LONG
Tom Peters’
EXCELLENCE.
ALWAYS.
XAlways/BANGKOK/01August2006
Slides* at …
tompeters.com
*also “Final” and “Leadership”
The
Irreducible209+
A frustrated participant at a seminar for investment bankers in Mauritius listened
impatiently to my explanation of differences of opinion among me, Mike Porter,
“What,
if anything,” he asked,
“do you believe ‘for
sure’?”
Gary Hamel, Jim Collins, etc. Finally, he’d had enough.
I mumbled something, but his query started rumbling
around in my mind. Three days later, wandering on a Sunday in London, the idea of
“the irreducibles” occurred to
me—and I started jotting down notes on stuff I do indeed believe “for sure.” Before
I knew it, a few days later, the list had grown to 209 items. Hence “The
Irreducible209” that follows.
Tom Peters
That’s a Big
Number ….
THREE
BILLION NEW
CAPITALISTS
—Clyde Prestowitz
“One Singaporean worker
costs as much as …
3 … in Malaysia
8 … in Thailand
13 … in China
18 … in India.”
Source: The Straits Times/2003
EXCELLENCE.
THE MANDATE.
“It is not the strongest
of the species that
survives, nor the most
intelligent, but the
one most responsive
to change.”
—Charles Darwin
“If you don’t like
change, you’re
going to like
irrelevance even
less.”
—General Eric Shinseki, Chief of Staff. U. S. Army
“We are in a
brawl with no
rules.”
—Paul Allaire
S.A.V.
Screw Around Vigorously
Sam’s
Secret
#1!
“Reward excellent
failures. Punish
mediocre
successes.”
Phil Daniels, Sydney exec
EXCELLENCE.
STARTERS.
Radio City Music Hall
September 2005
Franchise Lost!
TP:
“How many of you
[600]
crave
really
a new Chevy?”
NYC/IIR/061205
2P.3E.
People.
Product.
Execution.
Enthusiasm.
Excellence.
EXCELLENCE.
THE WORD.
Synonyms
Purity
Transcendence
Virtue
Elegance
Majesty
Antonyms
Mediocrity
EXCELLENCE.
GAMECHANGER.
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”
ExIn*: 1982-2002/Forbes.com
DJIA: $10,000 yields $85,000
EI: $10,000 yields $140,050
*Forbes/Excellence Index /Basket of 32 publicly traded stocks
Sorry, Jack: The New Rules
Old Rule
Big Dogs Own the Street
Be No.1 or No. 2 in the Market
Shareholders Rule
Be Lean and Mean
Rank Players; Go With the A’s
Hire a Charismatic CEO
Admire My Might
Source: Fortune/07.24.2006
New Rule
Agile Is Best; Big Can Bite
Create Something New
The Customer Is King
Look Out, Not In
Hire Passionate People
Hire a Courageous CEO
Admire My Soul
EXCELLENCE.
CAUSES.
ADVERSARIES.
Causes/1966-2006
Implementation/Small Wins
(Stanford GSB/PhD thesis;
1st on implementation per se)
EXCELLENCE (as a worthy business pursuit)
Management Style/Corporate Culture
Soft “Ss”/7-S (Waterman-Peters complete “business model”;
waaaaay beyond Strategy & Structure)
Structure > Strategy (“We shape our structures, then they shape
us …”—Churchillian paraphrase)
Soft Change Levers (> structure; symbols, patterns & settings)
Close to the Customer (novel idea, circa 1982)
MBWA (Managing By Wandering Around—courtesy a much
more intimate than today HP)
Productivity through People (novel idea, circa 1982)
Chaos/Crazy Times Call for Crazy Organizations
Middle-sized companies are cool
Re-imagine!/Innovate or Die!
Small-ish/Scale & Synergy limits-delusions/anti-Big
Mergers
Causes/1966-2006
Women/Market opportunity
Women/Leaders (right for the times)
Design/Design-as-soul
Wow! (Hot language)
Weird!
Passion!/Enthusiasm!/Exuberance! (as Leader Lever #1)
Brand You (or else)
PSF = Bedrock (add value or bust—every group must
demonstrate economic viability)
PSF + Brand You + WOW Projects = New Biz Logic
Sales/+R > -C (increasing revenue more important than cutting cost)
HealthCare/Wellness-Safety-H5N1
Brand = Talent (best roster wins)
New VA Ladder/Products-Services-SOLUTIONSEXPERIENCES-DREAMKETING (Dream Marketing)-LOVEMARK
Different > > Better
Boomers & Geezers/marketing to new “mega-segment”
Hardball: Are You Playing to Play or Playing to Win? by
George Stalk & Rob Lachenauer/HBS Press
“The winners in business have always played hardball.”
“Unleash massive and overwhelming force.” “Exploit
anomalies.” “Threaten your competitor’s profit
sanctuaries.” “Entice your competitor into retreat.”
Approximately 640 Index entries: Customer/s
(service, retention, loyalty),
worker/s),
0.
4.
People (employees, motivation, morale,
Innovation (product development, research &
development, new products),
0.
M.I.A.*: Talk. (Present.) Listen. (Interview.)
Sell. (Life = Sales.) Do. (Execution-Implementation.)
Talent. (Recruit-Develop-Retain.) Project
Management. (Create. Solicit support.
Execution. Adoption-Client “Culture Change.”)
Product. (“It.”) Innovation. (Design.
Creativity. “Buzz-building.” Politics.) Leadership.
(USMA, etc.) E.Q. (Connect.) “Culture”
Change. (Lasting impact.) Diversity. (Crosscultural Effectiveness.) Career Creation.
(Brand You life-lifestyle.) Wellness. (Life.)
*B.Schools (“M.I.A.” or at most “B.I.A.”—barely in action)
Them-Us
Tom Peters/0624.2006
“Them”
“Us”
Strategy
Planning
Marketing
Markets
Customers
Micro-segmentation
Cost minimization
Synergy/“Efficiencies”
“Strategic supplier
Process
Effectiveness
Men
Leadership
Standardization
Big clients
Prestigious Board
EXECUTION
Action
Selling/Sales
Customers
Clients
Big Stuff (Women, Boomers)
Revenue maximization
Decentralization
Pioneering supplier
Project
Excellence
Women
Management + Leadership
Exceptionalism (53 = 53)
COOL clients
INTERESTING Board
“Them”
Big
Growth by merger
Buy market share
Efficient, streamlined
“department”
Certainty-predictability
Fearful of losing
Plan
Careful evaluation
Revised plan
People/Employees
Effective HR department
Benchmark against the
“best”-“industry leader”
“Us”
Mid-size
Organic growth
Create NEW markets
Value-creating “PSF”
Ambiguity-opportunity
Aggressive pursuit
of winning
Prototype
Another prototype
Another prototype
Talent
Rockin’ Talent
Development Center
of Excellence
Benchmark against the
“coolest”
“Them”
“Us”
Benchmark
Orderly career progression
Head
IQ
“Professional”
Stoic, humble leaders
“Future”mark
“Up or Out” (PDQ)
Heart
EQ
Passionate
Noisy, emotional
“characters” in charge
Hire for intangibles
Relentless, pig-headed
determination
Teamwork and disruptive
individuals equal billing
Lead customers
Intimate-Seamless
customer inter-twining
Hire for Resume
Measured-thoughtful
approach
Teamwork comes first
Listen to customers
Customer “involvement”
“Them”
MBM (Management
by memo)
MBA
Shareholder Value
comes first
Work smart
Built to last
Reward successes
“Us”
MBWA
MFA
Great people-product rule
Work hard
Built to Rock the World
Reward (EXCELLENT)
failures
Design 1T
Innovation 1T
Jaw-dropping Experience
Quality first!
Quality first
High-quality
transaction
CVs demo consistent CVs feature Magic Moments
performance
Good grades
Cool stuff
Operational excellence World-rocking INNOVATION
“Them”
Brand
Best analysis wins
“Beyond politics”
Outsource
“Motivate”
“Motivate”
Measured language
Product-Service
Pastel
Better
“Mission success”
Very good
“Us”
Lovemark
Best STORY wins
Politics-is-life, the
rest is details
Bestsource
Send on QUESTS
Invite
HOT language
Gamechanging SOLUTION,
Thrilling EXPERIENCE,
DREAM come true,
LOVEMARK
Technicolor
Different
“Mission EXCELLENCE”
EXCELLENCE. ALWAYS.
Porter.
Drucker.
Bennis.
Peters.
Importance of Success Factors by Various
“Gurus”/(Unreliable) Estimates by Tom Peters
Strategy Systems People Passion
Porter
50%
20
20
10
Drucker
25%
35
25
15
Bennis
25%
20
30
25
Peters
15%
20
40
25
good words.
Bad words.
Words that may NOT be
used in my presence:
“Motivate”
“Market”
Words that may NOT be
used in my presence:
“Motivate”
“In the end, management
doesn’t change culture.
Management
invites
the workforce itself to
change the culture.”
—Lou Gerstner
Words that may NOT be
used in my presence:
“Market”
Sell
Sell
Words that may NOT be used in
my presence: “Motivate” …
“Market” … “MBA” … “Plan”
(mostly) … “Worker” … “Job” …
“Task” … “Exceeds
expectations” … “HR” …
“Employee evaluation” … “Man”
(mostly)
… “Shareholder Value”
Words that MAY be used in my presence: “Invite”
… “Sell” (v. “Market”) … “People” (we’d
like to serve) (v. “Market segment”) … “Client” (v.
“Customer”) “OJT/MFA” (v. “MBA”) … “Act”/ “Execute”
(v. “Plan”) … “Talent” (v. “Worker”) …
“Quest”/“Adventure-in-EXCELLENCE” (v. “Job”) …
“Wow Project” (v. “Task”) … “Rockin’ (profit-makin’)
PSF” (v. “Department”) … “Theater” (v. “Office”) …
“Breathtaking Experience” (v. “Transaction” that “Exceeds
expectations”) … “Talent Fanatics Inc” (v. “HR”) …
“Brand You adventure” (v “Career development”)
“Annual Report development session” … (v.
“Employee evaluation”) … “Woman” (v. “Man”) …
(v. “Motivate”)
Words that MAY be used in my presence: …
“Wow!” (v. “Nice”) … “Bloody-minded”
(v. “Committed”) … “Thank you! (v. “____”) …
“Attack”/Innovate (v. “defend”/Entrench)
… “Great stuff. Great people. ‘Do it’
fanatics.” (v. “shareholder value”) …
“EXCELLENCE.
ALWAYS.”
(v. “Good work”)
(v. “shareholder value”)
EXCELLENCE.
ALWAYS.
“Why in the
world did
you go to
Siberia?”
The Peters
Principles: Enthusiasm.
Emotion. Excellence. Energy.
Excitement. Service. Growth.
Creativity. Imagination. Vitality.
Joy. Surprise. Independence.
Spirit. Community. Limitless
human potential. Diversity. Profit.
Innovation. Design. Quality.
Entrepreneurialism. Wow.
An emotional,
vital, innovative, joyful, creative,
entrepreneurial endeavor that
elicits maximum concerted
human potential in the
wholehearted service
of others.***
Business* ** (*at its best):
**Excellence. Always.
***Employees, Customers, Suppliers, Communities, Owners, Temporary partners
The
Ultimate
Business:
Creative
Endeavor.
The
Ultimate
Business:
Personal
DevelopmentGrowth
Experience.
The
Ultimate
Business:
Transcendent
Service
Opportunity.
EXCELLENCE.
INNOVATE.
OR. DIE.
World Innovation Forum
EVERYTHING YOU
THOUGHT YOU KNEW
ABOUT INNOVATION IS
WRONG
Tom Peters/New York/0524.2006/
Inno.new.LIST.0527
What “We” Know “For Sure” About Innovation
Big mergers [by & large] don’t work
Scale is over-rated
Strategic planning is the last refuge of scoundrels
Focus groups are counter-productive
“Built to last” is a chimera (stupid)
Success kills
“Forgetting” is impossible
Re-imagine is a charming idea
“Orderly innovation process” is an oxymoronic phrase
(= Believed only by morons with ox-like brains)
“Tipping points” are easy to identify …
long after they will do you any good
“Facts” aren’t
All information making it to the top is filtered
to the point of danger and hilarity
“Success stories” are the illusions of egomaniacs (and “gurus”)
If you believe the memoirs of CEOs you should be institutionalized
“Herd behavior” (XYZ is “hot”) is ubiquitous
… and amusing
“Top teams” are “Dittoheads”
CEOs have little effect on performance
“Expert” prediction is rarely better than rolling the dice
World Innovation Forum: Alt Title
YOU ONLY FIND
OIL IF YOU
DRILL WELLS
“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/09.17.04)
“Forbes100” from 1917 to 1987: 39
members of the Class of ’17 were
alive in ’87; 18 in ’87 F100; 18 F100
“survivors” underperformed the
market by 20%; just 2 (2%), GE &
Kodak, outperformed the market
1917 to 1987.
S&P 500 from 1957 to 1997: 74 members of the Class of ’57
were alive in ’97; 12 (2.4%) of 500 outperformed the market from
1957 to 1997.
Source: Dick Foster & Sarah Kaplan, Creative Destruction:
Why Companies That Are Built to Last Underperform the Market
“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
Sluggish + Obese +
Unimaginative + More
Sluggish + More Obese +
More Unimaginative + Even
More Sluggish + Even More
Obese + Even More
Unimaginative = Nissan +
Renault + GM = Innovative
Challenger for Toyota????
“I don’t believe in economies of
You don’t get
better by being
bigger. You get
worse.”
scale.
—Dick Kovacevich/Wells
Fargo/Forbes/08.04 (ROA: Wells, 1.7%; Citi, 1.5%; BofA, 1.3%;
J.P. Morgan Chase, 0.9%)
Scale?
“Microsoft’s Struggle With
Scale”
—Headline, FT, 09.2005
“Troubling
Exits at Microsoft”
—Cover Story, BW, 09.2005
“Too Big to Move Fast?”
—Headline, BW, 09.2005
“Almost every personal friend I have in the world
works on Wall Street. You can buy and sell the
same company six times and everybody makes
but I’m not sure
we’re actually
innovating. … Our challenge is to
money,
take nanotechnology into the future, to do
personalized medicine …” —Jeff Immelt/2005
More than $$$$
#1 R&D
spending,
last 25 years?
GM
Line Extensions:
86 percent of new
products. 62 percent
39
of revenues.
percent of profit.
