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Final
Tom Peters’ X25*
EXCELLENCE.
ALWAYS.
People.
Period.
Taleo/0910.2007/San Francisco
*In Search of Excellence 1982-2007
Slides at …
tompeters.com
Establishing
Shot #1
Q4/2006
+500,000
Source: Barron’s 0922.07
Q4/2006
+500,000 = ?
Source: Barron’s 0922.07
Q4/2006
+500,000 =
+7,700,000
-7,200,000
Source: Barron’s 0922.07
Establishing
Shot #2
Flash …
The
Rich Get
Richer
Flash …
#1/100
“Best Companies to
Work for”/2005
Wegmans
“I have always
believed that the
purpose of the
corporation is to be
a blessing to the
employees.”
—Boyd Clarke
Establishing
Shot #3
profits,
people or
people,
profits?
Hard Is Soft
Soft Is Hard
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
“How to piss
away $500,000
in one easy
lesson!!”
TP:
EXCELLENCE.
ASPIRATION.
2006.
Why in the
World did you
go to Siberia?
Synonyms
Purity
Transcendence
Virtue
Elegance
Majesty
Antonyms
Mediocrity
Enthusiasm.
Emotion. Excellence. Energy.
Excitement. Service. Growth.
Creativity. Imagination. Vitality.
Joy. Surprise. Independence.
Spirit. Community. Limitless
human potential. Diversity.
Profit. Innovation. Design.
Quality. Entrepreneurialism.
The Peters Principles:
Wow!
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
“To me business isn’t about
wearing suits or pleasing
stockholders. It’s about
being true to yourself,
your ideas and focusing on
the essentials.” —Richard Branson
Did one of ’em ever turn to the
other and say: “Wow I
wonder what
unimaginable new tools,
otherwise not possible,
will be quickly brought
forth for our customers
because of this deal?”
Organizations exist
to serve. Period.
Leaders live to
serve. Period.
Summer 2007.
Organizations exist
to serve. Period.
Leaders live to
serve. Period.
Organizations exist to serve. Period.
Leaders live to serve. Period.
Passionate servant leaders, determined to create
a legacy of earthshaking transformation in their
domain (a 600SF retail space, a 4-person training department,
an urban school, a rural school, a city, a nation), create/
must necessarily create organizations which are
no less than Cathedrals in which the full and
awesome power of the Imagination and Spirit and
native Entrepreneurial flair (We are all
entrepreneurs—Muhammad Yunus) of diverse individuals
(100% creative Talent—from checkout to lab, from Apple to
Wegmans to Jane’s one-person accountancy in Invercargill NZ)
is unleashed in passionate pursuit of jointly
perceived soaring purpose (= win a Nobel peace prize
like Yunus, or at least do something worthy of bragging about
and personal and
community and client service Excellence.
25 years from now to your grandkids)
Organizations exist to serve. Period.
Leaders live to serve. Period.
Passionate servant leaders, determined to create
a legacy of earthshaking transformation in their
domain create/ must necessarily create
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
organizations which are …
passionate pursuit of jointly perceived soaring
purpose and personal and community and client
service Excellence.
… 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.
Such Talent unbound pursue Quests
(rapidly and
relentlessly experimenting and failing and trying
which surprise and surpass and
redefine the expectations of the individual
and the servant leader alike. The collective
“products” of these Quests offer the best
chance of achieving rapid organizational and
individual adaptation to fast-transforming
environments, and provide the nutrition for
continuing (and sometimes dramatic) reimaginings which re-draw the boundaries
of industries and communities and human
achievement and the very conception of
what is possible.
again)
In turn, such organizations, bent upon excellence
and re-imaginings based on maximizing human
creativity and achievement, will automatically
create cadres of imaginative and inspiring and
determined servant leaders who stick around to
take the organization to another level, and then
another—or, equally or more important, leave
to spread the virus of Freedom-CreativityExcellence-Transforming Purpose by pathfinding
new streets, highways and alleyways which
vitalize and revitalize, through creative
destruction, Entrepreneurial Capitalism, which
is the best hope for maximizing collective human
Freedom, Happiness, Prosperity, Wellbeing—and,
one prays, some measure of Peace on earth.
… such organizations, bent upon
excellence and re-imaginings based on
maximizing human creativity and
achievement … vitalize and
revitalize, through creative
destruction, Entrepreneurial
Capitalism, which is the best hope
for maximizing collective human
Freedom, Happiness, Prosperity,
Wellbeing—and, one prays, some
measure of Peace on earth.
EXCELLENCE.
“the rules.”
Cause
Space
(worthy of commitment)
(room for/encouragement
for initiative)
Decency
(respect, humane)
“We are a
‘Life Success’
Company.”
