Transcript Tom Peters’ EXCELLENCE. ALWAYS. Global Leaders/Singapore/04August2006 Slides* at … tompeters.com *also “long” “ORGANIZATION” = STRATEGY: THE GUERRILLA ADVANTAGE Tom Peters/04August2006

Tom Peters’
EXCELLENCE.
ALWAYS.
Global Leaders/Singapore/04August2006
Slides* at …
tompeters.com
*also “long”
“ORGANIZATION” =
STRATEGY: THE
GUERRILLA
ADVANTAGE
Tom Peters/04August2006
“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
“New Era of War, and U.S. Isn’t
Ready Conflicts of Future:
Nations vs. Networks” —Headline/p1/
International Herald Tribune /31.07.2006
Opening: “Pound
for pound and pounding, the Israeli
military is one of the world’s finest. But Hezbollah, with
the discipline and ferocity of its fighters and its ability to
field advanced weaponry, has taken Israel by surprise.
Now that surprise has rocketed back to Washington and
across the U.S. military.”
“We are into the first great war between nations and
networks. This proves the growing strength of networks
as a threat to American national security.” —John Arguilla,
USNPGS, from “Net Warfare 101”
Small units … agile … lethal
… invisible … guerrilla …
network warfare …
distributed … dispersed …
mobile .. Flat [hierarchy] …
improvisational … etc.
“ORGANIZATION” = STRATEGY: THE GUERILLA
ADVANTAGE: Agile. (Sluggish.) Wily. (Big footprint.) Always
moving. (Seldom moving.) Brownian motion per se bewilders the
enemy. (Blind despite NewTech.) Momentum comes from small
wins. (Small wins invisible, too small scale to execute.) Goal is
converts, not territory. (Protect territory.) Offense. (Defense.)
Travel light; very high “tooth to tail” ratio. (Travel heavy, low “tooth
to tail.) Live off the land. (Tortuous supply chain.)
UNPREDICTABLE; BEHAVIOR NEARLY RANDOM. (VERY
PREDICTABLE; LONG PLANNING CYCLE; OBSERVABLE
FOOTPRINT.) Dug in but not dug in. (Dug in but vulnerable.) No
HQ; floating HQ. (Big HQ at home and away.) Few fixed assets.
(Mostly fixed assets.) Scroungers mentality. (Methodical & complex.)
Mobile communications. (Fixed communications.) Everything,
including people, disposable. (Tight “asset management,” materials &
humans.) No fortress to guard. (Big fortresses which must be
guarded.) Replaceable leaders. (Formal, rule-based hierarchy.) Selfhealing network, like Internet. (Network far more fixed.) Hackers
mentality. (Planner’s mentality.) DECENTRALIZED. (CENTRALIZED.)
KIAs are celebrated. (KIAs are the ultimate loss.) Natural
reorganizations following cell division model. (Methodical, highfriction change.) Few formal layers. (Lotsa formal layers.) Few
rules. (Lotsa rules.)
“ORGANIZATION” = STRATEGY: THE GUERILLA
ADVANTAGE: Management By Vision. (Management by law-rule
books.) Miniaturized but deadly weapons. (Fixed weapons.) Invent
your own arsenal. (Gazillion-year weapons acquisition cycle.)
Multiplier impact by spreading confusion. (Need set-piece victories to
satisfy constituents.) Passion. (Supportive at the level of car decals.)
Little value on current rules. (Value of life paramount.) Ad hoc; RFA
or FFF. (R.A.F. / Ready. Aim. Aim. Aim. Fire.)
SIMPLE PHILOSOPHY
THAT BINDS, FLEXIBLE ORG, FLEXIBLE OPS. (COMPLEX
PHILOSOPHY, INFLEXIBLE ORG, INFLEXIBLE OPS.) Different
time frame; a 1,000 year conflict. (Need to show progress daily.)
Attract youth with more energy and zeal than good sense. (Mature
and inflexible and cautious and methodical.) Minimum need to spin;
as easy to spin a loss as a win. (Battle plans designed & distorted &
diluted to produce spin per se.) Ad hoc. (Due process.) “Media” looks
for wins; media values small wins. (Media fixated by SNAFUs; small
wins beneath the radar.) Win when enemy over-reacts. (Lose if overreact.) Ubiquitous webs. (Ubiquitous bureaucracy.) Recruit,
support, impact follows Virus Model; recruit via Buzz. (All is
formal.) Value of conventional scale declining exponentially. (Still
citizens of a “big is beautiful” age.) Virtually no way to lose; a loss is
a win as much or more than a win is a win. (Virtually no way to win; a
win is often a loss as much as a loss is a loss.)
“It is not the strongest
of the species that
survives, nor the most
intelligent, but the
one most responsive
to change.”
—Charles Darwin
“Active mutators in placid
times tend to die off. They
are selected against.
Reluctant mutators in
quickly changing times are
also selected against.”
—Carl Sagan & Ann Druyan,
Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors
“The most
successful people
are those who
are good at plan B.”
—James Yorke, mathematician, on chaos
theory in The New Scientist
“If things seem
under control,
you’re just
not going fast
enough.”
—Mario Andretti
Ready.
Fire.
Aim.
