Excellence.
Leadership.
Hard is soft.
soft is hard.
Tom Peters/1209.08
Excellence:
Leading as
Symbolic
Behavior
Tom Peters/1203.08
“Nothing is so
contagious as
enthusiasm.”
—Samuel Taylor Coleridge
“You must be the change you wish to
see in the world.” —Gandhi
The silliest debate imaginable is:
“style” versus “substance.”
“Nothing is so contagious as enthusiasm”—
perhaps the most “substantive” remark I’ve
ever read. If excellence in execution is “the last
98%,” which it surely is, then “enthusiasm” is
the foremost word in the language in the world
of enterprise effectiveness.
It’s simple: for leaders, style = substance.
“The first and
greatest imperative
of command is to be
present in person.
Those who impose
risk must be seen to
share it.”
—John Keegan, The Mask of Command
Show up.
CBVA*
*Command By Visiting About/U.S. Grant/circa 1865
(“In these days of telegraph and steam I can command
while traveling and visiting about.”)
Ah, my beloved Grant.
MBWA*
*Managing By Wandering Around/
Hewlett-Packard/circa 1965
“A body can
pretend to care,
but they can’t
pretend to be
there.”
— Texas Bix Bender
“The deepest human
need is the need to
be appreciated.”
—William James
“It is necessary for the
President to be the
No. 1
actor.”
nation’s
FDR
Acting skills.
“An actor in his
youth, [Pope]
John Paul was a
master of grand
gestures.” —USA Today
“Prison was a political
stage. … He honed his
natural ability for theater
toward the achievement of
political ends, rehearsing his
role among his jailers. … taught
himself their language … set
about learning the Afrikaan
mentality …” —John Carlin, Playing the Enemy:
Nelson Mandela and the Game that Made a Nation.
“Teaching is, of
course, a form of
theater. While the point is to
have the students learn, the teacher
has to explain, cajole, provoke,
inspire, criticize, demand, love. Like
acting, teaching demands much of
personality [X Y, Z—great teachers] were all
hams in their own way.” —Ted Sizer,
Horace’s Compromise: The Dilemma
of the American High School
“It’s always
showtime.”
—David D’Alessandro, Career Warfare
“A key – perhaps the
key – to leadership is
the effective
communication
of a story.”
—Howard Gardner,
Leading Minds: An Anatomy of Leadership
Add: storytelling.
MBSA*
*Managing By Storying Around/
David Armstrong/Armstrong Industries/
circa 1985
“To change minds
effectively, leaders make
particular use of two
stories that
they tell and the lives
tools: the
that they lead.”
—Howard Gardner,
Changing Minds
“You must
be
the change you
wish to see in the
world.”
Gandhi
You = Your
calendar*
*Calendars
never lie
*Presence where it
matters.
*Intimacy.
*Leader’s world is
theater.
*Acting skills.
*Great (!) storyteller.
*The life you live,
24/7/365
Excellence:
Friendship,
smiles, charm,
body language
Tom Peters/1203.08
Dwight D.
Eisenhower
“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
Ike: An American Hero, Michael Korda/pp268-371:
“infectious grin and great charm”
“nice face”
“grin that was to become so
famous” “got along famously” “goodwill was
spontaneous and easily recognizable” “good impression
that Ike had made in six weeks” [newcomer junior general to
supreme commander, Torch; Marshall-ADM King-Roosevelt-Churchill-British
“least rank-conscious of generals” “Men
were happy to serve under Ike, even British admirals
and generals who might easily have raised objections.
His sincerity and lack of ceremony made it difficult,
even impossible, to refuse him, and enabled him very
rapidly to pull a team together …” “Ike was
gregarious, rarely had anything bad to say about
anyone, and, on the surface at least, was relaxed and
good natured.” “Whereas Ike’s good humor was
genuine, unaffected, and affectionate, Monty’s
[Field Marshall Montgomery] was cruel and mocking and
always carried a sting”
Chiefs of Staff]
Ike: An American Hero, Michael Korda/p430:
“The Allies had generals with, perhaps, a sharper
strategic vision than Ike. … There were also generals
who were more experienced at ‘fighting a battle.’ … But
there was nobody who had anything like Ike’s record of
leading people in an alliance—always the most difficult
feat in warfare. … What is more, Ike somehow inspired
people: civilians and ordinary soldiers of both nations,
even cynical political figures and the always
troublesome French. Something about his big grin; his
long-limbed, loose American way of walking (the
Kansas farm boy grown to a man); his easy, familiar
way of speaking to everybody from King George VI
down to privates in both armies; his lack of pretension;
his evident sincerity … They were willing to be led by
him, They were willing to have him command their sons
and husbands in battle. They trusted him. They were
willing to die for him.”
nelson
Mandela
“Mandela, a model host [in his prison hospital room]
smiled grandly, put [Justice Minister Kobie] Coetzee at
his ease, and almost immediately, to their quietly
contained surprise, prisoner and jailer found themselves
chatting amiably. … [It had mostly] to do with
body language, with the impact Mandela’s
manner had on people he met. First there was
his erect posture. Then there was the way he
shook hands. The effect was both regal and
intimidating, were it not for Mandela’s warm
gaze and his big, easy smile. … Coetzee was
surprised by Mandela’s willingness to talk in Afrikaans,
his knowledge of Afrikaans history.” Coetzee: “He was a
born leader. And he was affable. He was obviously well
liked by the hospital staff and yet he was respected even
though they knew he was a prisoner.”
