Transcript Musings: 25 MicroPresentations. 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.

Musings: 25
MicroPresentations.
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
Mid-sized companies-Mittlestand
Causes/1966-2006
Women/Market opportunity
Women/Leaders (right for the times)
Design/Design-as-soul/“Culture of Design”
Wow! (Hot language)
Weird! (“Crazy Times Call for Crazy Organizations”)
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)
Adversaries
B-schools (crappy at soft skills, implementation, leadership)
Strategy-is-all
By-the-numbers management
Dis-passionate management
Focus groups
Intuition discounted
Leading as an intellectual task
Leading without passion
Cool language in Hot times
Dilbert (accepting cubicle slavery)
Bigness per se (severe scale limitations—even at Microsoft)
White guys! (not really, but enough already)
18-44 emphasis in marketing (geezers > youth for foreseeable future)
-Cost > +Revenue (cost cutting more important than organic revenue
growth)
CI (continuous improvement in an age of discontinuous world)
LESS THAN THE NO-HOLDS-BARRED PURSUIT OF
EXCELLENCE
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
Inno.0524.06
World Innovation Forum
EVERYTHING YOU
THOUGHT YOU KNEW
ABOUT INNOVATION IS
WRONG
Tom Peters/New York/0524.2006/
Inno.new.LIST.0527
World Innovation Forum: Alt Title
YOU ONLY FIND
OIL IF YOU
DRILL WELLS
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
Parallel universe/Exec Ed v res MBA
End run regnant powers/JKC
Find done deals-practicing mavericks/StoneReGo
Bell curves/2016 in 2006
Non-industry benchmarking
Everything = Portfolio
V.C.s all!
Hot language/Wow-Astonish me-Insanely
great-immortal-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)
“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
CAUSE &
EFFECT:
The Case of
Blitzkrieg
Case: Perceived
Rommel invents Blitzkrieg.
Germans kick the tar out of
the French in two weeks.
Q.E.D.
Case: Lesson Learned
Planned innovation (P.I., not C.I.)
is possible, is cool,
is effective.
Case: Reality
Germans cross Meuse into France.
Whoops: French intelligence completely drops
the ball. (Loses track of the Germans—literally.)
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: Lesson Learned
Do something.
Get lucky.
Attribute luck to superior
planning.
Get medals.
Smashing Conventional Wisdom
“Blitzkrieg in fact emerged in a rather haphazard way
from the experience of the French campaign, whose
success surprised the Germans as much as the
French. Why otherwise did the High Command try on
various occasions, with Hitler’s backing, to slow the
panzers down? The victory in France* came about
partly because the German High Command
temporarily lost control of the battle. The decisive
moment in this process was Guderian’s decision to
move immediately westward on 14 May, the day after
the Meuse crossing, wrenching the whole of the rest
of the army along behind him.”
*messed up traffic, little close air support, random heroics by
some small bits of Guderian’s forces, Guderian not a disciple of
the WWI-derived “strategy of indirect approach”
Source: Julian Jackson, The Fall of France
False Attributions
German citizenry low morale, no appetite for war
3rd Republic government rather well regarded
French Army in good shape, surprisingly well
armed, decent strategy (in dozens of simulations, French usually win)
Blitzkrieg not used
Germans very vulnerable
Lousy French intelligence* and luck perhaps
determinant (*“intelligence information tends to be sifted to reinforce
received ideas rather than to overturn them”)
Many plausible competing hypotheses
Source: Julian Jackson, The Fall of France (cf Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Fooled by
Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets.)
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 loud enough and
you will believe it. Great news: Keep saying it and you, too,
can become a “guru.”)
Happy 50!
26April2006
Malcom McLean
Containerization
Lessons
Need-driven
A thousand “parents”
Messy
Evolutionary
“Trivial”
Experimentation
trial &
ERROR
Loooong time for systemic adaptation/s
(many innovations) (bill of lading, standard time)
Not …
“Plan-driven”
The product of “Strategic Thinking/Planning”
The product of “focus groups”
Get mad. Do
something
about it. Now.