Ross Perot
“Crazy Times Call
for Crazy
Organizations”
—Subtitle, The Tom Peters Seminar (1993)
Inflexibility and mass
are favored in static
times. Flexible and
ephemeral are favored
in chaotic times.
Stephen Jay Gould:
Bacteria rule!
Sizeable cases
are virtually
irrelevant
anomalies.
[e.g. humans]
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.)
“Operations
is policy.”
—Fred Malek*
*Andy Pearson. Al McDonald. Jack Welch(?). U.S. Grant. Horatio Nelson.
“Forbes100” from 1917 to 1987:
39 members
of the Class of ’17 were alive in ’87;
18 in ’87 F100; 18 F100 “survivors”
underperformed the market by 20%;
just 2 (2%), GE & Kodak,
outperformed the market between
1917 and 1987.
S&P 500 from 1957 to 1997: 74 members of the Class of ’57 were
alive in ’97; 12 (2.4%) of 500 outperformed the market from 1957 to
1997.
Source: Dick Foster & Sarah Kaplan, Creative Destruction:
Why Companies That Are Built to Last Underperform the Market
Sluggish + Obese +
Unimaginative + More
Sluggish + More Obese +
More Unimaginative + Even
More Sluggish + Even More
Obese + Even More
Unimaginative = Nissan +
Renault + GM = Innovative
Challenger for Toyota????
??????????????
Crappy Management (GM) +
Arrogant-Overstretched
Management (Carlos G) =
Great Management
“How we feel about the evolving future tells us who we
are as individuals and as a civilization: Do we
search for stasis—a regulated,
engineered world? Or do we embrace
dynamism—a world of constant creation,
discovery and competition? Do we value
stability and control or evolution and learning? Do we
think that progress requires a central blueprint, or do
we see it as a decentralized, evolutionary process?? Do
we see mistakes as permanent disasters, or the
correctable byproducts of experimentation? Do we
crave predictability or relish surprise? These two poles,
stasis and dynamism, increasingly define our political,
intellectual and cultural landscape.”
—Virginia Postrel, The Future and Its Enemies
“While many people big oil finds
with big companies, over the years
about 80 percent of the oil
found in the United States has been
brought in by wildcatters such
as Mr Findley, says Larry Nation,
spokesman for the American
Association of Petroleum
Geologists.” —WSJ, “Wildcat Producer Sparks
Oil Boom in Montana,” 0405.2006
Blitzkrieg?
Case: Perceived
Rommel invents Blitzkrieg.
Krauts kick the crap out of the
Frogs in two weeks.
Q.E.D.
Case: Lesson Learned
Planned innovation (P.I., not C.I.)
is possible, is cool, is
effective. (Write it up. Publish.)
Case: Reality
Germans cross Meuse into France.
Whoops: French intelligence completely drops
the ball. (Loses track of the Germans—no kidding.)
Germans keep advancing; outrun supply lines;
no land-air co-ordination.
Hitler orders advance stopped.
General never gets the word.
General marches to Paris, virtually unopposed.
Germans shocked.
After the fact, Germans label it “Blitzkrieg.”
Case: 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
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
Tom Peters’ “XAlways”:
EXCELLENCE.
ALWAYS.
Global Leaders/Singapore/04August2006
The
Irreducible209+
That’s a Big
Number ….
THREE
BILLION NEW
CAPITALISTS
—Clyde Prestowitz
“There is no job that
is America’s God-given
right anymore.”
—Carly Fiorina/HP/January2004
“Deutsche Bank Moves Half of Its
Back-office Jobs to India”/
(500
of 900
Research)
headline/FT/0327
“There is no job that
is America’s God-given
right anymore.”
—Carly Fiorina/HP/January2004
New Economy?!
Genentech09,
Amgen09
> Merck09
(70K-3/394B-5)
New Economy?!
Sergey +
Larry >
Harvard/370
EXCELLENCE.
STARTERS.
Franchise Lost!
TP:
“How many of you
[600]
crave
really
a new Chevy?”
NYC/IIR/061205
2P.3E.
People.
Product.
Execution.
Enthusiasm.
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
Sorry, Jack: The New Rules
Old Rule
Big Dogs Own the Street
Be No.1 or No. 2 in the Market
Shareholders Rule
Be Lean and Mean
Rank Players; Go With the A’s
Hire a Charismatic CEO
Admire My Might
Source: Fortune/07.24.2006
New Rule
Agile Is Best; Big Can Bite
Create Something New
The Customer Is King
Look Out, Not In
Hire Passionate People
Hire a Courageous CEO
Admire My Soul
EXCELLENCE.
NOT YET.
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),
4. People (
0. Innovation (
employees, motivation, morale,
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)
Them-Us
Tom Peters/0624.2006
“Them”
“Us”
Strategy
Planning
Marketing
Markets
Customers
Micro-segmentation
Cost minimization
Synergy/“Efficiencies”
“Strategic supplier
Process
Effectiveness
Men
Leadership
Standardization
Big clients
Prestigious Board
EXECUTION
Action
Selling/Sales
Customers
Clients
Big Stuff (Women, Boomers)
Revenue maximization
Decentralization
Pioneering supplier
Project
Excellence
Women
Management + Leadership
Exceptionalism (53 = 53)
COOL clients
INTERESTING Board
Porter.
