
you, Sheik
Mohammad
(& Jerry) …
Single
greatest act
of pure
imagination
Does your
project
portfolio
“have
a dubai”?
Thank
you Germany
and Jim …
#4 Japan
#3 USA
#2 China
#1 Germany
Reason!!!
Mittelstand
Jim’s
Group
Jim’s Mowing Canada
Jim’s Mowing UK
Jim’s Antennas
Jim’s Bookkeeping
Jim’s Building Maintenance
Jim’s Carpet Cleaning
Jim’s Car Cleaning
Jim’s Computer Services
Jim’s Dog Wash
Jim’s Driving School
Jim’s Fencing
Jim’s Floors
Jim’s Painting
Jim’s Paving
Jim’s Pergolas [gazebos]
Jim’s Pool Care
Jim’s Pressure Cleaning
Jim’s Roofing
Jim’s Security Doors
Jim’s Trees
Jim’s Window Cleaning
Jim’s Windscreens
Note: Download, free, Jim Penman’s book:
What Will They Franchise Next? The Story of Jim’s Group
“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
You don’t
get better
by being
bigger. You
Dick Kovacevich:
“Data drawn from the real world
attest to a fact that is beyond
Everything
in existence tends
to deteriorate.”
our control:
—Norberto Odebrecht, Education Through Work
Thank
you , Herb,
John et al. …
“We have a
‘strategic plan.’
It’s called doing
things.”
— Herb Kelleher
“This is so simple it sounds stupid, but it is amazing
how few oil people really understand that
you only find
oil if you drill
wells.
You may think you’re finding it
when you’re drawing maps and
studying logs, but you have to drill.”
Source: The Hunters, by John Masters, Canadian O & G wildcatter
“We made mistakes, of course. Most of them were
omissions we didn’t think of when we initially wrote the
software. We fixed them by doing it over and over, again
and again. We do the same today. While our competitors
are still sucking their thumbs trying to make the design
perfect, we’re already on prototype version
#5.
By
the time our rivals are
ready with wires and screws, we are on version
#10. It gets back to planning
versus acting: We act from day
one; others plan how to plan—
for months.” —Bloomberg by Bloomberg
“Reward
excellent failures.
Punish mediocre
successes.”
Phil Daniels, Sydney exec
Thank you ,
Anthelme
Brillat-Savarin
and Ludwig
Feuerbach …*
*”You are what you eat”
1.1/40
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
“[CEO A.G.] Lafley has shifted P&G’s
focus on inventing all its own
products to developing others’
at least
half the time. One
inventions
successful example Mr. Clean Magic
Eraser, based on a product found in
an Osaka market.”
Source: Fortune, 12.18.06
The “Hang Out Axiom”: At
its core, every (!!!)
relationship-partnership
decision (employee,
vendor, customer, etc)
is a strategic decision
about:
“Innovate,
‘Yes’ or ‘No’ ”
“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
We are the
lunches we
eat. We are
where
we live.
X
=XFX*
#1:
*Excellence = Cross-functional Excellence
The “XF-50”: 50 Ways to
Enhance Cross-Functional
Effectiveness and Deliver
Speed, “Service Excellence”
and “Value-added
Customer ‘Solutions’”*
*Entire “XF-50” List is an Appendix to the LONG version of
this presentation, posted at tompeters.com
Never
waste a
lunch!
????
% XF
lunches*
*Measure!
location!
Location!
location!
We are the
systems
we build.
[ simplest of]
Nudge.
Sway.
K.I.S.S.
90K in U.S.A. ICUs on any
given day; 178 steps/day
in ICU.
50%
stays result
in “serious complication”
Source: Atul Gawande, “The Checklist” (New Yorker, 1210.07)
**Peter Pronovost,
Johns Hopkins, 2001
**Checklist, line infections
**1/3rd at least one error when he started
**Nurses/permission to stop procedure
if doc, other not following checklist
**In 1 year, 10-day line-infection rate:
11% to …
0%
Source: Atul Gawande, “The Checklist” (New Yorker, 1210.07)
“Everything matters”
-80%
Source:
Nudge, Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein ,
We are the
webs we
have spun.
