Tom Peters’ Character. Excellence. Quality. FICCI-ASQ/Delhi/29 April 2009 To appreciate this presentation [and ensure that it is not a mess], you need Microsoft fonts: NOTE: “Showcard Gothic,” “Ravie,” “Chiller” and “Verdana”
Download ReportTranscript Tom Peters’ Character. Excellence. Quality. FICCI-ASQ/Delhi/29 April 2009 To appreciate this presentation [and ensure that it is not a mess], you need Microsoft fonts: NOTE: “Showcard Gothic,” “Ravie,” “Chiller” and “Verdana”
Tom Peters’ Character. Excellence. Quality. FICCI-ASQ/Delhi/29 April 2009 To appreciate this presentation [and ensure that it is not a mess], you need Microsoft fonts: NOTE: “Showcard Gothic,” “Ravie,” “Chiller” and “Verdana” Slides at … tompeters.com Dictionary.com/Quality: Character. Excellence. Character. Excellence. Quality. “The doctor interrupts after …* *Source: Jerome Groopman, How Doctors Think The four most important words in any organization are … “What do you think?” Source: courtesy Dave Wheeler, posted at tompeters.com “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 He was seriously interested in who you were and what you had to say.” college president. Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot, Respect “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) Conrad Hilton, at a gala celebrating his career, was asked, “What was the most important lesson you’ve learned in you long and distinguished career?” His immediate answer … “remember to tuck the shower curtain inside the bathtub” “Execution is strategy.” —Fred Malek Listen! Engage! Respect! Inspire! Sweat the details! Execute! Listen! Engage! Respect! Inspire! Sweat the details! Execute! Quality is a choice … Not a system!* *Though the right system helps enormously once you’ve made the choice. “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 part one. Character. Excellence. Quality. 1977 Palo Alto MBWA 1982 Excellence1982: The Bedrock “Eight Basics” 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. A Bias for Action Close to the Customer Autonomy and Entrepreneurship Productivity Through People Hands On, Value-Driven Stick to the Knitting Simple Form, Lean Staff Simultaneous Loose-Tight Properties” “Breakthrough” 82* People! Customers! Action! Values! *In Search of Excellence Hard Is Soft Soft Is Hard Hard Is Soft (Plans, #s) Soft Is Hard (people, customers, values, relationships)) 2007 Siberia Why in the World did you go to Siberia? An emotional, vital, innovative, joyful, creative, entrepreneurial endeavor that elicits maximum Enterprise* ** (*at its best): concerted human potential in the wholehearted service of others.** **Employees, Customers, Suppliers, Communities, Owners, Temporary partners 2007 Sydney Organizations exist to serve. Period. Leaders live to serve. Period. … no less than Cathedrals in which the full and awesome power of the Imagination and Spirit and native Entrepreneurial flair of diverse individuals is unleashed in passionate pursuit of … Excellence. “Leaders ‘SERVE’ people. Period.” —inspired by Robert Greenleaf Good News 2009: Leadership* is a sacred trust. *President, classroom teacher, CEO, shop foreman Spring 2009 Amsterdam Helsinki Tallinn Vilnius San Antonio Bogotá Abu Dhabi Shanghai Seoul New Delhi “You have to treat your employees like customers.” —Herb Kelleher, complete answer, upon being asked his “secrets to success” Source: Joe Nocera, NYT, “Parting Words of an Airline Pioneer,” on the occasion of Herb Kelleher’s retirement after 37 years at Southwest Airlines (SWA’s pilots union took out a full-page ad in USA Today thanking HK for all he had done; across the way in Dallas American Airlines’ pilots were picketing the Annual Meeting) The Customer Comes Second —Hal Rosenbluth and Diane McFerrin Peters* (*no relation) “We are a ‘Life Success’ Company.” Dave Liniger, founder, RE/MAX The Dream Manager —Matthew Kelly “An organization can only become the-best-version-of-itself to the extent that the people who drive that organization are striving to become better-versions-of-themselves.” “A company’s purpose is to become the-best-version-of-itself. The What is an employee’s purpose? Most would say, ‘to help the company achieve its purpose’—but they would be wrong. That is certainly part of the employee’s