Source: Blue Ocean Strategy, Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne
I HEREBY PLEDGE …
When asked, “What are some examples
of companies stepping up to today’s
challenges?” … I will …
NEVER
AGAIN … offer an example of a
Giant Company; instead I’ll refer to
Cirque du Soleil, Donnelly’s Weatherstrip
Service, 3K tanning salons, 10.6M
women-owned businesses (or the
typically female recipients of
micro-lending) …*
*There is more to Biz Life than Giant Cos … LOTS MORE … that “hidden 99%”
“While many people big oil finds
with big companies, over the years
about 80 percent of the oil
found in the United States has been
brought in by wildcatters such
as Mr Findley, says Larry Nation,
spokesman for the American
Association of Petroleum
Geologists.” —WSJ, “Wildcat Producer Sparks Oil
Boom in Montana,” 0405.2006
EXCELLENCE.
DEFINED.
SET
THE
AGENDA.* (Period.)
Great Companies …
* “disturb the sleep of …
AGENDA SETTERS: “Set the Table”/
Pioneers/ Questors/ Adventurers
US Steel … Ford … Toyota … Sears …
GM … ITT … The Gap … Limited …
Wal*Mart … Tesco … P&G … 3M …
Intel … IBM … Apple … Nokia …
Cisco … Dell … MCI … Sun …
Microsoft … Google … Enron …
Schwab … GE … Laker … Southwest
… People Express … Ogilvy … Virgin
… eBay … Amazon … Sony …
Amgen … BMW … CNN … Nike
Built to Last vs Built for Impact
“But what if [former head of strategic planning at Royal
Dutch Shell] Arie De Geus is wrong in suggesting, in The
Living Company, that firms should aspire to live
forever? Greatness is fleeting and, for corporations, it
The ultimate
aim of a business organization, an
artist, an athlete or a stockbroker
may be to explode in a dramatic
frenzy of value creation during a
short space of time, rather than to
live forever.”
will become ever more fleeting.
—Kjell Nordström and Jonas Ridderstråle, Funky Business
Inno64:
Innovation
Strategies
& Tactics
Parallel universe /Exec Ed v res MBA
End run regnant powers/JKC
Find done deals-practicing mavericks/Stone-ReGo
Bell curves2016 in 2006
Non-industry benchmarking
Everything = Portfolio
V.C.s all!
Hot language/Wow-Astonish me-Insanely greatimmortal-Make something great
Lead customers/PW-Embraer
Lead suppliers /Top decile R&D
Weird alliances
Mottos/Paul Arden (“Whatever You Think Think the
Opposite”)
Hire freaks/Enough weird people?
Weird Boards!!!
CEO track record of Innovation (nobody starts
at 45!)
System/GE-Immelt
“Strategic thrust overlay”
Calendar
Big Delta easier than Small
MBWA with freaks-weirdos/JKC
MBWA/Boonies’ labs
V.C.-formal/Intel
Acquire weird
Children’s crusade
Old farts crusade
Go Global at any size
Stop listening to customers
Talent!/Unusual sources-Hire innovators-V.C.s
Eschew giant mergers
Remember: scale economies max out early
Assisted suicide! (“Built to last” = Chimerasnare-delusion)
Burn your press clippings
“Forgetting” “strategy”
Fire all strategic planners
Tempo!
Final product bears little relation to starting
notion
Design! Design! Design! (“culture,” not
program)
All innovation: Pissed-off people
Gut feel rules!
Focus groups suck
Weird focus groups okay
Be-Do philosophy
Celebrations
Culture-little as well as big Inno (“everyonean-innovator”)
Life = Wow Projects
Acknowledge messiness-pursue serendipity
(Blitzkrieg-Containers-Science-Jim
Utterback)
R.F.A.
Culture of execution
4/40: decentralization, execution,
accountability, 615AM
EVP (S.O.U.B.)/Systems-process “un-design”
Diversity for diversity’s sake
Women-Women-Women/customers (they
“are the market,” not a “segment”)-leaders
Boomers-Geezers (“all the money”)
CRO (Chief Revenue Officer) “culture”/topline obsessed
CIO (Chief INNOVATION Officer)
Laughter
Facility-space configuration
Experiments-prototypes
“Reward excellent failures. Punish mediocre
successes.”
Bizarrely high incentives (& penalties)
We are what we eat/We are who we hang out
with (E.g.: Staff-Consultants-Vendors-Out-sourcing
Partners/#, Quality-Innovation Alliance PartnersCustomers-Competitors/who we “benchmark” against
-Strategic Initiatives -Product Portfolio/LineEx v. LeapIS/IT Projects-HQ Location-Lunch Mates-LanguageBoard)
Winning against …
… Niche/Focus
… Dramatic Difference
… 2016/2011 in 2006
… Transparent (easy to do
business with/Great
EXPERIENCE)
… Partner
… EXECUTION
Innovation:
Some Secrets
We become
who we hang
out with!
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
Parallel
universe!
“Venture” fund: E.g.
Gerstner/Amex,
Dow/Marriott, Grove/Intel,
Bedbury/Starbucks
“SkunkWorks”/ “ParallelUniverse”
“the
solution”
Source: Scott Bedbury
Immelt on “Innovation
breakthroughs”: Pull out and
fund ideas in each business
that will generate >$100M in
revenue; find best people to
lead (80 throughout GE)
Source: Fast Company/07.05
“[Immelt] is now identifying
technologies with which GE
systematically
set out to build
entirely new
industries”
will …
—Strategy+Business, Fall 2005
“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 No. 5. By the time our rivals are ready
with wires and screws, we are on version
It gets back to planning
versus acting: We act from day
one; others plan how to plan—
for months.” —Bloomberg by Bloomberg
No. 10.
“FAIL, FAIL
AGAIN. FAIL
BETTER.”
—Samuel Beckett
“Reward excellent
failures. Punish
mediocre
successes.”
Phil Daniels, Sydney exec
Bloodymindedness!
1@T
JackWorld/
: (1) Neutron
Jack. (Banish bureaucracy.) (2) “1, 2 or out”
Jack. (Lead or leave.) (3) “Workout”
Jack. (Empowerment, GE style.) (4) 6-Sigma
Jack. (5) Internet Jack.
(1-5/Throughout) TALENT JACK!
“Never forget
implementation boys.
In our work it’s what I
call the ‘missing 98
percent’ of the client
puzzle.” —Al McDonald, former Managing Director,
McKinsey & Co, to a project team that included TP
BIAS
“too
much talk, too
little do”
TP/BW on BigCo Sin #1:
“Ninety percent of what
we call ‘management’
consists of making it
difficult for people to get
things done.” – Peter Drucker
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”
“METABOLIC
MANAGEMENT”
The Leadership11
1. Talent Management
2. Metabolic Management
3. Technology Management
4. Barrier Management
5. Forgetful Management
6. Metaphysical Management
7. Opportunity Management
8. Portfolio Management
9. Failure Management
10. Cause Management
11. Passion Management
“The secret of fast
progress is
inefficiency, fast
and furious and
numerous failures.”
—Kevin Kelly
“If things seem
under control, you’re
just not going fast
enough.”
—Mario Andretti
“I’m not comfortable
unless I’m
uncomfortable.”
—Jay Chiat
Boyd on
TEMPO
He who has the
quickest O.O.D.A.
Loops* wins!
*Observe. Orient. Decide. Act./Col. John
Boyd
“In war, delay is fatal.” —Napoleon
“The only way to whip an army is
to go out and fight it.” —Grant
“ … demonstrating the tactic that
would become his hallmark: the
immediate move to seek out the
enemy and attack him” —John Mosier,
on Grant “A good plan executed right
now is far preferable to a ‘perfect’
plan executed next week.” —Patton
EXCELLENCE.
4/40.
De-central-iza-tion!
Ex-ecu-tion!
“Execution is
the job of the
business
leader.”
—Larry Bossidy & Ram Charan/
Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done
“Execution is a
systematic
process
of rigorously
discussing hows and whats, tenaciously
following through, and ensuring
accountability.”
—Larry Bossidy & Ram Charan/ Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done
Ac-counta-bil-ity!
“GE has set a standard
of candor. … There is no
puffery. … There isn’t an
ounce of denial in the
place.” —Kevin Sharer, CEO Amgen,
on the “GE mystique” (Fortune)
6:15A.M.
????????
Work Hard >
Work Smart
EXCELLENCE.
WANTING.
This is not a
“mature
category.”
This is an
“undistinguished
category.”
“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
EXCELLENCE.
DRAMATIC.
DIFFERENCE.
DOABLE.
$415/SqFt/Wal*Mart
$798/SqFt/Whole
Foods
Summary:
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
niche business and lukewarm customers.)
on! (Instead steal
*“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,
BIGGIES ON EMOTION/CONNECTION!!)
Vendors. (BEAT THE
“This is an essay about what it takes to create and sell something
remarkable. It is a plea for originality, passion, guts and daring. You can’t
be remarkable by following someone else who’s remarkable. One way to
figure out a theory is to look at what’s working in the real world and
determine what the successes have in common. But what could the Four
Seasons and Motel 6 possibly have in common? Or Neiman-Marcus and
Wal*Mart? Or Nokia (bringing out new hardware every 30 days or so) and
Nintendo (marketing the same Game Boy 14 years in a row)? It’s like trying
The thing that
all these companies have in
common is that they have
nothing in common. They are outliers.
to drive looking in the rearview mirror.
They’re on the fringes. Superfast or superslow. Very exclusive or very
cheap. Extremely big or extremely small. The reason it’s so hard to follow
the leader is this: The leader is the leader precisely because he did
something remarkable. And that remarkable thing is now taken—so it’s no
longer remarkable when you decide to do it.” —Seth Godin, Fast
Company/02.2003
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 star! (“Sell” local-ness per se.
Sell the hell out of it!)
*An
incredible experience, from the first
to last moment—and then in the followup! (“These guys are cool! They ‘get’ me! They love
me!”)
*DESIGN DRIVEN! (“Design” is a premier
weapon-in-pursuit-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-regional-niche “lovemark.”)
*Focus on
How stupid.)
women-as-clients. (Most don’t.
*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!)
What I’ve
Learned about
“Small Business”
Tom Peters
26June2006
Passion for PRODUCT.
OBSESSION With Product.
LOVE The Product.
Aim To Be “ONLY ONES WHO DO WHAT WE DO.”
Keep ADDIN’ Stuff.
Invest “UNWISELY” in R&D.
Reside Permanently In The DISCOMFORT Zone.
“Unhealthy” PARANOIA Is A Good Thing.
Add Clients That PUSH-PULL.
SELL. SELL. SELL. SELL.
Go For Broke: CUSTOMER CONTACT PEOPLE.
PERFECTION: Customer Contact People.
Hire for ATTITUDE.
INVITE On An Adventure.
GREAT CFO/Biz Guy-Gal.
NASTY CFO/Biz Guy-Gal.
QUADRANGULAR LEADERSHIP: Visionary-Talent
Fanatic-Project Manager-I.P.M. (I.P.M. = Inspired Profit Mechanic)
GREAT Logo.
DESIGN!
“OVERDO” Marketing Materials.
WOMEN Roar. WOMEN Rule. WOMEN Buy.
Diversity = $$$$$$
Be RELENTLESS. Cut And RUN.
Product Includes-Features the PACKAGING.
Define Your DRAMATIC DIFFERENCE (R.P.O.V.8)
Best STORY Wins.
DRESS For Success.
First Goal: AMUSE Yourself.
Know YOURSELF.
DON’T Do Stuff You Hate.
“Over-invest” In RELATIONSHIPS.
(R.O.I.R.: Return On Investment in Relationships)
SYSTEMATICALLY “Manage” Relationships.
“Work” The SUPPORT PEOPLE In Client Orgs.
BLOG As If Your Life Depended On It.
SOPHISTICATED Use Of Infotech.
RESPONSE To Problems.
Make ’Em PAY.
CLOSE The Sale.
Invest BIGTIME In PR.
Media FRIENDLY.
Live-To-SCHMOOZE.
Fun/Laughter = $$$$
MBWA: Stay In Touch.
“You Must Be The Change You Wish
To See In The World”/GANDHI
5K For 5M.
Your CALENDAR Never Lies.
OUT: Pastels. IN: Technicolor
JUST SAY “NO” TO C.E.O.: CIO/Chief
Innovation Officer. CSO/Chief Sales Officer.
CWO/Chief Wow Officer
EXCELLENCE Is Very Cool.
“MICRO-MANAGE” Your Reputation.
Wear Your Integrity On Your SLEEVE.
KEEP Your Promises.
EXECUTION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
“A Man Without A Smiling Face
MUST NOT Open His Shop.”
RECOGNITION!
Work HARD, Not Smart.
“Insanely Great.” THE STANDARD.
Small Giants:
Companies That
Choose To Be
Great Instead Of
Good —by Bo Burlingham
“It’s always
showtime.”
—David D’Alessandro, Career Warfare
EXCELLENCE.
PITIFUL.
“Idiot” is
too kind a
word.
“That’s a very
diverse* team.”
—Patrick Cescau, CEO, Unilever**
*1 of 14 Board of Directors members is a woman
(not an exec); 2 of 7 Exec Team members
are … Indians. (Source: FT/24-25 June.)
**Approximately 85% of Unilever’s products
are purchased by … women.
“That’s a
VERY
diverse team.”
—Patrick Cescau, CEO, Unilever* **
*1 of 14 Board of Directors members is a woman
(not an exec); 2 of 7 Exec Team members
are … Indians. (Source: FT/24-25 June.)
**Approximately 85% of Unilever’s products
are purchased by … women.
85%
vs.
7%
(1 of 14)
“That’s a
VERY
sick man.”
—Tom Peters
EXCELLENCE.
OPPORTUNITY.
“Women are
the majority
market”
—Fara Warner/The Power of the Purse
?????????
Home Furnishings … 94%
Vacations … 92% (Adventure Travel … 70%/ $55B travel equipment)
Houses … 91%
D.I.Y. (major “home projects”) … 80%
Consumer Electronics … 51% (66% home computers)
Cars … 68% (90%)
All consumer purchases … 83%
Bank Account … 89%
Household investment decisions … 67%
Small business loans/biz starts … 70%
Health Care … 80%
Cases!
McDonald’s (“mom-centered” to “majority consumer”; not
via kids)
Home Depot (“Do it [everything!] Herself”)
P&G (more than “house cleaner”)
DeBeers (“right-hand rings”/$4B)
AXA Financial
Kodak (women = “emotional centers of the household”)
Nike (> jock endorsements; new def sports; majority consumer)
Avon
Bratz (young girls want “friends,” not a blond stereotype)
Source: Fara Warner/The Power of the Purse
1. Men and women are different.
2. Very different.
3. VERY, VERY DIFFERENT.
4. Women & Men have a-b-s-o-l-u-t-e-l-y
nothing in common.
