Note: This is the LONG version of my presentation [which will be posted as such at my website].

Transcript Note: This is the LONG version of my presentation [which will be posted as such at my website].

Note: This is the by as much as LONG version of my presentation [which will be posted as such at my website]. Not only will it be cut 80% tomorrow, , but also it will doubtless be re-arranged. Nonetheless, if this is somehow helpful, I am delighted. Until

Tom

Max Kraus: My best “walking around” story took place many years ago when I was running Electro-Nite Company. We sold some equipment to a Chinese steel mill that would help improve their steel quality. This was just after the opening of trade with China, and we had to plow through massive red tape with the U.S. government, get the letter of credit, etc. But we finally made the shipment; it went by air, and we waited to hear if all was well. Unfortunately the next word, in those days by teletype, was that it did not work. As a believer in “walking around” sales as well as management [remember Hewlett Packard’s MBWA/Managing By Wandering Around], and also intrigued by the possibility of a trip to China, I sent a reply saying that we guaranteed our equipment and that if they would provide a visa for me and an engineer, we would come to Wuhan at our expense to see the problem. In those days visas were almost nonexistent, but within twenty-four hours we had a reply accepting our offer. Again, paperwork took a couple of weeks, but off to China we went. We were met at the Beijing airport, escorted to our hotel, and offered a car, guide, and interpreter for three days to see the Wall, Summer Palace, etc.—and then flown to Wuhan. The steel mill was massive, with over 100,000 workers, and of course a crowd gathered to see us work on the equipment. Much to my dismay and embarrassment, the problem turned out to be two long screws that were causing a short circuit. I removed the screws and told the group that while I was embarrassed, I hoped that I had demonstrated our commitment to service and satisfaction. We stayed a week to work with them as they put the equipment in service. I could go on with more stories of our visit. But the bottom line was that I made several subsequent trips, enjoyed good business and many “Chinese Banquets” for a number of years. “Walking around” does work!

Conrad Hilton …

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”

NM, DDE & Ben …

“Allied commands depend on mutual confidence [and this confidence] is gained, above all through the development of friendships.” —General D.D. Eisenhower, Armchair General * (05.08) *“Perhaps his most outstanding ability [at West Point] was the ease with which he made friends and earned the trust of fellow cadets who came from widely varied backgrounds; it was a quality that would pay great dividends during his future coalition command

Give good tea!

“The capacity to develop close and enduring relationships is the mark of a leader. Unfortunately, many leaders of major companies believe their job is to create the strategy, organization structure and organizational processes —then they just delegate the work to be done, remaining aloof from the people doing the work.”

—Bill George, Authentic Leadership

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!

“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)

“Strive for Excellence. Ignore success.”

—Bill Young, race car driver (courtesy Andrew Sullivan)

"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

‘ GER ON I MO !

’

—Bill McKenna, professional motorcycle racer ( Cycle magazine 02.1982)

14,000 20,000

14,000/ 30

Bay 20,000/Amazon /Craigslist*

*Lockheed “Skunk Works,” 125 vs. 5,000(??)

“Let us create such a building that future generations will take us for lunatics.”

—the church hierarchs at Seville

“You know, we can’t get out of life alive! We can either die in the bleachers or die on the field. We might as well come down on the field and go for it!”

—Les Brown (from Timeless Wisdom , compiled by Gary Fenchuk)

BLAME NOBODY.

EXPECT NOTHING.

DO SOMETHING.

Source: Locker room sign posted by football coach Bill Parcells

“You miss

100%

of the shots you never take.”

—Wayne Gretzky

LONG Tom Peters’

Excellence.

Always.

Philips Healthcare/MegaMeeting 2010 Sales/Service Kickoff 16 February/WDW Dolphin Hotel (PP available to download at tompeters.com)

MBWA

Sunday “Drive By”: The CEO of a very successful mid-sized bank, in the Mid-west, attended a seminar of mine in Northern California in the mid-80s—but I remember the following as if it were yesterday. I’ve forgotten the specific context, but I recall him saying to me, pretty much word for word, “Tom let me tell you the definition of a good lending officer. After church on Sunday, on the way home with his family, he takes a little detour to drive by the factory he just lent money to. Doesn’t go in or any such thing, just drives by and takes a look.”

