Transcript LONG Tom Peters’ X25* Enthusiasm. Energy. Empathy. Execution. Excellence. Always. XAlways.ROCHE.ATHENS.11 January 2007 *In Search of Excellence 1982-2007 FLOWER POWER.

LONG
Tom Peters’ X25*
Enthusiasm.
Energy.
Empathy.
Execution.
Excellence.
Always.
XAlways.ROCHE.ATHENS.11 January 2007
*In Search of Excellence 1982-2007
FLOWER
POWER
“Courtesies of a small and
trivial character are the
ones which strike
deepest in the grateful
and appreciating heart.”
—Henry Clay
Where Are Your
“2-cent Candies”?
Beltramo’s checkout.
Carpet installer booties.
candies @
Immigration
Singapore
“A man
without a
smiling face
must not open
a shop.”
—Chinese Proverb
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!
Jim Jeffords
oversight!
The …
Slides* at …
tompeters.com
*also “long”
“What’s Really Propping
Up the Economy:
Healthcare has added 1.7
million jobs since 2001.
The rest of the private
sector? None.”
Source: Title, cover story, BusinessWeek, 0925.2006
EXCELLENCE.
ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW.
“20-minute
rule”
—Craig Johnson/30 yrs
“I call 60 CEOs in
the first week of
the year to wish
them Happy New
Year. …”
—Hank Paulson, former CEO,
Goldman Sachs
Source: Fortune, “Secrets of Greatness,” 0320.05
MBWA, Grameen Style!
“Conventional banks ask their clients to come
to their office. It’s a terrifying place for the poor
and illiterate. … The entire Grameen Bank
system runs on the principle that people
should not come to the bank, the bank
should go to the people. … If any staff
member is seen in the office, it should be taken
as a violation of the rules of the Grameen Bank.
… It is essential that [those setting up a new
village Branch] have no office and no place to
stay. The reason is to make us as different as
possible from government officials.”
Source: Muhammad Yunus, Banker to the Poor
7X. 730A800P.
F12A.*
*’93-’03/10
yr annual return: CB: 29%; WM: 17%;
HD: 16%. Mkt Cap: 48% p.a.
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
“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
“Forbes100” from 1917 to 1987
: 39
members of
the Class of ’17 were alive in ’87; 18 in ’87
F100; 18 F100 “survivors” significantly
underperformed the market;
just
2 (2%), GE & Kodak,
outperformed the market from
1917 to 1987.
S&P 500 from 1957 to 1997:
’97;
74 members of the Class of ’57 were alive in
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
Welcome to the “Club of Shattered Dreams”:
Of Korea’s Top 100 companies
in 1955, only 7 were still on the
list in 2004. The 1997 crisis
“destroyed half of Korea’s
30 largest conglomerates.”
Source: “KET Issue Report,” Kim Jong Nyun (14.05.2005)
S&P Stability Ratings*
1985
2006
Low Risk
41%
13%
Average Risk
24%
14%
High Risk 35%
*Likelihood of stable long-term earnings growth
Source: Fortune (2 October 2006)
73%
Flat as a Pancake (Or Worse)
Wal*Mart … Dell …
Intel … Home Depot
… Microsoft … GE
The last
word:
There is
no last
word.
“It is generally much easier to
organization
kill an
than change it
substantially.”
—Kevin Kelly, Out of Control
New Economy?!
Sergey +
Larry >
Harvard/370
EXCELLENCE.
STARTERS.
BASICS.
K.I.S.S.
Raging Success =
P-SQUARED.
C. E-CUBED.
People.
Product.
Clients.
Execution.
Enthusiasm.
Excellence.
“To me business isn’t about
wearing suits or pleasing
stockholders. It’s about
being true to yourself,
your ideas and focusing on
the essentials.” —Richard Branson
People.
Product.
Clients.
Execution.
Enthusiasm.
Excellence.
Resilience.
Relentless.
Senility.
