Transcript Tom Peters’ Re-Imagine! Leading Change, Developing Talent, Driving Innovation, Adding Value, Achieving Excellence NACE/Anaheim/0531.06 Alt TITLE/Opener Life @ the Center of the Universe NACE/Anaheim/0531.06

Tom Peters’
Re-Imagine!
Leading Change,
Developing Talent,
Driving Innovation,
Adding Value,
Achieving Excellence
NACE/Anaheim/0531.06
Alt TITLE/Opener
Life @ the
Center of the
Universe
NACE/Anaheim/0531.06
The Monumental
Opportunity @ the
Center of the
Universe
NACE/Anaheim/0531.06
Agriculture Age (farmers)
Industrial Age (factory workers)
Information Age (knowledge workers)
Conceptual Age
(creators and empathizers)
Source: Dan Pink, A Whole New Mind
“Human creativity
is the ultimate
economic
resource.”
—Richard Florida,
The Rise of the Creative Class
From “1, 2 or you’re out” [JW] to …
“Best Talent in
each industry segment
to build best proprietary
intangibles” [EM]
Source: Ed Michaels, War for Talent
“Income
Confers No
Immunity as
Jobs Migrate”
—Headline/USA Today/02.2004
“Deutsche Bank Moves Half of Its Backoffice Jobs to India”/ headline/FT/0327/
500 of 900
Research /JPMorgan
Chase/30% back-office by 12.31.07
“THE FUTURE BELONGS TO …
SMALL POPULATIONS …
WHO BUILD EMPIRES OF THE MIND …
AND WHO IGNORE THE TEMPTATION OF—OR DO NOT
HAVE THE OPTION OF—EXPLOITING NATURAL
RESOURCES.”
Source: Juan Enriquez/As the Future Catches You
“The Creative Age
is a wide-open
game.”
—Richard Florida, The Rise of the Creative Class
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
Omnicom's acquisitions: “not for
size per se”; “buying talent;”
“deepen a relationship with a
client.” (Advertising Age/07.05)
“Omnicom very simply is about
talent. It’s about the acquisition of
talent, providing the atmosphere
so talent is attracted to it.” (John Wren)
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; ie 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.
“Leaders
‘do’ people.
Period.”
—Anon.
“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
“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
“This is the true joy of Life, the
being used for a purpose
recognized by yourself as a
mighty one … the being a force of
Nature instead of a feverish,
selfish little clod of ailments and
grievances complaining that the
world will not devote itself to
making you happy.” —GB Shaw/
Man and Superman
“Life is not a journey to the
grave with the intention of
arriving safely in a pretty and
well-preserved body—but
rather a skid in broadside,
thoroughly used up, totally
worn out, and loudly
proclaiming, ‘Wow, what
a ride!’ ” —anon.
Chicago:
HRMAC
“support
function” / “cost
center”/
“overhead”
or …
Are you …
“Rock
Stars of the
Age of
Talent”
Are you the …
“Principal
Engine of
Value Added”
*Eg: Your R&D budget as robust as the New Products team?
End Alt Opener
Slides* at …
tompeters.com
*Also, “Long”
EXCELLENCE.
ALWAYS.
Synonyms
Purity
Transcendence
Virtue
Elegance
Majesty
Antonyms
Mediocrity
“Why in the
world did
you go to
Siberia?”
The Peters
Principles: Enthusiasm.
Emotion. EXCELLENCE. Energy.
Excitement. Service. Growth.
Creativity. Imagination. Vitality.
Joy. Surprise. Independence.
Spirit. Community. Limitless
human potential. Diversity. Profit.
Innovation. Design. Quality.
Entrepreneurialism. Wow.
An emotional,
vital, innovative, joyful, creative,
entrepreneurial endeavor that
elicits maximum concerted
human potential in the
wholehearted service
of others.***
Business* ** (*at its best):
**Excellence. Always.
***Employees, Customers, Suppliers, Communities, Owners, Temporary partners
The
Ultimate
Business:
Creative
Endeavor.