Excellence1982: The Bedrock “Eight Basics” 1. A Bias for Action 2. Close to the Customer 3. Autonomy and Entrepreneurship 4. Productivity Through People 5. Hands On , Value-Driven 6. Stick to 7. Simple the Knitting Form, Lean Staff 8. Simultaneous Loose-Tight Properties”

“Breakthrough” 82*

People! Customers! Action! Values!

* In Search of Excellence

Hard Is Soft Soft Is Hard

Hard Is Soft (Plans, #

) Soft Is Hard (people, customers, values, relationships)

“I can’t tell you how many times we passed up hotshots for guys we thought were better people, and watched our guys do a lot better than the big names, not just in the classroom, but on the field—and, naturally, after they graduated, too. Again and again, the blue chips faded out, and our little up-and-comers clawed their way to all-conference and All-America teams.”

Bo’s Lasting Lessons —Bo Schembechler (and John Bacon), “Recruit for Character,”

ExIn*: 1982-2002/Forbes.com

DJIA: $10,000 yields $85,000 EI: $10,000 yields $140,050

*Excellence Index/Basket of 32 publicly traded stocks

… no less than

Cathedrals

in which the full and awesome power of the Imagination and Spirit and native Entrepreneurial flair of diverse individuals is unleashed in passionate pursuit of … Excellence .

“We are a ‘Life Success’ Company.”

Dave Liniger, founder, RE/MAX

“You have to treat your employees like customers.”

—Herb Kelleher, upon being asked his “secret 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)

Organizations exist to serve. Period.

Leaders live to serve. Period.

Leadership is a sacred trust.*

*President, classroom teacher, CEO, shop foreman

“The role of the Director is to create a space where the actors and actresses can

become more than they’ve ever been before, more than they’ve dreamed of being.”

—Robert Altman, Oscar acceptance speech

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 question is: 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-best version-of-himself or –herself .

… When a company forgets that it exists to serve customers, it quickly goes out of business.

Our employees are our first customers, and our most important customers.”

“Business has to give people enriching, rewarding lives …

or it's simply not worth doing.”

—Richard Branson

Thank you Peter Drucker/AIM

Our goal is to serve our customers brilliantly and profitably over the long haul.

Serving our customers brilliantly and profitably over the long haul is a product of brilliantly serving, over the long haul, the people who serve the customer.

Hence, our job as leaders—the alpha and the omega and everything in between—is abetting the sustained growth and success and engagement and enthusiasm and commitment to Excellence of those, one at a time, who directly or indirectly serve the ultimate customer.

Source: The Little BIG Things: 163 Ways to Pursue EXCELLENCE

We—leaders of every stripe—are in the “Human Growth and Development and Success and Aspiration to Excellence business.”

“We” [leaders] only grow when “they” [each and every one of our colleagues] are growing.

“We” [leaders] only succeed when “they” [each and every one of our colleagues] are succeeding.

“We” [leaders] only energetically march toward Excellence when “they” [each and every one of our colleagues] are energetically marching toward Excellence.

Period.

Source: The Little BIG Things: 163 Ways to Pursue EXCELLENCE

Brand = Talent.

Our Mission

To develop and manage talent; to apply that talent, throughout the world, for the benefit of clients; to do so in partnership; to do so with profit.

WPP

“The ONE Question”: “In the last year [3 years, current job], name the …

three people

… whose growth you’ve most contributed to. Please explain where they were at the beginning of the year, where they are today, and where they are heading in the next 12 months. Please explain in painstaking detail your development strategy in each case. Please tell me your biggest development disappointment—looking back, could you or would you have done anything differently? Please tell me about your greatest development triumph—and disaster—in the last five years. What are the ‘three big things’ you’ve learned about helping people grow along the way.”

October 1781/ “It’s the politics, stupid!” Winter 1776 NM/DDE GW 3H/Drive-by/Summer 1787 Korea/40B (XX, “IBM,” KISS, ++) XX = 90% XFX = 50%+ XX Lunch/Social “stuff”/Lunch > SAP

XFX Lunch Kudos Learning/ Presence/Presentations Facetime C(E) Transparency Awards Co-locate/Geologists-Geophysicists Time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Motherhood (“If don’t take credit …) C(I) > C(E)/Gust, GE Staff C.Sat./Unicredit

C(E) L2, L3, L4 ATT/Women “We” Out-read/Out-study Weird pals/R&D/Crowdsource Out-listen Out-present/Exxon Listen-present-etc/Profession!