“One of my superstitions had
always been when I started to
go anywhere or to do
not to turn
back, or stop, until the
anything,
thing intended was
accomplished.” —Grant
“Success seems to be
largely a matter of
hanging on after
others have let go.”
—William Feather, author* (*c.f. Woody Allen: “90% of
success is showing up.”)
“The first 90% of a
project takes 90% of
the time. The last
10% takes the other
90% of the time.”
—Richard Templar, The Rules of Management
Wanted*:
Corporate
Senility!
*“The problem is never how to
get new, innovative thoughts into
your mind, but how to get the
old ones out.” —Dee Hock
“Strive for
Excellence.
Ignore
success.”
—Bill Young, PR driver
(courtesy Andrew Sullivan)
The older I
get the less
boring the
“basics”
become!
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
EXCELLENCE.
ASPIRATION.
“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, audacious, innovative, joyful,
frightening, risky, creative,
entrepreneurial endeavor that breathes
life & fire into our work & life & elicits
maximum concerted human potential
in the wholehearted effort to help
others ** [**employees, clients, suppliers,
communities, owners, temporary partners] succeed &
profit & imagine & reach places they’d
never dreamed they could go.
Business* (*at its “excellent” best) can be:
“In-sane-
ly-great”
“Every time we come to a
comfort zone, we will find a way
out.” “No Cloning.” “‘Reinvent
the brand’ with each new show.”
“A typical day at the office for
me begins by asking, ‘What is
impossible that I am going to
do today?’” —Daniel Lamarre, president,
Cirque du Soleil
EXCELLENCE.
ASPIRATION.
YOU & ME.
“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
"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)
EXCELLENCE.
ALWAYS.
ONE PERSON.
DRAMATIC
DIFFERENCE..
Muhammad Yunus:
Banker to the Poor/
Father of
“microlending”/
2006 nobel peace
prize winner
“It’s not people who
aren’t credit-worthy.
It’s banks that aren’t
people worthy.”
Muhammad Yunus
94% of loans to …
women
EXCELLENCE.
ALWAYS.
“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)
EXCELLENCE.
SELL.
SELL.
SELL.
“Everyone
lives by
selling
something.”
.
– Robert Louis Stevenson
TP.27* …
on Selling
(Short) (Personal)
Also see: The Sales122:
122 Ridiculously Obvious Thoughts About
Selling Stuff (End of this presentation)
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)
(Women are better at sales.)
Incidentally …
“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
Sell
Sell
“It’s always
showtime.”
—David D’Alessandro, Career Warfare
GE
(more or less)
:
The Sales122:
122 Ridiculously
Obvious Thoughts
About Selling Stuff
Tom Peters/0402.2006
See below (End of
presentation)
EXCELLENCE.
INNOVATE.
OR. DIE.
“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
“I don’t believe in economies of
You don’t get
better by being
bigger. You get
worse.” —
scale.
Dick Kovacevich/Wells Fargo
“Not a single company that
qualified as having made a
sustained transformation
ignited its leap with a big
acquisition or merger. Moreover,
comparison companies—those that failed to make a
leap or, if they did, failed to sustain it—often tried to
make themselves great with a
big acquisition or merger. They failed to grasp the
simple truth that while you can buy
your way to growth, you cannot buy your way to
greatness.” —Jim Collins/Time/2004
“A pattern emphasized in the case
studies in this book is the degree to
which powerful competitors not
only resist innovative threats,
but actually resist all efforts to
understand them, preferring to
further their positions in older
products. This results in a surge of
productivity and performance that
may take the old technology to
unheard of heights. But in most cases
this is a sign of impending death.”
—Jim Utterback, Mastering the
Dynamics of Innovation
EVERYTHING YOU
THOUGHT YOU KNEW
ABOUT INNOVATION
IS WRONG
The Mess Is
the
Message!
Period!
The Mess Is the Message! Period!