Dave Liniger, founder, RE/MAX
EXCELLENCE.
ASPIRATION.
UNIVERSAL.
Basement
Systems
Inc.
*Basement Systems Inc.
*Larry Janesky
*Dry Basement Science (115,000!)
*1993: $0; 2003: $12M;
2006:
$50,000,000+
Wegmans
EXCELLENCE.
INNOVATE.
OR.
DIE.
InnoTacs
We become
who we hang
out with 1
“Normal” =
“o for 800”
Why Do I love Freaks?
(1) Because when Anything Interesting happens … it was
a freak who did it. (Period.)
(2) Freaks are fun. (Freaks are also a pain.) (Freaks are
never boring.)
(3) We need freaks. Especially in freaky times. (Hint:
These are freaky times, for you & me & the CIA & the
Army & Avon.)
(4) A critical mass of freaks-in-our-midst
automatically make us-who-are-not-so-freaky at least
somewhat more freaky. (Which is a Good Thing in freaky
times—see immediately above.)
(5) Freaks are the only (ONLY) ones who succeed—as in,
make it into the history books.
(6) Freaks keep us from falling into ruts. (If we listen to
them.) (We seldom listen to them.) (Which is why most
organizations are in ruts. Make that chasms.)
“The
Bottleneck Is at
the Top of the Bottle”
“Where are you likely to find people with the least diversity of
experience, the largest investment in the past, and the greatest
reverence for industry dogma:
At the top!”
— Gary Hamel/Harvard Business Review
The Memphis Manifesto*:
Building a Community of Ideas
1. Cultivate & reward creativity.
2. Invest in the creative ecosystem.
3. Embrace diversity.
4. Nurture the creatives.
5. Value risk-taking.
6. Be authentic (emphasize uniqueness)
7. Invest in and build on quality of place.
8. Remove barriers to creativity.
9. Take responsibility for change. Development as D.I.Y.
10. Ensure that every person, especially children,
has the right to creativity. Become a
“Steward of creativity.”
*2003/The Creative 100/Memphis
Source:
Richard Florida, The Rise
of the Creative Class
Try it. Try it. Try it
ry it. Try it. Screw
up. Try it. Try it. Try
t. Try it. Try it. Try
t. Try it. Screw it up
t. Try it. Try it. try
“We have a
‘strategic plan.’
It’s called doing
things.”
— Herb Kelleher
“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
“Experiment
fearlessly”
Source: BW0821.06, Type A Organization Strategies/
“How to Hit a Moving Target”—Tactic #1
Screw.
things.
“Fail .
Forward.
Fast.”
High Tech CEO, Pennsylvania
“Reward
excellent failures.
Punish mediocre
successes.”
Phil Daniels, Sydney exec
“The secret of fast
progress is
inefficiency, fast and
furious and numerous
failures.” —Kevin Kelly
try.
Miss.
READY.
FIRE!
No try.
No deal.
“You miss
100% of
the shots you
never take.”
—Wayne Gretzky
EXCELLENCE.
INDIVIDUAL.
BRAND YOU.
“If there is nothing
very special about
your work, no matter
how hard you apply yourself
you won’t get noticed, and
that increasingly means you
won’t get paid much either.”
—Michael Goldhaber, Wired
12January2006
th,
Happy 300
Brand You!
The
electrician
knows!
EXCELLENCE.
BEDROCK.
TALENT.
Hire very
good
people!
“We believe companies can increase their market cap
50 percent in 3 years. Steve Macadam at Georgia-
Pacific …
changed
20 of his
40 box plant managers
to put more talented,
higher paid managers in
charge. He increased profitability from
$25
million to
$80
million in
—Ed Michaels, War for Talent
2
years.”
INVITE THEM TO
JOIN US IN A
JOURNEY TO
EXCELLENCE!
“In the end, management
doesn’t change culture.
Management
invites
the workforce itself to
change the culture.”
—Lou Gerstner
EMPHASIZE
THE “SOFT
SKILLS.”
Diversity =
profit
“Diversity defines
the health and
wealth of nations in a
new century. Mighty is the
mongrel. The hybrid is hip. The impure, the mélange,
the adulterated, the blemished, the rough, the blackand-blue, the mix-and-match – these people are
inheriting the earth. Mixing is the new norm. Mixing
trumps isolation. It spawns creativity, nourishes the
human spirit, spurs economic growth and
empowers nations.”
—G. Pascal Zachary, The Global Me:
New Cosmopolitans and the Competitive Edge
53 = 53
“Never, ever again
will I evaluate anyone
using a standardized
instrument devised by
a “professional” in
inhuman Resources.”
Promise #1:
Bend Over
Backwards
to Retain
Women!