First-level
Scientific
Success:
Beyond Brains
Tom Peters/14April2006
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
UTTERBACK
“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 Art of Innovation
“Good management was the
most powerful reason [leading
firms] failed to stay atop their
industries. Precisely because these firms
listened to their customers, invested aggressively in
technologies that would provide their customers
more and better products of the sort they wanted,
and because they carefully studied market trends
and systematically allocated investment capital to
innovations that promised the best returns, they lost
their positions of leadership.”
—Clayton Christensen, The Innovator’s Dilemma
Forget>“Learn”
“The problem is never
how to get new,
innovative thoughts into
but how to
get the old ones
out.”
your mind,
—Dee Hock
“Chivalry is dead. The new code of conduct is
an active strategy of disrupting the status quo
to create an unsustainable series of competitive
advantages. This is not an age of defensive
castles, moats and armor. It is rather an age of
cunning, speed and surprise. It may be hard for
some to hang up the chain mail of ‘sustainable
advantage’ after so many battles. But
hypercompetition, a state in which sustainable
advantages are no longer possible, is now the
only level of competition.” —Rich D’Aveni,
Hypercompetition: Managing the Dynamics of Strategic Maneuvering
“Acquisitions are about
buying market share. Our
challenge is to
create markets.
There is a big difference.”
—Peter Job, CEO, Reuters
Wendell Phillips, abolitionist:
“Republics exist only on the
tenure of being constantly
agitated. There is no
republican road to safety
but in constant distrust.”
Source: Louis Menand, The Metaphysical Club:
A Story of Ideas in America
“Fail .
Forward.
Fast.”
High Tech CEO, Pennsylvania
Read This!
Richard Farson & Ralph Keyes:
Whoever Makes
the Most Mistakes
Wins: The Paradox
of Innovation
UBIQUITOUS
“POLITICS”
“A man of great mediocrity.” —General George Patton
about General Omar Bradley …… “A third-rate general. He
never did anything or won any battle that any other
general could not have won as well or better.” —General
Omar Bradley about Sir Bernard Montgomery …… “If you
want to end the war in any reasonable time, you will have
to remove Ike’s hand from the control of the land battle.”
—Sir Bernard Montgomery about General Dwight
Eisenhower …… “One thing that might help win this war is
to get someone to shoot King.” —General Dwight
Eisenhower about Admiral Ernest King …… “Eisenhower,
though supposed to be running the land war, is on the
golf links at Rhiems—entirely detached and taking
practically no part in running the war.” —Sir Alan Brooke
…… “If the unhelpful British attitude continues, then I
shall go home.” —General Dwight Eisenhower
Source: David Irving, The War Between the Generals: Inside the Allied High Command
GROVE AND
BLOOMBERG
ON ACTION
"I think it is very important
for you to do two things:
act on your temporary
conviction as if it was a
real conviction; and when
you realize that you are
wrong, correct course very
quickly.” —Andy Grove
“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.
PAUL ARDEN:
Whatever You Think
Think the Opposite
“TRAPPED. It’s not because you are
making the wrong decisions. It’s
because you are making the right
ones. We try to make sensible
decisions based on the facts in front
of us. The problem with making
sensible decisions is that so is
everybody else.”
Source: Paul Arden, Whatever You Think Think the Opposite
“I WANT. Making the safe decision is dull,
predictable and leads nowhere new. The
unsafe decision causes you to think and
respond in a way you hadn’t thought of.
And that thought will lead to other
thoughts which will help you achieve
what you want. Start taking bad decisions
and it will take you to a place where
others only dream of being.”
Source: 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
“THE AGE OF UNREASON. Old golfers don’t
win (it’s not an absolute, it’s a general rule).