An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution
of the United States —Charles Beard (1913)
The Box: How the Shipping Container Made the World
Smaller and the World Economy Bigger —Marc Levinson
Tube: The Invention of Television —David & Marshall Fisher
Empires of Light: Edison, Tesla, Westinghouse,
and the Race to Electrify the World —Jill Jonnes
The Soul of a New Machine —Tracy Kidder
Rosalind Franklin: The Dark Lady of DNA —Brenda Maddox
The Blitzkrieg Myth —John Mosier
Get mad. Do
something
about it. Now.
Blitzkrieg?
Case: Reality
Germans cross Meuse into France.
Whoops: French intelligence completely drops
the ball. (Loses track of the Germans—no kidding.)
Germans keep advancing; outrun supply lines;
no land-air co-ordination.
Hitler orders advance stopped.
General never gets the word.
General marches to Paris, virtually unopposed.
Germans shocked.
After the fact, Germans label it “Blitzkrieg.”
Case: Lessons Learned
Do something.
Get lucky.
Attribute luck to superior planning.
Get medals.
InnoTacs
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
“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
futuremark
“To grow, companies need
to break out of a vicious
cycle of competitive
benchmarking and
imitation.”
—W. Chan Kim & Renée Mauborgne,
“Think for Yourself —Stop Copying a Rival,” Financial Times/2003
“How do dominant companies
lose their position? Two-
thirds of the time,
they pick the wrong
competitor to worry
about.”
—Don Listwin, CEO,
Openwave Systems/WSJ
Kodak …. Fuji
GM …. Ford
Ford …. GM
IBM …. Siemens, Fujitsu
Sears …. Kmart
Xerox …. Kodak, IBM
“Don’t
benchmark,
futuremark!”
Impetus: “The future is already here; it’s just
not evenly distributed” —William Gibson
send ’em on
a quest!
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.”
Try it. Try it. Try it
Try it. Try it. Try it
Try it. Try it. Try it
Try it. Try it. Try it
Try it. try it. Try it
Try it. try it. Try it
“This is so simple it sounds stupid, but it is amazing
how few oil people really understand that
you only find
oil if you drill
wells.
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
“Experiment
fearlessly”
Source: BW0821.06, Type A Organization Strategies/
“How to Hit a Moving Target”—Tactic #1
“We made mistakes, of course. Most of them were
omissions we didn’t think of when we initially wrote the
software. We fixed them by doing it over and over, again
and again. We do the same today. While our competitors
are still sucking their thumbs trying to make the design
perfect, we’re already on prototype version
#5.
By the time our rivals are
ready with wires and screws, we are on version
#10. It gets back to planning
versus acting: We act from day
one; others plan how to plan—
for months.” —Bloomberg by Bloomberg
“We ground
up more pig
brains!”
The True Logic* of Decentralization:
6 divisions = 6 “tries”
6 divisions = 6 DIFFERENT leaders =
6 INDEPENDENT “tries” = Max
probability of “win”
6 divisions = 6 very DIFFERENT
leaders = 6 very INDEPENDENT
“tries” = Max probability of “far
out”/”3-sigma” “win”
*“Driver”: Law of Large #s
READY.
FIRE!
AIM.
Ross Perot (vs “Aim! Aim! Aim!” /EDS vs GM/1985)
READY.
FIRE!
“You miss 100
percent of the
shots you never
take.”
—Wayne Gretzky
TP “Lessons Learned”
Innovation = DisDis
(Disciplined Disorganization)
Luck is a very good thing.* **
(*More “lessons” later: E.g., If you hire a bunch of disciplined weirdos and
try a lot of weird stuff, the odds of getting lucky go up remarkably) (**Career
success depends on convincing others that you knew what the hell you
were doing all along. Good news: Say it long enough and you will believe it.
Great news: Keep saying it and you, too, can become a “guru.”)
“We have a
‘strategic plan.’
It’s called doing
things.”
— Herb Kelleher
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”
Paul Allaire: “We are in a
brawl with no rules.”
TP: “There’s only one
possible answer— S.A.V.”*
*Screw Around Vigorously
tolerate
[encourage?]
failure
“FAIL, FAIL
AGAIN. FAIL
BETTER.”
