“Human
creativity is the
ultimate
economic
resource.”
—Richard Florida,
The Rise of the Creative Class
“It is not the
strongest of the
species that survives,
nor the most
intelligent, but the
one most responsive
to change.”
—Charles Darwin
“The most
successful people
are those who
are good at ‘plan B’.”
—James Yorke, mathematician, on chaos
theory in The New Scientist
“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
“It is generally much
easier to kill an
organization than
change it
substantially.”
—Kevin Kelly, Out of Control
“Natural selection is death. ...
Without huge amounts of
death, organisms do not
change over time. ... Death is
the mother of structure. ... It
took four billion years of
death ... to invent the human
mind ...” — The Cobra Event
“Reward
excellent failures.
Punish mediocre
successes.”
Phil Daniels, Sydney exec
“In the end, management
doesn’t change culture.
Management
invites
the workforce itself to
change the culture.”
—Lou Gerstner
“Never doubt that a
small group of
committed people
can change the
world. Indeed it is
the only thing that
ever has.” —Margaret Mead
“The [Starbucks] Fix” Is on …
“We have
identified a ‘third
place.’
And I really believe
that sets us apart. The third place is
that place that’s not work or home. It’s
the place our customers come for
refuge.” —Nancy Orsolini, District Manager
Small Giants:
Companies That
Choose To Be
Great Instead Of
Big
—by Bo Burlingham
Furniture vs. Dreams
“We do not sell ‘furniture’ at Domain.
We sell dreams. This
is accomplished by addressing the
half-formed needs in our customers’
heads. By uncovering these needs,
we, in essence, fill in the blanks. We
convert ‘needs’ into ‘dreams.’
Sales are the inevitable
result.”
— Judy George, Domain Home Fashions
Up,
Up,
Up,
Up
the Value-added Ladder.
Big Blue
“Brands have
run out of
juice. They’re
dead.”
—Kevin Roberts/Saatchi & Saatchi
“When we were working
through the essentials of a
Mystery
Lovemark,
was always at the top of the
list.”
—Lovemarks: The Future Beyond Brands, Kevin Roberts
“Lovemarks are
owned by the
people who love
them.”
—Lovemarks: The Future Beyond
Brands, Kevin Roberts
“Storytelling
is the core
of culture.”
—Branded Nation: The Marketing of Megachurch,
College Inc., and Museumworld, James Twitchell
“We don’t have a good language to talk
about this kind of thing. In most people’s
vocabularies, design means veneer. … But
to me, nothing could be further from the
Design is
the fundamental
soul of a man-made
creation.”
meaning of design.
—Steve Jobs
“Women don’t buy
They
join them.”
brands.
EVEolution
“The ‘Connection Proclivity’ in
women starts early. When asked,
‘How was school today?’ a girl
usually tells her mother every
detail of what happened, while a
boy might grunt, ‘Fine.’ ”
EVEolution
“Women speak and hear a language
of connection and intimacy, and men
speak and hear a language of status and
independence. Men communicate to
obtain information, establish their status,
and show independence. Women
communicate to create relationships,
encourage interaction, and exchange
feelings.”
—Judy Rosener, America’s Competitive Secret
“A focus on cost-cutting and efficiency has
helped many organizations weather the
downturn, but this approach will ultimately
Only the
constant pursuit of
innovation can ensure
long-term success.”
render them obsolete.
—Daniel Muzyka, Dean, Sauder School of Business,
Univ of British Columbia (FT/2004)
“How do dominant companies
lose their position? Two-
thirds of the time, they
pick the wrong
competitor to worry
about.”
—Don Listwin, CEO, Openwave Systems/WSJ
Leadership’s Mt Everest/Mt Excellence
“free to do his or her
absolute best” …
“allow its members to
discover their
greatness.”
Read This!
Richard Farson & Ralph Keyes:
Whoever Makes
the Most Mistakes
Wins: The Paradox
of Innovation
“It is not the strongest of
the species that survives,
nor the most intelligent,
but the one most
responsive
to change.”
—Charles Darwin
1. Every morning, write a
list of the things that
need to be done that
day.
2.
Do them.
Source: Hugh MacLeod/tompeters.com/NPR
“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
“You can make more
friends in two months by
becoming interested in
other people than you
can in two years by
trying to get other people
interested in you.”
—Dale Carnegie
“You are the
storyteller of your
own life, and you can
create your own
legend or not.”
—Isabel Allende
“In Tom’s world, it’s
always better to try a
swan dive and deliver a
colossal belly flop than
to step timidly off the
board while holding
your nose.”
—Fast Company
“Do one thing
every day that
scares you.”
—Eleanor Roosevelt
"The reasonable man adapts
himself to the world. The
unreasonable one persists in
trying to adapt the world to
himself. Therefore, all
progress depends upon the
unreasonable man.” —GB Shaw,
Man and Superman: The Revolutionists' Handbook.
“Every child is born
an artist. The trick
is to remain an
artist.”
—Picasso
“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)
“Before you can inspire with
emotion, you must be
swamped with it yourself.
Before you can move their
tears, your own must flow. To
convince them, you must
yourself believe.”
—Winston Churchill
“Nothing is so
contagious as
enthusiasm.”
—Samuel Taylor Coleridge
“It is no use saying
‘We are doing our
best.’ You have got
to succeed in doing
what is necessary.”
—WSC
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!
No Wiggle Room!
“Incrementalism
is innovation’s
worst enemy.”
—Nicholas Negroponte
“Beware of the tyranny
of making Small Changes
to Small Things. Rather,
make Big Changes to
Big Things.”
—Roger Enrico, former Chairman, PepsiCo
“In classical times when
Cicero had finished speaking,
the people said, ‘How well he
spoke,’ but when
Demosthenes had finished
speaking, they said, ‘Let
march.’”
us
—Adlai Stevenson
“No leader sets out to be a
leader per se, but rather to
express him- or herself freely
and fully. That is leaders have
no interest in proving
themselves, but an abiding
interest in expressing
themselves.” —Warren Bennis,
On Becoming a Leader
“A year from now
you may wish
You had
started today.”
—Karen Lamb
You only
find oil if
you drill
wells.
—The Hunters, by John Masters,
Canadian O & G wildcatter
“If you don’t
listen,
you don’t sell
anything.”
—Carolyn Marland/
Managing Director/
Guardian Group