Why in the World did you go to Siberia? An emotional, vital, innovative, joyful, creative, entrepreneurial endeavor that elicits maximum Enterprise* ** (*at its best): concerted human potential in.
Download ReportTranscript Why in the World did you go to Siberia? An emotional, vital, innovative, joyful, creative, entrepreneurial endeavor that elicits maximum Enterprise* ** (*at its best): concerted human potential in.
Why in the World did you go to Siberia? An emotional, vital, innovative, joyful, creative, entrepreneurial endeavor that elicits maximum Enterprise* ** (*at its best): concerted human potential in the wholehearted service of others.** **Employees, Customers, Suppliers, Communities, Owners, Temporary partners Over-rated: Big companies! Public companies! “Cool” industries! Stability (“Built to last”)! Famous CEOs! less “Spend time with your customers!” Welcome to Tom Peters “PowerPoint World”! Beyond the set of slides here, you will find at tompeters.com the last eight years of presentations, a basketful of “Special Presentations,” and, above all, Tom’s constantly updated Master Presentation—from which most of the slides in this presentation are drawn. There are about 3,500 slides in the 7-part “Master Presentation.” The first five “chapters” constitute the main argument: Part I is context. Part II is devoted entirely to innovation—the sine qua non, as perhaps never before, of survival. In earlier incarnations of the “master,” “innovation” “stuff” was scattered throughout the presentation— now it is front and center and a stand-alone. Part III is a variation on the innovation theme—but it is organized to examine the imperative (for most everyone in the developed-emerging world) of an ultra high value-added strategy. A “value-added ladder” (the “ladder” configuration lifted with gratitude from Joe Pine and Jim Gilmore’s Experience Economy) lays out a specific logic for necessarily leaving commodity-like goods and services in the dust. Part IV argues that in this age of “micro-marketing” there are two macro-markets of astounding size that are dramatically underattended by all but a few; namely women and boomers-geezers. Part V underpins the overall argument with the necessary bedrock—Talent, with brief consideration of Education & Healthcare. Part VI examines Leadership for turbulent times from several angles. Part VII is a collection of a dozen Lists—such as Tom’s “Irreducible 209,” 209 “things I’ve learned along the way.” Enjoy! Download! “Steal”—that’s the whole point! To appreciate this presentation [and ensure that it is not a mess], you need Microsoft fonts: NOTE: “Showcard Gothic,” “Ravie,” “Chiller” and “Verdana” Tom Peters’ EXCELLENCE. ALWAYS. 15 Notions. London/28 April 2008 Slides at tompeters.com Dedicated to David O. Stewart, author of The Summer of 1787, and the late Governor Ann Richards— thanks for the “blinding flash of the obvious” “Excellence can be obtained if you: ... care more than others think is wise; ... risk more than others think is safe; ... dream more than others think is practical; ... expect more than others think is possible.” Source: Anon. (Posted @ tompeters.com by K.Sriram, November 27, 2006 1:17 AM) #1/15 “We Have … Thank you, Starbucks! Internal organizational excellence* = Deepest “Blue Ocean” *Internal organizational excellence = “Brand inside” B(I) > B(O) The Common CEO Lament: “If everything had been good, then everything would have been fine.”* *Annual Reports: Good, “Our strategy … Bad, “Unexpected …” Black Swans: This is how you earn your pay!* ** *See: The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable, Nassim Nicholas Taleb *WSC: “When the seas are calm all ships alike show mastership in sailing.” ***500 cell phones vibrate at once ***We have been “Estonia-ed” Notes to myself … Resilience (??) Attributes of resilient people: Inner calm (Buddhist?) High self-knowledge (“comfortable in own skin”) Breadth of experience—drove a cab, worked construction, ran Alaska tours … as well as more traditional stuff Sense of, “Ah, my moment” (Giuliani) Lover of modestly controlled chaos (bored amidst calm—FDR) Reach out effortlessly Reach out effortlessly to a wide variety of people Bizarrely energetic Known for integrity, in the sense of “straight shooter” Hires resilient people in key positions! (All senior leadership roles?) Maintains sense of humor Empathy (“I feel your pain”) “Cruelty” (Must make tough