—Samuel Beckett
“Fail . Forward.
Fast.”
High Tech CEO, Pennsylvania
“Fail faster.
Succeed Sooner.”
David Kelley/IDEO
Sam’s
Secret
#1!
“Reward
excellent failures.
Punish mediocre
successes.”
Phil Daniels, Sydney exec
think.
Do.
Plan it!
“Non-linearist”: Try it!
“Linearist”:
think!
“Non-linearist”: do!
“Linearist”:
“Linearist”:
hypothesize!
“Non-linearist”:
experiment!
failure =
unnecessary
“Linearist”:
“Non-linearist”:
failure = life
deliberate!*
“Non-linearist”: relentless!**
“Linearist”:
* “Do it right the first time” (Hero: Phil Crosby)
**Never retreat (Hero: U.S. Grant)
“Linearist”:
logical!
“Non-linearist”:
passionate!
give me
genius!
“Non-linearist”: give me
luck!
“Linearist”:
spotless
academic
record!
“Non-linearist”: a.d.d.
“Linearist”:
measured
pace!
“Non-linearist”: Tempo!
Tempo! Tempo!
“Linearist”:
think! Plan!
(r.a.f.*)
“Non-linearist”: Try it!
Screw it up! Fix it!
Try it again! (r.f.a.**)
“Linearist”:
*Ready. Aim. Fire.
**ready. Fire. Aim. (Or, circa 2006: fire. Fire. Fire.)
Cheap Shot
minimize cost.
“Non-linearist”: maximize
revenue.
“Linearist”:
marketing
rules.
“Non-linearist”: sales
rules.
“Linearist”:
“Linearist”
Background:
planning, marketing &
finance.
“Non-linearist”
background:
sales & operations.
“Linearist”
likes: ideas.
“Non-linearist”
likes: people.
“Linearist”
office: walls.
“Non-linearist”
office: none.
“Linearist”
style: meetings.
“Non-linearist”
style: m.b.w.a.*
*Managing by wandering around
“Linearist”
reads: michael porter.
Peter drucker.
“Non-linearist”
reads: doesn’t
“Linearist”
preferred football
score: 7-0.
“Non-linearist”
preferred football
score: 41-38.
“Linearist”
criminal record:
none.
“Non-linearist”
criminal record:
disorderly conduct.
Chronic jaywalking.
“Linearist”
drives: lincoln town
car. Ford explorer
(weekends).
“Non-linearist”
drives: bmw. Harleydavidson (weekends).
“Action is the
foundational
key of all
success.”
—Picasso
“Intelligent people
can always come up
with intelligent
reasons to do
nothing.”
—Scott Simon
EXCELLENCE.
4/40.
De-central-iza-tion!
“If if feels
painful and
scary—that’s
real delegation”
—Caspian Woods, small biz owner
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
Projects =
Goal (“Vision”)
Milestones =
Project
Rapid Review +
Truth-telling =
accountability
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.
A man approached JP Morgan, held up an envelope, and said, “Sir, in
my hand I hold a guaranteed formula for success, which I will gladly
sell you for $25,000.”
“Sir,” JP Morgan replied, “I do not know what is in the envelope,
however if you show me, and I like it, I give you my word as a
gentleman that I will pay you what you ask.”
The man agreed to the terms, and handed over the envelope.
JP Morgan opened it, and extracted a single sheet of paper.
He gave it one look, a mere glance, then handed the piece of paper
back to the gent.
And paid him the
agreed-upon $25,000 …
1. Every morning, write a
list of the things that
need to be done that
day.
2.
Do them.
Source: Hugh MacLeod/tompeters.com/NPR
DECENTRALIZATION.
EXECUTION.
ACCOUTABILITY.
6:15A.M.
EXCELLENCE.
VALUE ADDED.
UP THE LADDER.
EXCELLENCE.
VALUE-ADDED LADDER I.
SOLVE IT.