role, but an employee’s primary purpose is to become the-bestversion-of-himself or –herself. … When a question is: company forgets that it exists to serve customers, it quickly Our employees are our first customers, and our most important customers.” goes out of business. “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 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.” Leaders’ “Mt Everest Test” “free to do his or her absolute best” … “allow its members to discover their greatness.” “No matter what the situation, [the great manager’s] first response is always to think about the individual concerned and how things can be arranged to help that individual experience success.” —Marcus Buckingham, The One Thing You Need to Know “Business has to give people enriching, rewarding lives, or it's simply not worth doing.” —Richard Branson part two. nudge. Little = 7X. 7:30A-8:00P. F12A. 7:30AM = 7:15AM. 8:00PM = 8:15PM. “No” = 2* *Yes Bank 2,000,000 Don’t like it? Don’t pay. Source: Granite Rock Co. Red light flashes= -10% Promised vs Delivered: +15% Source; Elgin Corrugated Box Source: Container Store/increase average sale per shopper Big carts = Source: Wal*Mart Bag sizes = New markets: Source: PepsiCo >100 feet = 100 miles Round = 2X/allx 2-cent candy <TGW and … >TGR [Things Gone WRONG-Things Gone RIGHT] “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 Acquire vs maintain*: *Recession goal: Higher “market share” current customers BEGINS (and ENDS) It in the … parking lot* *Disney “Kindness is free.” none! 139,380 former patients from 225 hospitals: Press Ganey Assoc: none of THE top 15 factors determining Patient Satisfaction referred to patient’s health outcome P.S. directly related to Staff Interaction P.P.S. directly correlated with Employee Satisfaction Source: Putting Patients First, Susan Frampton, Laura Gilpin, Patrick Charmel “There is a misconception that supportive interactions require more staff or more time and are therefore more costly. Although labor costs are a substantial part of any hospital budget, the interactions themselves add nothing to the budget. Kindness is free. Listening to patients or answering their questions costs nothing. It can be argued that negative interactions—alienating patients, being non-responsive to their needs or limiting their sense of control—can be very costly. … Angry, frustrated or frightened patients may be combative, withdrawn and less cooperative—requiring far more time than it would have taken to interact with them initially in a positive way.” —Putting Patients First, Susan Frampton, Laura Gilpin, Patrick Charmel “Courtesies of a small and trivial character are the ones which strike deepest in the grateful and appreciating heart.” —Henry Clay “Perception is all there is” Comeback [big, quick response] >> Perfection Socks = 10,000 90K in U.S.A. ICUs on any given day; 178 steps/day in ICU. 50% stays result in “serious complication” Source: Atul Gawande, “The Checklist” (New Yorker, 1210.07) **Peter Pronovost, Johns Hopkins **Checklist, line infections **Nurses/permission to stop procedure if doc, other not following checklist **In 1 year, 10-day line-infection rate: 11% to … 0% Source: Atul Gawande, “The Checklist” (New Yorker, 1210.07) **Docs, nurses encouraged to make checklists on whatever process-procedure they choose **Within weeks, average stay in ICU down 50% Source: Atul Gawande, “The Checklist” (New Yorker, 1210.07) Little = (1) Amenable to rapid experimentation/ failure “free” (PR, $$) (2) Quick to implement/ Quick to Roll out (3) Inexpensive to implement/Roll out (4) Huge multiplier (5) An “Attitude” (1) Half-day/25 ideas (2) One week/5 experiments (3) One month/Select best 2 (4) 60-90 days/Roll out “Design is everything. Everything is design.” “We are all designers.” Inspiration: The Power of Design: A Force for Transforming Everything, Richard Farson part three. The Recession 44. Forty-four “Secrets” and “clever Strategies” For dealing with the Recession of 2008-XXXX I am constantly asked for 'secrets' “strategies/ for surviving the recession.” I try to appear wise and informed— and parade original, sophisticated thoughts. But if you want to know what’s really going through my head, see the list that follows. 