Drucker.
Bennis.
Peters.
Importance of Success Factors by Various
“Gurus”/(Unreliable) Estimates by Tom Peters
Strategy Systems People Passion
Porter
50%
20
20
10
Drucker
25%
35
25
15
Bennis
25%
20
30
25
Peters
15%
20
40
25
good words.
Bad words.
Words that may NOT be
used in my presence:
“Motivate”
“Market”
Words that may NOT be
used in my presence:
“Motivate”
“In the end, management
doesn’t change culture.
Management
invites
the workforce itself to
change the culture.”
—Lou Gerstner
Words that may NOT be
used in my presence:
“Market”
Sell
Sell
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
EXCELLENCE.
YOU & ME.
“Work
on me
first.”
—Kerry Patterson,
Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan and Al Switzler/Crucial Conversations
“My only goal is to
have no goals. The
goal, every time, is
that film, that very
moment.”
—Bernardo Bertolucci
EXCELLENCE.
DEFINED.
Great Companies …
SET
THE
AGENDA.*
* “disturb the sleep of …
(PERIOD.)
AGENDA SETTERS: “Set the Table”/
Pioneers/ Questors/ Adventurers
US Steel … Ford … Toyota … Sears …
GM … ITT … The Gap … Limited …
Wal*Mart … Tesco … P&G … 3M …
Intel … IBM … Apple … Nokia …
Cisco … Dell … MCI … Sun …
Microsoft … Google … Enron …
Schwab … GE … Laker … Southwest
… People Express … Ogilvy … Virgin
… eBay … Amazon … Sony …
Amgen … BMW … CNN … Nike
TP#1*:
Netscape!
*Where would you rather have worked for those 5 years, Netscape
or IBM-HP-Microsoft-Oracle? (Where, 25 years from now, would you
rather to be able to tell someone—e.g., grandchild—that you worked?)
EXCELLENCE.
INNOVATE.
OR. DIE.
“A focus on cost-cutting and efficiency has
helped many organizations weather the
downturn, but this approach will ultimately
Only the
constant pursuit of
innovation can ensure
long-term success.”
render them obsolete.
—Daniel Muzyka, Dean, Sauder School of Business,
Univ of British Columbia (FT/09.17.04)
World Innovation Forum: Alt Title
YOU ONLY FIND
OIL IF YOU
DRILL WELLS
“Forbes100” from 1917 to 1987: 39
members of the Class of ’17 were
alive in ’87; 18 in ’87 F100; 18 F100
“survivors” underperformed the
market by 20%; just 2 (2%), GE &
Kodak, outperformed the market
1917 to 1987.
S&P 500 from 1957 to 1997: 74 members of the Class of ’57
were alive in ’97; 12 (2.4%) of 500 outperformed the market from
1957 to 1997.
Source: Dick Foster & Sarah Kaplan, Creative Destruction:
Why Companies That Are Built to Last Underperform the Market
“I don’t believe in economies of
You don’t get
better by being
bigger. You get
worse.”
scale.
—Dick Kovacevich/Wells
Fargo/Forbes/08.04 (ROA: Wells, 1.7%; Citi, 1.5%; BofA, 1.3%;
J.P. Morgan Chase, 0.9%)
Scale?
“Microsoft’s Struggle With
Scale”
—Headline, FT, 09.2005
“Troubling
Exits at Microsoft”
—Cover Story, BW, 09.2005
“Too Big to Move Fast?”
—Headline, BW, 09.2005
“Almost every personal friend I have in the world
works on Wall Street. You can buy and sell the
same company six times and everybody makes
but I’m not sure
we’re actually
innovating. … Our challenge is to
money,
take nanotechnology into the future, to do
personalized medicine …” —Jeff Immelt/2005
More than $$$$
#1 R&D
spending,
last 25 years?
GM
GM25/50-75:
“Built to
last”????
Inno64:
Innovation
Strategies
& Tactics
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
InnoTactics64
Parallel universe
End run regnant powers
Find done deals-practicing mavericks
Bell curves2016 in 2006
Non-industry benchmarking
Everything = Portfolio
V.C.s all!
Hot language/Wow-Astonish me-Insanely greatimmortal-Make something great
Lead customers
Lead suppliers /Top decile R&D
Weird alliances
Mottos/Paul Arden (“Whatever You Think Think the
Opposite”)
Hire freaks/Enough weird people?
Weird Boards!!!
We become
who we hang
out with!
Measure “Strangeness”/Portfolio Quality
Staff
Consultants
Vendors
Out-sourcing Partners (#, Quality)
Innovation Alliance Partners
Customers
Competitors (who we “benchmark” against)
Strategic Initiatives
Product Portfolio (LineEx v. Leap)
IS/IT Projects
HQ Location
Lunch Mates
Language
Board
Kodak …. Fuji
GM …. Ford
Ford …. GM
IBM …. Siemens, Fujitsu
Sears … Kmart
Xerox …. Kodak, IBM
futuremark
“Don’t
benchmark,
futuremark!”
Impetus: “The future is already here; it’s just
not evenly distributed” —William Gibson
Find ’em!