decisions instantaneously, without looking back; not “confident,” but overwhelming sense of urgency to press ahead) Decisive but not rigid Strong individual, strong team player Understands the chain of command—and is flexible Comfortable being challenged by thinkers, but a strong “doer” bias overall A person of Hope (religious?) Not necessarily: ex-college QB, comeback rep (Why: All within the rules, with in the context of that which has been practiced) Better: Ocean sailboat racer; ER doc; public health doc astronaut; combat experience as NCO; hostage negotiator; survived in hopeless circumstances through guile and grit; seeks “independent duty” Tests: lights go out during interview, followed by fire alarm, etc; focus on in reference checks Attributes of resilient organizations: Hire resilient folks at all levels and in all functions—explicit about so doing Promote resilience Decentralization (organization structure, physical, systems) Redundancy Financial padding Excellent equipment Ability to get by without IS-IT!! Test in uncomfortable situations Promote an unusually high share of mavericks Diversity per se Thank you, Mark and Rich! MBWA: 5K/5M 5,000 miles for a 5-minute face-to -face meeting The “Have you …” 50* *See Appendix One “Mapping your competitive position”* or … *Rich D’Aveni/HBR 1. Have you in the last 10 days … visited a customer? 2. Have you called a customer … TODAY? * * * 1. Have you in the last 10 days … visited a customer? 2. Have you called a customer … TODAY? 3. Have you in the last 60-90 days … had a seminar in which several folks from the customer’s operation (different levels, different functions, different divisions) interacted, via facilitator, with various of your folks? 4. Have you thanked a front-line employee for a small act of helpfulness … in the last three days? 5. Have you thanked a front-line employee for a small act of helpfulness … in the last three hours? 6. Have you thanked a frontline employee for carrying around a great attitude … today? 7. Have you in the last week recognized—publicly—one of your folks for a small act of cross-functional co-operation? 8. Have you in the last week recognized—publicly—one of “their” folks (another function) for a small act of cross-functional co-operation? 9. Have you invited in the last month a leader of another function to your weekly team priorities meeting? 10. Have you personally in the last week-month called-visited an internal or external customer to sort out, inquire, or apologize for some little or big thing that went awry? (No reason for doing so? If true—in your mind—then you’re more out of touch than I dared imagine.) You = Your calendar* *Calendars never lie “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” Gandhi “It’s always showtime.” —David D’Alessandro, Career Warfare “I am a … Dispenser of Enthusiasm!” —Ben Zander Conrad says … Conrad Hilton, at a gala celebrating his life, was asked, “What was the most important lesson you’ve learned in you long and distinguished career?” His immediate answer: “remember to tuck the shower curtain inside the bathtub” TGW + TGR 2-cent candy ?????? — Magician of Magical Moments! — Maestro of Moments of Truth! — Recruiter of Raving Fans! — Impresario of First Impressions! — Wizard of WOW! — Captain of Brilliant Comebacks! — Director of Electronic Customer Experiences! — Conductor of Customer Intimacy! — King of Customer Community! — Queen of Customer Retention! — CEO of Ownership Experience! — Managing Director of After-sales Experience! Quandary?! 3M’s Innovation Crisis: How Six Sigma Almost Smothered Its Idea Culture Source: Title/Cover Story, BW, 0611.07 (“What’s remarkable is how fast a culture can be torn apart,” 3M lead scientist; “In an innovation economy, [6 Sigma] is no longer a cure all”/BW) Tom says … “We made mistakes, of course. Most of them were omissions we didn’t think of when we initially wrote the software. We fixed them by doing it over and over, again and again. We do the same today. While our competitors are still sucking their thumbs trying to make the design perfect, we’re already on prototype version #5. By the time our rivals are ready with wires and screws, we are on version #10. It gets back to planning versus acting: We act from day one; others plan how to plan— for months.” —Bloomberg by Bloomberg “This is so simple it sounds stupid, but it is amazing how few oil people really understand that you only find oil if you drill wells. 