Source: John Carlin, Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela
and the Game that Made a Nation. (Mandela meets surreptitiously with
justice minister after decades in prison—and turns on the charm)
“Prison was a political stage.
… He honed his natural ability
for theater toward the
achievement of political ends,
rehearsing his role among his
jailers. … taught himself their
language … set about learning
the Afrikaan mentality …”
Source: John Carlin, Playing the Enemy:
Nelson Mandela and the Game that Made a Nation)
“He actually preached this
to us, the Afrikaaner was an
African. … whatever solution
there was going to be on the
political issues was going to
involve Afrikaans people.”
Guard:
Source: John Carlin, Playing the Enemy:
Nelson Mandela and the Game that Made a Nation.
“He set himself a
goal—to persuade
them to treat him
with dignity.”
Source: John Carlin, Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela
and the Game that Made a Nation.
Mandela re jailers: “The key to it
was respect, ordinary respect.”
“George [Bizos, Mandela’s lawyer],
I’m sorry, I have not introduced
you to my guard of honor [eight
guards].” “Mandela identified each
of the officers to Bizos by name.
The guards were so stunned [per
Bizos] ‘that they actually behaved
like a guard of honor, each
respectfully shaking my hand.’”
Source: John Carlin, Playing the Enemy:
Nelson Mandela and the Game that Made a Nation.
Major Van Sittert, brute commanding officers,
immune to Mandela’s charm: “He thought
hard, probing for weakness. And he found one.
Sittert was a rugby nut. So, Mandela, who had
no special interest in rugby [the quintessential
white man’s sport], set about zealously
learning the game in preparation for the
major’s monthly visit.” Christo Brand, guard:
“Mandela was very polite as usual. He greeted
[Sittert] with a big smile, and then
immediately started talking rugby. … Once the
major got over his amazement, he became
very animated, agreeing with Mandela on
almost every point he made. You could see all
those doubts of the major just melting away.”
Source: John Carlin, Playing the Enemy:
Nelson Mandela and the Game that Made a Nation
“[The Springboks] had become,
literally, political players. On this
morning of the final, they understood
with daunting clarity that victory
against New Zealand might achieve
the seemingly impossible: unite a
country more polarized by racial
division than any other in the world.”
Source: John Carlin, Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela
and the Game that Made a Nation. (Mandela uses Rugby
World Cup championship game to unite South Africa)
“We hire people who smile”—Starbucks manager
dr. Paul
farmer
“… a luminescent smile” … “he’d greet
the hospital operator [Brigham and Women’s,
Boston] —whichever of the dozen or so
came on the line—and quickly ask
about her blood pressure or her
husband’s heart condition, or her
mother’s diabetes …” … “Farmer sat
down on Joe’s bed, on the corner of a
mattress, folding himself half around
Joe … He placed a hand on Joe’s
shoulder and stroked it. … as if there
were no one else in the world.”
—Tracy Kidder, Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer,
a Man Who Would Cure the World
Ben Franklin
“In the same bitter winter of 1776 that Gen. George Washington led his beleaguered troops
across the Delaware River to safety, Benjamin Franklin sailed across the Atlantic to Paris to
engage in an equally crucial campaign, this one diplomatic. A lot depended on the bespectacled
and decidedly unfashionable 70-year-old as he entered the world’s fashion capitol sporting a
Franklin’s miracle was that armed
only with his canny personal charm and reputation as a
scientist and philosopher, he was able to cajole a wary
French government into lending the fledgling American
nation an enormous fortune. … The enduring image of Franklin in Paris tends
simple brown suit and a fur cap. …
to be that of a flirtatious old man, too busy visiting the city’s fashionable salons to pursue affairs
When Adams joined Franklin in
Paris in 1779, he was scandalized by the late hours and
French lifestyle his colleague had adopted, says [Stacy
Schiff, in A Great Improvisation] Adams was clueless that
it was through the dropped hints and seemingly offhand
remarks at these salons that so much of French diplomacy
was conducted. … Like the Beatles arriving in America, Franklin aroused a fervor—his
of state as rigorously as John Adams.
