Transcript The Work Matters: On Self-reliance, Becoming a “Change Insurgent” and the Power of Peculiarities tom peters/0430.06

The Work Matters: On
Self-reliance,
Becoming a “Change
Insurgent” and the
Power of Peculiarities
tom peters/0430.06
“Self-reliance never comes
‘naturally’ to adults because they
have been so conditioned to think
non-authentically that it feels
wrenching to do otherwise. … Self
Reliance is a last resort to which a
person is driven in desperation only
when he or she realizes ‘that
imitation is suicide, that he must take
himself for better, for worse, as his
portion.’ ” —Lawrence Buell, Emerson
“For Marx, the path to social betterment was through collective
resistance of the proletariat to the economic injustices of the
capitalist system that produced such misshapenness and
For Emerson, the key was to jolt
individuals into realizing the untapped power
of energy, knowledge and creativity of which
all people, at least in principle, are capable.
He too hated all systems of human
oppression; but his central project, and the
basis of his legacy, was to unchain individual
minds.”
fragmentation.
—Lawrence Buell, Emerson
The Work Matters!
“What we do matters to us. Work
may not be the most important
thing in our lives or the only thing.
We may work because we must,
but we still want to love, to feel
pride in, to respect ourselves for
what we do and to make a
difference.” —Sara Ann Friedman, Work Matters:
Women Talk About Their Jobs and Their Lives
“When was the last
time you asked,
‘What do I want
to be?’ ”
—Sara Ann Friedman, Work Matters
“If you ask me what I
have come to do in
this world, I who am
an artist, I will reply: I
am here to live my life
out loud.” — Émile Zola
“How Would You
Play Today If You
Knew You Could
Not Play
Tomorrow”
Source: Slogan for Loyola’s lacrosse season, from coach
Diane Geppi-Aikens (Lucky Every Day: The Wisdom of
Diane Geppi-Aikens, by Chip Silverman)
“She made us close our eyes and hear the singers
she was passionate about: Roberta Flack and
Aretha Franklin. ‘Listen to the joy in their voices,’
‘It’s not the words or
the music. They sing with such
great passion, such heart and
soul. You can feel how the singers love what
urged Diane.
they’re doing. It’s not just a job to them. If you want
to excel at anything, you must be passionate.
Otherwise, why waste your time?’ ”
Source: Lucky Every Day: The Wisdom of
Diane Geppi-Aikens, by Chip Silverman
Characteristics of the “Also rans”*
“Minimize risk”
“Respect the chain of
command”
“Support the boss”
“Make budget”
*Fortune, on “Most Admired Global Corporations”
“It’s no longer enough to
be a ‘change agent.’ You
must be a change
insurgent—provoking,
prodding, warning
everyone in sight that
complacency is death.”
—Bob Reich
“Nobody gives
you power.
You just take
it.”
—Roseanne
“Dream as if
you’ll live
forever. Live as
if you’ll die
today.”
—James Dean
“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.
Huh?
“Quiet, workmanlike, stoic
leaders bring about the big
transformations.” —Jim Collins
Huh?
“Humility: The Surprise Factor
in Leadership … bosses with
Gung-ho Qualities and Charisma
May Be Out of Fashion”
—Headline/FT/re JCollins/10.03
“intrepid, unprincipled,
reckless, predatory, with
boundless ambition, civilized
in externals but a savage
at heart.”
Herman Melville on John Paul
“intrepid, unprincipled,
reckless, predatory, with
boundless ambition, civilized
in externals but a savage at
heart.” —from Evan Thomas, John Paul Jones: Sailor,
Jones:
Hero, Father of the American Navy (and TP’s #1 hero)
Wellington
Nelson
Disraeli
Churchill
Montgomery
Thatcher
“Humble” Pastels?
