Transcript Conrad Hilton … Conrad Hilton, at a gala celebrating his career, “What was the most important lesson you’ve learned in you long and distinguished career?” His immediate was.

Conrad
Hilton …
Conrad Hilton, at a gala
celebrating his career,
“What was the
most important lesson
you’ve learned in you
long and distinguished
career?” His immediate
was asked,
answer …
“remember
to tuck the
shower curtain
inside the
bathtub”
“Execution
is
strategy.”
—Fred Malek
“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
Internal
organizational
excellence =
Deepest “Blue
Ocean”
“I am often asked by
would-be entrepreneurs
seeking escape from life
within huge corporate
structures, ‘How do I
build a small firm for
myself?’ The answer
seems obvious …
“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
“Mr. Foster and his McKinsey colleagues
collected detailed performance data stretching
back
40 years for 1,000
They found that
U.S. companies.
none
of
the long-term survivors managed to
outperform the market. Worse, the
longer companies had been in the
database, the worse they did.”
—Financial Times
“Data drawn from the real world
attest to a fact that is beyond
Everything
in existence tends
to deteriorate.”
our control:
—Norberto Odebrecht, Education Through Work
DECENTRALIZATION.
EXECUTION.
ACCOUTABILITY.
6:15A.M.
“Insanely Great”
Steve Jobs
“Radically
thrilling”
BMW
“We are crazy. We should do
something when people say it is
If people say
something is ‘good’, it
means someone else
is already doing it.”
‘crazy.’
—Hajime Mitarai, Canon
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
14,000
20,000
14,000
20,000
Innovation Index: How many
of your Top 5 Strategic
Initiatives/Key Projects score
8 or higher [out of 10] on a
“Weird”/ “Profound”/
“Wow”/“Game- changer”
Scale?
“Do one thing
every day
that scares
you.”
—Eleanor Roosevelt
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!
LONG
Tom Peters’
Excellence.
Always.
Adecco Management Conference 2010
12 January/Cannes
(PPT available to download at tompeters.com)
To appreciate
this presentation [and ensure
that it is not a mess], you need
Microsoft fonts:
NOTE:
“Showcard Gothic,”
“Ravie,” “Chiller”
and “Verdana”
1977
MBWA
Sunday “Drive By”: The CEO of a very successful mid-sized
bank, in the Mid-west, attended a seminar of mine in
Northern California in the mid-80s—but I remember the
following as if it were yesterday. I’ve forgotten the specific
context, but I recall him saying to me, pretty much word
“Tom let me tell you the
definition of a good lending officer.
After church on Sunday, on the way
home with his family, he takes a
little detour to drive by the factory
he just lent money to. Doesn’t go in
or any such thing, just drives by and
takes a look.”
for word,
1982
Excellence1982: The Bedrock “Eight Basics”
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
A Bias for Action
Close to the Customer
Autonomy and Entrepreneurship
Productivity Through People
Hands On, Value-Driven
Stick to the Knitting
Simple Form, Lean Staff
Simultaneous Loose-Tight
Properties”
“Breakthrough” 82*
People!
Customers!
Action!
Values!
*In Search of Excellence
Hard Is Soft
Soft Is Hard
Hard Is Soft (Plans, #s)
Soft Is Hard (people,
customers, values,
relationships)
ExIn*: 1982-2002/Forbes.com
DJIA: $10,000 yields $85,000
EI: $10,000 yields $140,050
*Excellence Index/Basket of 32 publicly traded stocks
2007
Sydney
… no less than
Cathedrals
in which the full and
awesome power of the
Imagination and Spirit and
native Entrepreneurial flair
of diverse individuals is
unleashed in passionate
pursuit of … Excellence.
“We are a
‘Life Success’
Company.”
Dave Liniger, founder, RE/MAX
“You have to
treat your
employees like
customers.”
—Herb Kelleher,
complete answer, upon being asked his “secrets to success”
Source: Joe Nocera, NYT, “Parting Words of an Airline Pioneer,” on the occasion of
Herb Kelleher’s retirement after 37 years at Southwest Airlines (SWA’s pilots union
took out a full-page ad in USA Today thanking HK for all he had done; across the
way in Dallas American Airlines’ pilots were picketing the Annual Meeting)
Thank you Peter Drucker/AIM
Our goal is to serve our customers brilliantly
and profitably over the long haul.
Serving our customers brilliantly and profitably
over the long haul is a product of brilliantly
serving, over the long haul, the people who
serve the customer.