face appeared on prints, teacups and chamber pots. The extraordinary popularity served
Franklin’s diplomatic purposes splendidly. Not even King Louis XVI could ignore the enthusiasm
that had won over both the nobility and the bourgeoisie. …”
Source: “In Paris, Taking the Salons By Storm: How the Canny Ben Franklin Talked
the French into Forming a Crucial Alliance,” U.S. News & World Report, 0707.08
The ragtag and victory-less Continental Army was retreating, George
Washington notwithstanding. For the Americans, finding an ally was a
life or death proposition. Short, fat old Benjamin Franklin was our man
in Paris. Short, fat and old though he may have been, he was a
Charmer. He won the hearts and devotion of the ladies of high society
with his mastery of Tea & Flattery. The Americans eked out a success
at Saratoga which Franklin turned into an epic victory—and the
besotted ladies convinced their mighty husbands to get behind the
Americans. The rest, as they say, is history.
The launchpad for Gulf War I was Saudi Arabia. Despite the Saudis
need to have Iraq’s Kuwaiti incursion reversed, the Kingdom was
touchy about the massive American military presence on their Holy
soil. Allied supreme commander Norm Schwarzkopf says, tongue only
half in cheek, that his principal contribution to the war effort was
nightly marathon sessions sipping tea with the Crown Prince.
The point: No matter how weighty the cause, “giving good
tea”—an incredible and expensive (in terms of time)
investment in key relationships is typically invaluable and of
decisive strategic importance. Message: Master the Art of
Tea—metaphorically at least—and make it in to the history
books.
Give
good
tea!
Captain mike
“Retired United States Navy Captain Mike Abrashoff knows the
importance of saying
‘Thank you.’
In It’s Your Ship,
Abrashoff relates how he sent letters to the parents of his crew members
on the guided-missile destroyer USS Benfold, many of whom came from
underprivileged backgrounds. Putting himself in those parents’ shoes, he
imagined how happy they would be to hear from the Commanding Officer
that their sons and daughters were doing well. And he figured that those
parents would, in turn, call their children to tell them how proud they
were of them.
“Abrashoff debated whether to send a letter to the parents of one
young man who wasn’t really star material. Weighing the sailor’s
progress, he decided to go ahead. A couple of weeks later, the sailor
appeared at his door, tears streaming down his face. It seems that the
kid’s father had always considered him a failure and told him so. After
reading the captain’s letter, he called to congratulate his son and tell him
how proud he was of him. ‘Captain, I can’t thank you enough,’ said the
young man. For the first time in his life, he felt loved and encouraged by
his father.
“As Abrashoff says, ‘Leadership is the art of practicing simple things—
commonsense gestures that ensure high morale and vastly increase the
odds of winning.’ In other words, small changes can have big
consequences.
Source : Rick Faulk and Barry Libert, BARACK, INC.
What Business Can Learn from the Obama Campaign
Charlie
Wilson
et al.
George Crile (Charlie Wilson’s War) on Charlie
Wilson: “The way things normally work,
if you’re not Jewish you don’t get into the
Jewish caucus, but Charlie did.
And if you’re not black you don’t get
into the black caucus. But Charlie plays poker
with the black caucus; they had
a game, and he’s the only white guy in it. The
House [of Representatives],
like any human institution, is moved
by friendships, and no matter what people
they
tend to like him and enjoy
his company.”
might think about Wilson’s antics,
“What I learned
from my years as a hostage
negotiator is that we do not
have to feel powerless—and
The 95% Factor:
that bonding is the
antidote to the hostage
situation.” —George Kohlrieser, Hostage at the Table
The Real World’s “Little” Rule Book
Ben/tea
Norm/tea
DDE/make friends
WFBuckley/make friends-help friends
Gust/Suck down
Charlie/poker pal-BOF
Eddie (Edward VII)/dance-flatter-mingle-learn the language
Vlad (Putin)/birthday party of outgroup guy’s wife
CIO/finance network
ERP installer/consult-“one line of code”
GE Energy/make friends in risk assessment
GWB/check the invitation list
GHWB/T-notes
Hank (Paulson)/60 calls
MarkM/5K-5M
Delaware/show up
Oppy (Oppenheimer)/snub Lewis Strauss
NM (Mandela)/smile
-$4.3T/tin ear
TP/3M, I’m sorry
tp.com/Big 4-What do you think?
Women/genes
Banker/after church
Total Bloody Mess/Can they pay back the loan?
Sorry, take forever to cover all this.
Exuberance:
The Passion for
Life, by Kay
Redfield Jamison
Exuberance: The Passion for Life, by Kay Redfield Jamison+
“I believe exuberance is incomparably
more important than we acknowledge.