Up,
Up,
Up,
Up
the Value-added 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
“The business of selling is not just about matching viable
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. One of the key
solutions to the customers that require them.
differentiators of our position in the market is our attention to
managing change and making change stick in our customers’
organization.”* (*E.g.: CRM failure rate/Gartner: 70%)
—Jeff Thull, The Prime Solution: Close the Value Gap,
Increase Margins, and Win the Complex Sale
EXCELLENCE.
SOLVE IT.
NO OPTION.
PSF. (PSF++)
Department Head
to …
Managing
Partner,
IS
Inc.
[HR, R&D, etc.]
Answer:
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)
EXCELLENCE.
ATTITUDE.
TRANSFORMATION.
PSF.
“Technology
Executive” (workin’ in a hospital)
HCare CIO:
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.
VALUE-ADDED LADDER II.
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
“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
Experience: “Rebel Lifestyle!”
“What we sell is the
ability for a 43year-old accountant
to dress in black
leather, ride through
small towns and have
people be afraid
of him.”
Harley exec, quoted in Results-Based Leadership
Up,
Up,
Up,
Up
the Value-added Ladder.
The Value-added Ladder/ MEMORABLE CONNECTION
Spellbinding
Experiences
Gamechanging Solutions
Services
Goods
Raw Materials
EXCELLENCE.
VALUE-ADDED LADDER III.
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
Furniture vs. Dreams
“We do not sell ‘furniture’ at Domain.
We sell dreams. This
is accomplished by addressing the
half-formed needs in our customers’
heads. By uncovering these needs,
we, in essence, fill in the blanks. We
convert ‘needs’ into ‘dreams.’
Sales are the inevitable
result.”
— Judy George, Domain Home Fashions
Up,
Up,
Up,
Up
the Value-added Ladder.
The Value-added Ladder/ EMOTION
Dreams Come True
Spellbinding Experiences
Gamechanging Solutions
Services
Goods
Raw Materials
“Dreams Come
True”:
IBM
EXCELLENCE.
SOUL.
THE STORY.
“Storytelling
is the core
of culture.”
—Branded Nation: The Marketing of Megachurch,
College Inc., and Museumworld, James Twitchell
Best
story
wins!
Market Power =
Story Power
“We are in the twilight of a society based on data. As
information and intelligence become the domain of
computers, society will place more value on the one human
ability that cannot be automated: emotion. Imagination, myth,
ritual - the language of emotion - will affect everything from
our purchasing decisions to how we work with others.
Companies will thrive on
the basis of their stories
and myths.
Companies will need to
understand that their products are less important than their
stories.” —Rolf Jensen, Copenhagen Institute for Future Studies
EXCELLENCE.
OPPORTUNITY.
ENORMOUS.
WOMEN.
“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.
“That’s a
VERY
man.”
—Tom Peters
sick
EXCELLENCE.
OPPORTUNITY.
ENORMOUS.
WOMEN.
“Women are
the majority
market”
—Fara Warner/The Power of the Purse
“Women don’t buy
They
join them.”
brands.
EVEolution
Selling to men:
The
TRANSACTION Model
Selling to Women:
The
RELATIONAL Model
Source: Selling to Men, Selling to Women, Jeffery Tobias Halter
“Women speak and hear a language
of connection and intimacy, and men
speak and hear a language of status and
independence. Men communicate to
obtain information, establish their status,
and show independence. Women
communicate to create relationships,
encourage interaction, and exchange
feelings.”
—Judy Rosener, America’s Competitive Secret
Editorial/Men: Tables, rankings.*
Editorial/Women:
Narratives that cohere.*
*Redwood (UK)
“Women speak and hear a language
of connection and intimacy, and men
speak and hear a language of status and
independence. Men communicate to
obtain information, establish their status,
and show independence. Women
communicate to create relationships,
encourage interaction, and exchange
feelings.”