Hence, our job as leaders—the alpha and the
omega and everything in between—is abetting
the sustained growth and success and
engagement and enthusiasm and commitment
to Excellence of those, one at a time, who
directly or indirectly serve the ultimate
customer.
Source: The Little BIG Things: 163 Ways to Pursue EXCELLENCE
We—leaders of every stripe—are in the “Human
Growth and Development and Success and
Aspiration to Excellence business.”
“We” [leaders] only grow when “they” [each and
every one of our colleagues] are growing.
“We” [leaders] only succeed when “they” [each
and every one of our colleagues] are succeeding.
“We” [leaders] only energetically
march toward Excellence when “they” [each and
every one of our colleagues] are energetically
marching toward Excellence.
Period.
Source: The Little BIG Things: 163 Ways to Pursue EXCELLENCE
Organizations exist
to serve. Period.
Leaders live to
serve. Period.
“The
ONE Question”: “In the last year [3 years, current job],
three
people
name the …
… whose growth you’ve
most contributed to. Please explain where they were at the
beginning of the year, where they are today, and where they are
heading in the next 12 months. Please explain in painstaking detail
your development strategy in each case. Please tell me your biggest
development disappointment—looking back, could you or would you
have done anything differently? Please tell me about your greatest
development triumph—and disaster—in the last five years. What
are the ‘three big things’ you’ve learned about helping people
grow along the way.”
Brand =
Talent.
Our Mission
To develop and manage talent;
to apply that talent,
throughout the world,
for the benefit of clients;
to do so in partnership;
to do so with profit.
WPP
Luiza Helena,
Magazine
Luiza
“How to flush
$500,000 down
the toilet in one
easy lesson!!”
TP:
< CAPEX
> People!
The “15%
drill”!!
#1
cause of
employee
Dis-satisfaction?
Employee retention & satisfaction:
Overwhelmingly
, based on the
first-line
manager!
Source: Marcus Buckingham & Curt Coffman, First, Break All
the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently
“AS LEADERS,
WOMEN
RULE:
New Studies find that
female managers outshine their male
counterparts in almost every measure”
TITLE/ Special Report/ BusinessWeek
Women’s Strengths Match New
Economy Imperatives: Link [rather than rank]
workers; favor interactive-collaborative leadership
style [empowerment beats top-down decision
making]; sustain fruitful collaborations; comfortable
with sharing information; see redistribution of power
as victory, not surrender; favor multi-dimensional
feedback; value technical & interpersonal skills,
individual & group contributions equally; readily
accept ambiguity; honor intuition as well as
pure “rationality”; inherently flexible; appreciate
cultural diversity. —Judy B. Rosener,
America’s Competitive Secret: Women Managers
“Forget China, India
and the Internet:
Economic Growth Is
Driven by
Women.”
Source: Headline, Economist
“One thing is certain: Women’s rise to power, which is
linked to the increase in wealth per capita, is happening
in all domains and at all levels of society. Women are no
longer content to provide efficient labor or to be
consumers with rising budgets and more autonomy to
spend. … This is just the beginning. The phenomenon
will only grow as girls prove to be more successful than
For a number of
observers, we have already
entered the age of
‘womenomics,’ the economy as
thought out and practiced
by a woman.” —Aude Zieseniss de Thuin, Women’s
boys in the school system.
Forum for the Economy and Society
“Since 1970, women
have held two
out of every
three new jobs
created.”
—FT, 10.03.2006
94%
of loans to …
women*
*Microlending; “Banker to the poor”; Grameen Bank;
Muhammad Yunus; 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner
Muhammad Yunus:
“All human beings
are entrepreneurs. When we
were in the caves we were all selfemployed . . . finding our food, feeding
ourselves. That’s where human history
began . . . As civilization came we
suppressed it. We became labor
because they stamped us, ‘You are
labor.’ We forgot that we are
entrepreneurs.”
Source: Muhammad Yunus/The News Hour—PBS/1122.2006
Can you pass the …
“Squint
test”?
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
“People turning 50
more
than half of
today have
their adult life
ahead of them.”
—Bill Novelli,
50+: Igniting a Revolution to Reinvent America
“Carry On Working:
Employees could keep a
job into their 70s and 8os
under Harman plan to
scrap forced retirement”
Source: p1, Daily Mail /11.01.10
L(+21) = L(-21)
Leadership(21A.D.) =
Leadership(21B.C.)
“The doctor
interrupts
after …*
*Source: Jerome Groopman, How Doctors Think
seconds
[An obsession with] Listening is ... the ultimate mark
of Respect.
Listening is ... the heart and soul of Engagement.
Listening is ... the heart and soul of Kindness.