Self-knowledge/Ben!

You/Me = Customer #1

Stuff Listen/Eval Thank/Measure Flowers Ask/Measure Apologize/Eval RR: Consult + Thank Decency Thoughtfulness Kindness Henry David

Demo!!!! (P&W) IBM (Moore)/Schlumberger/MasterCard/Best Buy+Geek Squad 2-cent candy Attitude #1 1st line leaders Hire Leader’s track record = Development W-L (10 in 5) Eval/53 = 53 “Cathedral”/Customer 2nd (Hal, Herb, Dave Liniger, Olle+) Team3P (Passion-Politics/People-Profit)

“Too Much Cost, Not Enough Value” … “Too Much Speculation, Not Enough Investment” … “Too Much Complexity, Not Enough Simplicity” … “Too Much Counting, Not Enough Trust” … “Too Much Business Conduct, Not Enough Professional Conduct” … “Too Much Salesmanship, Not Enough Stewardship” … “Too Much Focus on Things, Not Enough Focus on Commitment” … “Too Many Twenty-first Century Values, Not Enough Eighteenth Century Values” … “Too Much ‘Success,’ Not Enough Character” —chapter titles from John Bogle, Enough. The Measures of Money, Business, and Life (Bogle is founder of the Vanguard Mutual Fund Group)

“AS LEADERS, WOMEN RULE:

New Studies find that female managers outshine their male counterparts in almost every measure” TITLE/ Special Report/ BusinessWeek

Women’s Strengths Match New Economy Imperatives: Link [rather than rank] workers; favor interactive-collaborative leadership

style [empowerment beats top-down decision

making]; sustain fruitful collaborations; comfortable with sharing information; see redistribution of power as victory, not surrender; favor multi-dimensional feedback; value technical & interpersonal skills, individual & group contributions equally; readily accept ambiguity; honor intuition as well as pure “rationality”; inherently flexible; appreciate

cultural diversity

—Judy B. Rosener, America’s Competitive Secret: Women Managers

“Forget

China

,

India

and the

Internet

Driven by : Economic Growth Is

Women

.”

Source: Headline, Economist

“One thing is certain: Women’s rise to power, which is linked to the increase in wealth per capita, is happening in all domains and at all levels of society. Women are no longer content to provide efficient labor or to be consumers with rising budgets and more autonomy to spend. … This is just the beginning. The phenomenon will only grow as girls prove to be more successful than boys in the school system.

For a number of observers, we have already entered the age of ‘womenomics,’ the economy as thought out and practiced by a woman.”

—Aude Zieseniss de Thuin, Women’s Forum for the Economy and Society

We are the company we keep

Measure “Strangeness”/Portfolio Quality Staff Consultants Vendors Out-sourcing Partners Competitors Customers Product Portfolio IS/IT Projects HQ Location Lunch Mates Language (#, Quality) Innovation Alliance Partners (who we “benchmark” against) Strategic Initiatives (LineEx v. Leap) Board

“Normal” =

“o for 800”

“Who’s the most interesting person you’ve met in the last 90 days? How do I get in touch with them?”

—Fred Smith

“Freak Fridays”

—once a month invite somebody interesting, in any field, to have lunch with your gang

“d”iversity

“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

“The Billion-man Research Team: Companies offering work to online communities are reaping the benefits of ‘crowdsourcing.’”

—Headline, FT , 0110.07

“The West spent …

$2.3 trillion

on foreign aid over the last five decades and still has not managed to get twelve-cent medicines to children to prevent half of all malaria deaths. The West spent $2.3 trillion and still not managed to get three dollars to

L(+21) = L(-21)

like-minded people keep trying, not to abandon aid to the poor, but to make sure it reaches them.”

“The West spent …

$2.3 trillion

Leadership(21A.D.) =

deaths. …

Leadership(21B.C.)

trying, not to abandon aid to the poor, but to make sure it reaches them.”

“The doctor interrupts after …*

*Source: Jerome Groopman, How Doctors Think

seconds

[An obsession with] Listening is ... the ultimate mark Listening is ... a Team Sport.

of Respect.

Listening is ... the heart and soul of Engagement.

Listening is ... the heart and soul of Kindness.

