Welcome to Tom Peters “PowerPoint World”! Beyond the set of slides here,
you will find at tompeters.com the last eight years of presentations, a
basketful of “Special Presentations,” and, above all, Tom’s constantly
updated Master Presentation—from which most of the slides in this
presentation are drawn. There are about 3,500 slides in the 7-part “Master
Presentation.” The first five “chapters” constitute the main argument:
Part I is context. Part II is devoted entirely to innovation—the sine qua
non, as perhaps never before, of survival. In earlier incarnations of the
“master,” “innovation” “stuff” was scattered throughout the presentation—
now it is front and center and a stand-alone. Part III is a variation on the
innovation theme—but it is organized to examine the imperative (for most
everyone in the developed-emerging world) of an ultra high value-added
strategy. A “value-added ladder” (the “ladder” configuration lifted with
gratitude from Joe Pine and Jim Gilmore’s Experience Economy) lays out a
specific logic for necessarily leaving commodity-like goods and services in
the dust. Part IV argues that in this age of “micro-marketing” there are
two macro-markets of astounding size that are dramatically underattended by all but a few; namely women and boomers-geezers. Part V
underpins the overall argument with the necessary bedrock—Talent, with
brief consideration of Education & Healthcare. Part VI examines
Leadership for turbulent times from several angles. Part VII is a
collection of a dozen Lists—such as Tom’s “Irreducible 209,” 209 “things
I’ve learned along the way.”
Enjoy! Download! “Steal”—that’s the whole point!
To appreciate
this presentation [and ensure
that it is not a mess], you need
Microsoft fonts:
NOTE:
“Showcard Gothic,”
“Ravie,” “Chiller”
and “Verdana”
Tom Peters’ X25*
EXCELLENCE.
ALWAYS.
Tupelo/26 October 2007
*In Search of Excellence 1982-2007
All you need
to know …
All you need
except
for …
to know …
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”
This is it:
All you need
to know …
“Do one thing
every day
that scares
you.”
—Eleanor Roosevelt
NOT YOUR
FATHER’S
WORLD!
THREE
BILLION NEW
CAPITALISTS
—Clyde Prestowitz
APPARENTLY,
NOT YOUR
WORLD, EITHER!
40,000,000/20
“[Former Fed Vice-chairman Alan] Blinder … remains an
implacable opponent of tariffs and trade barriers. But
now he is saying loudly that a new industrial revolution—
communication technology that allows services to be
delivered from afar—will put as many as
40
million American
jobs
at risk of being shipped out of the country
in the next decade or two.”* —Wall Street Journal /0328
“only the tip
of a very big iceberg.”
*Blinder: 40 million =
THE SECRETS OF
EXCELLENCE I:
THE MID-SIZED
ENTERPRISE.
#1 Exporter?
#4 Japan
#2T China
#2T USA
#4 Japan
#3 USA
#2 China
#1 Germany
Reason?
Daimler?
BASF?
Siemens?
Commerzbank?
“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
Reason!!!
Mittelstand
GEOBRA/Playmobil
Trumpf
Rational
Goldmann Produktions
Skunk Camp #1:
American “Mittelstand” (F500 A.W.O.L.)
Frank Perdue/ Perdue Farms
(“It takes
a tough man to make a tender chicken.”)
Tom Malone/ Milliken and Company
Don Burr/ People Express
Tom Monaghan/ Domino’s Pizza
Stew Leonard/ Stew Leonard’s
Hal Rosenbluth/ Rosenbluth International
John Fisher/ Bank One of Columbus
John McConnell/ Worthington Industries
Bill and Vieve Gore/ W.L. Gore
Bob Buckman/ Buckman Labs (Bob almost
single-handedly invented what we now call
“knowledge management.”)
THE SECRETS OF
EXCELLENCE II:
MAINSTREET.
(BEYOND “HIGH VISIBILITY EXPORTERS.”)
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
Basement
Systems Inc.
*Basement Systems Inc.
*Larry Janesky
*Dry Basement Science
(115,000!)
*1990: $0; 2003: $13M;
2007:
$62,000,000
etc.
PRSX/Paragon
Railcar
Salvage*
*Salvaged railcars into bridges, etc.
*Lived in same town all adult life
*First generation wealthy/no parental
support
*“Don’t look like millionaires, don’t dress
like millionaires, don’t eat like
millionaires, don’t act like millionaires”
*“Many of the types of businesses [they]
are in could be classified as ‘dullnormal.’ [They] are welding contractors,
auctioneers, scrap-metal dealers,
portable toilets, dry cleaners, re-builders of
diesel engines, paving contractors …”
Source: The Millionaire Next Door,
Thomas Stanley & William Danko
WallopWal-Mart16*
*Or: Why it’s so ABSURDLY EASY
to BEAT a GIANT Company
The “Small Guys” Guide: Wallop Wal*Mart16
*Niche-aimed. (Never, ever “all things for all people,” a “miniWal*Mart.)