Why? The older golfer can hit the ball as far
as the younger one. He chips and putts
equally well. … So why does he take the extra
stroke that denies him victory? Experience.
He knows the downside, what happens if it
goes wrong, which makes him more cautious.
The younger player is either ignorant or
reckless to caution. That is his edge. It is the
same with all of us. Knowledge makes us play
safe. The secret is to stay childish.”
Source: Paul Arden, Whatever You Think Think the Opposite
[If you are a brilliant listener
who rarely interjects the
speaker will think you are
brilliant—because he will have
been listening to himself.]
Source: Paul Arden, Whatever You Think Think the Opposite
“WHAT IS A GOOD
IDEA? One that
happens is. If it
doesn’t, it isn’t.”*
*Even a bad idea that happens is better
than a “good idea” that doesn’t
Source: Paul Arden, Whatever You Think Think the Opposite
“DON’T STAY TOO LONG IN A
JOB. … FIRED? IT’S THE BEST
THING THAT CAN HAPPEN TO
YOU.* (*You hated your situation anyway.) …
DON’T GO TO UNIVERSITY.
GO TO WORK.* (*Going to university
usually means, ‘I don’t know what to do with my
life, so I’ll go to university.’)”
Source: Paul Arden, Whatever You Think Think the Opposite
“DON’T BE NEGATIVE ABOUT
REJECTION. When I was Creative
Director at Saatchi’s I gave a young
man a grilling for producing an
underwhelming piece of work. Later in
the day, somebody told me he was in
his office crying. I went along to
console him. I said, ‘Don’t worry, I was
useless at your age too.’”
Source: Paul Arden, Whatever You Think Think the Opposite
“SIMPLY CHANGE YOUR
LIFE. The world is what
you think of it. So think of
it differently and your life
will change.”
Source: Paul Arden, Whatever You Think Think the Opposite
“The best piece of advice ever given
was by the art director of Harper’s
Bazaar, Alexey Brodovitch, to the
young Richard Avedon, destined to
become one of the world’s great
photographers. The advice was
simple: ‘ASTONISH ME.’ Bear these
words in mind, and whatever you do
will be creative.”
Source: Paul Arden, Whatever You Think Think the Opposite
“Which slogan would you choose for the V&A?
THE MUSEUM OF THE ARTS
THE ART OF THE MUSEUM
THE NEW V&A
IT’S NOT FOR BORING OLD ARTS
AN ACE CAFF WITH QUITE A NICE
MUSEUM ATTACHED
“In a museum, the first question is ‘Where’s the loo?’ the second is ‘Where is the
café?’ A visit to a museum is an outing it should be entertaining as well as
elevating. Curators have to conserve art, and directors are there to serve the
public, the curators and themselves. So put yourself in their position. Which line
are you going to choose? One which will be effective with the public, or one that
preserves the dignity of the V&A? To her everlasting credit, Elizabeth Esteve-Coll,
then Director of the V&A, chose the last line.”
Source: Paul Arden, Whatever You Think Think the Opposite
Let Us
March
Tom Peters/0523.06
“The pen is mightier
than the sword, but
nothing compares
with the vocal cord.”
—DAW/Vineyard Gazette
“The problem with
communication ...is the
ILLUSION that it has
been accomplished.”
—George Bernard Shaw
“Speech is
power: speech is
to persuade, to
convert, to
compel.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Everyone lives by
selling something.”
—Robert Louis Stevenson
“If you don’t
listen, you don’t
sell anything.”
—Carolyn Marland/Managing Director/Guardian Group
“If all my possessions
were taken from me with
one exception, I would
choose to keep the
power of speech, for
by it I would regain all
the rest.”
—Daniel Webster
“The only reason
to give a speech
is to change the
world.”
—JFK
“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.
“Nothing is so
contagious as
enthusiasm.”
—Samuel Taylor Coleridge
“It’s always
showtime.”
—David D’Alessandro, Career Warfare
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 cups
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.