5. Women buy lotsa stuff.
6. WOMEN BUY A-L-L THE STUFF.
7. Women’s Market = Opportunity No. 1.
8. Men are (STILL) in charge.
9. MEN ARE … TOTALLY, HOPELESSLY
CLUELESS ABOUT WOMEN.
10. Women’s Market = Opportunity No. 1.
EXCELLENCE.
OPPORTUNITY.
2000-2010 Stats
18-44: -1%
55+: +21%
(55-64: +47% )
44-65: “New
Customer
Majority” *
*45% larger than 18-43; 60% larger by 2010
Source: Ageless Marketing, David Wolfe & Robert Snyder
The
Irreducible209
73.
74.
75.
76.
Exercise.
Paint. (Leader. Portraits of Excellence.)
Best story wins.
“You must be the change you wish
to see in the world.”
77. Two “big ones.” Max. (Priorities.)
78. No “I” in Team. (“I” in Win.)
79. “I” in Win. (No “I” in Team.)
Different 1,
Better 0.
80.
(Better = 0.1)
81. Imitation = Mistake. (Learn, from who?)
82. Choose/battle the “right” competitor.
83. Schools. Creativity. Entrepreneurship.
(Not.)
84. MBAs. Creativity. Entrepreneurship.
Leadership. (Not.)
85. Design. Under-rated. Wildly.
(Still.) (Everything.)
EXCELLENCE.
VALUE ADDED.
The
[Only?]
Answer
PSF
(Professional Service Firm “model”/The Organizing Principle)
+
Brand You
(“Distinct” or “Extinct”/The Talent)
+
Wow! Projects
(“Different” vs. “Better”/The Work)
“SCS”/Supply Chain
Solutions: 750 locations;
$2.5B; fastest growing
division; 19 acquisitions,
including a bank
Source: Fast Company
MasterCard
Advisors
Huge: Customer
Satisfaction
versus
Customer
Success
EXCELLENCE.
NECESSITY.
OPPORTUNITY.
“ ‘Disintermediation’ is overrated. Those who fear
disintermediation should in fact be afraid of
irrelevance—disintermediation is just another way
you’ve become
irrelevant to your
customers.”
of saying that …
—John Battelle/Point/Advertising Age/07.05
Chicago:
HRMAC
“support
function” / “cost
center”/
“overhead”
or …
Are you …
“Rock
Stars of the
Age of
Talent”
The
Irreducible209
117. Negotiation. Make all winners.
(Save face.)
118. Grace makes enemies friends.
119. Network.
120.
Invest in relationships.
(Think ROIR. Return On
Investment in Relationships.)
118. Relationship investment. Forethought.
Calendar item. Intensity.
119. Innovation. Easy. (Hang out
with weird.)
120. Weird = Win. (Weird times.)
121. “The bottleneck is at the top
of the bottle.”
122. Good Board = Weird Board.
(At least, surprising.)
123. No contention, no progress.
EXCELLENCE.
NO OPTION.
Department Head
to …
Managing Partner,
IS [HR, R&D, etc.] Inc.
Are you the …
“Principal
Engine of
Value Added”
*E.g.: Your R&D budget as robust as the New Products team?
Core Mechanism:
“Game-changing Solutions”
PSF
(Professional Service Firm “model”/The Organizing Principle)
+
Brand You
(“Distinct” or “Extinct”/The Talent)
+
Wow! Projects
(“Different” vs. “Better”/The Work)
The “PSF35”:
Thirty-Five
Professional Service Firm
Marks of Excellence
The PSF35: The Work & The Legacy
1.
CRYSTAL CLEAR POINT OF VIEW
(E very Practice Group: “If you can’t explain your position in eight
words or less, you don’t have a position”—Seth Godin)
2. DRAMATIC DIFFERENCE (“We are the only ones who do what
we do”—Jerry Garcia)
3. Stretch Is Routine (“Never bite off less than you can chew”—anon.)
4. Eye-Appetite for Game-changer Projects (Excellence at Assembling
“Best Team”—Fast)
5. “Playful” Clients (Adventurous folks who unfailingly Aim to Change
the World)
6. Small “Uneconomic” Clients with Big Aims
7. Life Is Too Short to Work with Jerks (Fire lousy clients)
8. OBSESSED WITH LEGACY (Practice Group and Individual: “Dent the
Universe”—Steve Jobs)
9. Fire-on-the-spot Anyone Who Says, “Law/Architecture/Consulting/
I-banking/ Accounting/PR/Etc. has become a ‘commodity’ ”
10. Consistent with #9 above … DO NOT SHY AWAY FROM THE
WORD (IDEA) “RADICAL”
Point of
View!
The PSF35: The People & The Leadership
18. TALENT FANATICS (“Best-Coolest place to work”) (PERIOD)
19. EYE FOR THE PECULIAR (Hiring: Go beyond “same old,
same old”)
20. Early Opportunities (vs. “Wait your turn”)
21. Up or Out (Based on “Legacy”/Mentoring as much as
“Billings”/“Rainmaking”)
22. Slide the Old Aside/Make Room for Youth (Find oldsters
new roles?)
23. TALENT IS OBSESSED WITH RENEWAL FROM DAY #1 TO
DAY #“R” [R = Retirement]
24. Office/Practice Leaders Evaluated Primarily on
Mentoring-Team Building Skills
25. A “PROPRIETARY” TALENT DEVELOPMENT PROCESS (GE)
26. Team Leadership Skills Valued Early
27. Partner with B.I.W. [Best In World] Outsiders as Needed
and to Infuse Different Views
The PSF35: The Firm & The Brand
28. EAT-SLEEP-BREATHE-OOZE INTEGRITY (“My life is
my message”—Gandhi)
29. Excellence+ in EXECUTION … 100.00% of the Time
(No such thing as a “small sins”/World Series Ring to
the Batboy!)
30. “Drop everything”/“Swarm” to Support a Harried-On
The Verge Team
31. SPEND AS AGGRESSIVELY ON R&D AS A TECH FIRM OR
CIRQUE DU SOLEIL
32. A PROPRIETARY METHODOLOGY (FBR, McKinsey, Chiat Day, IDEO,
old EDS)
33. Web (Technology) Obsession
34. BRAND/“LOVEMARK” MANIACS (Organize Around a Point
of View Worth BROADCASTING: “You must be the
change you wish to see in the world”—Gandhi)
35. PASSION! ENTHUSIASM! (Passion & Enthusiasm have as
much a place at the Head Table in a “PSF” as in a
widgets factory: “You can’t behave in a calm, rational
manner. You’ve got to be out there on the lunatic
fringe”—Jack Welch)
The PSF35: The Firm & The Brand
28. EAT-SLEEP-BREATHE-OOZE
is my message”—Gandhi)
INTEGRITY (“My life
29. Excellence+ in EXECUTION … 100.00% of the Time
30. “Drop everything”/“Swarm” to Support a Harried-On
The Verge Team
31. SPEND
ON R&D LIKE A TECH FIRM.
32. A PROPRIETARY METHODOLOGY (FBR, McKinsey,
Chiat Day, IDEO, old EDS)
33. BRAND
MANIACS (Organize Around a Point of View Worth
BROADCASTING)
34. PASSION!
35.
ENTHUSIASM!
EXCELLENCE. ALWAYS.
EXCELLENCE.
ATTITUDE.
TRANSFORMATION.
Fleet Manager
Rolling Stock Cost
Minimization Officer
vs/or
Chief of Fleet Lifetime
Value Maximization
Strategic Supply-chain Executive
Customer Experience Director
(via drivers)
Cost
(at All Costs*) Minimization
Professional?
Or/to: Full Partner-
“Purchasing Officer” Thrust #1:
Leader in Lifetime
Value-added
Maximization?
(*Lopez: “Arguably ‘Villain #1’ in GM tragedy”/Anon VSE-Spain)
HCare CIO: “Technology
Executive” (workin’ in a hospital)
Full-scale,
Accountable (life or death)
Member-Partner of XYZ
Hospital’s Senior
Or/to:
Healing-Services
Team
(who happens to be a techie)
PSF Transformation: Credit Department/Trek
Was
Is
Credit Dept
Financial Services
Hammer on dealers until
they pay
Make dealers successful so they
CAN pay
AR sold to 3rd party
commercial co.
Trek is the commercial financial
Company
23 employees
12 employees
Oversee peak AR of $70M
Oversee peak AR of $160M
Identify risky dealers
Identify opportunities
Cost Center
Profit Center
No products
Products: Consulting, MC/Visa,
Stored value of gift cards, Gift card
peripherals, Online payments
Source: John Burke/0330.06
EXCELLENCE.
UP THE LADDER.
The Value-added Ladder/Stuff ‘n’ Things
Goods
Raw Materials
The Value-added Ladder/Stuff & Transactions
Services
Goods
Raw Materials
The Value-added Ladder/Opportunity-seeking
Gamechanging
Solutions
Services
Goods
Raw Materials
Answer:
Are you the …
“Principal
Engine of
Value Added”
*E.g.: Your R&D budget as robust as the New Products team?
The
[Only?]
Answer
PSF
(Professional Service Firm “model”/The Organizing Principle)
+
Brand You
(“Distinct” or “Extinct”/The Talent)
+
Wow! Projects
(“Different” vs. “Better”/The Work)
EXCELLENCE.
EXPERIENCE IT.
“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
“Club Med
is more
than just a ‘resort’; it’s a
means of rediscovering
oneself, of inventing an
entirely new ‘me.’ ”
Source: Jean-Marie Dru, Disruption
“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
EXCELLENCE.
UP THE LADDER.
The Value-added Ladder/Memorable Connection
Spellbinding
Experiences
Gamechanging Solutions
Services
Goods
Raw Materials
C
*Chief e
O*
Xperience Officer
EXCELLENCE.
DREAM IT.
DREAM: “A dream is a complete
moment in the life of a client.
Important experiences that tempt
the client to commit substantial
resources. The essence of the
desires of the consumer. The
opportunity to help clients
become what they want to be.”
—Gian Luigi Longinotti-Buitoni
EXCELLENCE.
UP THE LADDER.
“The sun is setting on the Information Society—even
before we have fully adjusted to its demands as
individuals and as companies. We have lived as hunters
and as farmers, we have worked in factories and now we
live in an information-based society whose icon is the
We stand facing the
fifth kind of society: the
Dream Society. … Future products will
computer.
have to appeal to our hearts, not to our heads. Now is the
time to add emotional value to products and services.”
—Rolf Jensen/The Dream Society:How the Coming Shift from
Information to Imagination Will Transform Your Business
Furniture vs. Dreams
“We do not sell ‘furniture’ at Domain.
We sell dreams. This is
accomplished by addressing the halfformed 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
The Value-added Ladder/Emotion
Dreams Come True
Spellbinding Experiences
Gamechanging Solutions
Services
Goods
Raw Materials
C
*Chief Dream Merchant
EXCELLENCE.
ALWAYS.
“What Isn’t
Matter Is What
Matters”
—section title, Branded Nation: The Marketing of
Megachurch, College Inc., and Museumworld,
James Twitchell
VA “Teaching Moment”
“Andy pointed to
a molding,
about halfway
up the wall …”
EXCELLENCE.
LOVE IT.
“Brands
have
run out of
juice. They’re
dead.”
—Kevin Roberts/Saatchi & Saatchi
Kevin Roberts:
Lovemarks!
C
O*
*Chief Lovemark Officer
EXCELLENCE.
THE STORY.
“Storytelling
is the core
of culture.”
—Branded Nation: The Marketing of Megachurch,
College Inc., and Museumworld, James Twitchell
Market Power =
Story Power
C
O*
*Chief Storytelling Officer
EXCELLENCE.
LEADING.
C
*Chief e
O*
Xperience Officer
C
*Chief Dream Merchant
C
O*
*Chief Conversations Officer
C
*Chief Portal Impresario
C
O*
*Chief Lovemark Officer
C
O*
*Chief Storytelling Officer
C
O*
*Chief WOW Officer
C
*Chief
O*
Revenue
Officer
EXCELLENCE.
SOUL.
All Equal Except …
“At Sony we assume that all products
of our competitors have basically the
same technology, price, performance
Design is the only
thing that differentiates
one product from another
in the marketplace.” —Norio Ohga
and features.
“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
Hypothesis:
“Design”
is the principle
“metaphor” for the
encompassing Valueadded Imperative!
“If you can’t win on
‘cost,’ then you’re
left with ‘cool.’ ”
—Anon./NZ
EXCELLENCE.
K.I.S.S.
“One bank is currently
claiming to … ‘leverage its global
footprint to provide effective financial
solutions for its customers by providing
a gateway to diverse markets.”
—Charles Handy
“I assume that it is just
saying that it is there to
‘help its customers
wherever they are’.”
—Charles Handy
450/8
"A business unit strategy
should be less than fifty pages
long and should be easy to
understand. Its essence should
be describable in one page ... If
you can't describe your strategy
in twenty minutes, simply and
in plain language, you haven't
got a plan.” —Larry Bossidy
“I wanted GE to operate with
the speed, informality, and open
communication of a corner
store. Corner stores often have
strategy right. With their limited
resources, they have to rely on
laser-like focus on doing one
thing very well.”
—Jack Welch/Fortune/04.05
Lee’s Rule:
Run It off a
Blackberry!
“The art of war does not require
complicated maneuvers; the
simplest are the best, and
common sense is fundamental.
From which one might wonder
how it is generals make
blunders; it is because they try
to be clever.” —Napoleon on Simplicity, from
Napoleon on Project Management by Jerry Manas.
EXCELLENCE.
EVERYWHERE.
New Zealand
Spain
Portugal
Ireland
Singapore
Taiwan
Philippines
UAE
Chile
(Romania)
Better By Design: A National Strategy
NZ = Design
Excellence
New Zealand
Spain
Portugal
Ireland
Singapore
Taiwan
Philippines
UAE
Chile
(Romania)
“ ‘MADE IN
TAIWAN’: From
Cheap
Manufacturing to
Chic Branding”
—Headline/Advertising Age/06.05
Taiwan, Your
Partner in
InnoValue
Poster/Bucharest/03.06
New Zealand
Thailand
Spain
Portugal
Ireland
Singapore
Taiwan
Philippines
UAE
Chile
(Romania)
London circa 1976: “You can’t
build a ‘real economy’ on
services, finance,
advertising, etc.”