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 “Fail . Forward. Fast.” High Tech CEO, Pennsylvania ry it. Try it. Screw t up. Try it. Try it Try it. Try it. Try it ry it. Screw it up Try it. Try it. try i ry it. Screw it up “You miss 100% of the shots you never take.” —Wayne Gretzky Joe J. Jones 1942 – 2008 HE WOULDA DONE SOME REALLY COOL STUFF BUT … HIS BOSS WOULDN’T HIM! LET We are the company we keep The “Are What You Eat Axiom”: At its core, every (!!!) relationshippartnership decision (employee, vendor, customer, etc) is a strategic decision “Innovate, ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ ” about: 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 “Do one thing every day that scares you.” —Eleanor Roosevelt 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! “Normal” = “o for 800” X =XFX* *Excellence = Cross-functional Excellence The “XF-50”: 50 Ways to Enhance Cross-Functional Effectiveness and Deliver Speed, “Service Excellence” and “Value-added Customer ‘Solutions’”* *See Appendix Two 8. “XF work” is the direct work of leaders! 9. “Integrated solutions” = Our “Culture.” (Therefore: XF = Our culture.) 10. Partner with “best-in-class” only. Their pursuit of Excellence helps us get beyond petty bickering. An all-star team has little time for anything other than delivering on the (big) Client promise. 11. All functions are created equal! All functions contribute equally! All = All. 12. All functions are “PSFs,” Professional Service Firms. “Professionalism” is the watchword— and true Professionalism rise above turf wars. You are your projects, your legacy is your projects—and the legacy will be skimpy indeed unless you pass, with flying colors, the “works well with others” exam! 13. We are all in sales! We all (a-l-l) “sell” those Integrated Client Solutions. Good salespeople don’t blame others for screw-ups—the Clint doesn’t care. Good salespeople are “quarterbacks” who make the system work-deliver. 14. We all invest in “wiring” the Client organization—we develop comprehensive relationships in every part (function, level) of the Client’s organization. We pay special attention to the so-called “lower levels,” short on glamour, long on the ability to make things happen at the “coalface.” 15. We all “live the Brand”—which is Delivery of Matchless Integrated Solutions which transform the Client’s organization. To “live the brand” is to become a raving fan of XF co-operation. C(I)>C(E)* *Internal customer relations [C(I)] are perhaps-often more important than external relationships [C(E)]. That is, if you Internal Relationships are excellent, you’ll have your whole company working for you to get your jobs to the head of the queue. Never waste a lunch!* ???? % XF lunches “C-levels” to Abet Cross-functional Excellence CGRO/Chief Grunge Removal Officer CXFCO/Chief Cross-functional Communication Officer CIS-CDO/Chief Information Sharing & Common Database Officer CHRO(PMLC) /Chief Human Resources Officer (Project Managers, Love and Care of) CPMFO/Chief Project Management Finance Officer CTAO/Chief Team-space Assignments Officer CE(XFNC) /Chief Executioner (Cross-functional Non-cooperation!) CXFBPDO/Chief Cross-functional Brownie-points Dispensing Officer K.i.s.s. *Keep It Simple, Stupid 90K in U.S.A. ICUs on any given day; 178 steps/day in ICU. 50% stays result in “serious complication” Source: Atul Gawande, “The Checklist” (New Yorker, 1210.07) **Peter Pronovost, Johns Hopkins, 2001 **Checklist, line infections **1/3rd at least one error when he started **Nurses/permission to stop procedure if doc, other not following checklist **In 1 year, 10-day line-infection rate: 11% to … 0% Source: Atul Gawande, “The Checklist” (New Yorker, 1210.07) 4 Days (U.S. Hospitals+) = 5 Years *Think: Compression hose-socks (Iraq) * “How to flush $500,000 down the toilet in one easy lesson!!” TP: < CAPEX > People! Organizations exist to serve. Period. Leaders live to serve. Period. Passionate servant leaders, determined to create a legacy of earthshaking transformation in their domain create/must necessarily create organizations which no less than Cathedrals in which the full and awesome power of the Imagination and Spirit and native Entrepreneurial flair of diverse individuals is unleashed … In passionate pursuit of jointly are … perceived soaring purpose and personal and community and client service Excellence. ??? % of people