The
Ultimate
Business:
Personal
DevelopmentGrowth
Experience.
The
Ultimate
Business:
Transcendent
Service
Opportunity.
Excellence:
Freddy Delgado
on Leadership
“I can’t say that I don’t
know what my teachers
were doing in the
classroom. I am still
responsible if a child gets
lost.” —Enron juror Freddy Delgado,
elementary school principal
Re-imagine!
Not Your
Father’s
World I.
China!
China!
China!
THREE
BILLION NEW
CAPITALISTS
—Clyde Prestowitz
m
h
600,000
350,000
70,000
“Beijing Rushes to
Build World-class
Universities”
—Headline,
International Herald Tribune, 1028.05*
*Headline, same day: “China Bank
Becomes a Giant Worth $70 Billion”
“Forget China,
India and the
Internet: Economic
Growth Is Driven
by Women.”
—Headline, Economist,
April 15, Leader, page 14
Re-imagine!
Not Your
Father’s
World II.
“There is no job that
is America’s God-given
right anymore.”
—Carly Fiorina/HP/January2004
2003: 98% U.S.
2005: U.S. 150;
Shanghai 500
“When I was growing up, my
parents used to say to me: ‘Finish
your dinner—people in China
are starving.’ I, by contrast, find
myself wanting to say to my
daughters:
‘Finish your
homework—people in
China and India are
starving for your job.’”
—Thomas Friedman/06.24.2004
“In a global economy, the
government cannot give
anybody a guaranteed
success story, but you
can give people the tools
to make the most of their
own lives.”
—WJC, from Philip Bobbitt, The
Shield of Achilles: War, Peace, and the Course of History
Re-imagine!
Not Your
Father’s
World III.
“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)
New Economy?
Sergey, Larry
> Harvard
The General’s
Story.
“If you don’t like
change, you’re
going to like
irrelevance even
less.”
—General Eric Shinseki, Chief of Staff. U. S. Army
Everybody’s
Story.
“One Singaporean worker
costs as much as …
3 … in Malaysia
8 … in Thailand
13 … in China
18 … in India.”
Source: The Straits Times/2003
New Zealand
Thailand
Spain
Portugal
Ireland
Singapore
Taiwan
Philippines
UAE
Chile
Better By Design: A National Strategy
NZ = Design
Excellence
1. Re-imagine:
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/2004)
Different!*
*“Dramatic Difference” (DH), “Remarkable Point of view” (SG)
Franchise Lost!
TP:
“How many of you
really
[600]
crave
a new Chevy?”
NYC/IIR/061205
“The ‘surplus society’ has a surplus
of
similar companies, employing
similar people, with similar
educational backgrounds, coming up
similar ideas, producing similar
things, with similar prices and similar
with
quality.” —Kjell Nordström and Jonas Ridderstråle,
Funky Business
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
$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
EXCELLENCE.
#1.
Cirque
du Soleil!
“Every time we come to a
comfort zone, we will find a way
out.” “No Cloning.” “‘Reinvent
the brand’ with each new show.”
“A typical day at the office for
me begins by asking, ‘What is
impossible that I am going to do
today?’” —Daniel Lamarre, president,
Cirque du Soleil
Easy!
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
BOLD
“Reward excellent
failures. Punish
mediocre
successes.”
Phil Daniels, Sydney exec
“It’s no longer enough to
be a ‘change agent.’ You
must be a change
insurgent—provoking,
prodding, warning
everyone in sight that
complacency is death.”
—Bob Reich
Action
“too
much talk, too
little do”
TP/BW on BigCo Sin #1:
“We have a
‘strategic plan.’
It’s called doing
things.”
— Herb Kelleher
“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
“Execution is
the job of the
business
leader.”
—Larry Bossidy & Ram Charan/
Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done
Measurable!
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?
Personal!
X.Step #1:
Buy a Mirror!