44 “Secrets” and “Clever Strategies” For Dealing with the Recession of 2008-XXXX You come earlier. You leave later. You work harder. You may well work for less; and, if so, you adapt to the untoward circumstances with a smile—even if it kills you inside. You volunteer to do more. You dig deep and always bring a good attitude to work. You fake it if your good attitude flags. You literally practice your "game face" in the mirror in the morning, and in the loo mid-morning. You give new meaning to the idea and intensive practice of “visible management.” 44 “Secrets” and “Clever Strategies” For Dealing with the Recession of 2008-XXXX You take better than usual care of yourself and encourage others to do the same—physical well-being determines mental well-being and response to stress. You shrug off shit that flows downhill in your direction—buy a shovel or a “pre-worn” raincoat on eBay. You try to forget about “the good old days”— nostalgia is self-destructive. You buck yourself up with the thought that “this too shall pass”—but then remind yourself that it might not pass any time soon, and so you re-dedicate yourself to making the absolute best of what you have now. 44 “Secrets” and “Clever Strategies” For Dealing with the Recession of 2008-XXXX You work the phones and then work the phones some more—and stay in touch with positively everyone. You frequently invent breaks from routine, including “weird” ones—“changeups” prevent wallowing and bring a fresh perspective. You eschew all forms of personal excess. You simplify. You sweat the details as never before. You sweat the details as never before. You sweat the details as never before. You raise to the sky and maintain at all costs the Standards of Excellence by which you unfailingly evaluate your own performance. You are maniacal when it comes to responding to even the slightest screw-up. 44 “Secrets” and “Clever Strategies” For Dealing with the Recession of 2008-XXXX You find ways to be around young people and to keep young people around—they are less likely to be members of the “sky is falling” school. You learn new tricks of your trade. You remind yourself that this is not just something to be “gotten through”—it is the Final Exam of character. You network like a demon. You network inside the company—get to know more of the folks who “do the real work.” You network outside the company—get to know more of the folks who “do the real work” in vendor-customer outfits. 44 “Secrets” and “Clever Strategies” For Dealing with the Recession of 2008-XXXX You thank others by the truckload if good things happen—and take the heat yourself if bad things happen. You behave kindly, but you don't sugarcoat or hide the truth--humans are startlingly resilient and rumors are the real killers. You treat small successes as if they were Superbowl victories—and celebrate and commend accordingly. You shrug off the losses (ignoring what's going on in your tummy), and get back on the horse and immediately try again. You avoid negative people to the extent you can—pollution kills. You eventually read the gloom-sprayers the riot act. 44 “Secrets” and “Clever Strategies” For Dealing with the Recession of 2008-XXXX You give new meaning to the word "thoughtful.“ You don’t put limits on the flowers budget— “bright and colorful” works marvels. You redouble, re-triple your efforts to "walk in your customer's shoes." (Especially if the shoes smell.) You mind your manners—and accept others’ lack of manners in the face of their strains. You are kind to all mankind. You keep your shoes shined. You leave the blame game at the office door. You call out the congenital politicians in no uncertain terms. You become a paragon of personal accountability. And then you pray. part four. innovation. Base Case “I am often asked by would-be entrepreneurs seeking escape from life within huge corporate structures, ‘How do I build a small firm for Buy a very large one and just wait.” myself?’ The answer seems obvious: —Paul Ormerod, Why Most Things Fail: Evolution, Extinction and Economics “Mr. Foster and his McKinsey colleagues collected detailed performance data stretching back 40 years for 1,000 U.S. companies. They found that none of the long-term survivors managed to outperform the market. Worse, the longer companies had been in the database, the worse they did.” —Financial Times You don’t get better by being bigger. You Dick Kovacevich: “Data drawn from the real world attest to a fact that is beyond Everything in existence tends to deteriorate.” our control: —Norberto Odebrecht, Education Through Work #4 Japan #2T USA #2T China #4 Japan #3 USA #2 China #1 Germany Reason!!! Mittelstand Jim Penman/ Jim’s Group Jim’s Mowing Canada Jim’s Mowing UK Jim’s Antennas Jim’s Bookkeeping Jim’s Building Maintenance Jim’s Carpet Cleaning Jim’s Car Cleaning Jim’s Computer Services Jim’s Dog Wash Jim’s Driving School Jim’s Fencing Jim’s Floors Jim’s Painting Jim’s Paving Jim’s Pergolas [gazebos] Jim’s Pool Care Jim’s Pressure Cleaning Jim’s Roofing Jim’s Security Doors Jim’s Trees Jim’s Window Cleaning Jim’s Windscreens Note: Download, free, Jim Penman’s book: What Will They Franchise Next? The Story of Jim’s Group Try it. Try it. Try it ry it. Try it. Screw up. Try it. Try it. Try t. Try it. Try it. Try t. Try it. Screw it up t. Try it. Try it. try “We have a ‘strategic plan.’ It’s called doing things.” — Herb Kelleher “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 Culture of Prototyping “Effective prototyping may the most valuable core competence an be innovative organization can hope to have.” —Michael Schrage “Experiment fearlessly” Source: BW0821.06, Type A Organization Strategies/ “How to Hit a Moving Target”—Tactic #1 “Fail . Forward. Fast.” High Tech CEO, Pennsylvania “The secret of fast progress is inefficiency, fast and furious and numerous failures.” —Kevin Kelly We are the company we keep “You will become like the five people you associate with the most … this can be either a blessing or a curse.” —Billy Cox The “We are what we eat” axiom: At its core, every (!!!) relationship-partnership decision (employee, vendor, customer, etc) is a strategic decision about: “Innovate, ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ ” 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 CUSTOMERS: “Future-defining customers may account for only 2% to 3% of your total, but they represent a crucial window on the future.” Adrian Slywotzky, Mercer Consultants “[CEO A.G.] Lafley has shifted P&G’s focus on inventing all its own products to others’ inventions at least half the time. developing One successful example, Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, based on a product found in an Osaka market.” —Fortune Axiom: Never use a vendor who is not in the top quartile (decile?) in their industry on R&D spending!* *Inspired by Hummingbird “The Billion-man Research Team: Companies offering work to online communities are reaping the benefits of ‘crowdsourcing.’” —Headline, FT, 0110.07 Rob McEwen/CEO/ Goldcorp Inc./ Red Lake gold Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything, Don Tapscott & Anthony Williams Source: “Diverse groups of problem solvers—groups of people with diverse tools—consistently outperformed groups of the best and the brightest. If I formed two groups, one random (and therefore diverse) and one consisting of the best individual performers, the first group almost always did better. … Diversity trumped ability.” —Scott Page, The Difference: How the Power of Diversity Creates Better Groups, Firms, Schools, and Societies Diversity CM Prof Richard Florida on “Creative “You cannot get a technologically innovative place … unless it’s open to weirdness, eccentricity and difference.” Capital”: Source: New York Times/06.01.2002 94% of loans to … women* *Microlending; “Banker to the poor”; Grameen Bank; Muhammad Yunus; 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner “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 X =XFX* *Excellence = Cross-functional Excellence Never waste a lunch! ???? % XF lunches* *Measure! (Way) Underutilized Lever Space! Space! Space! Space! Geologists + Geophysicists + A little bit of love = Oil >100 feet = 100 miles Lunch + Proximity > SAP/Oracle The “XF-50”: 50 Ways to Enhance Cross-Functional Effectiveness and Deliver Speed, “Service Excellence” and “Value-added Customer ‘Solutions’”* *Entire “XF-50” List is at Appendix ONE Up, Up, Up, Up the Value-added Ladder. “M” = $0 IB : $55B* M *Also HP-EDS Planetary Rainmaker-in-Chief! “Palmisano’s strategy