with … … Dreams The Dream Manager —Matthew Kelly E.g.: “An organization can only become the-best-version-of-itself to the extent that the people who drive that organization are striving to become better-versions-of-themselves.” “A company’s purpose is to become the-best-version-of-itself. The question is: What is an employee’s purpose? Most would say, ‘to help the company achieve its purpose’—but they would be wrong. That is certainly part of the employee’s role, but an employee’s primary purpose is to become thebest-version-of-himself or –herself. … When a company forgets that it exists to serve customers, it quickly goes out of business. Our employees are our first customers, and our most important customers.” The Dream Manager —Matthew Kelly “An organization can only become thebest-version-of-itself to the extent that the people who drive that organization are striving to become better-versionsof-themselves.” “A company’s purpose is to become the-best-version-of-itself. The question is: What is an employee’s purpose? Most would say, ‘to help the company achieve its purpose’—but they would be wrong. That is certainly part of the employee’s role, but an employee’s primary purpose is to become the-best-version-of-himself or –herself. … When a company forgets that it exists to serve customers, it quickly goes out of business. Our employees are our first customers, and our most important customers.” The Dream Manager —Matthew Kelly “An organization can only become the-best-version-of-itself to the extent that the people who drive that organization are striving to become better-versions-of-themselves.” “A company’s purpose is to become the-best-version-of-itself. The question is: What is an employee’s purpose? Most would say, ‘to help the company achieve its purpose’—but they would be wrong. That is certainly part of the employee’s role, but an employee’s primary purpose is to become thebest-version-of-himself or –herself. … When a company forgets that it Our employees are our first customers, and our most important customers.” exists to serve customers, it quickly goes out of business. #1 cause of Dis-satisfaction? st 1 line supervisor! The “Big Three” st 1 Marriage Parenthood Line Supervisor* *Accomplishment through others Promotions … 2/year = legacy. Hiring … “A man without a smiling face must not open a shop.” —Chinese Proverb EMPHASIZE THE “SOFT SKILLS.” “Leaders ‘SERVE’ people. Period.” —inspired by Robert Greenleaf “In the end, management doesn’t change culture. Management invites the workforce itself to change the culture.” —Lou Gerstner “I have always believed that the purpose of the corporation is to be a blessing to the employees.” * —Boyd Clarke *TP: An “organization” is, in fact and after all is said and done, a/the “house” in which most of us “live” most of the time. “No matter what the situation, [the excellent manager’s] first response is always to think about the individual concerned and how things can be arranged to help that individual experience success.” —Marcus Buckingham, The One Thing You Need to Know “We are a ‘Life Success’ Company.” Dave Liniger, founder, RE/MAX “The role of the Director is to create a space where the actors and become more than they’ve ever been before, more than they’ve dreamed of being.” actresses can —Robert Altman, Oscar acceptance speech “Every child is born an artist. The trick is to remain an artist.” —Picasso Muhammad Yunus: “All human beings are entrepreneurs. When we were in the caves we were all selfemployed . . . finding our food, feeding ourselves. That’s where human history began . . . As civilization came we suppressed it. We became labor because they stamped us, ‘You are labor.’ We forgot that we are entrepreneurs.” Source: Muhammad Yunus/2006 Nobel Peace prize winner, father of micro-lending /The News Hour—PBS/1122.2006 Excellence1982: The Bedrock “Eight Basics” 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. A Bias for Action Close to the Customer Autonomy and Entrepreneurship Productivity Through People Hands On, Value-Driven Stick to the Knitting Simple Form, Lean Staff Simultaneous Loose-Tight Properties” “Breakthrough” 82* People! Customers! Action! Values! *In Search of Excellence Cause Space (worthy of commitment) (room for/encouragement for initiative) Decency (respect, humane) Some Resources: Relationships The Manager’s Book of Decencies: How Small Gestures Build Great Companies—Steve