*Never attack the monsters head
business and lukewarm customers.)
on! (Instead steal niche
*“Dramatically
Different”
(La Difference ... within our community, our
industry regionally, etc … is as obvious as the end of one’s nose!) (THIS IS
WHERE MOST MIDGETS COME UP SHORT.)
*Compete on value/experience/intimacy, not price. (You
ain’t gonna beat the behemoths on cost-price in 9.99 out of 10 cases.)
*Emotional bond with Clients,
ON EMOTION/CONNECTION!!)
Vendors. (BEAT THE BIGGIES
The “Small Guys” Guide: Wallop Wal*Mart16
*Hands-on, emotional leadership. (“We are a great &
cool & intimate & joyful & dramatically different team working to
transform our Clients lives via Consistently Incredible
Experiences!”)
*A community
out of it!)
star! (“Sell” local-ness per se. Sell the hell
*An
incredible experience, from the first to last
moment—and then in the follow-up! (“These guys
are cool! They ‘get’ me! They love me!”)
*DESIGN DRIVEN! (“Design” is a premier weapon-inpursuit-of-the sublime for small-ish enterprises, including the
professional services.)
The “Small Guys” Guide: Wallop Wal*Mart16
*Employer of choice. (A very cool, well-paid
place to work/learning and growth experience in at
least the short term … marked by notably progressive
policies.) (THIS IS EMINENTLY DO-ABLE!!)
*Sophisticated
use of information
technology. (Small-“ish” is no excuse for “small
aims”/execution in IS/IT!)
*Web-power! (The Web can make very small very
big … if the product-service is super-cool and one
purposefully masters buzz/viral marketing.)
*Innovative! (Must keep renewing and expanding
and revising and re-imagining “the promise” to
employees, the customer, the community.)
The “Small Guys” Guide: Wallop Wal*Mart16
*Brand-Lovemark* (*Kevin Roberts) Maniacs!
(“Branding” is not just for big folks with big budgets. And modest
size is actually a Big Advantage in becoming a local-regionalniche “lovemark.”)
*Focus
*
on women-as-clients. (Most don’t. How stupid.)
Excellence!
(A small player … per me …
has no right or reason to exist unless they are in Relentless
Pursuit of Excellence. One earns the right—one damn day and
client experience at a time!—to beat the Big Guys in your chosen
niche!)
THE SECRETS OF
(American)
EXCELLENCE III:
ACTIONVITALITYCHURN.
Q4/2006
+500,000 = ?
Source: Barron’s 0922.07
Q4/2006
+500,000 =
+7,700,000
-7,200,000
Source: Barron’s 0922.07
Ichironomics
Ichironomics
“Spokane, like Minneapolis-St Paul,
refuses to bet the economy on one or two
industries. Rather, it practices what one city
booster calls ‘Ichironomics.’ Like the Seattle
Mariners’ center fielder, Ichiro Suzuki, we
try to hit singles and doubles. We want to
improve the overall conditions for small
businesses, not chase the large
employer.’”—Rich Karlgaard, Forbes
(NB: In 2004 Suzuki broke the all-time record for hits
in a single season, with a staggering 262.)
(NB II: In 2007 the mayor of Lisbon reduced the amount of time to get
a business license from weeks or months to, literally, minutes.)
THE SECRETS OF
EXCELLENCE IV:
UNBRIDLED
IMAGINATION.
Single
greatest act
of pure
imagination
“THE FUTURE BELONGS TO … SMALL
POPULATIONS … WHO BUILD EMPIRES
OF THE MIND … AND WHO IGNORE THE
TEMPTATION OF—OR DO NOT HAVE THE
OPTION OF—EXPLOITING NATURAL
RESOURCES.”
Source: Juan Enriquez/As the Future Catches You
THE SECRETS OF
EXCELLENCE V:
EDUCATION
FOCUSED ON
NURTUTING
CREATIVITY.
“Human
creativity is
the ultimate
economic
resource.”
—Richard Florida,
The Rise of the Creative Class
“Every child is
born an artist.