is to expand tech’s borders by pushing users—and entire industries—toward radically different business models. The payoff for IBM would be access to an ocean of revenue—Palmisano estimates it at $500 billion a year —that technology companies have never been able to touch.” —Fortune “THE GIANT STALKING BIG OIL: How Schlumberger Is Rewriting the Rules of the Energy Game.”: “IPM [Integrated Project Management] strays from [Schlumberger’s] traditional role as a service provider and moves deeper into areas once dominated by the majors.” Source: BusinessWeek cover story, January 2008 “Big Brown’s New Bag: UPS Aims to Be the Traffic Manager for Corporate America” —Headline/BW “UPS wants to take over the sweet spot in the endless loop of goods, information and capital that all the packages [it moves] represent.” —ecompany.com (E.g., UPS Logistics manages the logistics of 4.5M Ford vehicles, from 21 mfg. sites to 6,000 NA dealers) Huge: Customer Satisfaction versus … Customer Success The Value-added Ladder Services Goods Raw Materials (USA, EU) (China, Germany, Japan) The Value-added Ladder/TRANSFORMATION Customer Success/ Gamechanging Solutions Services Goods Raw Materials Up, Up, Up, Up the Value-added Ladder. “Design is treated like a religion at BMW.” —Fortune All Equal Except … “At Sony we assume that all products of our competitors have basically the same technology, price, performance and features. Design is the only thing that differentiates one product from another in the marketplace.” —Norio Ohga “We don’t have a good language to talk about this kind of thing. In most people’s vocabularies, design means veneer. … But to me, nothing could be further from the meaning of design. Design is fundamental soul of a man-made the creation.” —Steve Jobs DESIGN is the PRINCIPAL DIFFERENTIATOR between Axiom: “LOVE” and “HATE”! Message: Men cannot design for women’s needs. “Forget China, India and the Internet: Economic Growth Is Driven by Women.” Source: Headline, Economist “Since 1970, women have held two out of every three new jobs created.” —FT, 10.03.2006 “Women are the majority market” —Fara Warner/The Power of the Purse “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 Tokyo the stockmarket’s rise of 13%.” —Economist, April 15 The Perfect Answer Jill and Jack buy slacks in black… “Women don’t buy They join them.” brands. EVEolution 2.6 vs. Age 3 days, baby girls 2X eye contact. “People powered”: Source: Martha Barletta, Marketing to Women “AS LEADERS, WOMEN RULE: New Studies find that female managers outshine their male counterparts in almost every measure” TITLE/ Special Report/ BusinessWeek 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 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? “One thing is certain: Women’s rise to power, which is linked to the increase in wealth per capita, is happening in all domains and at all levels of society. Women are no longer content to provide efficient labor or to be consumers with rising budgets and more autonomy to spend. … This is just the beginning. The phenomenon will only grow as girls prove to be more successful than For a number of observers, we have already entered the age of ‘womenomics,’ the economy as thought out and practiced by a woman.” —Aude Zieseniss de Thuin, Financial boys in the school system. Times, 10.03.2006 “ ‘Womenomics,’ the economy as thought out and practiced by a woman.” —Aude Zieseniss de Thuin, Financial Times, 10.03.2006 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! “People turning 50 more than half of today have their adult life ahead of them.” —Bill Novelli, 50+: Igniting a Revolution to Reinvent America 44-65: “New Customer Majority” * *45% larger than 18-43; 60% larger by 2010 Source: Ageless Marketing, David Wolfe & Robert Snyder We are the Aussies & Kiwis & Americans & Canadians. We are the Western Europeans & Japanese. We are the fastest growing, the biggest, the wealthiest, the boldest, the most (yes) ambitious, the most experimental & exploratory, the most different, the most indulgent, the most difficult & demanding, the most service & experience obsessed, the most vigorous, (the least vigorous,) the most health conscious, the most female, the most profoundly important commercial market in the history of the we will be the Center of your universe for the next twenty-five years. We have arrived! world—and Innovation Index: How many of your Top 5 Strategic Initiatives/Key Projects score 8 or higher [out of 10] on a “Weird”/ “Profound”/ “Wow”/“Game- changer” Scale? The quality and quantity and imaginativeness of innovation shall be the same in all functions —e.g., in HR and Iron Innovation Equality Law: purchasing as much as in marketing or product development. part five. The quality 121. 