“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.
SALES.
“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
“It’s always
showtime.”
—David D’Alessandro, Career Warfare
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!!!! (Eg, 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)
Connect!
Tom Peters/0430.06
Only
connect!
—E.M. Forster, Howards End
Only connect!
That was the whole of her
sermon.
Only connect the prose and the
passion, and both will be
exalted,
And human love will be seen
at its height.
Live in fragments no longer.
Only connect ...
—E.M. Forster, Howards End
THE
“SOFT”
SIDE
Tom Peters/0430.06
THE
“WOMEN’S
ECONOMY”
Tom Peters/0430.06
“Forget China,
India and the
Internet: Economic
Growth Is Driven
by Women.”
—Headline, Economist,
April 15, Leader, page 14
“Forget China, India and the
Internet: Economic Growth Is
Driven by Women.” [Headline.] “Even today in the
modern, developed world, surveys show that parents still prefer
to have a boy rather than a girl. One longstanding reason boys
have been seen as a greater blessing has been that they are
expected to become better economic providers for their parents’
old age. Yet it is time for parents to think again. Girls may now
be a better investment.” “Girls get better grades in school than
boys, and in most developed countries more women than men
go to university. Women will thus be better equipped for the
new jobs of the 21st century, in which brains count a lot more
than brawn. … And women are more likely to provide sound
advice on investing their parents’ nest—eg: surveys show that
women consistently achieve higher financial returns than men
do. Furthermore, the increase in female employment in the rich
world has been the main driving force of growth in the last
couple of decades. Those women have contributed more to
global GDP growth than have either new technology or the
new giants, India and China.”
Source: Economist, April 15, Leader, page 14
“A Guide to Womenomics:
The Future of the World Economy Lies
Increasingly in Female Hands.” (Headline.) More
Continuing on page 73:
stats: Around the globe since 1980, women have filled “two
new jobs for everyone taken by a man.” “Women are
becoming more important in the global marketplace not just
as workers, but also as consumers, entrepreneurs, managers
and investors.” Re consumption, 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%.” A couple of
final assertions: (1) It is now agreed that “the single best
investment that can be made in the developing world” is
educating girls. (2) Also, surprisingly, nations with the highest
female laborforce participation rates, such as Sweden and the
U.S., have the highest fertility rates; and those with the lowest
participation rates, such as Italy and Germany, have the
lowest fertility rates.
Source: Economist, April 15, page 73
"Women have been making
educational progress, and the
men are stuck. They haven't
just fallen behind women.
They have fallen behind
changes in the job market.”
—Tom Mortenson, The Pell Institute for the Study of
Opportunity in Higher Education (AOL-AP, 060206)
“The Importance of Sex: Forget China, India, and the
Internet—Economic Growth Is Driven By Women”
*Better grades
*More go to university (“21st century, brains count”)
*“Far more” training to be docs (UK)
*Better investment decisions (greatest wealth
transfer ever)
*Growing female employment rate #1 driver
of growth (women>high tech, China, India)
*More women in gov’t increase econ growth
emphasis (Invest health, ed, infrastructure, poverty)
Source: Economist/0415
READTHISBOOK
Read.
This.
Book.
Damn it.