“Forget China,
India and the
Internet: Economic
Growth Is Driven
by
Women.”
—Headline,
Economist, April 15, 2006, Leader, page 14
“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
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
14 168*
to
*Leadership Positions/D&T/1992-2002/WIAR
(Women’s Initiative Annual Report)
“Winning the Talent
War for Women:
Sometimes It Takes a
Revolution”
—Douglas McCracken,
HBR, Article title
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
(more or less) (circa 0331.2007)
SO YOU’RE A
“PEOPLE
PERSON”?
PROVE IT.
“The leaders of Great Groups
love talent and know
where to find it. They
revel in the talent
of others.”
—Warren Bennis &
Patricia Ward Biederman, Organizing Genius
PARC’s Bob Taylor:
“Connoisseur
of Talent”
SO YOU’RE A
“PEOPLE
PERSON”?
PROVE IT.
< CAPEX
> People!
SO YOU’RE A
“PEOPLE
PERSON”?
PROVE IT.
PUT HR AT THE
HEAD OF THE HEAD
TABLE. BEST
PEOPLE. NOBLEST
MISSION.
LIVE FOR
TALENT!
Our Mission
To develop and manage talent;
to apply that talent,
throughout the world,
for the benefit of clients;
to do so in partnership;
to do so with profit.
WPP
“Get” the “Duh Factor”:
Brand =
Talent.
“I have always
believed that the
purpose of the
corporation is to be
a blessing to the
employees.”
—Boyd Clarke
EXCELLENCE.
AWOL.
THE SCHOOLS
FIASCO.
K-12.
“Every child is
born an artist.
The trick is to
remain an
artist.” —Picasso
EXCELLENCE.
BEDROCK.
LEADERSHIP.
9Ps.
PURPOSE.
PASSION.
Potential.
Presence.
Personal.
PERSISTENCE.
PEOPLE.
Potent.
Positive.
PURPOSE.
PASSION.
Potential.
Presence.
Personal.
PERSISTENCE.
PEOPLE.
Potent.
Positive.
“People want to be part of
something larger than
themselves. They want to be
part of something they’re
really proud of, that they’ll
fight for, sacrifice for ,
trust.”
—Howard Schultz, Starbucks (IBD/09.05)
PURPOSE.
PASSION.
Potential.
Presence.
Personal.
PERSISTENCE.
PEOPLE.
Potent.
Positive.
Ben Zander:
“I am a …
Dispenser of
Enthusiasm!”
PURPOSE.
PASSION.
Potential.
Presence.
Personal.
PERSISTENCE.
PEOPLE.
Potent.
Positive.
“The role of the Director is to create a
space where the actors and
become more
than they’ve ever been
before, more than
they’ve dreamed of
being.”
actresses can
—Robert Altman, Oscar acceptance speech
PURPOSE.
PASSION.
Potential.
Presence.
Personal.
PERSISTENCE.
PEOPLE.
Potent.
Positive.
“It’s always
showtime.”
—David D’Alessandro, Career Warfare
PURPOSE.
PASSION.
Potential.
Presence.
Personal.
PERSISTENCE.
PEOPLE.
Potent.
Positive.
“You must
be
the change you
wish to see in the
world.”
Gandhi
PURPOSE.
PASSION.
Potential.
Presence.
Personal.
PERSISTENCE.
PEOPLE.
Potent.
Positive.
“Success seems to be
largely a matter
of hanging on
after others have
let go.”
—William Feather, author
PURPOSE.
PASSION.
Potential.
Presence.
Personal.
PERSISTENCE.
PEOPLE.
Potent.
Positive.
“Leaders
‘SERVE’
people.
Period.”
—Anon.
PURPOSE.
PASSION.
Potential.
Presence.
Personal.
PERSISTENCE.
PEOPLE.
Potent.
Positive.
“You do not merely want to
be the best of the best. You
want to be
considered the
only ones who do
what you do.”
—Jerry Garcia
PURPOSE.
PASSION.
Potential.
Presence.
Personal.
PERSISTENCE.
PEOPLE.
Potent.
Positive.
The greatest danger
for most of us
is not that our aim is
too high
and we miss it,
but that it is
too low
and we reach it.
Michelangelo
PURPOSE.
PASSION.
Potential.
Presence.
Personal.
PERSISTENCE.
PEOPLE.
Potent.
Positive.
"Life is not a journey to the
grave with the intention of
arriving safely in one pretty
and well preserved piece, but
to skid across the line
broadside, thoroughly used
up, worn out, leaking oil,
shouting ‘GERONIMO!’ ”
—Bill McKenna, professional motorcycle racer
(Cycle magazine 02.1982)
Geron-imo!