“The First step in a
‘dramatic’ ‘organizational
change program’ is
obvious—dramatic personal
change!” —RG
2. Re-imagine:
IS/IT as
Disruptive
Tool!
We all live in
Dell-Wal*MarteBay-Google
World!
3. Re-imagine:
The Power
of “We.”
“THE POWER OF
US: Mass
Collaboration on
THE INTERNET Is
Shaking Up
Business”
—Cover/BusinessWeek/06.20.05
“There’s a fundamental shift
in power happening.
Everywhere, people are
getting together and, using
the Internet, disrupting
whatever activities they’re
involved in.” —Pierre Omidyar, founder, eBay
“The fluidity of
information will bring
about a radically
democratized society
where consumers
enjoy unprecedented
power.”
—Fast Company/10th anniversary
issue/March2006
4. Re-imagine:
Up the Valueadded Ladder
And the “M” Stands for … ?
“Systems
Integrator of choice.”/BW
Gerstner’s IBM:
(“Lou, help us turn ‘all this’ into that long-promised ‘revolution.’ ” )
IBM Global Services*
Services Corp.):
$55B
(*Integrated Systems
“Big Brown’s New Bag: UPS
Traffic
Manager for
Corporate
America”
Aims to Be the
—Headline/BW/2004
No Choice.
“ ‘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
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”
Point of
View!
HCare CIO: “Technology
Executive” (workin’ in a hospital)
Full-scale,
Accountable (life or death)
Member-Partner of XYZ
Hospital’s Senior
Or/to:
Healing-Services
Team
(who happens to be a techie)
EXCELLENCE.
UP THE 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
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
The Value-added Ladder/Memorable Connection
Spellbinding
Experiences
Gamechanging Solutions
Services
Goods
Raw Materials
C
*Chief e
O*
Xperience Officer
“It’s always
showtime.”
—David D’Alessandro, Career Warfare
5. Re-imagine:
Welcome to a
You
Brand
World …
Distinct or Extinct
Globalization1.0: Countries globalizing (1492-1800)
Globalization2.0: Companies globalizing (18002000)
Globalization3.0
:
Individuals collaborating
& competing globally
(2000+)
Source: Tom Friedman/The World Is Flat
“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
12January2006
th,
Happy 300
Brand You!
The Baker’s Dozen: New Work SurvivalKit.2006
1. Mastery! (Best/Absurdly Good at Something!)
2. “Manage” to Legacy (All Work = “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 restless … 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. Mistress 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!)
START Bonus
6:15A.M.
Work Hard >
Work Smart
END Bonus
R.D.A.
Rate: 15%?, 25%?
Therefore: Formal “Investment
Strategy”/
R.I.P.*
*Renewal Investment Plan
3 Weeks in May
“Training” & Prep: 187
“Work”: 41
(“Other”: 17)
1%
vs.
367%
Distinct
…
or
…
Extinct
“It’s always
showtime.”
—David D’Alessandro, Career Warfare
Getting to WOW
Through Mastery of …
The Sales25.
Getting Things Done:
Power &
The
Implementation34.
Presentation
Excellence: The
PresX56
The Interviewing
Excellence:
The IntX31
6. Re-imagine: The
Talent
Obsession.
Brand =
Talent.
“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
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
The Cracked Ones Let in the Light
“Our business needs a massive transfusion
of talent, and talent, I believe, is most likely to
nonconformists, dissenters
and rebels.”
be found among
—David Ogilvy
“Well-behaved
women rarely
make history.”
—Anita Borg, Institute for Women and Technology
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
“Firms will not ‘manage the
careers’ of their employees. They
will provide opportunities to
enable the employee to develop
identity and adaptability and
thus be in charge of his or her
own career.” —Tim Hall et al.,
“The New Protean Career Contract”
Re-imagine
People Power:
The Talent50
People Power: The Talent50
1. People first!
2. Soft is Hard.
3. FUNDAMENTAL PREMISE: We are in an Age
of Talent/ Creativity/ Intellectual-capital
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.”
