Tom Peters’ EXCELLENCE. ALWAYS. SPL/enRICHMENT’06 Client Executive Symposium Rutherford/Napa Valley/16June 2006 Slides* at … tompeters.com *also “long”
Download ReportTranscript Tom Peters’ EXCELLENCE. ALWAYS. SPL/enRICHMENT’06 Client Executive Symposium Rutherford/Napa Valley/16June 2006 Slides* at … tompeters.com *also “long”
Tom Peters’ EXCELLENCE. ALWAYS. SPL/enRICHMENT’06 Client Executive Symposium Rutherford/Napa Valley/16June 2006 Slides* at … tompeters.com *also “long” BONUS The Irreducible209 Goodnight and Good Luck. THREE BILLION NEW CAPITALISTS —Clyde Prestowitz 43,000 “Deutsche Bank Moves Half of Its Back-office Jobs to India”/ headline/FT/0327; 500 of 900 Research; JPMorgan Chase—30% backoffice by 12.31.07 Genentech09, Amgen09 > Merck09 (70K-3/394B-5) Good Morning and Good News. New Economy?! Sergey + Larry > Harvard/370 EXCELLENCE. THE MANDATE. “If you don’t like change, you’re going to like irrelevance even less.” —General Eric Shinseki, Chief of Staff. U. S. Army “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” —Charles Darwin “We are in a brawl with no rules.” —Paul Allaire Sam’s Secret #1! “This is so simple it sounds stupid, but it is amazing you only find oil if you drill wells. how few oil people really understand that You may think you’re finding it when you’re drawing maps and studying logs, but you have to drill.” Source: The Hunters, by John Masters, Canadian O & G wildcatter “Reward excellent failures. Punish mediocre successes.” Phil Daniels, Sydney exec 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 EXCELLENCE. ALWAYS. “Why in the world did you go to Siberia?” The Peters Principles: Enthusiasm. Emotion. Excellence. Energy. Excitement. Service. Growth. Creativity. Imagination. Vitality. Joy. Surprise. Independence. Spirit. Community. Limitless human potential. Diversity. Profit. Innovation. Design. Quality. Entrepreneurialism. Wow. An emotional, vital, innovative, joyful, creative, entrepreneurial endeavor that elicits maximum concerted human potential in the wholehearted service of others.*** Business* ** (*at its best): **Excellence. Always. ***Employees, Customers, Suppliers, Communities, Owners, Temporary partners The Ultimate Business: Creative Endeavor. The Ultimate Business: Personal DevelopmentGrowth Experience. The Ultimate Business: Transcendent Service Opportunity. Synonyms Purity Transcendence Virtue Elegance Majesty Antonyms Mediocrity 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) “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 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 “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%) “When asked to name just one big merger that had lived up to expectations, Leon Cooperman, former cochairman of Goldman Sachs’ Investment Policy I’m sure there are success stories out there, but at this moment I draw a blank.” Committee, answered: —Mark Sirower, The Synergy Trap More than $$$$ #1 R&D spending, last 25 years? GM 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 Inno64: Innovation Strategies & Tactics Parallel universe /Exec Ed v res MBA End run regnant powers/JKC Find done deals-practicing mavericks/Stone-ReGo 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/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!!! 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 EXCELLENCE. 4/40. De-central-iza-tion! Ex-ecu-tion! “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 “We made mistakes. 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. Ac-counta-bil-ity! “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. EXCELLENCE. WANTING. Radio City Music Hall September 2005 Franchise Lost! TP: “How many of you [600] crave really a new Chevy?” NYC/IIR/061205 “The ‘surplus society’ has a surplus of similar companies, employing similar people, with similar educational backgrounds, coming up with similar ideas, producing similar things, with similar prices and similar quality.” Kjell Nordström and Jonas Ridderstråle, Funky Business Line Extensions: 86 percent of new products. 