“Somewhere in your
organization, groups of
people are already doing
things differently and better.
To create lasting change, find
these areas of positive
deviance and fan the flames.”
—Richard Pascale & Jerry Sternin,
“Your Company’s Secret Change Agents,” HBR
Parallel
universe!
“Venture”
fund: Gerstner/Amex,
Dow/Marriott, Grove/Intel,
Bedbury/Starbucks
“SkunkWorks”/ “ParallelUniverse”
“the
solution”
Source: Scott Bedbury
HEART OF
STRATEGY
“Under his former boss, Jack Welch, the skills GE prized
above all others were cost-cutting, efficiency and dealmaking. What mattered was the continual improvement
of operations, and that mindset helped the $152 billion
industrial and finance behemoth become a marvel of
earnings consistency. Immelt hasn’t turned his back on
But in his GE, the
new imperatives are risktaking, sophisticated
marketing and, above all,
innovation.”
the old ways.
—BW/2005
Conscious
measurement
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?
Clarity
1@T
JackWorld/
: (1) Neutron
Jack. (Banish bureaucracy.) (2) “1, 2 or out”
Jack. (Lead or leave.) (3) “Workout”
Jack. (Empowerment, GE style.) (4) 6-Sigma
Jack. (5) Internet Jack.
(1-5/Throughout) TALENT JACK!
ACTION
“culture”
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”
“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
“You miss 100
percent of the
shots you never
take.”
—Wayne Gretzky
tolerate
[encourage?]
failure
Sam’s
Secret
#1!
“FAIL, FAIL
AGAIN. FAIL
BETTER.”
—Samuel Beckett
“Reward excellent
failures. Punish
mediocre
successes.”
Phil Daniels, Sydney exec
EXCELLENCE.
4/40.
De-central-iza-tion!
“‘Decentralization’
is not a piece of
paper. It’s not me.
It’s either in your
heart, or not.”
—Brian Joffe/BIDvest
Ex-ecu-tion!
“You only find
oil if you
drill wells.”
Source: The Hunters, by John Masters, Canadian O & G wildcatter
“We have a
‘strategic
plan.’ It’s
called doing
things.”
— Herb Kelleher
“Execution is
the job of the
business
leader.”
—Larry Bossidy & Ram Charan/
Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done
“Execution is a
systematic
process
of rigorously
discussing hows and whats, tenaciously
following through, and ensuring
accountability.”
—Larry Bossidy & Ram Charan/ Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done
“Never forget
implementation
boys. In our work it’s
what I call the
‘missing 98
percent’ of the client
puzzle.”
—Al McDonald
Ac-counta-bil-ity!
“Realism is
the heart of
execution.”
—Larry Bossidy & Ram Charan/Execution:
The Discipline of Getting Things Done
“GE has set a standard
of candor. … There is no
puffery. … There isn’t an
ounce of denial in the
place.” —Kevin Sharer, CEO Amgen,
on the “GE mystique” (Fortune)
6:15A.M.
????????
Work Hard >
Work Smart
DECENTRALIZATION.
EXECUTION.
ACCOUTABILITY.
6:15A.M.
EXCELLENCE.
DRAMATIC.
DIFFERENCE.
DOABLE.
This is not a
“mature
category.”
This is an
“undistinguished
category.”
$415/SqFt/Wal*Mart
$798/SqFt/Whole
Foods
“It’s simple, really,
Tom. Hire for s,
and, above all,
promote for s.”
—Starbucks middle manager/field
“A man
without a
smiling face
must not open
a shop.”
—Chinese Proverb
Summary:
WallopWal*Mart16*
*Or: Why it’s so absurdly easy
to beat a GIANT Company
The “Small Guys” Guide: Wallop Wal*Mart16
*Niche-aimed. (Never, ever “all things for all people,” a “miniWal*Mart.)
*Never attack the monsters head
niche business and lukewarm customers.)
on! (Instead steal
*“Dramatically
Different”
(La Difference ... within our
community, our industry regionally, etc … is as obvious as the end
of one’s nose!) (THIS IS WHERE MOST MIDGETS COME UP
SHORT.)
*Compete
on value/experience/intimacy, not
price. (You ain’t gonna beat the behemoths on cost-price in 9.99
out of 10 cases.)
*Emotional bond with Clients,
BIGGIES ON EMOTION/CONNECTION!!)
Vendors. (BEAT THE
What I’ve
Learned about
“Small Business”
Tom Peters
26June2006
Passion for PRODUCT.
OBSESSION With Product.
LOVE The Product.
Aim To Be “ONLY ONES WHO DO WHAT WE DO.”
Keep ADDIN’ Stuff.
Invest “UNWISELY” in R&D.
Reside Permanently In The DISCOMFORT Zone.
“Unhealthy” PARANOIA Is A Good Thing.
Add Clients That PUSH-PULL.
SELL. SELL. SELL. SELL.
Go For Broke: CUSTOMER CONTACT PEOPLE.
PERFECTION: Customer Contact People.
Hire for ATTITUDE.
INVITE On An Adventure.
GREAT CFO/Biz Guy-Gal.
NASTY CFO/Biz Guy-Gal.