London circa 2006: deliberately
aims to be the “capital of
the 21st century”
The
Irreducible209
163. Own up. Quick. ( Denial. Cancer.)
Celebrate. Often.
165. 78 people = 78 approaches. (Each. Unique.)
164.
166. Weed. Ceaselessly. (Prune. Stupid.
Rules. Non-stop.)
167.
Get out of the way.
(You = The problem.)
168. Smile. Sunny. Optimism. (If it kills you.)
169. Flowers. (Cheery workplace.)
170. Enjoy. (Or get the hell.)
171.
Be intolerant of “sour.”
(1 = Major pollution)
172. No “quick trigger” on promotion.
(Too important.)
173. Evaluation = Lots of study-time.
174. Evaluation = “Life or death” to evaluee.
175. “360” evaluation. No fad.
176.
Exit when you’re done. (Done.
Sooner than you think.)
EXCELLENCE.
BEDROCK.
“Management has a lot to do with
answers. Leadership is a function of
questions. And the first question for a
‘Who do
we intend to be?’
leader always is:
Not ‘What are we going to do?’ but
‘Who do we intend to be?’”
—Max De Pree, Herman Miller
“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)
Ah, kids: “What is your vision for
the future?” “What have you
accomplished since your first book?”
“Close your eyes and imagine me
immediately doing something about
what you’ve just said. What would it
be?” “Do you feel you have an
obligation to ‘Make the world a better
place’?”
EXCELLENCE.
ENTHUSIASM.
ENERGY.
PASSION.
“Nothing is so
contagious as
enthusiasm.”
—Samuel Taylor Coleridge
“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
Charles Handy on the “Alchemists”
“Passion was what drove
these people, passion for
their product or their cause.
If you
care enough, you will find out what you need to know.
Or you will experiment and not worry if the experiment
Passion
goes wrong.
as the secret to learning
is an odd secret to propose, but I believe that it works
passion
at all levels and at all ages. Sadly,
is
not a word often heard in the elephant organizations,
nor in schools, where it can seem disruptive.”
“Most important,
upped the
energy level at
he
Motorola.”
—Fortune on Ed Zander/08.05
Q: “If it were your $50K
[life’s savings] and my $50K,
what sort of Waiters would
we look for?”
A:
“Enthusiasts!”
“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
Let us
march.
EXCELLENCE.
BEDROCK.
Brand =
Talent.
“Ninety percent of what
we call ‘management’
consists of making it
difficult for people to get
things done.” – Peter Drucker
Organizing Genius / Warren Bennis
and Patricia Ward Biederman
“Groups become great only when
everyone in them, leaders and
members alike, is free to do his or
her absolute best.”
“The best thing a leader can do for a
Great Group is to allow its
members to discover their
greatness.”
Leadership’s Mt Everest/Mt Excellence
“free to do his or her
absolute best” …
“allow its members to
discover their
greatness.”
C
O*
*Chief quest-meister
“The role of the Director
is to create a space
where the actor or
actress can become
more than they’ve ever
been before, more than
they’ve dreamed of
being.” —Robert Altman, Oscar acceptance
A Few Lessons from the Arts
Each hired and developed and evaluated in unique ways
(23 contributors; 23 unique contributions; 23 pathways; 23 personalities; 23 sets of
motivators)
Attitude/Enthusiasm/Energy paramount
Re-lent-less!
“Practice is cool” (G Leonard/Mastery)
Team and individual
Aspire to EXCELLENCE = Obvious
Ex-e-cu-tion
Talent = Brand = Duh
“The Project” rules
Emotional language
Bit players. No.
B.I.W. (everything)
Delta events = Delta rosters (incl leader/s)
“We are a
‘life Success
Company”’
founder, RE/MAX
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
“Leaders
‘do’ people.
Period.”
—Anon.
“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”
Q: “If it were your $50K
[life’s savings] and my $50K,
what sort of Waiters would
we look for?”
A:
“Enthusiasts!”
Hire very
good
people!
From “1, 2 or you’re out” [JW] to …
“Best Talent in
each industry segment
to build best proprietary
intangibles” [EM]
Source: Ed Michaels, War for Talent
“We believe companies can increase their market cap
50 percent in 3 years. Steve Macadam at Georgia-
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 2 years.” —Ed Michaels, War for Talent
Pacific
The Cracked Ones Let in the Light
“Our business needs a massive transfusion
of talent, and talent, I believe, is most likely to
nonconformists, dissenters
and rebels.”
be found among
—David Ogilvy
DD$21M
A review of Jack and Suzy Welch’s Winning claims there are but
two key differentiators that set GE “culture” apart from the herd:
First: Separating financial forecasting and performance
measurement. Performance measurement based, as it usually is, on budgeting
leads to an epidemic of gaming the system. GE’s performance measurement is
divorced from budgeting—and instead reflects how you do relative to your past
performance and relative to competitors’ performance; i.e., it’s about how you
actually do in the context of what happened in the real world, not as compared to a
gamed-abstract plan developed last year.
Second: Putting HR on
a par with finance
and marketing.
EVP/
IBP?*
What’s your company’s …
*Employee Value Proposition, per Ed Michaels et al., The War for Talent;
IBP/Internal Brand Promise per TP
EVP/IBP = Remarkable
challenge, rapid professional
growth, respect, satisfaction,
fun, stunning opportunity,
exceptional reward, amazing
peer group, full membership in
Club Adventure, maximized
future employability
Source: Ed Michaels, The War for Talent; TP
Re-imagine
People Power:
The Talent50
The Talent50
1. People first!
2. Soft is Hard.
3. FUNDAMENTAL PREMISE: We are in an Age
of Talent/ Creativity/ Intellectual-capital
Added.
4. Talent “excellence” in every part of the
organization.
5. P.O.T./Pursuit Of Talent = Obsession.
6. HR sits at The Head Table.
7. HR is “cool.”
The Talent50
8. Re-name “HR.” (Talent Department, Center of Talent
Excellence)
9. There’s an HR Strategy
10. There is a FORMAL Recruitment Strategy.
11. There is a FORMAL Leadership Development
Strategy.
12. There is a “world class” Leadership Development
Center.
13. There is a FORMAL-STRATEGIC HR Review
Process.
14. The “Top100,” and every unit’s Top10, are
consciously managed.
The Talent50
15. “People/Talent Reviews” are the FIRST
reviews.
16. HR Strategy = Business Strategy.
17. Make it a Cause Worth Signing Up For..
18. Set Sky High Standards.
19. Enlist everyone in
Challenge Century21.
20. Pursue the Best!
21. Up or Out.
22. Ensure that the Review Process has
INTEGRITY.
23. Pay!
The Talent50
24. Training I: Train! Train! Train!
25. TII: 100% “business people.”
26. TIII: 100% Leaders.
27. TIV: Boss as Trainer-in-Chief.
28. Open Communication I: NO BARRIERS.
29. Open Communication II: Share
Information. (ALL!)
30. Respect!
31. INTEGRITY!
32. Treat the Whole Individual.
The Talent50
33. Places of “grace.”
34. MBWA: The “Rudy Rule.”
35. Thank You!
36. Promote for “people skills.”
(ALL ELSE IS SECONDARY.)
37. Honor youth.
38. Early leadership assignments.
39. Fast Tracking is the norm.
40. Create a System of Mentoring.
The Talent50
41. Diversity!
42. Diversity starts on the Board of
Directors.
43. WOMEN RULE.
44. Weird Wins.
45. We are all unique.
46. Bosses “win people over.”
47. GOAL: Adventures of Mutual
Discovery.
48. Foster Independence.
49. Enthusiasm!
50. Talent
= Brand.
EXCELLENCE.
BY INVITATION.
“In the end, management
doesn’t change culture.
Management
invites
the workforce itself to
change the culture.”
—Lou Gerstner
“Most important, leaders can
conceive and articulate goals
that lift people out of their
petty preoccupations … and
unite them in pursuit of
objectives worthy of their
best efforts.” —John Gardner, No Easy
Victories (from Warren Bennis, On Becoming a Leader)
Marcus
Buckingham:
The One Thing You
Need to Know
“No matter what the situation,
[the great 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
“The key difference between
checkers and chess is that in
checkers the pieces all move
the same way, whereas in chess
all the pieces move differently.
… Discover what is unique
about each person and
capitalize on it.” —Marcus Buckingham,
The One Thing You Need to Know
“The mediocre manager believes that most
things are learnable and therefore that the
essence of management is to identify ach
person’s weaker areas and eradicate them.
The great manager believes the opposite.
He believes that the most influential
qualities of a person are innate and
therefore that the essence of management
is to deploy these innate qualities as
effectively as possible and so drive
performance.” —Marcus Buckingham, The One Thing
You Need to Know
“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
EXCELLENCE.
WOMEN.
RULE.
“AS
LEADERS,
WOMEN
RULE:
New Studies find that
female managers outshine their male
counterparts in almost every measure”
Title, Special Report/BusinessWeek
LEADERSHIP
SKILLS.
Women’s Negotiating Strengths
*Ability to put themselves in their
counterparties’ shoes
*Comprehensive, attentive and detailed
communication style
*Empathy that facilitates trust-building
*Curious and attentive listening
*Less competitive attitude
*Strong sense of fairness and ability to persuade
*Proactive risk manager
*Collaborative decision-making
Source: Horacio Falcao, Cover story/May 2006, World Business, “Say It Like
a Woman: Why the 21st-century negotiator will need the female touch”
Women
Dominate
Economic
Growth.
“Forget China,
India and the
Internet: Economic
Growth Is Driven
by Women.”
—Headline, Economist,
April 15, 2006, Leader, page 14
“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
Women
Dominate
Economic
Growth.
Impact! Add It Up!
Primary markets/Everything
(“Men buy
things that other men will buy for women. I buy things that women want.”—
successful jeweler/F. “Women are the majority market” —Fara Warner/The
Power of the Purse. Women as Purchasing Officers, CIOs, etc.)
Greater global workforce
participation rate (“bigger contributor to GDP
growth than technology, China, India”—Economist)
Higher wages
(more seniority, promotions—even if not to
CEO; greater pay equity—even if not equal)
Business “decision makers”
(more
seniority, promotions—even if not to CEO)
Women-owned businesses
(answer to the
Glass Ceiling—10.6M in USA; recipients of “micro-lending”—developing
world)
EXCELLENCE.
INDIVIDUAL.
BRAND YOU.
Core Mechanism:
“Game-changing Solutions”
PSF
(Professional Service Firm “model”/The Organizing Principle)
+
Brand You
(“Distinct” or “Extinct”/The Talent)
+
Wow! Projects
(“Different” vs “Better”/The Work)
Globalization1.0: Countries globalizing (1492-1800)
Globalization2.0: Companies globalizing (18002000)
Globalization3.0
:
Individuals collaborating
& competing globally
(2000+)
Source: Tom Friedman/The World Is Flat
“One of the defining
characteristics [of the change] is
that it will be less driven by
countries or corporations and
more driven by real people. It will
unleash unprecedented creativity,
advancement of knowledge, and economic
development. But at the same time, it will
tend to undermine safety net systems and
penalize the unskilled.” —Clyde Prestowitz, Three Billion
New Capitalists
“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
New Work SurvivalKit.2006
1. Mastery! (Best/Absurdly Good at Something!)
2. “Manage” to Legacy (All Work = “Memorable”/“Braggable” WOW Projects!)
3. A “USP”/Unique Selling Proposition (R.POV8: Remarkable Point of
View … captured in 8 or less words)
4. Rolodex Obsession (From vertical/hierarchy/“suck up” loyalty to
horizontal/“colleague”/“mate” loyalty)
5. Entrepreneurial Instinct (A sleepless … Eye for Opportunity! E.g.: Small
Opp for Independent Action beats faceless part of Monster Project)
6. CEO/Leader/Businessperson/Closer (CEO, Me Inc. Period! 24/7!)
7. Master of Improv (Play a dozen parts simultaneously, from
Chief Strategist to Chief Toilet Scrubber)
8. Sense of Humor (A willingness to Screw Up & Move On)
9. Comfortable with Your Skin (Bring “interesting you” to work!)
10. Intense Appetite for Technology (E.g.: How Cool-Active is your
Web site? Do you Blog?)
11. Embrace “Marketing” (Your own CSO/Chief Storytelling Officer)
12. Passion for Renewal (Your own CLO/Chief Learning Officer)
13. Execution Excellence! (Show up on time! Leave last!)
Personal “Brand Equity” Evaluation
– I am known for [2 to 3 things]; next year at this
time I’ll also be known for [1 more thing].
– My current Project is challenging me …
– New things I’ve learned in the last 90 days
include …
– My public “recognition program”
consists of …
– Additions to my Rolodex in the last 90 days
include …
– My resume is discernibly different
from last year’s at this time …
“You are the
storyteller of your
own life, and you can
create your own
legend or not.”
—Isabel Allende
R.D.A.
Rate: 15%?, 25%?
Therefore: Formal “Investment
Strategy”/
R.I.P.*
*Renewal Investment Plan
3 Weeks in May
“Training” & Prep: 187
“Work”: 41
(“Other”: 17)
1%
vs.
367%
“To Be
somebody or to
Do something”
BOYD: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War
(Robert Coram)
A “position” is not an
“accomplishment.”
—TP
Distinct … or
… Extinct
“It’s always
showtime.”
—David D’Alessandro, Career Warfare
EXCELLENCE.
BEDROCK.
X.Step #1:
Buy a Mirror!
“The First step in a
‘dramatic’ ‘organizational
change program’ is
obvious—dramatic personal
change!” —RG
“Work
on me
first.”
—Kerry Patterson,
Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan and Al Switzler/Crucial Conversations
“You must
be
the change you wish
to see in the world.”
Gandhi
MBWA*
*HS/25+
You = Your
calendar*
*Calendars NEVER lie!!
5,000
miles for a 5
min. meeting!
Mark McCormack:
Getting to WOW
Through Mastery of …
The Sales25.
Getting Things Done:
Power &
The
Implementation34.
Presentation
Excellence: The
PresX56
“The problem with
communication ...is the
ILLUSION that it has
been accomplished.”
—George Bernard Shaw
The Interviewing
Excellence:
The IntX31
EXCELLENCE.
REVENUE.
MATTERS.
MOST.
“Analysts … preferred cost cutting, as long as
they could see two or three years of EPS growth. I preached revenue
and the analysts’ eyes would glaze over. Now revenue is ‘in’ because
They
said, ‘Oh my gosh, you
need revenues to grow
earnings over time.’