62 percent 39 of revenues. percent of profit. Source: Blue Ocean Strategy, Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne “The Bottleneck Is at the Top of the Bottle” “Where are you likely to find people with the least diversity of experience, the largest investment in the past, and the greatest reverence for industry dogma: At the top!” — Gary Hamel/Harvard Business Review EXCELLENCE. NO EXCUSES. EXCELLENCE. DRAMATIC. DIFFERENCE. 7X. 730A800P. F12A.* *’93-’03/10 yr annual return: CB: 29%; WM: 17%; HD: 16%. Mkt Cap: 48% p.a. “It’s simple, really, Tom. Hire for s, and, above all, promote for s.” —Starbucks middle manager/field EXCELLENCE. PITIFUL. ???????? EXCELLENCE. FOUND. “To be a leader in consumer products, it’s critical to have leaders who represent the population we serve.” —Steve Reinemund/PepsiCo 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. “Forget China, India and the Internet: Economic Growth Is Driven by Women.” —Headline, Economist, April 15, 2006, Leader, page 14 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 “The New Customer Majority is the only adult market with realistic prospects for significant sales growth in dozens of product lines for thousands of companies.” —David Wolfe & Robert Snyder, Ageless Marketing EXCELLENCE. VALUE ADDED. “Big Brown’s New Bag: UPS Traffic Manager for Corporate America” Aims to Be the —Headline/BW/2004 MasterCard Advisors I. LAN Installation Co. II. Geek Squad. (3%) (30%.) III. Acquired by BestBuy. IV. Flagship of BestBuy Wholesale “Solutions” Strategy Makeover. EXCELLENCE. NECESSITY. OPPORTUNITY. “ ‘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 Department Head to … Managing Partner, IS [HR, R&D, etc.] Inc. Are you … “Rock Stars of the Age of Talent” EXCELLENCE. ATTITUDE. TRANSFORMATION. “Purchasing Officer” Thrust #1: Short- term Cost [at All Costs*] Minimization Professional? Or/To: Full Partner- Leader in Systemic Lifetime Value-added Maximization? (*Lopez: “Arguably ‘Villain #1’ in GM tragedy”/Anon VSE-Spain) 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) The [Only?] Answer PSF (Professional Service Firm “model”/The Organizing Principle) + Brand You (“Distinct” or “Extinct”/The Talent) + Wow! Projects (“Different” vs “Better”/The Work) 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 “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 EXCELLENCE. UP THE LADDER. The Value-added Ladder/Memorable Connection Spellbinding Experiences Gamechanging Solutions Services Goods Raw Materials C *Chief e O* Xperience Officer EXCELLENCE. 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 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 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. DD$21M 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 EXCELLENCE. 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 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 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! “Beware of the tyranny of making Small Changes to Small Things. Rather, make Big Changes to Big Things.” —Roger Enrico, former Chairman, PepsiCo EXCELLENCE. OFFENSE. “[Other] admirals more frightened of losing than anxious to win” Nelson’s secret: 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.”) 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, “What, if anything,” he asked, “do you believe ‘for sure’?” Gary Hamel, Jim Collins, etc. Finally, he’d had enough. 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 later, the list had grown to 209 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.) 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. Men. Women. Different. Contend. Connect. Women. Buy. All. (RU listening?) Quality. (“Mind-blowing.” Beyond 6-Sigma.) Re-invent. Re-pot. (Required.) Jaywalk. Big change. Small # of people. (Always.) Experiment. Now. Failure. Normal. Most failures, most success. (Fail. Forward. Fast.) 24. “Reward excellent failures. Punish mediocre successes.” 