—Judy Rosener, America’s Competitive Secret
“A woman can effortlessly speak 6,000
to 8,000 words a day, use an additional
2,000-3,000 vocal sounds and 8,00010,000 gestures and body signals. A
man utters 2,000-4,00 words, 1,0002,000 vocal sounds and makes 2,0003,000 body language signals. In
other words, women
communicate three times more
than men.” —Barbara and Allan Pease (from Selling
to Men, Selling to Women, Jeffery Tobias Halter)
“Women come out better
on almost every count as
investors … They are less likely to
hold a losing investment too long, and
less likely to wait too long to sell a
winner; they’re also less likely to put too
much money into a single investment or
to buy a reputedly hot stock without
doing sufficient research.”
Source: The Merrill report: “When It Comes to Investing,
Gender A Strong Influence on Behavior.”/Atlantic
WOMEN.
DOMINATE.
ECONOMIC.
GROWTH.
“Forget China,
India and the
Internet: Economic
Growth Is Driven
by
Women.”
—Headline,
Economist, April 15, 2006, Leader, page 14
“Since 1970, women
have held two
out of every
three new jobs
created.”
—FT, 10.03.2006
10 UNASSAILABLE REASONS WOMEN RULE
Women make [all] the financial decisions.
Women control [all] the wealth.
Women [substantially] outlive men.
Women start most of the new businesses.
Women’s work force participation rates have
soared worldwide.
Women are closing in on “same pay for same
job.”
Women are penetrating senior ranks rapidly
[even if the pace is slow for the corner
office per se].
Women’s leadership strengths are exceptionally well
aligned with new organizational effectiveness &
value-added imperatives.
Women are better salespersons than men.
Women buy [almost] everything—commercial
as well as consumer goods.
So what exactly is … the point of men?
Not Just America …
“Boys Falling
Seven Years
Behind Girls
at GCSE Level”
—headline, Weekly Telegraph, UK, 10.25.06
COROLLARY.
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
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
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”
EXCELLENCE.
OPPORTUNITY.
ENORMOUS.
BOOMERS.
GEEZERS.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
“People turning 50
today have more
than half of their
adult life ahead of
them.”
—Bill Novelli, 50+: Igniting a Revolution
to Reinvent America
“Baby-boomer
Women: The
Sweetest of
Sweet Spots for
Marketers”
—David Wolfe and Robert
Snyder, Ageless Marketing
“WOMAN of the Year: She’s
the most powerful
consumer in America. And
as she starts to turn sixty
this month, the affluent baby
boomer is doing what she’s
always done—redefining
herself.”
—Joan Hamilton, Town & Country, JAN06
Magazine of the
Year*: More
Source: Advertising Age, 1023.2006, “‘More’
Taps Power of 40-plus to Draw Advertisers in
Droves” (“More is breaking through
advertisers’ irrational obsession with
20-somethings …”)
“Sixty Is
the New
Thirty”
—Cover/AARP
EXCELLENCE.
(HEALTHCARE.)
HEALTH.
Quality!
Prevention!
Wellness!
Chronic care!
Childhood obesity!
H5N1!
Quality!
2 38
m
s
“When I climb Mount
Rainier I face less
risk of death than
I’ll face on the
operating table.”
—Don Berwick, “Six Keys to Safer Hospitals: A Set of Simple Precautions
Could Prevent 100,000 Needless Deaths Every Year,” Newsweek (1212.2005)
Welcome to the Homer Simpson Hospital
a/k/a
The Killing
Fields
COULD
IT TRULY BE THIS
AWFUL?
“Quality”:
HealthGrades/Denver:
195,000
hospital deaths per
year in the U.S., 2000-2002 = 390 full
jumbos/747s in the drink per year.
Comments: “This should give you pause
when you go to the hospital.”
National Quality Forum
—Dr. Kenneth Kizer,
. “There is little evidence
that patient safety has improved in
the last five years.” —Dr. Samantha Collier
Source: Boston Globe/07.27.04
1,000,000
“serious medication errors per
year” … “illegible handwriting,
misplaced decimal points, and
missed drug interactions and
allergies.”