Well, Duh!”
so many got caught, and earnings went to hell.
—Dick Kovacevich, Wells Fargo
EXCELLENCE.
SALES.
This is not about …
“customer centrism”
“integrated marketing”
etc.
etc.
etc.
It is about …
… sellin’ a whole lotta stuff and
having customers go bananas
with love to the point that
they tell every damn friend they
have and then start buttonholing
strangers on trains and planes
and busses.
M.I.A.*: Talk. (Present.) Listen. (Interview.)
Sell.
(Life = Sales.)
Do. (Execution-
Talent. (Recruit-Develop-Retain.) Project
Management. (Create. Solicit support. Execution.
Adoption-Client “Culture Change.”) Product. (“It.”)
Innovation. (Design. Creativity. “Buzz-building.” Politics.)
Leadership. (USMA, etc.) E.Q. (Connect.)
“Culture” Change. (Lasting impact.) Diversity.
(Cross-cultural Effectiveness.) Career Creation. (Brand
You life-lifestyle.) Wellness. (Life.)
Implementation.)
*B.Schools (“M.I.A.” or at most “B.I.A.”—barely in action)
“Everyone
lives by selling
something.”
.
– Robert Louis Stevenson
Sell
Sell
“TAKE THIS QUICK QUIZ: Who manages more
things at once? Who puts more effort into their
appearance? Who usually takes care of the
details? Who finds it easier to meet new
people? Who asks more questions in a
conversation? Who is a better listener? Who
has more interest in communication skills?
Who is more inclined to get involved? Who
encourages harmony and agreement? Who has
better intuition? Who works with a longer ‘to
do’ list? Who enjoys a recap to the day’s
events? Who is better at keeping in touch with
others?”
Source: Selling Is a Woman’s Game: 15 Powerful Reasons Why Women
Can Outsell Men, Nicki Joy & Susan Kane-Benson
C
*Chief
O*
Revenue
Officer
TP.27 …
on Selling
(Short) (Personal)
Out-prepare!! (huge time commitment!)
Learn the “culture”
Practice!
Care-Empathy
Listen-Empathetic listening (SC)
“Listen”-Body language
K.I.S.S. (1-page summary. 1 = 1.)
Enthusiasm-ENERGY-“Authenticity”!!
OBVIOUS belief in product
Selling: Solution-Success-Experience-Dream come true-Love-Dramatic Difference
Selling: Better STORY! (“Best story wins”)
Selling: Yourself! (Brand you)
“Obvious” Wow!
No exaggeration!
Spell out commitments!
SIMPLE timeline
Sell “inside”-First! Thorough!
Relationships-“Way down”!!
Time!!!! (E.g., build trust)
Ooze integrity
Introduce to rest of team, esp. “mechanics”
SBWA (5K for 5M)
Remember: Close!
Gotta-make-a-profit (be ready to walk away!)
“Good loss”
Don’t dis competitors!!
Make her-him-target SUCCESSFUL (in a personal way)
GE
(more or less)
:
The Sales122:
122 Ridiculously
Obvious Thoughts
About Selling Stuff
Tom Peters/0402.2006
motivational
stuff
“Do one thing
every day that
scares you.”
—Eleanor Roosevelt
“It’s always
showtime.”
—David D’Alessandro, Career Warfare
Paul Arden,
Whatever You Think
Think the Opposite
“ARE YOU BEING
REASONABLE? Most people
are reasonable; that’s
why they only do
reasonably well.”
Source: Paul Arden, Whatever You Think Think the Opposite
BONUS
Stating the Obvious:
THE PROBLEM IS
RARELY THE
PROBLEM.
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!
OFTEN AS
NOT/MORE OFTEN
THAN NOT THE
UNDERLYING
PROBLEM IS NOT
MUCH OF A
PROBLEM.
PERCEPTION
IS ALL THERE
IS. PERIOD.*
*From Whole Foods to IBM to the corner deli
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.
Relationships
(of all varieties):
POWER WORDS!
“I’m sorry.”
Stating the Obvious:
MORE POWER
WORDS/IDEAS
Thank
You!
MBWA*
*5,000 miles for a 5-minute face-to
-face meeting (courtesy superagent Mark McCormick)
Say it with …
FLOWERS
POWER IDEAS!
You must care.
—General Melvin Zais
The
Irreducible209
188. Handshake. (Quantity. Quality.)
189. Don’t fold your hands in front of
your chest. Ever. (Never.)
190. Simplicity. Redundancy. Resilience.
Bloody-mindedness. Visible
optimism. (Success.) (Repeat.)
Employee Entrance =
Guest Entrance.
192. Put the customer SECOND.
191.
(Thanks, Hal.)
193. Flowers. (Or did I say that before?
No matter if I did.)
194. Big Mergers don’t work. Small
acquisitions can/do work—if you
don’t screw with their energy.
EXCELLENCE.
4/40.
De-central-iza-tion!
“‘Decentralization’
is not a piece of
paper. It’s not me.
It’s either in your
heart, or not.”
—Brian Joffe/BIDvest
Ex-ecu-tion!
“too
much talk, too
little do”
TP/BW on BigCo Sin #1:
“We have a
‘strategic plan.’
It’s called doing
things.”
— Herb Kelleher
“This is so simple it sounds stupid, but it is amazing
you
only find oil if you
drill wells.
how few oil people really understand that
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
“Never forget
implementation
boys. In our work it’s
what I call the
‘missing 98
percent’ of the client
puzzle.”
—Al McDonald
“You only find
oil if you
drill wells.”
Source: The Hunters, by John Masters, Canadian O & G wildcatter
Ac-counta-bil-ity!
“Realism is
the heart of
execution.”
—Larry Bossidy & Ram Charan/Execution:
The Discipline of Getting Things Done
“GE has set a standard
of candor. … There is no
puffery. … There isn’t an
ounce of denial in the
place.” —Kevin Sharer, CEO Amgen,
on the “GE mystique” (Fortune)
6:15A.M.
“This [adolescent] incident [of getting from point A to point B] is
notable not only because it underlines Grant’s fearless
horsemanship and his determination, but also it is the first known
example of a very important peculiarity of his character:
Grant had an extreme,
almost phobic dislike of
turning back and retracing
his steps. If he set out for somewhere, he would get
there somehow, whatever the difficulties that lay in his way. This
idiosyncrasy would turn out to be one the factors that made him
such a formidable general. Grant would always, always press on—
turning back was not an option for him.”
—Michael Korda, Ulysses Grant
EXCELLENCE.
4/40.
DECENTRALIZATION.
EXECUTION.
ACCOUTABILITY.
6:15A.M.
GRANT
NELSON
BOYD
BOSSIDY
GRANT
“The only way to
whip an army is
to go out and
fight it.” —Grant
Source: John Mosier, Grant
“recognized the value of
momentum … throw
[opponent] off balance …
blitzkreig … traveling light
… headquarters in the
saddle” —Jean Edward Smith/GRANT
“The genius of Grant’s command style
lay in its simplicity. Grant never
burdened his division commanders
with excessive detail. … no elaborate
staff conferences, no written orders
prescribing deployment. … Grant
recognized the battlefield was in flux.
By not specifying movements in
detail, he left his subordinate
commanders free to exploit whatever
opportunities developed.”
—Jean Edward Smith/GRANT
“This [adolescent] incident [of getting from point A to point B] is
notable not only because it underlines Grant’s fearless
horsemanship and his determination, but also it is the first known
example of a very important peculiarity of his character:
Grant had an extreme,
almost phobic dislike of
turning back and retracing
his steps. If he set out for somewhere, he would get
there somehow, whatever the difficulties that lay in his way. This
idiosyncrasy would turn out to be one the factors that made him
such a formidable general. Grant would always, always press on—
turning back was not an option for him.”
—Michael Korda, Ulysses Grant
“One of my superstitions
had always been when I
started to go anywhere or
to do anything, not to turn
back, or stop, until the
thing intended was
accomplished.” —Grant
CWVA to MBWA: “In these
days of telegraph and
steam I can command
while traveling and
visiting about.” —U.S. Grant
Managing by wandering
around” —HP circa 1980
Source: Ulysses S. Grant, by Geoffrey Perret
Insubordinate (when it comes to
delays)/N
Action-oriented/Offense/
Total victory/N
Relentless
Troop Commander par Excellence/N
Leeway to Commanders/N
NELSON
Nelson’s Way: A Baker’s Dozen/Short
1. Simple scheme.
2. Noble purpose!
3. Engage others.
4. Find great talent, let it soar!
5. Lead by Love!
6. Trust your gut, not the focus group: Seize the Moment!
7. Vigor!
8. Master your craft.
9. Work harder than the next person.
10. Show the way, walk the talk, exude confidence! Start a Passion
Epidemic!
11. Change the rules: Create your own game!
12. Shake of the pain, get back up off the ground, the timing may
well be
right tomorrow! (E.g., Get lucky!)
13. By hook or by crook, quash your fear of failure, savor your
quirkiness
and participate fully in the fray!
Source: Andrew Lambert, Nelson: Britannia’s God of War
“He above all encouraged
(and prepared) his
subordinates to seize the
initiative whenever
necessary, particularly in
the fog of war —and the
men who served under him
knew what he expected.” —Jay
Tolson, on “The Nelson Touch,” The Battle That
Changed The World
“[other]
admirals more
frightened of
losing than
anxious to win”
On NELSON:
BOYD
He who has the
quickest
“O.O.D.A.
Loops”* wins!
*Observe. Orient. Decide. Act. /Col. John Boyd
BOSSIDY
“Execution is
the job of the
business
leader.”
—Larry Bossidy & Ram Charan/
Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done
The Leader’s Seven Essential Behaviors
*Know your people and your
business
*Insist on realism
*Set clear goals and priorities
*Follow through
*Reward the doers
*Expand people’s capabilities
*Know yourself
Source: Larry Bossidy & Ram Charan/ Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done
Action8/VPMR+/Peters on Bossidy
*Knowledge/External Focus (Competitors/Customers)
*Realism/Truth-telling
*Vision
*Projects (Must add up to Vision)
*Milestones
*Commitment/Energy
*RapidReview
*Consequences (+/-)
EXCELLENCE.
LEADING.
Leadership23
Leadership23
1. Enthusiasm. Energy. Exuberance.
2. Action. Execution.
3. Tempo. Metabolism.
4. Relentless.
5. Master of Plan B.
6. Accountability.
7. Meritocracy.
8. Leaders “do” people. Mentor. (“Success creation business.”)
9. Women. Diversity.
10. Integrity. Credibility. Humanity. Grace.
11. Realism.
12. Cause. Adventures. Quests.
13. Legacy.
14. Best story wins.
15. On the edge. (“Wildest chimera of a moonstruck mind.”)
16. “Reward excellent failures. Punish mediocre successes.”
17. Different > Better. (“Only ones who do what we do.”)
18. MBWA. Customer MBWA.
19. Laughs.
20. Repot. Curiosity. Why?
21. You = Calendar. “To Don’t.” Two.
22. Excellence. Always.
23. Nelsonian! (“Other admirals more afraid of losing
than anxious to win.”)
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!
Sir Richard’s Rules:
Follow your passions.
Keep it simple.
Get the best people to help you.
Re-create yourself.
Play.
Source: Fortune on Branson
Message clarity = CALENDAR +
MBWA + Language + Perceived
INTENSITY/ENTHUSIASM/
ENERGY + Concrete-Visible
support + Prototypes +
Tolerance for Failure/“Good
losses” + Promotions + Tempo +
Resilience + Celebration +
Perceived RELENTLESSNESS +
Training
“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
EXCELLENCE.
DETERMINATION.
DE-TERMIN-ATION
BLOOD-YMIND-EDNESS
Bloodyminded:
Unreasonably
stubborn
Source: The Random House Dictionary of the English Language
“It is no use saying
‘We are doing our
best.’ You have got
to succeed in doing
what is necessary.”
—WSC
First-level Scientific Success
The smartest guy
in the room wins”
Or …
First-level Scientific Success
Fanaticism
Persistence-Dogged Tenacity
Patience (long haul/decades)-Impatience (in a hurry/”do it yesterday”)
Passion
Energy
Relentlessness (Grant-ian)
Enthusiasm
Driven (nuts!)
(Brutal?) Competitiveness
Entrepreneurial
Pragmatic (R.F!A.)
Scrounge (“gets” the logistics-infrastructure bit)
Master of Politics (internal-external)
Tactical Genius
Pursuit of (Oceanic) Excellence!
High EQ/Skillful in Attracting + Keeping Talent/Magnetic
Prolific (“ground up more pig brains”)
Egocentric
Sense of History-Destiny
Futuristic-In the Moment
Mono-dimensional (“Work-life balance”? Ha!)
Exceptionally Intelligent
Exceptionally Clever (methodological shortcuts/methodological genius)
Luck
6:15A.M.
Relentless!*
*Churchill, Grant, Patton, Welch, Bossidy, Nardelli (GE execs),
UPS, FedEx, Microsoft/Gates-Ballmer, Eisner, Weill, eBay, NixonKissinger, Gerstner, Rice, Jordan, Armstrong
“Whenever anything is
being accomplished, I
have learned, it is being
done by a monomaniac
with a mission.” —Peter Drucker
"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.
"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.
“The role of the Director
is to create a space
where the actor or
actress can become
more than they’ve ever
been before, more than
they’ve dreamed of
being.” —Robert Altman, Oscar acceptance
“You want ‘checklists.’ I
instead offer you a ‘guaranteed’
‘formula’: Passion.
Bloodymindedness
Enthusiasm.
[as contrasted with
Relentlessness. A
demonic need to make ‘it’
happen.” —TP
mere ‘determination’].
“My only goal is to
have no goals. The
goal, every time, is
that film, that very
moment.”
—Bernardo Bertolucci
“Nothing is so
contagious as
enthusiasm.”
—Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Nelson.
Grant.
Churchill.
Carly F: 2Cs/Capability
+ Character
TP: 2Ds/Determination +
Decency
The [EXTREME] Limits to Miracle Approaches*
6-sigma + Bloody-minded
Determination = Roaring Success
6-sigma + by-the-numbers/
“fashionable” “leadership” =
Tepid results (at best)
*Or: the rich get richer …
Geronimo!
“Life is not a journey to the
grave with the intention of
arriving safely in a pretty and
well-preserved body—but
rather a skid in broadside,
thoroughly used up, totally
worn out, and loudly
proclaiming, ‘Wow,
what a ride!’ ” —anon.