T. Paine/P. Henry/A. Hamilton/T. Jefferson/B. Franklin
A. Lincoln/U.S. Grant/W.T. Sherman
TR/FDR/LBJ/RR/JFK
Patton/Monty/Halsey
M.L. King/C. de Gaulle/M. Gandhi/W. Churchill
Picasso/Mozart/Copernicus/Newton/Einstein/Djarassi/Watson
H. Clinton/G. Steinem/I. Gandhi/G. Meir/M. Thatcher
E. Shockley/A. Grove/J. Welch/L. Gerstner/L. Ellison/B. Gates/
S. Jobs/S. McNealy/T. Turner/R. Murdoch/W. Wriston
A. Carnegie/J.P. Morgan/H. Ford/S. Honda/J.D. Rockefeller/
T.A. Edison
Rummy/Norm/Henry/Wolfie
Elizabeth Cady Stanton/Susan B. Anthony/Martha Cary
Thomas/Carrie Chapman Catt/Alice Paul/Anna Elizabeth
Dickinson/Arabella Babb Mansfield/Margaret Sanger
Jim Collins vs. Michael Maccoby
“quiet, workmanlike, stoic”
vs.
“larger-than-life leaders”/ “egoists,
charmers, risk-takers with big
visions”: Carnegie, Rockefeller,
Edison, Ford, Welch, Jobs, Gates
“In Italy for 30 years under
the Borgias they had warfare,
terror, murder, bloodshed—
and produced Michelangelo,
da Vinci and the
Renaissance. In Switzerland
they had brotherly love, 500
years of democracy and peace,
and what did they produce—
Source: Orson Welles, as Harry Lime, in The Third Man
—the
cuckoo
clock.”
Source: Orson Welles, as Harry Lime, in The Third Man
“Well-behaved
women rarely
make history.”
—Anita Borg, Institute for Women and Technology
“To Hell With Well
Behaved … Recently a young
mother asked for advice. What, she
wanted to know, was she to do with a
7-year-old who was obstreperous,
outspoken, and inconveniently willful?
‘Keep her,’ I replied. … The suffragettes
refused to be polite in demanding what
they wanted or grateful for getting what
they deserved. Works for me.”
—Anna Quindlen/Newsweek
The Re-imagineer’s Credo … or,
Pity the Poor Brown*
Technicolor Times demand …
Technicolor Leaders and Boards who recruit …
Technicolor People who are sent on …
Technicolor Quests to execute …
Technicolor (WOW!) Projects in partnership with
…
Technicolor Customers and …
Technicolor Suppliers all of whom are in pursuit
of …
Technicolor Goals and Aspirations fit for …
Technicolor Times.
*WSC
Re-imagine!*
1.Empower one and all to vigorously seek WOW! in their work/projects. (Or else.)
2. Encourage the entrepreneurial (Brand You) spirit in people of all ages; lead the
parade of those aiming to “Free the Cubicle Slaves.”
3. Urge education “bureaucrats” (From kindergarten to MBA schools) to emphasize
the arts, creativity, entrepreneurial behavior.
4. Seek out the bold, the strange, the misfits, the dreamers—and welcome their
presence in our midst.
5. Drag enthusiasm, passion, Technicolor and bold commitment out of the closet.
6. Be a champion for: Women Roar! Women Rule!
7. Underscore the importance of/stupendous opportunities associated with the “cool
new markets”: women, boomers and geezers, Hispanics, greenies, wellness.
8. Dramatically re-orient healthcare from after-the-fact “fixes” to before-the-fact
attention to prevention-wellness.
9. Nurture the “lesser” “intangibles”—such as design/experiences and innovation—
as the prime basis for individual and enterprise success.
10. Support Globalization as the best/only—if indeed messy—path to maximum
human freedom, security and welfare.
11. Fight bureaucratic rigidities, centralization and mindless gigantism to the death.
12. Swear by the motto: “Reward excellent failures; punish mediocre successes.”
13. Foster a “sense of grace and care” in enterprises and organization-client
transactions of all flavors.
*Why I get out of bed in the morning/TP/07.12.2004
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