The trick is to
remain an
artist.” —Picasso
“My wife and I went to a [kindergarten] parent-teacher conference
and were informed that our budding refrigerator artist, Christopher,
would be receiving a grade of Unsatisfactory in art. We were
shocked. How could any child—let alone our child—receive a poor
His teacher
informed us that he had
refused to color within the
lines, which was a state
requirement for
demonstrating ‘grade-level
motor skills.’ ”
grade in art at such a young age?
—Jordan Ayan, AHA!
15 “Leading” Biz Schools
Design/Core: 0
Design/Elective: 1
Creativity/Core: 0
Creativity/Elective: 4
Innovation/Core: 0
Innovation/Elective: 6
Source: DMI/Summer 2002/Research by Thomas Lockwood
Ye gads: “Thomas Stanley has not only found
no correlation between success in school and
an ability to accumulate wealth, he’s actually
found a negative correlation. ‘It seems that
school-related evaluations are poor
predictors of economic success,’ Stanley
concluded. What did predict success was a
willingness to take risks. Yet the successfailure standards of most schools penalized
risk takers. Most educational systems reward
those who play it safe. As a result, those who
do well in school find it hard to take risks
later on.”
—Richard Farson & Ralph Keyes,
Whoever Makes the Most Mistakes Wins
Muhammad Yunus:
“All human beings
are entrepreneurs. When we
were in the caves we were all selfemployed . . . finding our food, feeding
ourselves. That’s where human history
began . . . As civilization came we
suppressed it. We became labor
because they stamped us, ‘You are
labor.’ We forgot that we are
entrepreneurs.”
Source: Muhammad Yunus/The News Hour—PBS/1122.2006
THE SECRETS OF
EXCELLENCE VI:
THE ESSENCE OF
ENTERPRISE.
Cause
Space
(worthy of commitment)
(room for/encouragement
for initiative)
Decency
(respect, humane)
Cause
Space
(worthy of commitment)
(room for/encouragement
for initiative-adventures)
Decency
(respect, grace,
integrity, humane)
service
(worthy of our clients’ & extended
family’s continuing custom)
excellence
(period)
Cause
Space
Decency
service
(worthy of commitment)
(room for/encouragement for initiative-adventures)
(respect, grace, integrity, humane)
(worthy of our clients’ & extended
family’s continuing custom)
excellence
servant leadership
(period)
Cause
Space
Decency
service
excellence
servant leadership
EXCELLENCE.
CIRCA 1978.
CIRCA 1982.
CIRCA 1992.
CIRCA 1994.
CIRCA 1996.
CIRCA 2006.
CIRCA 2004-2007.
CIRCA SEPTEMBER 2007.
CIRCA 15 OCTOBER 2007.
CIRCA 1966-2007.
1978.
A START.
Hard Is Soft (#s)
Soft Is Hard (people)
1982.
(OCTOBER)
A BOOK.
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
1993.
LOU FINDS
GOLD IN THE
RUBBLE.
Trapper:
<$20
per beaver pelt.
Source: WSJ
wdcp/“Wildlife
Damage-control
Professional”: $150 to
“remove” “problem beaver”;
$750-$1,000 for
flood-control piping … so
that beavers can stay.
Source: WSJ
Trapper =
Redneck
WDCP = PSF/
Professional Services
Provider
7X to 40X
for
“Solution”
[rather than “service transaction”]
1994.
COOL IS
COOL.
“You know a
design is good
when you want
to lick it.”
—Steve Jobs
Source: Design: Intelligence Made Visible,
Stephen Bayley & Terence Conran
1996.
THE
EDUCATION
OF TOM.
“Forget China,
India and the
Internet: Economic
Growth Is Driven
by
Women.”
—Headline,
Economist, April 15, 2006, Leader, page 14
“The growth and
success of womenowned businesses is one
of the most profound
changes taking place in
the business world
today.”
—Margaret Heffernan, How She Does IT: How
Women Entrepreneurs Are Changing the Rules of Business Success.
“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?
2006.
STILL COLD
IN MAY.
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
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!
2004-2007.
INVITATIONS.
“Better By Design”: A National Strategy
NZ = Design
Excellence
2007.
SEPTEMBER.
SYDNEY.
DRUCKER
TRIBUTE.
“I have always
believed that the
purpose of the
corporation is to be a
blessing to the
employees.” *
—Boyd Clarke
*TP: An “organization” is, in fact and after all
is said and done, a/the “house” in which
most of us “live” most of the time.
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 organizations which
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 jointly
are …
perceived soaring purpose and personal and community
and client service Excellence.
“We are a
‘Life Success’
Company.”
Dave Liniger, founder, RE/MAX
16 OCTOBER 2007.
HAPPY 25.
“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)
1966.
2007.