Listening is ... the heart and soul of Thoughtfulness.

Listening is ... the basis for true Collaboration. Listening is ... the basis for true Partnership.

Listening is ... a Developable Individual Skill.* (*Though women are far better at it than men.) Listening is ... the basis for Community.

Listening is ... the bedrock of Joint Ventures that work.

Listening is ... the bedrock of Joint Ventures that last.

Listening is ... the core of effective Cross-functional

Communication*

(*Which is in turn Attribute #1 of organizational effectiveness.) [cont.]

Questioning, the art [and “profession”] of.

*Listening is of the utmost …

strategic

importance!

*Listening is a proper …

core value

! *Listening is …

trainable

*Listening is a …

profession

Message:

Listening is a …

profession!

Listen = Profession = Study = practice = evaluation =

Enterprise value:

"We listen intently to and fully engage all with whom we work."

“The four most important words in any organization are …

The four most important words in any organization are …

“What do you think?”

Source: courtesy Dave Wheeler, posted at tompeters.com

“WDYT” = Certification of me as a person of Importance whose opinion is valued.

“The deepest principle of human nature is the craving to be appreciated.”

—William James (in Timeless Wisdom , compiled by Gary Fenchuk)

“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

Tomorrow: How many times will you “ask the WDYT question”?

[

Count!

] [Practice makes better!] [This is a

STRATEGIC

skill!]

Tomorrow: How many times will you mange to blurt out, “Thank you”?

[

Count ’em!

] [Practice makes better!* *The engineer from Manchester.]] [This is a

STRATEGIC

skill!]

And the answer is ….

otis

“I regard apologizing as the most magical, healing, restorative gesture human beings can make. It is the centerpiece of my work with executives who want to get better.”

—Marshall Goldsmith Even More Successful , What Got You Here Won’t Get You There: How Successful People Become

Relationships (of all varieties) :

THERE ONCE WAS A TIME WHEN A

THREE-MINUTE PHONE CALL

WOULD HAVE AVOIDED SETTING OFF THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL THAT RESULTED IN A COMPLETE RUPTURE.

The “three-minute call” often-usually-invariably leads to a strengthening of the relationship. It not only acts as atonement but also paves the path for a “better than ever” trajectory.

THE PROBLEM IS RARELY/NEVER THE PROBLEM. THE RESPONSE TO THE PROBLEM INVARIABLY ENDS UP BEING THE REAL PROBLEM.

* *PERCEPTION IS ALL THERE IS!

Comeback

[big, quick response]

>> Perfection

*effective “Repair”/Apology is of the utmost … strategic importance!

*effective repair is a proper … core value ! *effective repair is … trainable !

*effective repair is a … profession !

#15

“We are thoughtful in all we do.”

Thoughtfulness Thoughtfulness is key to customer retention.

is key to employee recruitment and satisfaction.

Thoughtfulness is key to brand perception.

Thoughtfulness is key to your ability to look in the mirror —and tell your kids about your job.

“Thoughtfulness is free.” Thoughtfulness it reduces friction.

Thoughtfulness truth-telling.

is key to speeding things up— is key to transparency and even cost containment—it abets rather than stifles

#16

none!

Press Ganey Assoc: 139,380 patients from 225 former hospitals:

none of THE top 15 factors determining P atient S atisfaction referred to patient’s health outcome

P.S.

directly related to P.P.S.

Staff Interaction directly correlated with Satisfaction Employee Source: Putting Patients First , Susan Frampton, Laura Gilpin, Patrick Charmel

“There is a misconception that supportive interactions require more staff or more time and are therefore more costly. Although labor costs are a substantial part of any hospital budget, the interactions themselves add nothing to the budget.

Kindness is free.

Listening to patients or answering their questions costs nothing. It can be argued that negative interactions —alienating patients, being non-responsive to their needs or limiting their sense of control —can be very costly. … Angry, frustrated or frightened patients may be combative, withdrawn and less cooperative —requiring far more time than it would have taken to interact with them initially in a positive way .”

— Putting Patients First , Susan Frampton, Laura Gilpin, Patrick Charmel

“Kindness is free.”

“Courtesies of a small and trivial character are the ones which strike deepest in the grateful and appreciating heart.”

—Henry Clay

“We don’t take people to the elevator—we take them down to the street.