???????
“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!”
C(I) > C(E)
We are the
“Roster”
we have
recruited.
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
Brand =
Talent.
#1 failing?
#1 cause of
Dis-satisfaction?
2/year =
legacy.
Thank
you, Lou …
“M” = $0
IB :
$55B*
M
*Also HP-EDS
“THE GIANT STALKING BIG OIL: How
Schlumberger Is
Rewriting the Rules of the Energy
Game.”: “IPM [Integrated Project
Management] strays from
[Schlumberger’s] traditional role
as a service provider and moves
deeper into areas once dominated
by the majors.”
Source: BusinessWeek cover story, January 2008
The Value-added Ladder/TRANSFORMATION
Customer Success/
Gamechanging
Solutions
Services
Goods
Raw Materials
Department Head
to …
Managing
Partner,
IS Inc.
[HR, R&D, etc.]
Answer:
Ideal “finance staffer”:
**Full-scale “business partner”
[CFO?] to the/each department
she serves.
**Not cop—obsessed instead with
value-added
**Integration first, “stovepipe”
secondary
**MBWA/bigtime
**Networker to the rest of Finance
Thank you,
Singapore,
Detroit, Joe
& Jim, and
Steve …
2-cent
candy
<TGW
vs.
>TGR
“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
“You know a
design is good
when you want
to lick it.”
—Steve Jobs
Source: Design: Intelligence Made Visible,
Stephen Bayley & Terence Conran
Hypothesis:
DESIGN is
the principal
difference
between love
and hate!*
*Not “like” and “dislike”
Thank you,
Heather …
“Forget China,
India and the
Internet: Economic
Growth Is Driven
by
Women.”
—Headline,
Economist, April 15, 2006, Leader, page 14
“Women are
the majority
market”
—Fara Warner/The Power of the Purse
“Goldman Sachs in Tokyo has
developed an index of 115
companies poised to benefit from
women’s increased purchasing
power; over the past decade the
value of shares in Goldman’s
basket has risen by 96%, against
the Tokyo stockmarket’s rise
of 13%.” —Economist, April 15
“AS LEADERS,
WOMEN
RULE:
New Studies find that
female managers outshine their male
counterparts in almost every measure”
TITLE/ Special Report/ BusinessWeek
10 UNASSAILABLE REASONS WOMEN RULE
Women make [all] the financial decisions.
Women control [all] the wealth.
Women [substantially] outlive men.
Women start most of the new businesses.
Women’s work force participation rates have
soared worldwide.
Women are closing in on “same pay for same
job.”
Women are penetrating senior ranks rapidly
[even if the pace is slow for the corner
office per se].
Women’s leadership strengths are exceptionally well
aligned with new organizational effectiveness
imperatives.
Women are better salespersons than men.
Women buy [almost] everything—commercial
as well as consumer goods.
So what exactly is the point of men?
Thank you,
Bill …
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
“People turning 50
more
than half of
today have
their adult life
ahead of them.”