QUADRANGULAR LEADERSHIP: Visionary-Talent
Fanatic-Project Manager-I.P.M. (I.P.M. = Inspired Profit Mechanic)
EXCELLENCE.
PITIFUL.
“Idiot” is
too kind a
word.
“That’s a very
diverse* team.”
—Patrick Cescau, CEO, Unilever**
*1 of 14 Board of Directors members is a woman
(not an exec); 2 of 7 Exec Team members
are … Indians. (Source: FT/24-25 June.)
**Approximately
85%
of Unilever’s products
are purchased by … women.
“That’s a
VERY
diverse team.”
—Patrick Cescau, CEO, Unilever* **
*1 of 14 Board of Directors members is a woman
(not an exec); 2 of 7 Exec Team members
are … Indians. (Source: FT/24-25 June.)
**Approximately 85% of Unilever’s products
are purchased by … women.
“That’s a
VERY
sick man.”
—Tom Peters
EXCELLENCE.
OPPORTUNITY.
“Women are
the majority
market”
—Fara Warner/The Power of the Purse
1. Men and women are different.
2. Very different.
3. VERY, VERY DIFFERENT.
4. Women & Men have a-b-s-o-l-u-t-e-l-y
nothing in common.
5. Women buy lotsa stuff.
6. WOMEN BUY A-L-L THE STUFF.
7. Women’s Market = Opportunity No. 1.
8. Men are (STILL) in charge.
9. MEN ARE … TOTALLY, HOPELESSLY
CLUELESS ABOUT WOMEN.
10. Women’s Market = Opportunity No. 1.
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
EXCELLENCE.
OPPORTUNITY.
2000-2010 Stats
18-44: -1%
55+: +21%
(55-64: +47% )
44-65: “New
Customer
Majority” *
*45% larger than 18-43; 60% larger by 2010
Source: Ageless Marketing, David Wolfe & Robert Snyder
EXCELLENCE.
VALUE ADDED.
“Big Brown’s New Bag: UPS
Traffic
Manager for
Corporate
America”
Aims to Be the
—Headline/BW/2004
MasterCard
Advisors
Huge: Customer
Satisfaction
versus
Customer
Success
EXCELLENCE.
NO OPTION.
“ ‘Disintermediation’ is overrated. Those who fear
disintermediation should in fact be afraid of
irrelevance—disintermediation is just another way
you’ve become
irrelevant to your
customers.”
of saying that …
—John Battelle/Point/Advertising Age/07.05
Chicago:
HRMAC
“support
function” / “cost
center”/
“overhead”
or …
Are you …
“Rock
Stars of the
Age of
Talent”
Department Head
to …
Managing Partner,
IS [HR, R&D, etc.] Inc.
The “PSF35”:
Thirty-Five
Professional Service Firm
Marks of Excellence
The PSF35: The Work & The Legacy
1.
CRYSTAL CLEAR POINT OF VIEW
(E very Practice Group: “If you can’t explain your position in eight
words or less, you don’t have a position”—Seth Godin)
2. DRAMATIC DIFFERENCE (“We are the only ones who do what
we do”—Jerry Garcia)
3. Stretch Is Routine (“Never bite off less than you can chew”—anon.)
4. Eye-Appetite for Game-changer Projects (Excellence at Assembling
“Best Team”—Fast)
5. “Playful” Clients (Adventurous folks who unfailingly Aim to Change
the World)
6. Small “Uneconomic” Clients with Big Aims
7. Life Is Too Short to Work with Jerks (Fire lousy clients)
8. OBSESSED WITH LEGACY (Practice Group and Individual: “Dent the
Universe”—Steve Jobs)
9. Fire-on-the-spot Anyone Who Says, “Law/Architecture/Consulting/
I-banking/ Accounting/PR/Etc. has become a ‘commodity’ ”
10. Consistent with #9 above … DO NOT SHY AWAY FROM THE
WORD (IDEA) “RADICAL”
Are you the …
“Principal
Engine of
Value Added”
*E.g.: Your R&D budget as robust as the New Products team?
EXCELLENCE.
ATTITUDE.
TRANSFORMATION.
Cost
(at All Costs*) Minimization
Professional?
Or/to: Full Partner-
“Purchasing Officer” Thrust #1:
Leader in Lifetime
Value-added
Maximization?
(*Lopez: “Arguably ‘Villain #1’ in GM tragedy”/Anon VSE-Spain)
Up,
Up,
Up,
Up
the Value-added Ladder.
The Value-added Ladder/Stuff ‘n’ Things
Goods
Raw Materials
The Value-added Ladder/Stuff & Transactions
Services
Goods
Raw Materials
The Value-added Ladder/Opportunity-seeking
Gamechanging
Solutions
Services
Goods
Raw Materials
EXCELLENCE.
EXPERIENCE IT.
“Experiences
are as distinct
from services as
services are from
goods.”
—Joe Pine & Jim Gilmore, The Experience Economy:
Work Is Theatre & Every Business a Stage
“The [Starbucks] Fix” Is on …
“We have
identified a ‘third
place.’ And I really believe that
sets us apart. The third place is that
place that’s not work or home. It’s the
place our customers come for refuge.”
Nancy Orsolini, District Manager
Experience: “Rebel Lifestyle!”