—David Ogilvy

“Berezovsky … came under attack from the newly powerful Primakov, and was shunned by most of the political elite . Putin made a point of attending Berezovsky’s wife’s birthday party. Berezovsky repaid Putin by championing his candidacy to run the F.S.B., Russia’s secret police, formerly the K.G.B., and ultimately by suggesting that the Family make him president.

qualifications were: he did not take a bribe from a car dealership and had been unafraid to go to a party for an acquaintance who had fallen into disfavor.” Vanity Fair, October 2008 To sum up, the man’s —”Dead Soul,”

#17

problem #1.

Opportunity #1.

X =XFX*

Excellence = Cross-functional Excellence

Never waste a lunch!

????

% XF lunches*

*Measure! Monthly! Part of evaluation! [The PA’s Club.]

R.O.I.R.

R

eturn

O

n

I

nvestment In

R

elationships

???????

“Success doesn’t depend on the number of people you know; it depends on the number of people you know in

high

places!” or “Success doesn’t depend on the number of people you know; it depends on the number of people you know in low places!”

S = ƒ(#&DR; -2L, -3L, 4L, I&E) Success is a function of: Number and depth of relationships 2, 3, and 4 levels down inside and outside the organization

S = ƒ(SD>SU)

Sucking down is more important than sucking up—the idea is to have the [your] entire organization working for you.

S = ƒ(#non-FF, #non-FL) Number of friends not in my function S = ƒ(#XFL/m) Number of lunches with colleagues in other functions per month S = ƒ(#FF) Number of friends in the finance organization

#18

You = Your calendar

*Calendars

never

lie

“

You must

be

the change you wish to see in the world.”

Gandhi

“ Dennis, you need a …

‘To-don’t ’

List !”

Don’t >

Do* * “Don’ting,” systematic, > WILLPOWER

“To develop others, start with yourself.”

—Marshall Goldsmith

“Being aware of yourself and how you affect everyone around you is what distinguishes a superior leader.”

—Edie Seashore ( Strategy + Business #45)

and …

>TG R

[Things Gone WRONG -Things Gone RIGHT ]

2-cent candy

“May I clean your glasses, sir?”

2,000,000

It

BEGINS

(and

ENDS

) in the …

parking lot*

*Disney

“

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

M.M.M.O.T. = Manage To Memorable “Moments Of Truth”*

*with thanks to Jan Carlzon, SAS

C O* *Chief e X perience Officer

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

Message (?????): Men

cannot

design for women’s needs.

2.6

vs.

Up, Up, Up, Up

the Value-added Ladder.

“Big Brown’s New Bag: UPS Aims to Be the

Traffic Manager for Corporate America”

—Headline/ BW /2004

MasterCard Advisors

The Value-added Ladder

Customer Success/ Gamechanging Solutions

Services Goods Raw Materials

(1) LAN Installation Co. (3%) (2)

“Geek Squad”

(3) Best Buy contracts (4) Best Buy purchases (30%) (5) Best Buy’s

“brand promise”

Source: Best Buy (Circuit City: fire senior, hire junior)

Excellence. Always.

If not Excellence, what?

If not Excellence now, when?

Appendices

Forty-four “Secrets” and “clever Strategies” For dealing with the Recession of 2007++

I am constantly asked for “strategies/

'secrets'

for surviving the recession.” I try to appear wise and informed — and parade original, sophisticated thoughts. But if you want to know what’s really going through my head, see the list that follows.

44 “Secrets” and “Clever Strategies” For Dealing with the Recession of 2007+ You come earlier.

You leave later.

You work harder.

You may well work for less; and, if so, you adapt to the untoward circumstances with a smile—even if it kills you inside.

You volunteer to do more.

You dig deep and always bring a good attitude to work.

You fake it if your good attitude flags.

You literally practice your "game face" in the mirror in the morning, and in the loo mid-morning.

You give new meaning to the idea and intensive practice of “visible management.”

44 “Secrets” and “Clever Strategies” For Dealing with the Recession of 2008-XXXX You take better than usual care of yourself and encourage others to do the same—physical well-being determines mental well-being and response to stress.

You shrug off shit that flows downhill in your direction—buy a shovel or a “pre-worn” raincoat on eBay.

You try to forget about “the good old days”— nostalgia is self-destructive.