Listening is ... the heart and soul of Thoughtfulness.
Listening is ... the basis for true Collaboration.
Listening is ... the basis for true Partnership.
Listening is ... a Team Sport.
Listening is ... a Developable Individual Skill.* (*Though women
Listening
Listening
Listening
Listening
is
is
is
is
...
...
...
...
are far better at it than men.)
the basis for Community.
the bedrock of Joint Ventures that work.
the bedrock of Joint Ventures that last.
the core of effective Cross-functional
Communication* (*Which is in turn Attribute #1 of
organizational effectiveness.)
[cont.]
four most
important
words in any
“The
organization are …
The four most important words in any organization
are …
“What do
you
think?”
Source: courtesy Dave Wheeler, posted at tompeters.com
Tomorrow: How
many times will you
“ask the WDYT
question”?
[Count!]
[Practice
makes better!] [This is a
STRATEGIC skill!]
“The deepest
human need is
the … need to be
appreciated.”
—William James
“I regard apologizing as the
most magical, healing,
restorative gesture human
beings can make. It is the
centerpiece of my work with
executives who want to get
better.” —Marshall Goldsmith, What Got You
Here Won’t Get You There: How Successful People Become
Even More Successful
Relationships
(of all varieties):
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.
THE PROBLEM IS
RARELY/NEVER THE
PROBLEM. THE
RESPONSE TO THE
PROBLEM INVARIABLY
ENDS UP BEING THE
REAL PROBLEM.*
*PERCEPTION IS ALL THERE IS!
“We are
thoughtful
in all we do.”
Thoughtfulness is key to customer retention.
Thoughtfulness is key to employee recruitment
and satisfaction.
Thoughtfulness is key to brand perception.
Thoughtfulness is key to your ability to look in
the mirror —and tell your kids about your job.
“Thoughtfulness is free.”
Thoughtfulness is key to speeding things up—
it reduces friction.
Thoughtfulness is key to transparency and even
cost containment—it abets rather than stifles
truth-telling.
#8
none!
139,380 former
patients from 225 hospitals:
Press Ganey Assoc:
none
of THE top 15 factors
determining Patient Satisfaction
referred to patient’s health outcome
P.S. directly related to Staff Interaction
P.P.S. directly correlated with Employee
Satisfaction
Source: Putting Patients First, Susan Frampton, Laura Gilpin, Patrick Charmel
“There is a misconception that supportive interactions require
more staff or more time and are therefore more costly. Although
labor costs are a substantial part of any hospital budget, the
interactions themselves add nothing to the budget.
Kindness is
free.
Listening to patients or answering their
questions costs nothing. It can be argued that negative
interactions—alienating patients, being non-responsive to their
needs or limiting their sense of control—can be very costly. …
Angry, frustrated or frightened patients may be combative,
withdrawn and less cooperative—requiring far more time
than it would have taken to interact with them initially in a
positive way.” —Putting Patients First, Susan Frampton,
Laura Gilpin, Patrick Charmel
“Kindness
is free.”
“Courtesies of a small and
trivial character are the
ones which strike
deepest in the grateful
and appreciating heart.”
—Henry Clay
#9
#1 Truthteller …
You = Your
calendar*
*Calendars
never
lie
“Dennis, you need a …
‘To-don’t ’
List !”
“You must
be
the change you
wish to see in the
world.”
Gandhi
“To develop others,
start with yourself.”
—Marshall Goldsmith
Little =
Big carts =
Source: Wal*Mart
Bag sizes = New markets:
Source: PepsiCo
Socks =
10,000
90K in U.S.A. ICUs on any
given day; 178 steps/day
in ICU.
50%
stays result
in “serious complication”
Source: Atul Gawande, “The Checklist” (New Yorker, 1210.07)
**Peter Pronovost, Johns Hopkins,
2001
**Checklist, line infections
**1/3rd at least one error when he started
**Nurses/permission to stop procedure
if doc, other not following checklist
**In 1 year, 10-day line-infection rate:
11% to …
0%
Source: Atul Gawande, “The Checklist” (New Yorker, 1210.07)
<TGW
and …
>TGR
[Things Gone WRONG-Things Gone RIGHT]
2-cent
candy
2,000,000
“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
Up,
Up,
Up,
Up
the Value-added Ladder.
Planetary Rainmaker-in-Chief!