“Women are
the majority
market”
—Fara Warner/The Power of the Purse
USA/F.Stats: Short ’n (Very) Sweet
>50% of stock ownership, $13T total wealth (2X in 15 years)
>$7T consumer & biz spending (>50% GDP; > Japan GDP);
>80% consumer spdg (Consumer = 70% all spdg)
57% BA degrees (2002); = ed & social strata, no wage gap
60% Internet users; >50% primary users of
electronic equipment
>50% biz trips
WimBiz: Employees > F500; 10M+: 33% all US Biz
Pay from 62% in 1980 to 80% today; equal if education,
social status, etc are equal
60% work; 46M (divorced, widowed, never married)
Source: Fara Warner, The Power of the Purse
“The left hand rocks the cradle, The
right hand rules the world.” —DeBeers*
(*created new $4B segment in 5 years)
“In those two simple sentences I saw
a view of women I had not seen
before in advertising. Here was a
company that had the guts to talk
openly about what women were still
struggling to understand and
embrace.” —Fara Warner, The Power of the Purse
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
“To help revive the company’s sales
and profits, McDonald’s shifted its
strategy toward women from one of
‘minority’ consumers who served as
a conduit to the important children’s
market to one in which women are the
majority consumers and the main
drivers behind menu and promotion
innovation.” —Fara Warner, The Power of the Purse
“What women [in focus groups] told
us was that all moms were
women, but not all women
are moms—so why weren’t
we trying to reach all
women? We realized we
should be finding the woman
inside the mom.” —Kay Napier, SVP
Marketing (from Fara Warner, The Power of the Purse)
Faith, Lys, Marti, Fara …
Targeting the New
Professional Woman:
How to Market and Sell to
Today’s 57 Million
Working Women.
—Gerry Myers
Goodnight
and Good
Luck.
Unparalled in “Our” Professional Lifetime*
Terrorism
Middle East instability
H5N1
China screwups
Globalization backlash
Energy dependence
Environmental threats
Life sciences
“Cold War” with China
Fraying American fabric
U.S. impotence in the face of Asia’s rise
*Current leaders were not Cold War leaders
“This is a dangerous world and
it is going to become more dangerous.”
“We may not be
interested in chaos
but chaos is interested
in us.”
Source: Robert Cooper, The Breaking of Nations:
Order and Chaos in the Twenty-first Century
“Not a single item in our trillion-dollar arsenal
can compare with the genius of the suicide
bomber—the breakthrough weapon of our time.
Our intelligence systems cannot locate him, our
arsenal cannot deter him, and, all too often, our
soldiers cannot stop him before it’s too late. A
man of invincible conviction—call it delusion, if
you will—armed with explosives stolen or
purchased for a handful of soiled bills can have
a strategic impact that staggers governments.
Abetted by the global media, the suicide bomber
is the wonder weapon of the age.”
—The Weekly Standard, 0206.06
Chicagoland’s
Mystery
Disappearances …
New Economy?!
Sergey +
Larry >
Harvard/370
New Economy?!
Genentech09,
Amgen09
> Merck09
(70K-3/394B-5)
“Deutsche Bank Moves Half of Its
Back-office Jobs to India”/
headline/FT/0327; 500
of
900 Research;
JPMorgan Chase—30% backoffice by 12.31.07
Wal*Mart + Home
Depot + Walt Disney +
Intel + Microsoft +
Pfizer = Flat
Source: “Blue Chip Blues”, Cover, BW, 0417.06
Health:
Century21.Job # 1
(HC21.J1)
Tom Peters/0428.2006
Quality!
Prevention!
Wellness!
Chronic care!
Childhood obesity!
H5N1!
Quality!
Prevention!
Wellness!
Chronic care!
Childhood obesity!
H5N1!
2 38
m
s
Welcome to the Homer Simpson Hospital
a/k/a
The Killing
Fields
“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)
Quality!
Prevention!
Wellness!
Chronic care!
Childhood obesity!
H5N1!
Childhood
Obesity >
Terrorism
Quality!
Prevention!
Wellness!
Chronic care!
Childhood obesity!
H5N1!
The Ultimate “Culture Change”
“Healthcare”
vs.
“Health”
Quality (100K+ deaths)
“Evidence/Outcomes-based” medicine
IS/IT-in-health(care) revolution
Wellness/Prevention
Health“care” to Health “culture” transformation
Wash your hands!
Home-care (as the population rapidly ages)
Med-school re-orientation
“Public health” emphasis
Childhood Obesity
Mind-boggling (15 years?) social-moral-technological
impact of life sciences (“the Singularity”?)