You buck yourself up with the thought that “this too shall pass”—but then remind yourself that it might not pass any time soon, and so you re-dedicate yourself to making the absolute best of what you have now.

44 “Secrets” and “Clever Strategies” For Dealing with the Recession of 2008-XXXX You work the phones and then work the phones some more—and stay in touch with positively everyone.

You frequently invent breaks from routine, including “weird” ones—“changeups” prevent wallowing and bring a fresh perspective. You eschew all forms of personal excess.

You simplify.

You sweat the details as never before.

You 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.

Skip the map

“Mapping your competitive position” or …

The “Have you …” 50

1. Have you in the last 10 days … visited a custome r?

2. Have you called a customer … TODAY ?

1. Have you in the last 10 days … visited a customer?

2. Have you called a customer … TODAY?

3. Have you in the last 60 90 days … had a seminar in which several folks from the customer’s operation (different levels, different functions, different divisions) interacted, via facilitator, with various of your folks?

4. Have you thanked a front-line employee for a small act of helpfulness … in the last three days?

5. Have you thanked a front line employee for a small act of helpfulness … in the last three hours?

6. Have you thanked a frontline employee for carrying around a great attitude … today?

7. Have you in the last week recognized —publicly—one of your folks for a small act of cross-functional co-operation?

8. Have you in the last week recognized —publicly—one of “their” folks (another function) for a small act of cross-functional co-operation?

9. Have you invited in the last month a leader of another function to your weekly team priorities meeting?

10. Have you personally in the last week-month called-visited an internal or external customer to sort out, inquire, or apologize for some little or big thing that went awry? (No reason for doing so? If true —in your mind—then you’re more out of touch than I dared imagine.)

11. Have you in the last two days had a chat with someone (a couple of levels down?) about specific deadlines concerning a project’s next steps?

12. Have you in the last two days had a chat with someone (a couple of levels down?) about specific deadlines concerning a project’s next steps … and what specifically you can do to remove a hurdle? (“Ninety percent of what we call management consists of making it difficult for people to get things done.”—Peter “His eminence” Drucker.) 13. Have you celebrated in the last week a “small” (or large!) milestone reached? (I.e., are you a milestone fanatic?) 14. Have you in the last week or month revised some estimate in the “wrong” direction and apologized for making a lousy estimate? (Somehow you must publicly reward the telling of difficult truths.) 15. Have you installed in your tenure a very comprehensive customer satisfaction scheme for all internal customers?

the mark.) (With major consequences for hitting or missing 16. Have you in the last six months had a week-long, visible, very intensive visit- “tour” of external customers?

17. Have you in the last 60 days called an abrupt halt to a meeting and “ordered” everyone to get out of the office, and “into the field” and in the next eight hours, after asking those involved, fixed (f-i-x-e-d!) a nagging “small” problem through practical action?

18. Have you in the last week had a rather thorough discussion of a “cool design thing” someone has come across —away from your industry or function—at a Web site, in a product or its packaging? 19. Have you in the last two weeks had an informal meeting —at least an hour long—with a frontline employee to discuss things we do right, things we do wrong, what it would take to meet your mid- to long-term aspirations?

20. Have you had in the last 60 days had a general meeting to discuss “things we do wrong” … that we can fix in the next fourteen days?

21. Have you had in the last year a one-day, intense offsite with each (?) of your internal customers —followed by a big celebration of “things gone right”?

22. Have you in the last week pushed someone to do some family thing that you fear might be overwhelmed by deadline pressure?

23. Have you learned the names of the children of everyone who reports to you? (If not, you have six months to fix it.) 24. Have you taken in the last month an interesting-weird outsider to lunch?

25. Have you in the last month invited an interesting-weird outsider to sit in on an important meeting?

26. Have you in the last three days discussed something interesting, beyond your industry, that you ran across in a meeting, reading, etc?

27. Have you in the last 24 hours injected into a meeting “I ran across this interesting idea in [strange place]”?

28. Have you in the last two weeks asked someone to report on something, anything that constitutes an act of brilliant service rendered in a “trivial” situation— restaurant, car wash, etc? (And then discussed the relevance to your work.) 29.

Have you in the last 30 days examined in detail (hour by hour) your calendar to evaluate the degree “time actually spent” mirrors your “espoused priorities”?

(And repeated this exercise with everyone on team.) 30. Have you in the last two months had a presentation to the group by a “weird” outsider?