121 Random Thoughts on quality, emphasizing the variables that are often missing in conventional quality programs Tom Peters/28 May 2009 1. Quality is a reception desk that enhances the brand. 2. Quality is the enthusiasm of the receptionist’s greeting. 3. Quality is thinking through beginnings and endings with nothing less than fanaticism. 4. Quality is survival drills. 5. Quality is making survival drills enjoyable. 6. Quality is saying thank you. 7. Quality is mastering apologies. 8. Quality is >18 seconds of “listening time.” 9. Quality is strategic listening. 10. Quality is professional listening. 11. Quality is black-belt listening. 12. Quality is outside signs with no missing light bulb. 13. Quality is the cleanest restrooms in the city. 14. Quality is inspecting restrooms onceper-hour. 15. Quality is the CEO getting restroom duty once a month. 16. Quality is a map to the hospital. 17. Quality is getting to a meeting, getting to every meeting … early! 18. Quality is “dress for success.” 19. Quality is knowing your customers’ children’s birthdays. 20. Quality is kindness. 21. Quality is the brand—for good or for ill. 22. Quality is an act of love. 23. Quality is understanding that upon occasion “shit happens.” 24. Quality is a green building. 25. Quality is 25 little programs that reduce waste. 26. Quality is a checklist in the ICU. 27. Quality is compression socks for every one who checks into a hospital. 28. Quality is washing your hands. 29. Quality is calling patients with heart problems once every two weeks to ask if they’re taking their aspirin. 30. Quality in a hospital is the little things—they are more important than the surgeon’s knifewielding skills. 31. Quality is matching your calendar with your priorities. 32. Quality is visible management. 33. Quality is leadership assignments within days of coming aboard. 34. Quality is studying the science of recruiting! 35. Quality is understanding that Enthusiasm is trait #1—for every job. 36. Quality is hiring people who, while determined, show a streak of kindness, 37. Quality is would-be recruits who show the same respect to the junior employee who ushers them into the interview room as they do to the interviewer himself. 38. Quality is understanding that if women are your primary customers, then women must be the majority in design and marketing and distribution and service! 39. Quality is the best 1st line supervisory training in the industry-region-India-the world. 40. Quality is strategy. 41. Strategy is quality. 42. Quality is Very Simple systems. 43. Quality is “beautiful” systems. 44. Quality is simplicity. 45. Quality is total war aimed at maintaining simplicity. 46. Quality is brilliant, concise written communication. 47. Quality is respect. 48. Quality is a “best place to work” award. 49. Quality is a clean street in front of the car dealership—even though it’s the city’s responsibility. 50. Quality is an ethos of dropping what you’re doing and helping someone out who’s behind schedule. 51. Quality is being sensitive to others’ personal problems—without being intrusive. 52. Quality is the best differentiator for recipients of micro-loans. 53. Quality is exactly as important at the “low” end of the market as it is at BMW and Hermes. 54. Quality is finishing the job on time. 55. Quality is finishing the job on time. 56. Quality is redundancy. 57. Quality is instruction manuals that could be long-listed for the Booker prize. 58. Quality is brilliant signage. 59. Quality is brilliant packaging. 60. Quality is ease of use. 61. Quality is ease of use at your website. 62. Quality is appreciating differences. 63. Quality is letting go those who suffer an enthusiasm deficit. 