H5N1/WMDs/Environmental degradation
Risk assessment (private, public)
Market opportunity
Public vs/+ Private responsibilities & partnerships
Africa! (Unconscionable failure to attend to/staggering Health consequences for all)
Re-imagine Healthcare: Reportcard2006
Evidence-based/Outcomes-based ……………….………...... D
Pay-for-performance ………………………………………….… D
IS/IT (general) ………………………………..………………..…. CUse of information (for decisionmaking-measurement) .… CEMR (Electronic Medical Records) ……………………..….... C-/D
CPOE (Computerized Physician Order Entry) ……….……. C-/D
Quality/100K+ unnecessary deaths …………..……… D-(kind)
Acute care to chronic care-home care shift ………….….... D/DAcute-care to Prevention/Wellness Obsession…..… D/DPatient-centric/Client-centric………………………………….. D
Docs’ acceptance of “evidence-based” …………............… D/D“Revolutionary”-intensity Incentives re evidence …..……. DChildhood obesity epidemic …………………………….. DH5N1 preparedness ………………………………….…….. D
Corporate focus on Prevention/Wellness…………..…..…..... C-/D
Individual focus on Prevention/Wellness…………………..… D
Individuals’ health education/self-management …….…...…. C-
Workforce acceptance of self-responsibility ….…….…...….. CWorkforce transition to “Brand You” attitude……..……..….. C-/D
3 March 2006/Tom Peters
“If God spoke to me by saying, ‘Mark, you’re down to
your last three words: What would you want to say to
your fellow humans that would make the most positive
impact?’ It would be a close call between Love Thy
Wash Your
Hands .
Neighbor and
A close third would be Move,
Move, Move.”
—Mark Pettus, M.D., The Savvy Patient
“The most important thing you can do to keep
from getting sick is to
hands. ”
wash your
—CDC/National Center for Infectious Diseases
Tommy Thompson: take
your
meds; chronic illness
75% to 80%; “curative
healthcare system” to
“prevention system”
Source: Advertising Age, 05.08.06
Wash your hands.
Apply #50 sunscreen.
Banish (TOTALLY) high fructose corn syrup.
Exercise “30-7.”
Breathe.
Stockpile for H5N1.* (*not Tamiflu!)
EXCELLENCE.
HEALTH.
MARKET
OPPORTUNITY.
Quality!
Prevention!
Wellness!
Chronic care!
Childhood obesity!
H5N1!
Childhood
Obesity >
Terrorism
Women.
Women business owners.
Boomers-Geezers.
Single-adults (Urban)
Health-Wellness-Chronic Care
THE WORK MATTERS:
On Self-reliance,
Becoming a “Change
Insurgent” and the
Power of Peculiarities
“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
“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
Characteristics of the “Also rans”*
“Minimize risk”
“Respect the chain of
command”
“Support the boss”
“Make budget”
*Fortune, on “Most Admired Global Corporations”
“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.
“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.”
“The key question isn’t ‘What fosters
creativity?’ But it is why in God’s name
isn’t everyone creative? Where was the
human potential lost? How was it
crippled? I think therefore a good
question might be not
why do people create? But why do
people not create or innovate? We
have got to abandon that sense of
amazement in the face of creativity,
as if it were a miracle if anybody
created anything.” —Abe Maslow
“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
Back to the Future: The “PSF”/
“Brand You” Idea Circa 1900*
William James (“What Makes a Life
“men with no
trade” “must sell to the
highest bidder their mere
muscular strength for so
many hours per day”
Significant”/1899):
* “Brand You”/2005 = “Tradesman”/1899
“Well-behaved
women rarely
make history.”
—Anita Borg, Institute for Women and Technology
M/3 of 10 (“I’m ready
& rarin’ to go!”)
F/8 of 10 (“I’ve still
got a ways to go.”)
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
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)
“I’m looking
for insane
commitment.”