What makes
God laugh?
People
making
plans!
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
Screw.
things.
Sam’s
Secret
#1!
“Fail .
Forward.
Fast.”
High Tech CEO, Pennsylvania
try.
Miss.
READY.
FIRE!
No try.
No deal.
“You miss
100% of
the shots you
never take.”
—Wayne Gretzky
EXCELLENCE.
BEDROCK.
LEADERSHIP.
10Ps.
PURPOSE.
PASSION.
Potential.
Presence.
Personal.
PERSISTENCE.
PRIORITIES.
PEOPLE.
Potent.
Positive.
PURPOSE.
PASSION.
Potential.
Presence.
Personal.
PERSISTENCE.
PRIORITIES.
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.
PRIORITIES.
PEOPLE.
Potent.
Positive.
BZ: “I am a …
Dispenser of
Enthusiasm!”
“Nothing is so
contagious as
enthusiasm.”
—Samuel Taylor Coleridge
PURPOSE.
PASSION.
Potential.
Presence.
Personal.
PERSISTENCE.
PRIORITIES.
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.
PRIORITIES.
PEOPLE.
Potent.
Positive.
“It’s always
showtime.”
—David D’Alessandro, Career Warfare
PURPOSE.
PASSION.
Potential.
Presence.
Personal.
PERSISTENCE.
PRIORITIES.
PEOPLE.
Potent.
Positive.
“You must
be
the change you
wish to see in the
world.”
Gandhi
Questions: What do others think of you? [Are you sure?] What
do you think of you? [Are you sure?] What is your impact on
others? [Are you sure?] What is your impact on others? [Are
you sure?] What is your impact on others? [Are you sure?]
What are the “little things” you (perhaps unconsciously) do that
cause people to shrivel—or blossom? [Are you sure?] What do
you want? [Are you sure?] Are you aware of your changing
moods? [Are you sure?] How fragile is your ego? [Are you sure?]
Do you have a true confidant? [Are you sure?] Do you perform brief
or not-so-brief self-assessments? Do you talk too much? [Are you
sure?] Do you know how to listen? [Are you sure?] Do you
listen? [Are you sure?] What is your style of “hashing things
out”? Are you perceived as (a) arrogant, (b) abrasive (c) attentive,
(d) genuinely interested in people, (e) etc? [Are you sure?] Are
you flexible? Have you changed your mind about anything important
in a while? Are you comfortable-uncomfortable with folks on the
front line? Do you think you’re “in touch with the pulse of
things around here”? [Are You Sure?] Are you too
emotional/intuitive? Are you too unemotional/rational? Do you
spend much time with people who are new to you? [Do you think
questions like this are “so much BS”?]
PURPOSE.
PASSION.
Potential.
Presence.
Personal.
PERSISTENCE.
PRIORITIES.
PEOPLE.
Potent.
Positive.
“Success seems to be
largely a matter
of hanging on
after others have
let go.”
—William Feather, author
“The most
successful people
are those who
are good at plan B.”
—James Yorke, mathematician, on chaos theory
in The New Scientist
PURPOSE.
PASSION.
Potential.
Presence.
Personal.
PERSISTENCE.
PRIORITIES.
PEOPLE.
potent.
Positive.
“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 !”
“The one thing you need
to know about sustained
individual success:
Discover what you don’t
like doing and
stop
doing it.”
—Marcus Buckingham, The One Thing You Need to Know
PURPOSE.
PASSION.
Potential.
Presence.
Personal.
PERSISTENCE.
PRIORITIES.
PEOPLE.
Potent.
Positive.
‘do’
“Leaders
people.
Period.”
—Anon.
“Leaders
‘SERVE’
people.
Period.”
—inspired by Robert Greenleaf
Leadership’s
th
11
“P”:
Promotion
2 per Year/
20 per Decade =
Excellence +
Legacy
PURPOSE.
PASSION.
Potential.
Presence.
Personal.
PERSISTENCE.
PRIORITIES.
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
“One who does
less than he can
is a thief.”
—Gandhi
PURPOSE.
PASSION.
Potential.
Presence.
Personal.
PERSISTENCE.
PRIORITIES.
PEOPLE.
Potent.
Positive.
“[other]
admirals more
frightened of
losing than
anxious to win”
On NELSON:
PURPOSE.
PASSION.
Potential.
Presence.
Personal.
PERSISTENCE.
PEOPLE.
Potent.
Positive.
The “7Es”
Exuberance!
Energy!
Empathy!
Engagement!
Empowerment!
Execution!
Excellence!
The “1E”
“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)
Geron-imo!
"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)