"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)
HTSH: Engage!*
Commit! Engage! Try! Fail! Get up! Try
again! Fail again! Try again! But never,
ever stop moving on! Progress for
humanity is engendered by those who join
and savor the fray by giving one hundred
percent of themselves to their dreams!
Not by those timid souls who remain
glued to the sidelines, stifled by tradition,
and fearful of losing face or giving offense
to the reigning authorities.
Key words: Commit! Engage! Try! Fail! Persist!
*HTST/Hands That Shape Humanity, Tom Peters’ contribution to a Bishop Tutu exhibit
The Cup
Challenge
Tom Peters/0214.2006
For a forthcoming event, I was
asked to provide some
possible “sayings” on
leadership, six words or less,
designed go on coffee mugs
distributed as gifts. The
results, a hasty draft, follow …
“Passion!”
“Energy!”
“Enthusiasm!”
“Passion! Energy! Enthusiasm!”
"Enthusiasm! Enthusiasm! Enthusiasm!"
"Enthusiasm Moves Mountains!"
"Nothing Matches Enthusiasm as a 'Motivator'!"
“Technicolor Times Demand Technicolor Actions”
“Technicolor Times Demand Technicolor People”
“Wow. Now.”
“Re-imagine!”
“Re-imagine! Re-do! Re-vise! Re-vo-lu-tion!”
“Enthusiasm,
the Ultimate
Virus!”
“Enthusiasm,
the
Ultimate
Virus!”
"Respect!"
“Leaders ‘Do’ People. Period.”
“Credibility. Asset No. 1.”
“Tell the Truth.”
“Truth Wins.”
“Challenge. Challenge. Challenge.”
“Two Big Goals. Tops.”
“Focus. Your Calendar Never Lies”
“Good Story. Good Leader.”
“Best Story Wins.”
“Live the Story.”
“Change the World. Accept Nothing Less.”
"Dream!"
“Dream. The Only Worthwhile Reality.”
“Beware Those Who Agree With You”
“Seek Dissidents. Nurture Dissidents. Cherish
Dissidents”
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
“Excellence!”
“Demand Excellence!”
“Demand Excellence. The Greatest
Gift.”
“Excellence, Life’s Gold Standard”
“Stop Talking! Start Doing!”
“Execute. Execute. Execute.”
“‘Good Execution’ Beats ‘Good
Strategy’”
“Agility Trumps Size”
"Women make the best bosses!"
“Women Rule. Believe It.”
"You must care!"
“Listen.”
“Ask. ‘Why?’”
“‘Different’ beats ‘Better.’”
“‘Distinct’ or ‘Extinct.’”
“Innovate or Die”
“‘Me Too’ = ‘Me Dead’”
“Talent Time!”
“Best Talent Wins.”
“Moderation Fails in Immoderate
Times”
“No Less
Than
Excellence.
Ever.”
EXCELLENCE:
MANAGEMENT
VERSUS (??)
LEADERSHIP
RIGHT
THINGS.
THINGS
RIGHT.
Not!
“Leadership is doing
the right things.
Management is doing
things right.”
—WB et al.
So What???????
MANAGERS “do things
right”
LEADERS “do the right
things”
The Twain SHALL Meet!
Leadership: Invite
Associates/Colleagues/Talent to
join a Gaspworthy Adventure in
EXCELLENCE which will provide
matchless Personal and Professional
Growth and be of Dramatically
Different Service
to selected Clients
Management:
Do it!
LEADERSHIP (Eternal!):
Invigorate a sizeable # of
people to Aspire to Excellence
in pursuit of a Common
(Noble) Goal that revolves
around service-of-exceptionalvalue to Clients
“Leadership” v. “Management”
“In [President Bush’s] belief
that America needed to
respond resolutely to the
dangers of terrorism, tyranny
and proliferation, he was mainly
right. His chief failures stem
from incompetent execution.”
—The Economist/05.13.2006
DRUCKER’S GREAT
CONTRIBUTION: management
per se as a/the principal
determinant of institutional
effectiveness
“Never forget
implementation boys.
In our work it’s what I
call the ‘missing 98
percent’ of the client
puzzle.” —Al McDonald, former Managing Director,
McKinsey & Co, to a project team that included TP
You only find
oil if you
drill wells.
Source: The Hunters, by John Masters, Canadian O & G wildcatter
EXCELLENCE.
STRETCH.
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
EXCELLENCE.
KABOOM.
“Beware of the tyranny
of making Small Changes
to Small Things. Rather,
make Big Changes to
Big Things.”
—Roger Enrico, former Chairman, PepsiCo
Five MYTHS About Changing Behavior
*Crisis is a powerful impetus for change
*Change is motivated by fear
*The facts will set us free
*Small, gradual changes
are always easier to
make and sustain
*We can’t change because our brains become
“hardwired” early in life
Source: Fast Company/05.2005
“Reward excellent
failures. Punish
mediocre
successes.”
Phil Daniels, Sydney exec
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!
EXCELLENCE.
OFFENSE.
“[Other]
admirals more
frightened of
losing than anxious
to win”
Nelson’s secret:
EXCELLENCE.
TRANSCENDENCE.
THRILLS.
Radically Thrilling Language!
“Radically
Thrilling.”
—BMW Z4 (ad)
C
O*
*Chief Thrills Officer
Synonyms
Purity
Transcendence
Virtue
Elegance
Majesty
Antonyms
Mediocrity
C
O*
*Chief Transcendence Officer
EXCELLENCE.
WOW. NOW.
C
O*
*Chief WOW Officer
C
*Chief
O
!
Officer
“It’s always
showtime.”
—David D’Alessandro, Career Warfare
HTSH: Engage!*
Commit! Engage! Try! Fail! Get up! Try
again! Fail again! Try again! But never,
ever stop moving on! Progress for
humanity is engendered by those who join
and savor the fray by giving one hundred
percent of themselves to their dreams!
Not by those timid souls who remain
glued to the sidelines, stifled by tradition,
and fearful of losing face or giving offense
to the reigning authorities.
Key words: Commit! Engage! Try! Fail! Persist!
*HTST/Hands That Shape Humanity, Tom Peters’ contribution to a Bishop Tutu exhibit
EXCELLE
ALWAYS
Bonus
The
Irreducible209+/
Sales122/60TIBs
Tom Peters/0607.2006
The
Irreducible209
A frustrated participant at a seminar for investment bankers in Mauritius listened
impatiently to my explanation of differences of opinion among me, Mike Porter,
“What,
if anything,” he asked,
“do you believe ‘for
sure’?”
Gary Hamel, Jim Collins, etc. Finally, he’d had enough.
I mumbled something, but his query started rumbling
around in my mind. Three days later, wandering on a Sunday in London, the idea of
“the irreducibles” occurred to
me—and I started jotting down notes on stuff I do indeed believe “for sure.” Before
I knew it, a few days later, the list had grown to 209 items. Hence “The
Irreducible209” that follows.
Tom Peters
1.
2.
3.
4.
Hare 1, Tortoise 0. (Hare-y times.)
Tempo. (O.O.D.A.)
MBWA.
Appreciation. (“Motivator” #1.)
(Can’t be faked. Good.)
5. Decency.
6. Hurry.
7. Time out.
8. One matters.
9. Big change. Short time. (Alt not work.)
10. Excellence. Always.
11. Passion. Energy. Hustle. Enthusiasm.
Exuberance. (Move mountains. No alt.)
12. You must care.
13. Emotion.
14. Hard is soft. (Soft is hard.)
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
Men. Women. Different. Contend. Connect.
Women. Buy. All. (RU listening?)
Quality. (“Mind-blowing.” Beyond 6-Sigma.)
Re-invent. Re-pot. (Required.)
Jaywalk.
Big change. Small # of people. (Always.)
Experiment. Now.
Failure. Normal.
Most failures, most success.
(Fail. Forward. Fast.)
24. “Reward excellent failures. Punish
mediocre successes.”
25. Women leaders. (Altered times.)
26. Extremism. (Good business. Bad politics.)
27. Innovation source. Only. Extreme irritation.
28. Smile.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
You must care.
Mentor. (Highest ROI.)
Best “roster” wins.
Wow. (Okay in biz.)
We all have customers. (Biz. Personal.)
All contacts = Experiences.
Cirque du Soleil. (Peerless.)
Leaders create space for growth.
Quests. (Only.)
High aspirations, “high” results.
(Self-fulfilling prophecy.)
39. Attitude 1, Skills 0. (Mostly.)
(Attitude 1, Skill 0.3?)
40. Sometimes: Skill 1, Attitude 0.1.
41. Must “love,” not “like.”
42. Wegmans.” (No excuses. “Mere” groceries.)
43. Less than your best. Cheating.
44.
45.
46.
47.
48.
49.
50.
51.
52.
53.
54.
55.
Brand You. (No alt.)
Self-sufficiency. (Biggest LT turn-on.)
In the moment.
The moment wins.
Tomorrow = Never.
Action 1, Plan 0.1.
“Execution” can be a “system.”
Realism.
Own up. Move on.
Accountability.
Work hard > Work smart. (Mostly.)
Feedback. Necessary. Fast. (R.F.A. in
“RFA times.”)
56. Customers. Listen. Lead. (Paradox.)
57. “On stage.” Always. (GW, FDR, RG =
Supreme actors.)
58.
59.
60.
61.
62.
63.
64.
65.
66.
Master statistical analysis.
Excellence = Set the table.
Legacy. (Will it have mattered?)
“Great.” (Why not?)
Radicals rule. (Think … Olympics.)
!!! = Good.
Red 1, Brown 0. (Red times.)
Talk. Listen. (“Big 2.” Master.)
Politics. (Normal-inevitable state
of affairs. Master.)
67. Student. Forever.
68. “Why?” (Question #1.)
69. Don’t belittle.
70. Respect.
71. All we have: this moment.
(“Moments matter most”?)
72. Now. (Procrastination. Death.)
73.
74.
75.
76.
Exercise.
Paint. (Leader. Portraits of Excellence.)
Best story wins.
“You must be the change you wish
to see in the world.”
77. Two “big ones.” Max. (Priorities.)
78. No “I” in Team. (“I” in Win.)
79. “I” in Win. (No “I” in Team.)
80. Different 1, Better 0. (Better = 0.1)
81. Imitation = Mistake. (Learn, from who?)
82. Choose/battle the “right” competitor.
83. Schools. Creativity. Entrepreneurship.
(Not.)
84. MBAs. Creativity. Entrepreneurship.
Leadership. (Not.)
85. Design. Under-rated. Wildly.
(Still.) (Everything.)
86.
87.
88.
89.
You = Calendar. (Calendar. Never. Lies.)
Laugh.
Handshake. (Quantity. Quality.)
Don’t fold your hands in front of your
chest. Ever. (Never.)
90. Grace. (“Works” in biz.)
91. Weird. Wins. (Weird times.)
92. Crazy times. Crazy orgs.
93. Internet. All.
94. Women. Boomers-Geezers. Market. All.
95. Passion.
(Repeat. So what?)
96. Energy.
(Repeat. So what?)
97. Hustle.
(Repeat. So what?)
98. Enthusiasm. (Repeat. So what?)
99. Exuberance. (Repeat. So what?)
100. Smile.
(Repeat. So what?)
101. Care.
(Repeat. So what?)
102. Simplicity. Redundancy. Resilience. Bloodymindedness. Visible optimism. (Success.)
103. Act. (Repeat. So what?)
104. Appreciate. (Repeat. So what?)
105. Fun. (Biz. Why not?)
106. Joy. (Biz. Why not?)
107. Sales = Life.
108. Marketing = Life.
109. Long-term. “Top line.”
110. Great company = Creates the most
individual success stories. (RE/MAX)
111. Talent first, performance byproduct.
112. Sustained Wow* 1, “Shareholder
value,” 0.2 (*Product, People.)
113. Commitment, by invitation only.
114. Creativity, by invitation only.
115. HR = #1. (Ought to.)
116. Face-to-face. (5K miles, 5 minutes.)
117. Negotiation. Make all winners.
(Save face.)
118. Grace makes enemies friends.
119. Network.
120. Invest in relationships. (Think ROIR.
Return On Investment in Relationships.)
118. Relationship investment. Forethought.
Calendar item. Intensity.
119. Innovation. Easy. (Hang out
with weird.)
120. Weird = Win. (Weird times.)
121. “The bottleneck is at the top
of the bottle.”
122. Good Board = Weird Board.
(At least, surprising.)
123. No contention, no progress.
124. “Crucial conversations.” “Crucial
confrontations.” (Study. Learn. Do.)
125. Honest feedback.
126. Gaspworthy. Yes.
127. “Insanely great.”
128. “Astonish me.”
129. “Make it immortal.”
130. “Will you remember it in 20 years?”
131. No small opportunities. (Reframe.)
132. One playmate, one playpen = Enough.
133. End run. Sensible.
134. Allies are there for the finding.
135. Find successes. Build on successes.
(Pos > Neg. Encourage > Fix.)
136. Somebody’s doing it today. Find ’em.
137. Someone is living 2016 in 2006.
(Find ’em. Study ’em.)
138. Don’t “benchmark,” “futuremark.”
(2016. Happening. Somewhere.)
139. “PMA.” It works.
140. There are no experts. (You are the expert.)
141. Life is short.
142. “Sustained success.” Fat chance.
Make today matter. (“Sustained.” Ha.)
143. Collaborate. (Networked world.)
144. Go solo. (Individual. Unit of
Intellectual Capital.)
145. There are no “perfect” plans. (Do. Wins.)
146. Plans motivate. (Right or wrong.
Sense of purpose.)
147. Never rest.
148. Get some sleep.
149. Winning = Embracing paradox.
150. Ambiguity = Opportunity.
151. Resilience.
152. Relentless-ness.
153. None. Above. Comeuppance.
(GM. Sears. U.S. Steel. DEC.)
154. Be yourself. Period.
155. Never work with jerks. Including
customers. (Life. Too short.)
156. Under-promise, over-deliver.
157. Talent. (Powerful word.)
158. “Customer = Anyone whose actions
affect your results.”
159. Competition stinks. (Seek the soft
spots where you can dominate.)
160. K.I.S.S./Keep It Simple, Stupid.
161. Beauty. (Good biz word.)
162. “See the beauty in a hamburger bun.”
(Go. Ray.)
163.
164.
165.
166.
Own up. Quick. ( Denial. Cancer.)
Celebrate. Often.
78 people = 78 approaches. (Each. Unique.)