“Palmisano’s strategy is
to expand tech’s borders
by pushing users—and
entire industries—toward
radically different
business models. The payoff for IBM
would be access to an ocean of revenue—Palmisano
estimates it at $500 billion a year —that technology
companies have never been able to touch.” —Fortune
“Big Brown’s New Bag: UPS
Traffic
Manager for
Corporate
America”
Aims to Be the
—Headline/BW/2004
MasterCard
Advisors
The Value-added Ladder
Services
Goods
Raw Materials
The Value-added Ladder
Customer Success/
Gamechanging
Solutions
Services
Goods
Raw Materials
The Value-added Ladder/ OPPORTUNITY-SEEKING
Implemented
Gamechanging
Solutions
Services
Goods
Raw Materials
Excellence. Always.
If not Excellence,
what?
If not Excellence now,
when?
“Excellence …
can be obtained if you:
... care more than others think
is wise;
... risk more than others think
is safe;
... dream more than others think
is practical;
... expect more than others think
is possible.”
Source: Anon. (Posted @ tompeters.com by K.Sriram, November 27, 2006 1:17 AM)
#14
Forty-four “Secrets”
and “clever Strategies”
For dealing with the
Recession of 2007++
I am constantly asked for
'secrets'
“strategies/
for
surviving the recession.” I try
to appear wise and informed—
and parade original,
sophisticated thoughts. But if
you want to know what’s
really going through my
head, see the list that follows.
44 “Secrets” and “Clever Strategies” For
Dealing with the Recession of 2007+
You come earlier.
You leave later.
You work harder.
You may well work for less; and, if so, you
adapt to the untoward circumstances with a
smile—even if it kills you inside.
You volunteer to do more.
You dig deep and always bring a good attitude
to work.
You fake it if your good attitude flags.
You literally practice your "game face" in the
mirror in the morning, and in the loo
mid-morning.
You give new meaning to the idea and intensive
practice of “visible management.”
44 “Secrets” and “Clever Strategies” For
Dealing with the Recession of 2008-XXXX
You take better than usual care of yourself and
encourage others to do the same—physical
well-being determines mental well-being and
response to stress.
You shrug off shit that flows downhill in your
direction—buy a shovel or a “pre-worn”
raincoat on eBay.
You try to forget about “the good old days”—
nostalgia is self-destructive.
You buck yourself up with the thought that
“this too shall pass”—but then remind yourself
that it might not pass any time soon, and so
you re-dedicate yourself to making the
absolute best of what you have now.
44 “Secrets” and “Clever Strategies” For
Dealing with the Recession of 2008-XXXX
You work the phones and then work the
phones some more—and stay in touch with
positively everyone.
You frequently invent breaks from routine,
including “weird” ones—“changeups” prevent
wallowing and bring a fresh perspective.
You eschew all forms of personal excess.
You simplify.
You sweat the details as never before.
You sweat the details as never before.
You sweat the details as never before.
You raise to the sky and maintain at all
costs the Standards of Excellence by which
you unfailingly evaluate your own performance.
You are maniacal when it comes to responding
to even the slightest screw-up.
44 “Secrets” and “Clever Strategies” For
Dealing with the Recession of 2008-XXXX
You find ways to be around young people and
to keep young people around—they are less
likely to be members of the “sky is falling”
school.
You learn new tricks of your trade.
You remind yourself that this is not just
something to be “gotten through”—it is the
Final Exam of character.
You network like a demon.
You network inside the company—get to know
more of the folks who “do the real work.”
You network outside the company—get to
know more of the folks who “do the real
work” in vendor-customer outfits.
44 “Secrets” and “Clever Strategies” For
Dealing with the Recession of 2008-XXXX
You thank others by the truckload if good
things happen—and take the heat yourself if
bad things happen.
You behave kindly, but you don't sugarcoat or
hide the truth--humans are startlingly
resilient and rumors are the real killers.
You treat small successes as if they were
Superbowl victories—and celebrate and
commend accordingly.
You shrug off the losses (ignoring what's going
on in your tummy), and get back on the
horse and immediately try again.
You avoid negative people to the extent you
can—pollution kills.
You eventually read the gloom-sprayers the
riot act.
44 “Secrets” and “Clever Strategies” For
Dealing with the Recession of 2008-XXXX
You give new meaning to the word "thoughtful.“
You don’t put limits on the flowers budget—
“bright and colorful” works marvels.
You redouble, re-triple your efforts to "walk in
your customer's shoes." (Especially if the
shoes smell.)
You mind your manners—and accept others’
lack of manners in the face of their strains.
You are kind to all mankind.
You keep your shoes shined.
You leave the blame game at the office door.
You call out the congenital politicians in no
uncertain terms.
You become a paragon of personal accountability.
And then you pray.
The end