64. Quality is 100 things that make it clear that you respect every employee—the “problem employee” as much as the star. 65. Quality is acting with class after a screw up. 66. Quality is opening 15 minutes before opening time. 67. Quality is closing 15 minutes after closing time. 68. Quality is making a game out of finding systems characteristics that make customers’ lives miserable. 69. Quality is understanding that 100% of our revenue comes from 100% of our customers. 70. Quality is practicing Kindness—and saving money in the process. 71. Quality is taking the time (perhaps a lot of time) to explain things to people, understanding that the payoff is staggering. 72. Quality is about sharing virtually all information—rumors are worse than reality in 9 out of 9.1 cases. 73. Quality is a work space—every workspace— that feels “nice.” 74. Quality is not perfection. 75. Quality is a “disproportionate response” to our screw-ups. 76. Quality is “employees first, customers second.” 77. Quality is understanding that your employees are your most important customers. 78. Quality is using your website to the max to create ongoing customer engagement. 79. Quality is responding to customer comments at the website. 80. Quality is embracing the RPOC/Really Pissed Off Customer. 81. Quality is paying customers to tell you what you did wrong. 82. Quality is learning from mistakes while leaving the blame game back home. 83. Quality is appreciating that when you ask employees to do new things, the fastest learners will make the most grotesque mistakes. 84. Quality is appreciating, as the good classroom teacher does, that when you are trying new things each of us has a different learning rate. 85. Quality is walking through every tiny step involved in what the customer experiences when in contact with your company and its processes. 86. Quality is clearly understanding that there are no “bit players.” 87. Quality in services is as important as quality in manufacturing. 88. Quality is as important/more important in small businesses than in big businesses. 89. Quality of government services should be higher than quality of private services. 90. Quality is never ever badmouthing your competitor. 91. Quality is a deep appreciation of network connectivity inside and out. 92. Quality is effective cyberdefense. 93. Quality is “best safety practices.” 94. Quality is making safety exercises and safety manuals fun. 95. Quality is an environment that promotes good health in general. 96. Quality of the highest order is a permanent expectation. 97. Quality is a natural aspiration. 98. Quality is a “turn on,” just like winning at sports. 99.Quality is becoming a Professional Appreciator—recognizing the smallest positive act. 100. Quality is understanding that vendor quality processes and outcomes are as important as ours. 101. Quality is overinvesting in vendor relations. 102. Quality is understanding that regardless of your rank, the real work is being done two levels down. 103. Quality comes from mastering “suck down.” 104. Quality is understanding from Nelson Mandela that “best smile wins.” 105. Quality is religiously understanding that “Hard is soft. Soft is hard.” 106. Quality, for hotelier or car dealer, is aspiring to Best Flowers in the Reception Area … in the World. 107. Quality is understanding that the quality of the facility in which the product is produced is as important as the quality of the product itself. 108. Quality is understanding that there is no face we present that is not part of the expressed Brand. 109. Quality is employee entrances that are as high quality and grand as guest-customer entrances. 110. Quality is, as a matter of strategic habit, getting to know people in other functions. 111. Quality is becoming a Professional Barrier Smasher. 112. Quality is reprimanding anyone who badmouths anyone in another function. 113. Quality is human!!! 114. Quality is religiously learning one new thing every day. 115. Quality is individual learning goals. 116. Quality is small-group learning goals. 117. Quality is “overinvesting” in training. 118. Quality is understanding that the individual who is not growing (on some dimension, work related or not) will NOT produce good quality. 119. Quality is making mistakes when you try new things. Quality is EXCELLENCE. 121. Excellence is QUALITY. 120.