Weed. Ceaselessly. (Prune. Stupid.
Rules. Non-stop.)
167. Get out of the way. (You = The problem.)
168. Smile. Sunny. Optimism. (If it kills you.)
169. Flowers. (Cheery workplace.)
170. Enjoy. (Or get the hell.)
171. Be intolerant of “sour.” (1 = Major pollution)
172. No “quick trigger” on promotion.
(Too important.)
173. Evaluation = Lots of study-time.
174. Evaluation = “Life or death” to evaluee.
175. “360” evaluation. No fad.
176. Exit when you’re done. (Done.
Sooner than you think.)
177. Today. Now. My Project. Am. Is. I. Period.
178. “Beautiful” systems. (Good biz phrase.
Not oxymoron.)
179. Build on strengths > Fix weaknesses.
180. “To don’t” = “To do.” (“To don’t” >
“To do” ?)
181. Leaders “Do” People. (Period.)
182. Leaders enjoy leading.
183. Serious leadership training = Serious.
184. Priorities. Obvious. (Or else.)
185. 5 “Priorities” = 0 Priorities.
(3 “Priorities” = 0 Priorities?)
186. People. First. Last. Always.
187. It. Is. Always. The. People.
188. Handshake. (Quantity. Quality.)
189. Don’t fold your hands in front of
your chest. Ever. (Never.)
190. Simplicity. Redundancy. Resilience.
Bloody-mindedness. Visible
optimism. (Success.) (Repeat.)
191. Employee Entrance = Guest
Entrance.
192. Put the customer SECOND.
(Thanks, Hal.)
193. Flowers. (Or did I say that before?
No matter if I did.)
194. Big Mergers don’t work. Small
acquisitions can/do work—if you
don’t screw with their energy.
195. Instinctively “head for the front
line.” (In all contexts.)
196. Success = DDMMPR/"D-squared,
M-squared, PR” = DramDiff +
Money-Financial Acumen + Good
“Marketing” Instincts + Stellar People
+ Resilience (The “fab five”: What.
Every. Small. Biz. Needs.) (Big too.)
197. Core Mechanism (“Game-changing
Solutions”): PSF (Professional Service
Firm “model”) + Wow! Projects
(“Different” vs. “Better”) + Brand You
(“Distinct” or “Extinct”)
198. 2011/2016 has already happened.
Find it.
199. Kids “know” kids. Oldies “know” oldies.
Women “know” women. (Staff
accordingly.)
200. Everybody is my customer.
201. Cosset “vendors.”
202. I want to run a Housekeeping department.
(And you?)
203. The military doesn’t follow the “military
model.” (Initiative = Excellence.)
204. No such thing as “going to absurd lengths”
to serve the Customer. (HSM & Lefties.)
205. Forget the “customer.” All = “Clients.”
206. It takes decades to get over “sleights.”
(So don’t sleight.)
207. Don’t “dumb down.” Ever.
NO LESS THAN
EXCELLENCE.
EVER.
209. EXCELLENCE.
ALWAYS.
208.
Work In Progress
XXX. One size fits. One. Only. (Evaluations. Period.)
XXX. Teaching. Individualized. Only. (6 billion people =
6 billion learning trajectories.) (Montessori.)
XXX. First impression. Matters. Shapes all that comes.
Hard to overcome. (Understatement.)
XXX. Jerks. Don’t work with. (Life = Too short.)
XXX. Manage [the hell out of] first impressions.
XXX. Last impression. Matters. Dominates memory.
Hard to overcome. (Understatement.)
XXX. Manage [the hell out of] last impressions.
XXX. Plain English.
XXX. K.I.S.S. (450/8.)
XXX. $798. $55,000,000,000. 3,000,000,000.
7AM-7PM. 6:15AM.
XXX. Donnelly Weatherstrip rules.
XXX. Managers do things right. Leaders do the
right thing. NOT.
Work In Progress
XXX. One size fits. One. Only. (Evaluations. Period.)
XXX. Teaching. Individualized. Only. (6 billion people =
6 billion learning trajectories.) (Montessori.)
XXX. First impression. Matters. Shapes all that comes.
Hard to overcome. (Understatement.)
XXX. Jerks. Don’t work with. (Life = Too short.)
XXX. Manage [the hell out of] first impressions.
XXX. Last impression. Matters. Dominates memory.
Hard to overcome. (Understatement.)
XXX. Manage [the hell out of] last impressions.
XXX. Plain English.
XXX. K.I.S.S. (450/8.)
XXX. $798. $55,000,000,000. 3,000,000,000.
7AM-7PM. 6:15AM.
XXX. Donnelly Weatherstrip rules.
XXX. Managers do things right. Leaders do the
right thing. NOT.
GE
(more or less)
:
The Sales122:
122 Ridiculously
Obvious Thoughts
About Selling Stuff
Tom Peters/0402.2006
This list was first prepared for GE Energy
sales & marketing people in January. It
started with a half-dozen items, and grew
like Topsy. Possibly, given its origins, it’s a
little tilted toward complex, engineeringbased sales. In any event, it makes a perfect
companion to “The Irreducibles209.” This,
too, is effectively a list of “irreducibles.”
Tom Peters
1. “Strategy” overrated, simply “doin’ stuff” underrated. See
Kelleher and Bossidy: “We have a ‘strategic plan,’ it’s called
doing things.”—Herb Kelleher. “Execution is a systematic
process of rigorously discussing hows and whats, tenaciously
following through, and ensuring accountability.” —Larry
Bossidy & Ram Charan/ Execution: The Discipline of Getting
Things Done. Action has its own logic—ask Genghis Khan,
Rommel, COL John Boyd, U.S. Grant, Patton, W.T. Sherman.
2. What are you personally great at? (Key word: “great.”) Play
to strengths! “Distinct or Extinct.” You should aim to be
“outrageously good”/B.I.W. at a niche area (or more).
3. Are you a “personality,” a de facto “brand” in the industry?
The Dr Phil of ...
4. Opportunism (with a little forethought) mostly wins.
(“Successful people are the ones who are good at Plan B.”)
5. Little starts can lead to big wins. Most true winners—think
search & Google—start as something small. Many big deals—
Disney & Pixar—could have been done as little-er deals if you’d
had the guts to jump before the value became obvious.
6. Non-obvious targets have great potential. Among many
other things, everybody goes after the obvious ones. Also,
the “non-obvious” are often good Partners for technology
experiments.
7. The best relationships are often (usually?) not “top to
top”! (Often the best: hungry division GMs eager to make a
mark.)
8. IT’S RELATIONSHIPS, STUPID—DEEP AND FROM MULTIPLE
FUNCTIONS.
9. In any public-sector business, you must become an avid
student of “the politics,” the incentives and constraints,
mostly non-economic, facing all of the players. Politicians are
usually incredibly logical—if you (deeply!) understand the
matrix in which they exist.
10. Relationships from within our firm are as important—
often more important—as those from outside—again broad is
as important as deep. Allies—avid supporters!—within and
from non-obvious places may be more important than
relationships at the Client organization. Goal: an “insanely
unfair ‘market share’” of insiders’ time devoted to your
projects!
“Everyone lives by
selling something.”
—Robert Louis Stevenson
11. Interesting outsiders are essential to innovative proposal
and sales teams. An “exciting” sales-proposal team is as
important as a prestigious one.
12. Is the proposal-sales team weird enough—weirdos come
up with the most interesting, game-changer ideas. Period.
13. Lunch with at least one weirdo per month. (Goal: always
on the prowl for interesting new stuff.)
14. Gratuitous comment: Lunches with good friends are
typically a waste of (professional) time.
15. Don’t short-change (time, money, depth) the proposal
process. Miss one tiny nuance, one potential incentive that
“makes my day” for a key Client player—and watch the whole
gig be torpedoed.
16. “Sticking with it” sometimes pays, sometimes not—it
takes a lot of tries to forge the best path in. Sometimes you
never do, after a literal lifetime. (Ah, life.)
17. WOMEN ARE SIMPLY BETTER AT RELATIONSHIPS—don’t
get hung up—particularly in tech firms—on what industriescountries “women can’t do.” (Or some such bullshit.)
18. Work incessantly on your “story”—most economic value
springs from a good story (think Perrier)! In sensitive public
or quasi-public negotiations, a compelling story is of immense
value—politics is about the tension among competing stories.
(If you don’t believe me, ask Karl Rove or James Carville.)
(“Storytelling is the core of culture.” —Branded Nation: The
Marketing of Megachurch, College Inc., and Museumworld,
James Twitchell)
19. Call this 18A, or 18 repeat: Become a first-rate
Storyteller! (“A key – perhaps the key – to leadership is the
effective communication of a story.”—Howard Gardner,
Leading Minds: An Anatomy of Leadership)
20. Risk Assessment & Risk Management is more about
stories than advanced math—i.e., brilliant scenario
construction.
21. Good listeners are good sales people. Period.
22. Lousy listeners are lousy sales people. Period.
23. GREAT LISTENERS ARE GREAT SALES PEOPLE. (Listening
“skills” are hard to learn and subject to immense effort in
pursuit of Mastery. A virtuoso “listener” is as rare as a
virtuoso cello player.) (“If you don’t listen, you don’t sell
anything.”—Carolyn Marland/MD/Guardian Group)
24. Things that are funny to me (American) are often-mostly not
funny to those in other cultures. (Humor is as fine-edged as it
gets, and rarely travels.)
25. You don’t know Jack Squat about other peoples’ cultures—
especially if you are a typically myopic American. (Like me.)
26. Are you a great interviewer? It’s a make or break skill.
(Think Barbara Walters’ skill at extracting unwanted truths from
pros in persona-protection ... in front of 10s of millions of
people.
27. Are you a great (not merely “good”) presenter? Mastering
presentation skills is a life’s work—with stupendous payoff.
28. Work like hell on the Big 2: LISTENING/INTERVIEWING,
PRESENTING. These are “the essence of [sales] life”—and
usually picked-up in an amateurish fashion. Mistake! (Become a
“professional student” of these two areas, achieve Mastery.)
29. Are you good at flowers? Think: FLOWER POWER! (see
Harvey Mackay’s “Mackay 66”—what you should know about a
Client; e.g., birthdays & anniversaries.) (My “flowers budget” is
out of control. Hooray for me.)
30. You can’t do it all—be clear at what you are good at, bad at,
indifferent at. Hubris sucks.
“If you don’t
listen,
you don’t sell
anything.”
—Carolyn Marland/
Managing Director/
Guardian Group
31. The point is not to “prove yourself.” (That’s ego-talk.) Let
the best person present to the Client—perhaps a “lower level”
geek. (“Control freaks” get their just desserts in the long haul—
or sooner.)
32. The numbers will more or less take care of themselves over
the long haul—if the relationship/s is/are solid gold.
33. The Gold Standard in selling: INDISPENSABLE to the Client.
No other goal is worthy.
34. Never stop growing-broadening-deepening the relationship.
The key to “indispensability” is to get the Client more and more
… and more … and then more … imbedded in “our” web. Hence
the so-called “selling process” is only the first step!
35. USE THE WORD “WE” … CONSTANTLY & RELIGIOUSLY!
(E.g.: “We”—the Client & me—“are going to change the world
with this service.”)
36. Don’t waste your time on jerks—it’ll rarely work out in the
mid- to long-term.
37. Genius is walking away from lousy “scores” (deals)—and
accepting the attendant heat. Big Business is the premier home
to Big Egos overpaying by a factor of 2 to 22 with billion$$$$ at
stake. (Think Jerry Levin and AOL Time Warner.)
38. You haven’t a clue as to how this situation will actually play
out—be prepared to move fast in a different direction.
39. Keep your word.
40. KEEP YOUR WORD.
41. Underpromise (i.e., don’t over-promise; i.e., cut yourself a
little slack) even if it costs you business—winning is a long-term
affair. Over-promising is Sign #1 of a lack of integrity. You will
pay the piper.
42. There is such a thing as a “good loss”—if you’ve tested
something new and developed good relationships. A half-dozen
honorable, ingenious losses over a two-year period can pave the
way for a Big Victory in a New Space in year 3.
43. It’s a competitive world out there. New, innovative products
are harder to sell than old stand-bys. Nonetheless, you will be a
long-term star to the extent that you are willing to push the
harder-to-sell-at-the-moment Innovative Products that cement
long-term Client success (Indispensability!) —even if it means a
#s hit this quarter. PART OF YOUR JOB: TAKE CLIENTS ON AN
ADVENTURE THAT PUTS THEM AHEAD OF THE GAME CALLED
(GAMECHANGING—hopefully) COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE!
44. Think “legacy”—what the hell is all this really about for you
and the world? (“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one
wild and precious life?”
—Mary Oliver)
45. THERE ARE NO “MODERATES” IN THE HISTORY BOOKS!
46. Keep it simple! (Damn it!) No matter how “sophisticated” the
product. If you can’t explain it in a phrase, a page, or to your 14year-old ... you haven’t got it right yet.
47. Know more than the next guy. Homework pays. (of course
it’s obvious—but in my work it is too often honored in the
breach.)
48. Regardless of project size, winning or losing invariably
hinges on a raft of “little stuff.” Little stuff is and always has
been everything!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!—or, “one man’s little stuff is
another man’s 7.6 Richter deal-breaker.”
49. In public settings in particular, face saving is all. When
something changes, allow the other guy to come out looking like
a winner, especially if he has lost. (Even if you must accept the
egg on your face—he will always remember you!)
50. Don’t hold grudges. (It is the ultimate in small mindedness—
and incredibly wasteful and ineffective. There’s always
tomorrow.)
51. IT’S ALWAYS “THE POLITICS”—wee private-sector deal or
giant public sector deal. (Every player, small or large, is angling
for something. Master the calculus of advantage.)
52. To beat the “turnover problem” in key Client posts amidst
long negotiations, invest outrageous amounts of time building a
wide & deep set of relationships with mid-level (& lower!!)
“plodding” “careerists.” The invisible careerists are the
bedrock upon which repeated success is built! (My “Capitol Hill
Axiom”: It’s the 24-year-old LA who in the end briefs the
Senator right before she goes to the Floor to vote.)
53. Speaking of “she”: Gender differences are Enormous—
dealing with a woman and dealing with a man are different
kettles of fish—you must become an A+ student of gender
differences. (E.g.: Men are typically more interested in the
short-term “score.” Women are more interested in the longterm consequences.)
54. “LITTLE PEOPLE” OFTEN HAVE BIG FRIENDS.