25. Women leaders. (Altered times.) 26. Extremism. (Good business. Bad politics.) 27. Innovation source. Only. Extreme irritation. 28. Smile. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. You must care. Mentor. (Highest ROI.) Best “roster” wins. Wow. (Okay in biz.) We all have customers. (Biz. Personal.) All contacts = Experiences. Cirque du Soleil. (Peerless.) Leaders create space for growth. Quests. (Only.) High aspirations, “high” results. (Self-fulfilling prophecy.) 39. Attitude 1, Skills 0. (Mostly.) (Attitude 1, Skill 0.3?) 40. Sometimes: Skill 1, Attitude 0.1. 41. Must “love,” not “like.” 42. Wegman’s.” (No excuses. “Mere” groceries.) 43. Less than your best. Cheating. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. 51. 52. 53. 54. 55. Brand You. (No alt.) Self-sufficiency. (Biggest LT turn-on.) In the moment. The moment wins. Tomorrow = Never. Action 1, Plan 0.1. “Execution” can be a “system.” Realism. Own up. Move on. Accountability. Work hard > Work smart. (Mostly.) Feedback. Necessary. Fast. (R.F.A. in “RFA times.”) 56. Customers. Listen. Lead. (Paradox.) 57. “On stage.” Always. (GW, FDR, RG = Supreme actors.) 58. 59. 60. 61. 62. 63. 64. 65. 66. Master statistical analysis. Excellence = Set the table. Legacy. (Will it have mattered?) “Great.” (Why not?) Radicals rule. (Think … Olympics.) !!! = Good. Red 1, Brown 0. (Red times.) Talk. Listen. (“Big 2.” Master.) Politics. (Normal-inevitable state of affairs. Master.) 67. Student. Forever. 68. “Why?” (Question #1.) 69. Don’t belittle. 70. Respect. 71. All we have: this moment. (“Moments matter most”?) 72. Now. (Procrastination. Death.) 73. 74. 75. 76. Exercise. Paint. (Leader. Portraits of Excellence.) Best story wins. “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” 77. Two “big ones.” Max. (Priorities.) 78. No “I” in Team. (“I” in Win.) 79. “I” in Win. (No “I” in Team.) 80. Different 1, Better 0. (Better = 0.1) 81. Imitation = Mistake. (Learn, from who?) 82. Choose/battle the “right” competitor. 83. Schools. Creativity. Entrepreneurship. (Not.) 84. MBAs. Creativity. Entrepreneurship. Leadership. (Not.) 85. Design. Under-rated. Wildly. (Still.) (Everything.) 86. 87. 88. 89. You = Calendar. (Calendar. Never. Lies.) Laugh. Handshake. (Quantity. Quality.) Don’t fold your hands in front of your chest. Ever. (Never.) 90. Grace. (“Works” in biz.) 91. Weird. Wins. (Weird times.) 92. Crazy times. Crazy orgs. 93. Internet. All. 94. Women. Boomers-Geezers. Market. All. 95. Passion. (Repeat. So what?) 96. Energy. (Repeat. So what?) 97. Hustle. (Repeat. So what?) 98. Enthusiasm. (Repeat. So what?) 99. Exuberance. (Repeat. So what?) 100. Smile. (Repeat. So what?) 101. Care. (Repeat. So what?) 102. Simplicity. Redundancy. Resilience. Bloodymindedness. Visible optimism. (Success.) 103. Act. (Repeat. So what?) 104. Appreciate. (Repeat. So what?) 105. Fun. (Biz. Why not?) 106. Joy. (Biz. Why not?) 107. Sales = Life. 108. Marketing = Life. 109. Long-term. “Top line.” 110. Great company = Creates the most individual success stories. (RE/MAX) 111. Talent first, performance byproduct. 112. Sustained Wow* 1, “Shareholder value,” 0.2 (*Product, People.) 113. Commitment, by invitation only. 114. Creativity, by invitation only. 115. HR = #1. (Ought to.) 116. Face-to-face. (5K miles, 5 minutes.) 117. Negotiation. Make all winners. (Save face.) 118. Grace makes enemies friends. 119. Network. 120. Invest in relationships. (Think ROIR. Return On Investment in Relationships.) 118. Relationship investment. Forethought. Calendar item. Intensity. 119. Innovation. Easy. (Hang out with weird.) 120. Weird = Win. (Weird times.) 121. “The bottleneck is at the top of the bottle.” 122. Good Board = Weird Board. (At least, surprising.) 123. No contention, no progress. 124. “Crucial conversations.” “Crucial confrontations.” (Study. Learn. Do.) 125. Honest feedback. 126. Gaspworthy. Yes. 127. “Insanely great.” 128. “Astonish me.” 129. “Make it immortal.” 