31. Have you in the last two months had a presentation to the group by a customer, internal customer, vendor featuring “working folks” 3 or 4 levels down in the vendor organization? 32. Have you in the last two months had a presentation to the group of a cool, beyond-our-industry ideas by two of your folks?

33. Have you at every meeting today (and forever more) re-directed the conversation to the practicalities of implementation concerning some issue before the group?

34. Have you at every meeting today (and forever more) had an end-of-meeting discussion on “action items to be dealt with in the next 4, 48 hours? (And then made this list public —and followed up in 48 hours.) And made sure everyone has at least one such item.) 35. Have you had a discussion in the last six months about what it would take to get recognition in local-national poll of

“best places to work”?

36. Have you in the last month approved a cool-different training course for one of your folks?

37. Have you in the last month taught a front-line training course?

38. Have you in the last week discussed the idea of Excellence? (What it means, how to get there.) 39. Have you in the last week discussed the idea of “Wow”? (What it means, how to inject it into an ongoing “routine” project.) 40. Have you in the last 45 days assessed some major process in terms of the details of the “experience,” as well as results, it provides to its external or internal customers?

41. Have you in the last month had one of your folks attend a meeting you were supposed to go to which gives them unusual exposure to senior folks?

42. Have you in the last 60 (30?) days sat with a trusted friend or “coach” to discuss your “management style”—and its long- and short-term impact on the group?

43. Have you in the last three days considered a professional relationship that was a little rocky and made a call to the person involved to discuss issues and smooth the waters? (Taking the “blame,” fully deserved or not, for letting the thing-issue fester.) 44. Have you in the last … two hours … stopped by someone’s (two-levels “down") office workspace for 5 minutes to ask “What do you think?” about an issue that arose at a more or less just completed meeting? (And then stuck around for 10 or so minutes to listen —and visibly taken notes.) 45. Have you … in the last day … looked around you to assess whether the diversity pretty accurately maps the diversity of the market being served? (And …) 46. Have you in the last day at some meeting gone out of your way to make sure that a normally reticent person was engaged in a conversation —and then thanked him or her, perhaps privately, for their contribution?

47. Have you during your tenure instituted very public (visible) presentations of performance?

48. Have you in the last four months had a session specifically aimed at checking on the “corporate culture” and the degree we are true to it—with all presentations by relatively junior folks, including front-line folks? (And with a determined effort to keep the conversation restricted to “real world” “small” cases—not theory.) 49. Have you in the last six months talked about the Internal Brand Promise?

50. Have you in the last year had a full-day off site to talk about individual (and group) aspirations?

SF50: Success Is a Function of* ...

*What follows are not in fact true mathematical formulae— obviously. Nonetheless, in tribute to my own scientific background, and, more important, that of many seminar participants, I have chosen this format—which seems to work for those of “my ilk” to whom it has been exposed

S = ƒ( ___ )

Success Is a Function of …

SF50: 50 “Equations” on achieving success … at pretty much anything

S = ƒ(#&DR; -2L, -3L, 4L, I&E) Success is a function of: Number and depth of relationships 2, 3, and 4 levels down inside and outside the organization

S = ƒ(SD>SU)

Sucking down is more important than sucking up—the idea is to have the [your] entire organization working for you.

S =ƒ(#PK“W”P) S = ƒ(#PK“L”P)

# of people you know in the “wrong” places # people you know in “low” places

S = ƒ(OF) Number of oddball friends S = ƒ(PDL) Purposeful, deep listening—this is very hard S = ƒ(“DSTM,” EH, TTAGFG) Don’t shoot the messenger—embrace him! Truth-tellers are gifts from God!

S = ƒ(#EODD3MC) Number of end-of-the-day difficult (you’d rather avoid) “3 minutecalls” that sooth raw feelings, mend fences, etc.

S = ƒ(UFP, UFK, OAPS) Unsolicited favors performed, UFs involving co-workers’ kids, overt acts politeness-solicitude toward co-workers’ spouses, parents, etc.