“What we sell is the ability
for a 43-year-old
accountant to dress in
black leather, ride through
small towns and have
people be afraid of him.”
Harley exec, quoted in Results-Based Leadership
Up,
Up,
Up,
Up
the Value-added Ladder.
The Value-added Ladder/Memorable Connection
Spellbinding
Experiences
Gamechanging Solutions
Services
Goods
Raw Materials
C
*Chief e
O*
Xperience Officer
EXCELLENCE.
DREAM IT.
Furniture vs. Dreams
“We do not sell ‘furniture’ at Domain.
We sell dreams. This is
accomplished by addressing the halfformed needs in our customers’
heads. By uncovering these needs,
we, in essence, fill in the blanks. We
convert ‘needs’ into ‘dreams.’
Sales are the inevitable
result.”
— Judy George, Domain Home Fashions
Up,
Up,
Up,
Up
the Value-added Ladder.
The Value-added Ladder/Emotion
Dreams Come True
Spellbinding Experiences
Gamechanging Solutions
Services
Goods
Raw Materials
C
*Chief Dream Merchant
Big Blue
EXCELLENCE.
LOVE IT.
“Brands
have
run out of
juice. They’re
dead.”
—Kevin Roberts/Saatchi & Saatchi
Kevin Roberts:
Lovemarks!
Up,
Up,
Up,
Up
the Value-added Ladder.
Lovemark
Dreams Come True
Spellbinding Experiences
Gamechanging Solutions
Services
Goods
Raw Materials
C
O*
*Chief Lovemark Officer
EXCELLENCE.
PURPOSE.
BEDROCK.
“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)
“Create a
‘cause,’ not a
‘business.’ ”
G.H.:
EXCELLENCE.
ENTHUSIASM.
ENERGY.
PASSION.
“Nothing is so
contagious as
enthusiasm.”
—Samuel Taylor Coleridge
“Most important,
upped the
energy level at
he
Motorola.”
—Fortune on Ed Zander/08.05
Charles Handy on the “Alchemists”
“Passion was what drove
these people, passion for
their product or their cause.
If you
care enough, you will find out what you need to know.
Or you will experiment and not worry if the experiment
Passion
goes wrong.
as the secret to learning
is an odd secret to propose, but I believe that it works
passion
at all levels and at all ages. Sadly,
is
not a word often heard in the elephant organizations,
nor in schools, where it can seem disruptive.”
EXCELLENCE.
DETERMINATION.
DE-TERMIN-ATION
BLOOD-YMIND-EDNESS
Bloodyminded:
Unreasonably
stubborn
Source: The Random House Dictionary of the English Language
“It is no use saying
‘We are doing our
best.’ You have got
to succeed in doing
what is necessary.”
—WSC
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
“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
“Whenever anything is
being accomplished, I
have learned, it is being
done by a monomaniac
with a mission.” —Peter Drucker
"The reasonable man adapts
himself to the world. The
unreasonable one persists in
trying to adapt the world to
himself. Therefore, all
progress depends upon the
unreasonable man.” —GB Shaw,
Man and Superman: The Revolutionists' Handbook.
“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
“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.
EXCELLENCE.
TALENT.
BEDROCK.
Brand =
Talent.
Organizing Genius / Warren Bennis
and Patricia Ward Biederman
“Groups become great only when
everyone in them, leaders and
members alike, is free to do his or
her absolute best.”
“The best thing a leader can do for a
Great Group is to allow its
members to discover their
greatness.”
Leadership’s Mt Everest/Mt Excellence
“free to do his or her
absolute best” …
“allow its members to
discover their
greatness.”
“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
C
O*
*Chief quest-meister
“Leaders
‘do’ people.
Period.”
—Anon.
From
sweaters to …
Les Wexner:
people!
“The leaders of Great Groups
love talent and know where
to find it. They revel in the
talent of others.”
—Warren Bennis &
Patricia Ward Biederman, Organizing Genius
PARC’s Bob Taylor:
“Connoisseur
of Talent”
Hire very
good
people!
“We believe companies can increase their market cap
50 percent in 3 years. Steve Macadam at Georgia-
changed 20 of his 40
box plant managers to put
more talented, higher paid
managers in charge. He
increased profitability from $25 million to $80
million in 2 years.” —Ed Michaels, War for Talent
Pacific
DD$21M
A review of Jack and Suzy Welch’s Winning claims there are but
two key differentiators that set GE “culture” apart from the herd:
First: Separating financial forecasting and performance
measurement. Performance measurement based, as it usually is, on budgeting
leads to an epidemic of gaming the system. GE’s performance measurement is
divorced from budgeting—and instead reflects how you do relative to your past
performance and relative to competitors’ performance; i.e., it’s about how you
actually do in the context of what happened in the real world, not as compared to a
gamed-abstract plan developed last year.
Second: Putting HR on
a par with finance
and marketing.
C
O*
*Chief Recruitment Officer
CRO/Chief Recruiting
Officer: #1 strategic issue in
“commoditized” world,
enormous financial services
company. Agent turnover.