—Twyla Tharp, The Creative Habit
“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
“My only goal is to
have no goals. The
goal, every time, is
that film, that very
moment.”
—Bernardo Bertolucci
“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.
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
Only
connect!
—E.M. Forster, Howards End
Only connect!
That was the whole of her
sermon.
Only connect the prose and the
passion, and both will be
exalted,
And human love will be seen
at its height.
Live in fragments no longer.
Only connect ...
—E.M. Forster, Howards End
RIGHT
THINGS.
THINGS
RIGHT.
Not!
“Leadership is doing
the right things.
Management is doing
things right.”
—WB et al.
“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
“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
“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
You only find
oil if you
drill wells.
Source: The Hunters, by John Masters, Canadian O & G wildcatter
EXCELLENCE.
ALWAYS.
Tom Peters/ExpoManagement
Mexico D.F./08June 2006
Manhole
Cover
Madness and
More ….
Chicagoland’s
Mystery
Disappearances …
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
“Thaksinomics” (after Thaksin Shinawatra, PM)/
“Bangkok Fashion City”:
“managed
asset reflation”
(add to brand value of Thai textiles by demonstrating
flair
and design excellence)
Source: The Straits Times/2004
“Forget China,
India and the
Internet: Economic
Growth Is Driven
by Women.”
—Headline, Economist,
April 15, 2006, Leader, page 14
EXCELLENCE.
THE MANDATE.
“If you don’t like
change, you’re
going to like
irrelevance even
less.”
—General Eric Shinseki, Chief of Staff. U. S. Army
“It is not the strongest
of the species that
survives, nor the most
intelligent, but the one
most responsive
to change.” —Charles Darwin
“We are in a
brawl with no
rules.”
—Paul Allaire
Sam’s
Secret
#1!
"I think it is very important
for you to do two things:
act on your temporary
conviction as if it was a
real conviction; and when
you realize that you are
wrong, correct course very
quickly.” —Andy Grove
“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.
“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
“Reward excellent
failures. Punish
mediocre
successes.”
Phil Daniels, Sydney exec
“[Other]
admirals more
frightened of
losing than anxious
to win”
Nelson’s secret:
EXCELLENCE.
STARTERS.
Radio City Music Hall
September 2005
Franchise Lost!
TP:
“How many of you
[600]
crave
really
a new Chevy?”
NYC/IIR/061205
P.P.E.E.R.R.E.
People.
Product.
Execution.
Enthusiasm.
Relentless.
Re-invent.
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
A Comment on Tom Peters in the
Context of the Reagan Revolution …
“Tom Peters and Steve
Jobs did more to make
business cool ‘for the
rest of us’ than any
others.” —Rich Karlgaard, publisher, Forbes
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)
Adversaries
B-schools (crappy at soft skills, implementation, leadership)
Strategy-is-all
By-the-numbers management
Dis-passionate management
Focus groups
Intuition discounted
Leading as an intellectual task
Leading without passion
Cool language in Hot times
Dilbert (accepting cubicle slavery)
Bigness per se (severe scale limitations—even at Microsoft)
White guys! (not really, but enough already)
18-44 emphasis in marketing (geezers > youth for foreseeable future)
-Cost > +Revenue (cost cutting more important than organic revenue
growth)
CI (continuous improvement in an age of discontinuous world)
LESS THAN THE NO-HOLDS-BARRED PURSUIT OF
EXCELLENCE
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.
YOU & ME.
“In Tom’s world, it’s
always better to try a
swan dive and deliver a
colossal belly flop than
to step timidly off the
board while holding
your nose.”
—Fast Company /October2003
“This is the true joy of Life, the
being used for a purpose
recognized by yourself as a
mighty one … the being a force of
Nature instead of a feverish,
selfish little clod of ailments
and grievances complaining that
the world will not devote itself
to making you happy.”
—GB Shaw/Man and Superman
“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.
THE END.