Source: Wall Street Journal /Institute of Medicine
90,000 killed
and 2,000,000
CDC 1998:
injured from
hospital-caused drug
errors & infections
“BAD MEDICINE: This teenager
[Jehan Nassif] died because of a
medical bungle. So do 18,000
other Australians each year.
Why our hospitals keep
making fatal mistakes.”
—cover, The Bulletin (Australia), 09.05.2006 (“… up to 16%
of hospitalized patients will suffer an adverse event; 50% of
these will be preventable and 10% of these will lead to
permanent disability or death.”) (equivalent, on a per capita
basis, to about 200,000 in the United States —which is about
the actual U.S. number)
Primary “Success
Factors”: “Sanitary
revolution”: mortality in
major cities down
55%
between
1850 and 1915
Source: Tom Farley & Deborah Cohen, Prescription for a Healthy Nation
EXCELLENCE.
BEDROCK.
LEADERSHIP.
9Ps. L23.
PURPOSE.
PASSION.
Potential.
Presence.
Personal.
PERSISTENCE.
PEOPLE.
Potent.
Positive.
PURPOSE.
PASSION.
Potential.
Presence.
Personal.
PERSISTENCE.
PEOPLE.
Potent.
Positive.
“People want to be part of
something larger than
themselves. They want to be
part of something they’re
really proud of, that they’ll
fight for, sacrifice for ,
trust.”
—Howard Schultz, Starbucks (IBD/09.05)
“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?’ Not ‘What are we going to
leader always is:
do?’ but ‘Who do we intend to be?’”
—Max De Pree, Herman Miller
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’?”
PURPOSE.
PASSION.
Potential.
Presence.
Personal.
PERSISTENCE.
PEOPLE.
Potent.
Positive.
“Nothing is so
contagious as
enthusiasm.”
—Samuel Taylor Coleridge
“Enthusiasm,
the ultimate
virus.”
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.”
“Whenever anything is
being accomplished, I
have learned, it is being
done by a monomaniac
with a mission.”
—Peter Drucker
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!
“Most important,
upped the
energy level at
he
Motorola.”
—Fortune on Ed Zander/08.05
“Great leaders move us. They
ignite our passion and inspire
the best in us. When we try to
explain why they are so
effective, we speak of strategy,
vision or powerful ideas. But the
reality is much more primal:
Great leadership works through
the emotions.” —Daniel Goleman,
The New Leaders
Exuberance: The Passion for Life, by Kay Redfield Jamison+
“A leader is someone who creates infectious
enthusiasm.”—Ted Turner
“‘Glorious’ was a term [John] Muir would invoke time
and again … despite his conscious attempts to eradicate
it from his writing. ‘Glorious’ and ‘joy’ and
‘exhilaration’: no matter how often he scratched out
these words once he had written them, they sprang
up time and again …”
“To meet Roosevelt, said Churchill, ‘with all his buoyant
sparkle, his iridescence,’ was like ‘opening a bottle of
champagne.’ Churchill, who knew both champagne
and human nature, recognized ebullient leadership
when he saw it.”
Exuberance: The Passion for Life, by Kay Redfield Jamison+
“Churchill had a very powerful mind, but a romantic
and unquantitative one. If he thought about a course
of action long enough, if he achieved it alone in his
own inner consciousness and desired it passionately,
he convinced himself it must be possible. Then, with
incomparable invention, eloquence and high spirits,
he set out to convince everyone else that it was
not only possible, but the only course of action
open to man.”—C.P. Snow
“We are all worms. But I do believe that I am a
glow-worm.”—Churchill on Churchill
“The multitudes were swept forward till their pace was
the same as his.”—Churchill on T.E. Lawrence
“He brought back a real joy to music.”—Wynton
Marsalis on Louis Armstrong
PURPOSE.
PASSION.
Potential.
Presence.
Personal.
PERSISTENCE.
PEOPLE.
Potent.
Positive.
“In the end, management
doesn’t change culture.
Management
invites
the workforce itself to
change the culture.”