If, as has been claimed, enthusiasm
finds the opportunities and energy
makes the most of them, a mood of
mind that yokes the two of them is
formidable indeed. …Exuberance is,
at its quick, contagious. As it spreads
pell-mell through a group, exuberance
excites, it delights, and it dispels
tension. It alerts the group to change
and possibility.”
Exuberance: The Passion for Life, by Kay Redfield Jamison+
“At a time of weakness and mounting despair in the
democratic world, Roosevelt stood out by his
astonishing appetite for life and by his
apparently complete freedom from fear of the future; as
a man who welcomed the future eagerly as such, and
conveyed the feeling that whatever the times might
bring, all would be grist to his mill, nothing would be too
formidable or crushing to be subdued. He had
unheard of energy and gusto … and
was a spontaneous, optimistic, pleasure-loving ruler
with
unparalleled capacity for
creating confidence.”
—Isaiah Berlin on FDR
Exuberance: The Passion for Life, by Kay Redfield Jamison+
“A leader is someone who creates infectious
enthusiasm.” —Ted Turner
“‘Glorious’ was a term [John] Muir would invoke time and
again … despite his conscious attempts to eradicate it
from his writing. ‘Glorious’ and ‘joy’ and
‘exhilaration’: no matter how often he scratched out
these words once he had written them, they sprang up
time and again …”
“To meet Roosevelt, said Churchill, ‘with all his
buoyant
sparkle, his iridescence,’ was like ‘opening a bottle
of champagne.’ Churchill, who knew both champagne and
human nature, recognized ebullient leadership when he
saw it.”
“The multitudes were swept forward till their pace was
the same as his.” —Churchill on T.E. Lawrence
“I am a
dispenser of
enthusiasm.”
—Ben Zander, symphony conductor-management “guru”
EX-UBERANCE!
*Readily make friends (quality, quantity)
*Likes people!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
*Body language (esp. open, biiiiiiiiiiiiig,
easy smile)
*“Common touch”
*Listening skills-sensitivity
*Courtesy
*Decency
*Intensity of engagement (“as if there
were no one else in the world”)
*Desperate to make people successful
*Work (and plan) like a demon at
relationships—it’s always theater
*Enthusiasm-energy-exuberance (obvious
appetite for life)
“Courtesies of a small
and trivial character
are the ones which
strike deepest in the
grateful and
appreciating heart.”
—Henry Clay
Excellence:
Respect!
Tom Peters/1204.08
“It was much later that I realized
Dad’s secret. He gained respect by
giving it. He talked and listened to
the fourth-grade kids in Spring Valley
who shined shoes the same way he
talked and listened to a bishop or a
He was
seriously interested in
who you were and what
you had to say.”
college president.
Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot, Respect
“The [Union senior] officers rode past the
Confederates smugly without any sign
of recognition except by one. ‘When
General Grant reached the line of
ragged, filthy, bloody, despairing
prisoners strung out on each side of
the bridge, he lifted his hat and held it
over his head until he passed the last
man of that living funeral cortege. He
was the only officer in that whole train
who recognized us as being on the
face of the earth.’*”
*quote within a quote from diary of a Confederate soldier
“We behaved as if we
were guests in their
house. We treated
them not as a defeated
people, but as allies.
Our success became
their success.”
—“How One Soldier
Brought Democracy to Iraq: The Mayor of Ar Rutbah”
(MAJ James Gavrilis/USA Special Forces)
“Don’t
belittle!”
—OD Consultant, sole piece of advice to major client
“What creates trust, in
the end, is the leader’s
manifest respect for the
followers.”
— Jim O’Toole, Leading Change
“The deepest
human need is
the need to be
appreciated.”
—William James
“I wasn’t bowled over by [David Boies]
intelligence. … What impressed me was
that when he asked a question, he waited
He not only
listened, he made me feel
like I was the only person
in the room.” —Lawyer Kevin _____, on his
for an answer.
first, inadvertent meeting with David Boies, from Marshall
Goldsmith, “The One Skill That Separates,” Fast Company, 07.05
“No
matter what the situation,
[the excellent manager’s] first
response is always to think
about the individual concerned
and how things can be
arranged to help that
individual experience
success.” —Marcus Buckingham, The One
Thing You Need to Know
“Either love your players or get out of
coaching.” —Bobby Dodd, legendary football coach.
“I do not need to like my players, but I
must love them.” —Vince Lombardi
“I have always believed that the
purpose of the corporation is to be a
blessing to the employees.” —Boyd Clarke
“The deepest human need is the need
to be appreciated.” —William James
“Ph.D. in leadership. Short
course: Make a short list of
all things done to you that
you abhorred. Don’t do them
to others. Ever. Make
another list of things done to
you that you loved. Do them
to others. Always.” — Dee Hock,
founder, Visa International
“Nothing is so
contagious as
enthusiasm.”
—Samuel Taylor Coleridge