15% retention after 4
years. (Industry average is
11% … “because that’s the
way it is” )
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
EVP/
IBP?*
What’s your company’s …
*Employee Value Proposition, per Ed Michaels et al., The War for Talent;
IBP/Internal Brand Promise per TP
EVP/IBP = Remarkable
challenge, rapid professional
growth, respect, satisfaction,
fun, stunning opportunity,
exceptional reward, amazing
peer group, full membership in
Club Adventure, maximized
future employability
Source: Ed Michaels, The War for Talent; TP
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)
EXCELLENCE.
BY INVITATION.
“In the end, management
doesn’t change culture.
Management
invites
the workforce itself to
change the culture.”
—Lou Gerstner
“If I could have chosen not to tackle the IBM
culture head-on, I probably wouldn’t have. My
bias coming in was toward strategy, analysis and
measurement. In comparison, changing the
attitude and behaviors of hundreds of thousands
[Yet] I
came to see in my time at
IBM that culture isn’t just
one aspect of the game—
it is the game.” —Lou Gerstner, Who
of people is very, very hard.
Says Elephants Can’t Dance
Re-imagine
People Power:
The Talent50
The Talent50
1. People first!
2. Soft is Hard.
3. FUNDAMENTAL PREMISE: We are in an
Age of Talent/ Creativity/Intellectualcapital Added.
4. Talent “excellence” in every part of the
organization.
5. P.O.T./Pursuit Of Talent = Obsession.
6. HR sits at The Head Table.
7. HR is “cool.”
50. Talent
= Brand.
EXCELLENCE.
WOMEN.
RULE.
“AS
LEADERS,
WOMEN
RULE:
New Studies find that
female managers outshine their male
counterparts in almost every measure”
Title, Special Report/BusinessWeek
Women’s Negotiating Strengths
*Ability to put themselves in their
counterparties’ shoes
*Comprehensive, attentive and detailed
communication style
*Empathy that facilitates trust-building
*Curious and attentive listening
*Less competitive attitude
*Strong sense of fairness and ability to persuade
*Proactive risk manager
*Collaborative decision-making
Source: Horacio Falcao, Cover story/May 2006, World Business, “Say It Like
a Woman: Why the 21st-century negotiator will need the female touch”
Women
Dominate
Economic
Growth.
“Forget China,
India and the
Internet: Economic
Growth Is Driven
by Women.”
—Headline, Economist,
April 15, 2006, Leader, page 14
“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%.” —Economist, April 15
Impact! Add It Up!
Primary markets/Everything
(“Men buy
things that other men will buy for women. I buy things that women want.”—
successful jeweler/F. “Women are the majority market” —Fara Warner/The
Power of the Purse. Women as Purchasing Officers, CIOs, etc.)
Greater global workforce
participation rate (“bigger contributor to GDP
growth than technology, China, India”—Economist)
Higher wages
(more seniority, promotions—even if not to
CEO; greater pay equity—even if not equal)
Business “decision makers”
(more
seniority, promotions—even if not to CEO)
Women-owned businesses
(answer to the
Glass Ceiling—10.6M in USA; recipients of “micro-lending”—developing
world)
EXCELLENCE.
WOMEN.
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
EXCELLENCE.
INDIVIDUAL.
BRAND YOU.
Core Mechanism:
“Game-changing Solutions”
PSF
(Professional Service Firm “model”/The Organizing Principle)
+
Brand You
(“Distinct” or “Extinct”/The Talent)
+
Wow! Projects
(“Different” vs “Better”/The Work)
“One of the defining
characteristics [of the change] is
that it will be less driven by
countries or corporations and
more driven by real people. It will
unleash unprecedented creativity,
advancement of knowledge, and economic
development. But at the same time, it will
tend to undermine safety net systems and
penalize the unskilled.” —Clyde Prestowitz, Three Billion
New Capitalists
“If there is nothing very
special about your
work, no matter how hard you
apply yourself you won’t get
noticed, and that increasingly
means you won’t get paid much
either.” —Michael Goldhaber, Wired
New Work SurvivalKit.2006
1. Mastery! (Best/Absurdly Good at Something!)
2. “Manage” to Legacy (All Work = “Memorable”/“Braggable” WOW Projects!)
3. A “USP”/Unique Selling Proposition (R.POV8: Remarkable Point of
View … captured in 8 or less words)
4. Rolodex Obsession (From vertical/hierarchy/“suck up” loyalty to
horizontal/“colleague”/“mate” loyalty)
5. Entrepreneurial Instinct (A sleepless … Eye for Opportunity! E.g.: Small
Opp for Independent Action beats faceless part of Monster Project)
6. CEO/Leader/Businessperson/Closer (CEO, Me Inc. Period! 24/7!)
7. Master of Improv (Play a dozen parts simultaneously, from
Chief Strategist to Chief Toilet Scrubber)
8. Sense of Humor (A willingness to Screw Up & Move On)
9. Comfortable with Your Skin (Bring “interesting you” to work!)
10. Intense Appetite for Technology (E.g.: How Cool-Active is your
Web site? Do you Blog?)
11. Embrace “Marketing” (Your own CSO/Chief Storytelling Officer)
12. Passion for Renewal (Your own CLO/Chief Learning Officer)
13. Execution Excellence! (Show up on time! Leave last!)
Distinct
Extinct
… or
…
“You are the
storyteller of your
own life, and you can
create your own
legend or not.”