55. This is not war, damn it. All parties can win (or not lose,
anyway). And losing bidders can walk away from a deal with
increased respect for you and your team.
56. Never, ever dump on a competitor—the Tom Watson IBM
glory-days mantra.
57. Never forget the “Law of Cousins!” In developing nations
in particular, power brokers at all levels are at least cousins!
Consideration for a second cousin can pay off big time.
58. Speaking of “favors,” jail sucks.
59. Work hard beats work smart. (Mostly.)
60. REPEAT: HE/SHE WHO HAS THE MOST-BEST
RELATIONSHIPS WINS. RELATIONSHIPS ARE THE ESSENCE OF
THE WORK OF THE SALESPERSON. THE HARD ... AND LONG ...
WORK OF THE SALESPERSON.
61. Mano v mano “hardball” is seldom the answer—end runs
based and patient multi-level relationship building via deeperwider networks win.
62. If the deal is wired from below, truly wired, than the socalled “big negotiations” are essentially irrelevant.
63. If every quarter is a “little better” than the prior quarter—
then you are not taking any serious risks.
64. Phones beat email.
“Nothing is so
contagious as
enthusiasm.”
—Samuel Taylor Coleridge
65. A THREE-MINUTE CALL TODAY CAN AVOID A GAME-LOSER
OF A FIASCO NEXT MONTH. There was always a time when a
little thing could have been addressed that headed off a
subsequent big thing. As to avoiding that call, didn’t someone
say, “Pride goeth before the fall”?
66. Be hyper-organized about relationship management—you
are in the anthropology business. Study the great pols! Brilliant
NRM (network relationship management) is not accidental! It is
not catch-as-catch can. (Football analogies are cute—but deep
political understanding pays the private-school tuition.)
67. Obsess on ROIR (Return On Investment In Relationships).
68. “THANK YOU” NOTES: World’s highest-return investment!!
69. The way to anyone’s heart: Doing a nice thing for their kid.
(But, gawd, does this take a gentle touch.)
70. Scoring off other people is stupid. Winners are always in the
business of creating the maximum # of winners—among
adversaries at least as much as among “partners.”
71. Your colleagues’ successes are your successes. Period.
(Trust me, my greatest personal success—financially as well as
artistically—has been creating a bigger pond in which everyone
wins, even if my “market share” is down.)
72. Lend a helping hand, especially when you don’t have the
time. E.g. share relationships—the more you give away the
more you get in return (just like they say in church).
73. Listen up: “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 college
president. He was seriously interested in who you were and
what you had to say.” —Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot, Respect.
(I.e., Respect is Cool.)
74. Mentoring is a thrill—and the practical payoff is
enormous. The best mentors have the whole world working
its buns off for them!
75. Hire for enthusiasm. Promote for enthusiasm. Cherish
enthusiasm. REMOVE NON-ENTHUSIASTS—THEY ARE
CANCERS. (“Nothing is so contagious as enthusiasm.”—
Samuel Taylor Coleridge. “A man without a smiling face
must not open a shop.”—Chinese Proverb.)
76. IT’S ALWAYS YOUR PROBLEM—you sold it to them.
77. It’s never over: While there may be an excellent service
activity in your company, the “relationship” belongs to You!
Hence the “aftersales” “moments of truth” are at least as—if
not more than*--important to the Continuing Relationship as
the sale “transaction” itself. (*I vote for “more than.”) You’ll
get your biggest “points” with the Client for being an effective
after-the-fact go-between with your company.
78. Don’t get too hung up on “systems integration”—first &
foremost, the individual bits have got to work.
79. For God’s sake don’t over promise on “systems
integration”—it’s nigh on impossible to deliver.
80. On the other hand … winners clamber Up the Value-added
Ladder, and offer ever so much more than “mere” product. ALL
SUCCESSFUL SALES PEOPLE ARE IN THE “SOLUTIONS
BUSINESS”—no matter how jargony that may sound.
81. “Systems” / “Solutions” selling means grappling directly
with “culture change” in Client organizations. (“The business of
selling is not just about matching viable solutions to the
customers that require them. It’s equally about managing the
change process the customer will need to go through to
implement the solution and achieve the value promised by the
solution”—Jeff Thull, The Prime Solution: Close the Value Gap,
Increase Margins, and Win the Complex Sale)
82. Shit happens. That’s what they pay you for.
83. This is not a “GE” or “Ben & Jerry’s” sale—it is a Joe
Jones/Jane Jones sale. YOU ARE THE “BRAND” THE CLIENT
BUYS—especially over the long haul.
84. Duh: You make money, the company makes money—on
repeat business.
85. Master—yes, you—the “PR” Game. “Word of Mouth” is not
accidental! You want Word of Mouth? Make it happen!
86. GOAL #1: MAKE YOUR CLIENT A HERO—YOU ARE NOT THERE
TO GET CREDIT. (“Taking credit” is for egomaniacs. And losers.)
87. “Decent margins,” over the mid- to long-term, are a product
of better relationships, not better “negotiating skill.” (Mostly.)
“You can’t behave
in a calm, rational
manner. You’ve got
to be out there on
the lunatic fringe.”
—Jack Welch
88. In the immortal words of ex-GE Vice Chairman Larry
Bossidy, more or less, “Realism rocks.” (“Bullshit artist” and
“great salesperson,” contrary to conventional wisdom, are
Diametric Opposites. “Truthteller” and Great Salesperson is
more like it.)
89. Be the first to tell the Client bad news (e.g., slipped
delivery); his intelligence sources will tell him fast—you want to
be there first with your story and to enhance your rep as
Truthteller!
90. Work like hell to get a reputation as a valued industry
expert, to become an industry resource.
91. Work the Trade Association angle for all its worth—it may
take a decade to pay off—e.g., when you become an officer or
are on an important panel or testify Before Congress.
92. PAY YOUR DUES IN THE CLIENT ORG AND IN YOUR OWN
ORG!
93. It’s all bloody tactics.
94. You must ... LOVE .... the product! (Period.)
95. YOU MUST LOVE THE PRODUCT!
96. Don’t over-schedule. “Running late” is inexcusable at any
level of seniority; it is the ultimate mark of self-importance
mixed with contempt.
97. Women are better salespeople. (See Addendum.)
98. Women alone understand Women.
99. Actually, Women by and large understand Men better than
Men understand Men.
100.Women purchasers buy Stories and recommendations.
101. Women take longer to become Loyal purchasers, but then
stay Loyal.
102. Men buy Stats.
103. Men decide fast, but are fickle.
104. Men & Women are … VERY, VERY … Different.
105. Women buy most things. Consumer. Increasingly,
professional goods and services.
106. Women’s Market is Opportunity #1.
107. Boomers. Many, many. Lots & lots & lots of … $$$.
108. Boomers-Geezers are very different purchasers than those
in other categories.
109. It takes time to get to know people. (DUH.)
110. The very idea of “efficiency” in relationship
development is ... STUPID.
111. MBWA (still) rules.
112. “Preparing the soil” is the “first 98 percent.” (Or
more.)
113. WORK THE PHONES!
114. Rule 5K-5M: 5K miles for a 5-Minute meeting often
makes sense. (Yes, often.) (Even with constrained travel
budgets.) (Thanks, super-agent Mark McCormack.)
115. Become a student! Study great salespeople!
(Including Presidents.) (“Natural” is a little bit true—but
then Naturals are always the ones who study hardest—
e.g., Jerry Rice.)
116. Become a student! Yes, you can study Relationship
Building. So, study …
117. Beware complexifiers and complicators. (Truly
“smart people” ... Simplify things.)
118. The smartest guy in the room rarely wins—alas,
he usually is aware he’s the
smartest guy. (And needn’t waste his time on
that “soft relationship crap.”)
119. Be kind. It works.
120. Be especially kind when there are screw-ups.
(There’s plenty of time later to
Play the Great Accountability Game.)
121. Presidents never tire of being treated like
Presidents.
122. Luck matters.
So: Good luck!
ADDENDUM: Women Rock … as Salespersons (From Item
#98.)
And the answers are?
“TAKE THIS QUICK QUIZ: Who manages more things at
once? Who puts more effort into their appearance?
Who usually takes care of the details? Who finds it
easier to meet new people? Who asks more questions
in a conversation? Who is a better listener? Who has
more interest in communication skills? Who is more
inclined to get involved? Who encourages harmony and
agreement? Who has better intuition? Who works
with a longer ‘to do’ list? Who enjoys a recap to the
day’s events? Who is better at keeping in touch with
others?”
Source: Selling Is a Woman’s Game: 15 Powerful
Reasons Why Women Can Outsell Men, Nicki Joy & Susan
Kane-Benson
Tom’s
60TIBs*
*TIB = This I Believe
EXCELLENCE.
ALWAYS.
1. TECHNICOLOR RULES!
(Passion Moves Mountains!)
2. Audacity Matters!
3. Revolution Now!
4. Question Authority! (& Hire
Disrespectful People.)
5. Disorganization Wins! (LOVE
THE MESS!)
6. Think 3M: Markets Matter Most. ONLY EXTREME
COMPETITION STAVES OFF STALENESS. (You can
take the boy out of Silicon Valley, but you can’t take
Silicon Valley out of the boy!)
7. Three Hearty Cheers for Weirdos. (Bill Gates, Steve
Jobs, Larry Ellison, Scott McNealy, Craig Venter
et al.)
8. Message 2003: Technology Change (Info-sciences,
Biosciences) Is in Its Infancy! (WE AIN’T SEEN
NOTHIN’ YET!)
9. Everything Is Up For Grabs! Volatility Is Thy Name!
(Forever & Ever. Amen.) RE-INVENT … OR DIE!
10. Big Sucks. (Mostly.) (VERY Mostly.)
11. “Permanence” Is a Snare & a Delusion.
(Forget “Built to Last.” It’s Yesterday’s
Idea.)
12. Kaizen” (Continuous Improvement) Is …
Dangerous.
13. DESTRUCTION RULES!
14. Forget It! (“Learning” = Easy. “Forgetting” =
Nigh on Impossible.)
15. Innovation Is Easy: Hang Out with Freaks.
(Employees, Board Members, Customers,
Suppliers, Alliance Partners, Consultants.)
16. Boring Begets Boring. (Cool Begets Cool.)
17. Think “Portfolio.” (We’re All V.C.s.)
18. Perception Is All There Is. (“Insiders” …
ALWAYS … overestimate the Radicalism of
What They’re Up To.)
19. Action … ALWAYS … Takes Precedence.
Think: R.F!A./Ready. Fire! Aim. (REWARD
SUCCESS. REWARD FAILURE. PUNISH …
INACTION.)
20. He Who Makes & Tests the Quickest &
Coolest Prototypes Reigns!
21. Haste Makes Waste. (SO GO WASTE!)
22. Screw-ups are … the … Mark of Excellence.
(“Do It Right the First Time” Is a Very Stupid
Idea.)
23. Play Hard! Play Now! (Cherish Play!)
24. TALENT TIME! (He/She Who Has the Best
“Roster” Rules!)
25. Re-do Education. Totally. (FOSTER
CREATIVITY … NOT UNIFORMITY.) (THE
NOISIEST CLASSROOM WINS.)
26. Diversity’s Hour Is Now!
27. SHE … Is the Best Leader!
28. MARKETING MANTRA: Embrace the “BIG THREE”
Demographics. (1) SHE … is the Customer. (For
everything.) (2) Rapidly Aging Boomers Have …
ALL THE MONEY. (3) Green … Matters.
(TRILLIONS OF $$$$$ Are at Stake.) (NOBODY …
Gets It.) (Mere “Programs” Will Not Suffice.)
29. Re-boot Healthcare. (UNDERSTATEMENT.)
30. WHAT ARE WE SELLING? “Experiences” &
“Solutions” > “Quality” & “Satisfaction.” (The
Traditional Value-added Equation Is Being Set on
Its Ear.)
31. DESIGN = New Seat of the Soul.
32. Branding Is for … EVERYONE. He Who Has
the … BEST STORY … Takes Home the
Marbles.
33. DRAMATIC DIFFERENCE = Only Difference.
34. WORDS/Language Matters … a Lot. (E.g.:
Three Hearty Cheers for “Wow”!)
35. WHAT MATTERS IS STUFF THAT MATTERS.
(Query #1: “Are You Proud of It?”)
36. eALL. (IS/IT: Half-way = No Way.)
37. DREAM … Big! DREAM … Enormous.
DREAM … Gargantuan. (These Are XXXL
Times.)
38. THINK MIKE! (Michelangelo: “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.”)
39. There Is Only … ONE BIG ISSUE. Crossfunctional Communication.
40. Stop Doing Dumb Shit. (SYSTEMATIZE THE
PROCESS OF “UN-DUMBING.”)
41. Beautiful Systems Are … BEAUTIFUL.
42. The … WHITE-COLLAR REVOLUTION … Will
Devour Everything in Its Path.
43. Take Charge of Your Destiny! BrandYou
Moment! DISTINCT … OR EXTINCT!
44. “Powerlessness” Is a State of Mind! Think:
King. Gandhi. De Gaulle.
45. Pursue Adventure … in Every Task.
46. EXCELLENCE … Is a State of Mind.
(Excellence Takes a Minute.) (No Bull.)
47. SHOW UP! (If You Care, You’re There.)
48. YOUR CALENDAR KNOWS ALL. (You =
Calendar.) (Mind Your “TO DON’T” List.)
49. LIFE IS SALES. (The Rest Is Details.)
50. Boss Mantra #1: “I DON’T KNOW.” (“I Don’t
Know” = Permission to Explore.)
51. Management Role 1: GET OUT OF THE WAY.
(Clear the Way.) (“Manager” = Hurdle
Removal Professional.)
52. Epitaph from Hell: “He Woulda Done Some
Truly Cool Stuff … But His Boss Wouldn’t
Let Him.”
53. Change Takes However Long You Think It
Takes. (Eschew … “Incrementalism.”)
54. Respect! (Rule 1: Don’t Belittle!)
55. “Thank You” Trumps All!
56. Integrity Matters! Integrity = Credibility.
(Dennis K. Is a Jerk.)
57. SOFT IS HARD. HARD IS SOFT. (Numbers
Are Soft. People Are Not.)
58. Try Sunny! (Sunny Begets Sunny.
Gloomy Begets Gloomy.)
59. DISPENSE ENTHUSIASM!
60. FUN …Is Not a 4-Letter Word. So, too …
JOY. (And … GRACE.)
The End.
EXCELLENCE.
ALWAYS.
EXCELLE
ALWAYS