7. Re-imagine: New
Education for a
New World.
Ye gads: “Thomas
Stanley has not
only found no correlation between
success in school and an ability to
accumulate wealth, he’s actually
found a negative correlation. ‘It seems
that school-related evaluations are poor predictors of economic
success,’ Stanley concluded. What did predict success was a
willingness to take risks. Yet the success-failure standards of most
schools penalized risk takers. Most educational systems reward
those who play it safe. As a result, those who do well in school find it
hard to take risks later on.” —Richard Farson & Ralph Keyes,
Whoever Makes the Most Mistakes Wins
8. Re-imagine: New
Business Education
for a New World.
M.I.A.*: Talk. (Present.) Listen. (Interview.)
Sell.
(Life = Sales.)
Do. (Execution-
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.
(Cross-cultural Effectiveness.) Career Creation. (Brand
You life-lifestyle.) Wellness. (Life.)
Implementation.)
*B.Schools (“M.I.A.” or at most “B.I.A.”—barely in action)
9. Re-imagine
Leadership: The
Passion
Imperative.
Create a
Cause!
“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)
Make It a
Grand
Adventure!
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.”
Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
“free to do his or her
absolute best” …
“allow its members to
discover their
greatness.”
Trumpet an
Exhilarating
Story!
Best Story Wins!
“A key – perhaps the key – to
leadership is
the effective
communication
of a story.”
—Howard Gardner/Leading Minds:
An Anatomy of Leadership
Live Your
Story!
“You must
be
the change you wish
to see in the world.”
Gandhi
Try It!
Sam’s Secret …
Insist on
Speed!
“If things seem
under control,
you’re just not going
fast
enough.” —Mario Andretti
Put Women
in Charge!
“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
“To be a leader in
consumer products,
it’s critical to have
leaders who represent
the population we
serve.”
—Steve Reinemund/PepsiCo
Dispense
Enthusiasm!
“Nothing is so
contagious as
enthusiasm.”
—Samuel Taylor Coleridge
“Most important,
upped the
energy level at
he
Motorola.”
—Fortune on Ed Zander/08.05
“A man without a
smiling face must not
open a shop.”
—Chinese Proverb*
*Courtesy Tom Morris, The Art of Achievement
Avoid …
Moderation!
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!
Free the
Lunatic
Within!
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
“You can’t behave in a
calm, rational manner.
You’ve got to be out
there on the lunatic
fringe.”
— Jack Welch
Innovate
or
Die!!
WORLD
INNOVATION
FORUM.0524.06
What “We” Know “For Sure” About Innovation
Big mergers [by & large] don’t work
Scale is over-rated
Strategic planning is the last refuge of scoundrels
Focus groups are counter-productive
“Built to last” is a chimera (stupid)
Success kills
“Forgetting” is impossible
Re-imagine is a charming idea
“Orderly innovation process” is an oxymoronic phrase
(= Believed only by morons with ox-like brains)
“Tipping points” are easy to identify …
long after they will do you any good
“Facts” aren’t
All information making it to the top is filtered
to the point of danger and hilarity
“Success stories” are the illusions of egomaniacs (and “gurus”)
If you believe the memoirs of CEOs you should be institutionalized
“Herd behavior” (XYZ is “hot”) is ubiquitous
… and amusing
“Top teams” are “Dittoheads”
CEOs have little effect on performance
“Expert” prediction is rarely better than rolling the dice
Parallel universe/Exec Ed v res MBA
End run regnant powers/JKC
Find done deals-practicing mavericks/StoneReGo
Bell curves/2016 in 2006
Non-industry benchmarking
Everything = Portfolio
V.C.s all!
Hot language/Wow-Astonish me-Insanely
great-immortal-Make something great
Lead customers/PW-Embraer
Lead suppliers /Top decile R&D
Weird alliances
Mottos/Paul Arden (“Whatever You Think
Think the Opposite”)
Hire freaks/”Enough weird people?”
Weird Boards!!!