—Isabel Allende
“It’s always
showtime.”
—David D’Alessandro, Career Warfare
motivational
stuff
Pursue
discomfort!
“Do one thing
every day that
scares you.”
—Eleanor Roosevelt
STOP
“The one thing you need
to know about sustained
individual success:
Discover what you don’t
like doing and stop doing
it.”
—Marcus Buckingham, The One Thing You Need to Know
EXCELLENCE.
SELF-KNOWLEDGE.
BEDROCK.
X.Step #1:
Buy a Mirror!
“The First step in a
‘dramatic’ ‘organizational
change program’ is
obvious—dramatic personal
change!” —RG
“You must
be
the change you wish
to see in the world.”
Gandhi
You = Your
calendar*
*Calendars NEVER lie!!
5,000
miles for a 5
min. meeting!
Mark McCormack:
Getting to WOW
Through Mastery of …
The Sales25.
Getting Things Done:
Power &
The
Implementation34.
Presentation
Excellence: The
PresX56
The Interviewing
Excellence:
The IntX31
EXCELLENCE.
REVENUE.
MATTERS.
MOST.
“Analysts … preferred cost cutting, as long as
they could see two or three years of EPS growth. I preached revenue
and the analysts’ eyes would glaze over. Now revenue is ‘in’ because
They
said, ‘Oh my gosh, you
need revenues to grow
earnings over time.’
Well, Duh!”
so many got caught, and earnings went to hell.
—Dick Kovacevich, Wells Fargo
“Everyone
lives by selling
something.”
.
– Robert Louis Stevenson
Sell
Sell
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!!!! (E.g., build trust)
Ooze integrity
Introduce to rest of team, esp. “mechanics”
SBWA (5K for 5M)
Remember: Close!
Gotta-make-a-profit (be ready to walk away!)
“Good loss”
Don’t dis competitors!!
Make her-him-target SUCCESSFUL (in a personal way)
GE
(more or less)
:
The Sales122:
122 Ridiculously
Obvious Thoughts
About Selling Stuff
Tom Peters/0402.2006
C
*Chief
O*
Revenue
Officer
EXCELLENCE.
LEADING.
“It’s always
showtime.”
—David D’Alessandro, Career Warfare
Leadership23
Leadership23
1. Enthusiasm. Energy. Exuberance.
2. Action. Execution.
3. Tempo. Metabolism.
4. Relentless.
5. Master of Plan B.
6. Accountability.
7. Meritocracy.
8. Leaders “do” people. Mentor. (“Success creation business.”)
9. Women. Diversity.
10. Integrity. Credibility. Humanity. Grace.
11. Realism.
12. Cause. Adventures. Quests.
13. Legacy.
14. Best story wins.
15. On the edge. (“Wildest chimera of a moonstruck mind.”)
16. “Reward excellent failures. Punish mediocre successes.”
17. Different > Better. (“Only ones who do what we do.”)
18. MBWA. Customer MBWA.
19. Laughs.
20. Repot. Curiosity. Why?
21. You = Calendar. “To Don’t.” Two.
22. Excellence. Always.
23. Nelsonian! (“Other admirals more afraid of losing
than anxious to win.”)
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!
Sir Richard’s Rules:
Follow your passions.
Keep it simple.
Get the best people to help you.
Re-create yourself.
Play.
Source: Fortune on Branson
Message clarity = CALENDAR +
MBWA + Language + Perceived
INTENSITY/ENTHUSIASM/
ENERGY + Concrete-Visible
support + Prototypes +
Tolerance for Failure/“Good
losses” + Promotions + Tempo +
Resilience + Celebration +
Perceived RELENTLESSNESS +
Training
“No leader sets out to be a
leader per se, but rather to
express him- or herself freely
and fully. That is leaders have
no interest in proving
themselves, but an abiding
interest in expressing
themselves.” —Warren Bennis, On Becoming a
Leader
EXCELLENCE.
STRETCH.
The greatest danger
for most of us
is not that our aim is
too high
and we miss it,
but that it is
too low
and we reach it.
Michelangelo
EXCELLENCE.
KABOOM.
“Beware of the tyranny
of making Small Changes
to Small Things. Rather,
make Big Changes to
Big Things.”
—Roger Enrico, former Chairman, PepsiCo
Five MYTHS About Changing Behavior
*Crisis is a powerful impetus for change
*Change is motivated by fear
*The facts will set us free
*Small, gradual changes
are always easier to
make and sustain
*We can’t change because our brains become
“hardwired” early in life
Source: Fast Company/05.2005
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.
THRILLS.
Radically Thrilling Language!
“Radically
Thrilling.”
—BMW Z4 (ad)
C
O*
*Chief Thrills Officer
Synonyms
Purity
Transcendence
Virtue
Elegance
Majesty
Antonyms
Mediocrity
C
O*
*Chief Transcendence Officer
EXCELLENCE.
WOW. NOW.
C
O*
*Chief WOW Officer
C
*Chief
O
!
Officer
EXCELLE
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.
A Comment on TP 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
EXCELLE
ALWAYS
“It’s always
showtime.”
—David D’Alessandro, Career Warfare