—Lou Gerstner
“The role of the Director is to create a
space where the actors and
become more
than they’ve ever been
before, more than
they’ve dreamed of
being.”
actresses can
—Robert Altman, Oscar acceptance speech
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
PURPOSE.
PASSION.
Potential.
Presence.
Personal.
PERSISTENCE.
PEOPLE.
Potent.
Positive.
PURPOSE.
PASSION.
Potential.
Presence.
Personal.
PERSISTENCE.
PEOPLE.
Potent.
Positive.
“The First step in a
‘dramatic’
‘organizational change
program’ is obvious—
dramatic personal
change!” —RG
“You must
be
the change you
wish to see in the
world.”
Gandhi
“To change minds effectively,
leaders make particular use
stories
that they tell and the lives
of two tools: the
that they lead.”
—Howard Gardner,
Changing Minds
PURPOSE.
PASSION.
Potential.
Presence.
Personal.
PERSISTENCE.
PEOPLE.
Potent.
Positive.
Relentless: “One of
my superstitions had always been
when I started to go anywhere or
not to
turn back , or stop,
to do anything,
until the thing intended was
accomplished.” —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
Grant had an extreme,
almost phobic dislike of
turning back and
retracing his steps.
character:
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
“It is no use saying
‘We are doing our
best.’ You have got
to succeed in doing
what is necessary.”
—WSC
"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.
“Success seems to be
largely a matter
of hanging on
after others have
let go.”
—William Feather, author
“The most
successful people
are those who
are good at plan B.”
—James Yorke, mathematician, on chaos
theory, in The New Scientist
"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)
PURPOSE.
PASSION.
Potential.
Presence.
Personal.
PERSISTENCE.
PEOPLE.
Potent.
Positive.
‘do’
“Leaders
people.
Period.”
—Anon.
PURPOSE.
PASSION.
Potential.
Presence.
Personal.
PERSISTENCE.
PEOPLE.
Potent.
Positive.
“Beware of the tyranny
of making Small Changes
to Small Things. Rather,
make Big Changes to
Big Things.”
—Roger Enrico, former Chairman, PepsiCo
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!
PURPOSE.
PASSION.
Potential.
Presence.
Personal.
PERSISTENCE.
PEOPLE.
Potent.
Positive.
“[other]
admirals more
frightened of
losing than
anxious to win”
On NELSON:
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
PURPOSE.
PASSION.
Potential.
Presence.
Personal.
PERSISTENCE.
PEOPLE.
Potent.
Positive.
“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)
EXCELLENCE.
THE LEADERSHIP23.
Leadership23/ML
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Enthusiasm. Energy. Exuberance.
Action. Execution.
Tempo. Metabolism.
Relentless.
Master of Plan B.
Accountability.
Meritocracy.
Leaders “do” people. Mentor. (“Success
creation business.”)
9. Women. Diversity.
10. Integrity. Credibility. Humanity. Grace.
11. Realism.
12. Cause. Adventures. Quests.
Leadership23/ML
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.”)
Enthusiasm.
Energy.
Exuberance.
Voracious Curiosity.
Irritability/Dis-satisfaction.
Relentlessness.
Self-reliance.
“Closer.” (Execution.)
excellence.
Always.
EXCELLE
ALWAYS
EXCELLENCE.
ALWAYS.
Lists.
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 2006. It started with a halfdozen items, and grew like Topsy.
Possibly, given its origins, it’s a little
tilted toward complex, engineeringbased sales.
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.
“Everyone lives
by selling
something.”
—Robert Louis Stevenson
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!
C(I)>C(X)
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.
FLOWER
POWER
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.)
“If you don’t
listen,
you don’t sell
anything.”
—Carolyn Marland/
Managing Director/
Guardian Group
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!
“You can make more
friends in two months by
becoming interested in
other people than you can
in two years by trying to
get other people
interested in you.”
—Dale Carnegie
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.
Women Rock … as Salespersons (From Item #97.)
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
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.
Good luck!
EXCELLE
ALWAYS