S= ƒ(TSHRO)

Time spent ... Hurdle Removing for Others

S = ƒ(A#C, PTS/“OLC”, SAPA) Absolute # of consultations, perception of being taken seriously (Responsible for “one line of code”), small acts of public appreciation S = ƒ(1D) Seeking the assignment of writing first drafts, minutes, etc. (1787) S = ƒ(#SEAs) Number of solid relationships with Executive Assistants S = ƒ(%UL/w-m) % useful lunches per week, month S = ƒ(FG, FOC-BOF, CMO) Favors given, favors owed collectively, balance of favors, conscious management thereof

S = ƒ(SU)

Showing up (Woody Allen, Delaware’s ridiculous influence on the Constitution of the USA)

S = ƒ(KSU, R)

Keep showing up; relentlessness (U.S. Grant!!)

S = ƒ(DW, TMSTTOG)

Drill wells, try more stuff than the other guy (John Masters, Mike Bloomberg)

S= ƒ(CM)

Conscious calendar management (the calendar never lies)

S = ƒ(CPRM, TS)

Conscious-planned Relationship management, time spent thereon

S = ƒ(TN/d, FG/m, AA/d) Thank you notes per Day, flowers given per Month, Acts of Appreciation per Day S = ƒ(WLHAO) Willingness to laugh heartily at oneself S = ƒ(PTA100%A“T”S, E“NMF, TTT) Proactive, timely, 100% apologies for “tiny” screw-ups, even if not my fault (it always takes two to tango) S = ƒ(AMR, NBS-SG) Acceptance of mutual responsibilities for all affairs, no blame shifting, scape-goating S = ƒ(RP, PRP>>P) Never forget, and act accordingly: Response to the screwup problem and perception thereof is (far, far) more important than the problem itself! S = ƒ(APLSLFCT) Awareness, perception of little snubs—and lightening fast correction thereof

S= ƒ(RCV) Reduced customer visits (& more time on internal “customer” relationships—that allow us to deliver on customer promises) S= ƒ(U“PIATI”) Understanding … “Perception is all there is!” S= ƒ(“EM”/NSTLT; “F”ITU, -80%) “Everything matters”/No such thing as a “little thing”—etching of fly in the urinal in Amsterdam airport reduces “spillage” by 80% S= ƒ(A“L”IOE) Attention to “little” Indicators Of Excellence—e.g. fresh flowers at the reception desk S= ƒ(“GGT”) “Give good tea”—Ben Franklin in Paris in 1777, Norm Schwarzkopf with the Saudi Crown Prince during Gulf War I; effectiveness at socializing with the “power behind the throne”

S = ƒ(TN/d, FG/m, AA/d) Thank you notes per Day, flowers given per Month, Acts of Appreciation per Day S = ƒ(WLHAO) Willingness to laugh heartily at oneself

S = ƒ(RP, PRP>>P)

Never forget, and act accordingly: Response to the screwup problem and perception thereof is (far, far) more important than the problem itself! S = ƒ(APLSLFCT) Awareness, perception of little snubs—and lightening fast correction thereof

S= ƒ(3X“O”C)

“Over”-communicate (status, problems) by a factor of three

S = ƒ(PTA100%A“T”S, E“NMF, TTT) Proactive, timely, 100% apologies for “tiny” screw-ups, even if not my fault (it always takes two to tango)

S = ƒ(AMR, NBS-SG)

Acceptance of mutual responsibilities for all affairs, no blame- shifting, scape-goating

S = ƒ(G) Grace S = ƒ(GA) Grace toward adversary S = ƒ(GW) Grace toward the wounded in bureaucratic firefights S = ƒ(PD) Purposeful decency S = ƒ(MB“TSS”MR) Purposeful management of this Soft Stuff by people reporting to me S = ƒ(EC, MMO) Emotional connection, mgt & maintenance of S = ƒ(IMDOP) Investment in Mastery of detailed organizational processes

S = ƒ(H-TS) Time spent on Hiring S = ƒ(TSPD, TSP-L1) Time spent on promotion decisions, especially for 1st level managers S = ƒ(%“SS,” H-PD) % soft stuff involved in Hiring, Promotion decisions S = ƒ(%WLP) % women in leadership positions S = ƒ(TWA, P, NP) Time wandering around, purposeful, non-planned S = ƒ(SBS) Slack built into Schedule

S = ƒ (%TM“TSS,” PM“TSS,” D“TD”“TSS”)

% of time, measured, on This purposeful management of this “to do” concerning “this Soft Stuff Soft Stuff Soft Stuff ” , , daily