—Bill Novelli,
50+: Igniting a Revolution to Reinvent America
Thank you,
Dean Dezso Horvath,
Schulich School
of Management ,
York University –
Canada …
The GTD*
MBA
*Getting Things Done
Tom Peters/1104.08
Core
*Managing people I, II, III, IV
*Creating and managing systems
with high impact
*Leadership I, II
*Servant leadership
*Execution I, II, III
*Creating a “Try it now”-“Fail Forward
Fast”-“Ready. Fire. Aim.” “culture”
*Maximizing ROIR [Return On Investment
in Relationships]
*Sales I, II, III, IV
*Service basics I, II
*Creating incredible customer
experiences
Core
*The art and science of influence I, II
*Crucial conversations-Crucial
confrontations
*Accounting* I, II [*acctg., not “finance”]
*Accountability I, II
*Calendar mastery/Mastering “to don’t”
*MBWA I, II
*Nurturing and harvesting curiosity
in one and all
*Giving great presentations I, II
*Active listening I, II
*Excellence as aspiration,
Excellence everywhere,
Excellence all the time
Other
*Recruiting top talent for 100% of
enterprise jobs
*Recruiting for smile, enthusiasm,
energy
*Nurturing top talent
*Helping people (employees,
customers, vendors, communities)
grow and realize their dreams
*The promotion decision
*Women as pre-eminent leaders
*Building friends through effective
firing
*The power of decentralization—and
the barriers thereto
Other
*The art of finding and loving weirdos
*Creating an environment of respect
and decency
*The pre-eminent role of emotion in
everything
*Saying “thank you” I, II
*Aggressive apologizing
*Giving good phone, working the phones
*Creating and nurturing lasting win-win
alliances
*Creating or changing a unit’s “culture”
*The real “stuff”-basics of crossfunctional excellence
Other
*Developing and sustaining a spirited
workplace
*Becoming the gemstone of the
community
*Mastering the Internet I, II
*Appreciating and playing with new
technologies
*Knowing oneself
*Marketing
*Marketing to women I, II
*Marketing to boomers-geezers I, II
*Design-mindedness as a “cultural”
attribute
Other
*The Art of the Nudge
*Rapid prototyping of everything,
and the Art of Serious Play
*Rewarding failures
*Increasing a business’s metabolic rate
*Diversity power everywhere
*The power of universal transparency
Spare Time
*Strategy
*Finance
*Globalization
Thank you,
Eleanor, Kevin,
Sheik Mohammad
and Mike …
“Do one thing
every day
that scares
you.”
—Eleanor Roosevelt
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!
Does your
project
portfolio
“have
a dubai”?
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
Thank you ,
Nassim Nicholas
Taleb …
APPENDIX:
The Black Swan
44: Tactical
Rules for
Survival (and
success) in
Looney times
Black Swan Tactical Rules
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
K.I.S.S.
Hammer on the basics.
Focus on us, not the competition.
Puzzle-solving: How to turn this
into an opportunity.
MBWA/X.
MBWA/I.
MBWA/Vendors.
Waaaaay over-communicate!!!!!!
(With everyone—start with your
banker.)
Black Swan Tactical Rules
9. All work is team work.
10. Transparency.
11. Work the phones.
12. Perception of fairness.
13. Share the pain.
14. Decency!!!!!!!
15. Grace!!
16. “Thank you.”
17. Control your impatience—
no temper tantrums.
18. Constant attitude checks—you.
Black Swan Tactical Rules
19. Dress for success.
20. Avoid burnout/you, the team,
the entire organization.
21. Re-emphasize the company
values-philosophy. (Now,
more than ever.)
22. Quality!!!!!! (Now, more than ever.)
23. No corner cutting. (Now, more
than ever.)
24. Constant reviews/War room.
25. Celebration of small wins.
Black Swan Tactical Rules
26. People First/HR is King.
27. Help people with personal
financial management.
28. Be generous to those who are
let go—e.g. healthcare benefits.
29. Don’t over-analyze.
30. Don’t under-analyze.
31. Cuts all at once—if possible.
32. Cuts explained in great detail.
33. Quantitative calendar
management—focus on “to don’ts.”
Black Swan Tactical Rules
34. Increase customer-service
training.
35. In general, minimize training cuts.
36. Be(very)ware R&D cuts; R&D
quick pay SWAT teams.
37. Beware such things as sales
travel cuts, ad cuts.
38. “Across the board” = Dumb.
39. Is this a time to over-invest if
cash is at hand? (E.g., distressed
innovative start-ups?
Black Swan Tactical Rules
40. Stealth work on the likes of
XF communication.
41. This could last a long time—
LT prep is necessary now.
42. Prepare/Be prepared for more
Black Swans.
43.
Excellence. (Now,
more than ever.)
(44. Remember all this in
peacetime—Chuck Knight’s
legacy.)