CEO track record of Innovation (nobody
starts at 45!)
System/GE-Immelt
“Strategic thrust overlay”
Calendar
Big Delta easier than Small
MBWA with freaks-weirdos/JKC
MBWA/Boonies’ labs
V.C.-formal/Intel
Acquire weird
Children’s crusade
Old foggies crusade
Go Global at any size
Stop listening to customers
Talent!/Unusual sources-Hire innovators-V.C.s
Eschew giant mergers
Remember: scale economies max out early
Assisted suicide! (“Built to last” = Chimerasnare-delusion)
Burn your press clippings
“Forgetting” “strategy”
Fire all strategic planners
Tempo!
Final product bears little relation to starting
notion
Design! Design! Design! (“culture,” not
program)
All innovation: Angry people
Gut feel rules!
Focus groups stink
Weird focus groups okay
Be-Do philosophy
Celebrations
Culture-little as well as big Inno (“everyonean-innovator”)
Life = Wow Projects
Acknowledge messiness-pursue serendipity
(Blitzkrieg-Containers-Science-Jim
Utterback)
R.F.A.
Culture of execution
4/40: decentralization, execution,
accountability, 615AM
EVP (S.O.U.B.)/Systems-process “un-design”
Diversity for diversity’s sake
Women-Women-Women/customers (they
“are the market,” not a “segment”)-leaders
Boomers-Geezers (“all the money”)
CRO (Chief Revenue Officer) “culture”/topline obsessed
CIO (Chief INNOVATION Officer)
Laughter
Facility-space configuration
Experiments-prototypes
“Reward excellent failures. Punish mediocre
successes.”
Bizarrely high incentives (& penalties)
We are what we eat/We are who we hang out
with (E.g.: Staff-Consultants-Vendors-Out-sourcing
Partners/#, Quality-Innovation Alliance PartnersCustomers-Competitors/who we “benchmark” against
-Strategic Initiatives -Product Portfolio/LineEx v. LeapIS/IT Projects-HQ Location-Lunch Mates-LanguageBoard)
Bonus
The
Irreducible209
A frustrated participant at a seminar for investment
bankers in Mauritius listened impatiently to my
explanation of differences of opinion among me, Mike
Porter, Gary Hamel, Jim Collins, etc. Finally, he’d had
enough. “What,
if anything,” he
asked, “do you believe ‘for
sure’?” I mumbled something, but his query
started rumbling around in my mind. Three days later,
wandering on a Sunday in London, the idea of “the
irreducibles” occurred to
me—and I started jotting down notes on stuff I do
indeed believe “for sure.” Before I knew it, a few days
209
later, the list had grown to
items. Hence “The
Irreducible209” that follows.
Tom Peters
1.
2.
3.
4.
Hare 1, Tortoise 0. (Hare-y times.)
Tempo. (O.O.D.A.)
MBWA.
Appreciation. (“Motivator” #1.)
(Can’t be faked. Good.)
5. Decency.
6. Hurry.
7. Time out.
8. One matters.
9. Big change. Short time. (Alt not work.)
10. Excellence. Always.
11. Passion. Energy. Hustle. Enthusiasm.
Exuberance. (Move mountains. No alt.)
12. You must care.
13. Emotion.
14. Hard is soft. (Soft is hard.)
NO LESS THAN
EXCELLENCE.
EVER.
209. EXCELLENCE.
ALWAYS.
208.
HTSH: Engage!*
Commit! Engage! Try! Fail! Get up! Try
again! Fail again! Try again! But never,
ever stop moving on! Progress for
humanity is engendered by those who join
and savor the fray by giving one hundred
percent of themselves to their dreams!
Not by those timid souls who remain
glued to the sidelines, stifled by tradition,
and fearful of losing face or giving offense
to the reigning authorities.
Key words: Commit! Engage! Try! Fail! Persist!
*HTST/Hands That Shape Humanity, Tom Peters’ contribution to a Bishop Tutu exhibit