130. “Will you remember it in 20 years?” 131. No small opportunities. (Reframe.) 132. One playmate, one playpen = Enough. 133. End run. Sensible. 134. Allies are there for the finding. 135. Find successes. Build on successes. (Pos > Neg. Encourage > Fix.) 136. Somebody’s doing it today. Find ’em. 137. Someone is living 2016 in 2006. (Find ’em. Study ’em.) 138. Don’t “benchmark,” “futuremark.” (2016. Happening. Somewhere.) 139. “PMA.” It works. 140. There are no experts. (You are the expert.) 141. Life is short. 142. “Sustained success.” Fat chance. Make today matter. (“Sustained.” Ha.) 143. Collaborate. (Networked world.) 144. Go solo. (Individual. Unit of Intellectual Capital.) 145. There are no “perfect” plans. (Do. Wins.) 146. Plans motivate. (Right or wrong. Sense of purpose.) 147. Never rest. 148. Get some sleep. 149. Winning = Embracing paradox. 150. Ambiguity = Opportunity. 151. Resilience. 152. Relentless-ness. 153. None. Above. Comeuppance. (GM. Sears. U.S. Steel. DEC.) 154. Be yourself. Period. 155. Never work with jerks. Including customers. (Life. Too short.) 156. Under-promise, over-deliver. 157. Talent. (Powerful word.) 158. “Customer = Anyone whose actions affect your results.” 159. Competition stinks. (Seek the soft spots where you can dominate.) 160. K.I.S.S./Keep It Simple, Stupid. 161. Beauty. (Good biz word.) 162. “See the beauty in a hamburger bun.” (Go. Ray.) 163. 164. 165. 166. Own up. Quick. ( Denial. Cancer.) Celebrate. Often. 78 people = 78 approaches. (Each. Unique.) Weed. Ceaselessly. (Prune. Stupid. Rules. Non-stop.) 167. Get out of the way. (You = The problem.) 168. Smile. Sunny. Optimism. (If it kills you.) 169. Flowers. (Cheery workplace.) 170. Enjoy. (Or get the hell.) 171. Be intolerant of “sour.” (1 = Major pollution) 172. No “quick trigger” on promotion. (Too important.) 173. Evaluation = Lots of study-time. 174. Evaluation = “Life or death” to evaluee. 175. “360” evaluation. No fad. 176. Exit when you’re done. (Done. Sooner than you think.) 177. Today. Now. My Project. Am. Is. I. Period. 178. “Beautiful” systems. (Good biz phrase. Not oxymoron.) 179. Build on strengths > Fix weaknesses. 180. “To don’t” = “To do.” (“To don’t” > “To do” ?) 181. Leaders “Do” People. (Period.) 182. Leaders enjoy leading. 183. Serious leadership training = Serious. 184. Priorities. Obvious. (Or else.) 185. 5 “Priorities” = 0 Priorities. (3 “Priorities” = 0 Priorities?) 186. People. First. Last. Always. 187. It. Is. Always. The. People. 188. Handshake. (Quantity. Quality.) 189. Don’t fold your hands in front of your chest. Ever. (Never.) 190. Simplicity. Redundancy. Resilience. Bloody-mindedness. Visible optimism. (Success.) (Repeat.) 191. Employee Entrance = Guest Entrance. 192. Put the customer SECOND. (Thanks, Hal.) 193. Flowers. (Or did I say that before? No matter if I did.) 194. Big Mergers don’t work. Small acquisitions can/do work—if you don’t screw with their energy. 195. Instinctively “head for the front line.” (In all contexts.) 196. Success = DDMMPR/"D-squared, M-squared, PR” = DramDiff + Money-Financial Acumen + Good “Marketing” Instincts + Stellar People + Resilience (The “fab five”: What. Every. Small. Biz. Needs.) (Big too.) 197. Core Mechanism (“Game-changing Solutions”): PSF (Professional Service Firm “model”) + Wow! Projects (“Different” vs “Better”) + Brand You (“Distinct” or “Extinct”) 198. 2011/2016 has already happened. Find it. 199. Kids “know” kids. Oldies “know” oldies. Women “know” women. (Staff accordingly.) 200. Everybody is my customer. 201. Cosset “vendors.” 202. I want to run a Housekeeping department. (And you?) 203. The military doesn’t follow the “military model.” (Initiative = Excellence.) 204. No such thing as “going to absurd lengths” to serve the Customer. (HSM & Lefties.) 205. Forget the “customer.” All = “Clients.” 206. It takes decades to get over “sleights.” (So don’t sleight.) 207. Don’t “dumb down.” Ever. NO LESS THAN EXCELLENCE. EVER. 209. EXCELLENCE. ALWAYS. 208. EXCELLENCE. ALWAYS.