Harrison Respect—Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot Hostmanship: The Art of Making People Feel Welcome— Jan Gunnarsson & Olle Blohm (leader as host to hisher employees) The SPEED of Trust: The One Thing that Changes Everything—Stephen M.R. Covey The Dream Manager —Matthew Kelly The Customer Comes Second: Put Your People First and Watch ’Em Kick Butt—Hal Rosenbluth and Diane McFerrin Peters (no relation—be delighted if she was) Crucial Conversations—Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, Al Switzler Crucial Confrontations —Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, Al Switzler Influence: Science and Practice—Robert Cialdini Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ—Daniel Goleman “Courtesies of a small and trivial character are the ones which strike deepest in the grateful and appreciating heart.” —Henry Clay “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle.” —Philo of Alexandria Cause Space (worthy of commitment) (room for/encouragement for initiative-adventures) Decency (respect, grace, integrity, humane) service (worthy of our clients’ & extended family’s continuing custom) excellence (period) Cause Space Decency service (worthy of commitment) (room for/encouragement for initiative-adventures) (respect, grace, integrity, humane) (worthy of our clients’ & extended family’s continuing custom) excellence servant leadership (period) Cause Space Decency service excellence servant leadership Hard Is Soft Soft Is Hard Hard Is Soft (Plans, #s) Soft Is Hard (people, customers, values, relationships)) “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 of people is [Yet] I came to see in my time at IBM that culture isn’t just one aspect of the very, very hard. game —it is the game.” —Lou Gerstner, Who Says Elephants Can’t Dance “The terms ‘hard facts,’ and ‘the soft stuff’ used in business imply that data are somehow real and strong while emotions are weak and less important.” —George Kohlrieser, Hostage at the Table R.O.I.R. Return On Investment In Relationships Q/Systems Salesperson: “I make the sale, and then the company screws up the engineering or delivery or one of a dozen things. Any suggestions? “Spend less time with your customers!” A/TP: FYI: “Relationship power” = “Monopoly power” FYI: “Sustainable competitive advantage” = “Relationship-based advantage” (period.) Relationships (of all varieties): THERE ONCE WAS A TIME WHEN A THREE-MINUTE PHONE CALL WOULD HAVE AVOIDED SETTING OFF THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL THAT RESULTED IN A COMPLETE RUPTURE. THE PROBLEM IS RARELY/NEVER THE PROBLEM. THE RESPONSE TO THE PROBLEM INVARIABLY ENDS UP BEING THE REAL PROBLEM. “I screwed up.”* *The virtuous “circle of blame “You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.” —Dale Carnegie “It was much later that I realized Dad’s secret. He gained respect by giving it. He talked and listened to the fourth-grade kids in Spring Valley who shined shoes the same way he talked and listened to a bishop or a He was seriously interested in who you were and what you had to say.” college president. Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot, Respect So, tell me why you’re here … 18 seconds For the engineers in the family … SF50: 50 “Equations” on achieving success … at pretty much anything* *See Appendix Three S = ƒ( ___ ) Success Is a Function of … S =ƒ(#PK“W”P) S = ƒ(#PK“L”P) # of people you know in the “wrong” places # people you know in “low” places ??????? “Success doesn’t depend on the number of people you know; it depends on the number of people you know in high places!” or “Success doesn’t depend on the number of people you know; it depends on the number of people you know in low places!” S = ƒ(#&DR; -2L, -3L, 4L, I&E) Success is a function of: Number and depth of relationships 2, 3, and 4 levels down inside and outside the organization S = ƒ(SD>SU) Sucking down is more important than sucking up—the idea is to have the [your] entire organization working for you. S = ƒ(#non-FF, #non-FL) Number of friends not in my function S = ƒ(#XFL/m) Number of lunches with colleagues in other functions per month S = ƒ(#FF) Number of friends in the finance organization S= ƒ(TSHRO) Time spent ... Hurdle Removing for Others C.H.R.O.* C.I.E.O.** *Chief Hurdle Removal Officer **Chief Impediment Elimination Officer ”Ninety percent of what we call management consists of making it difficult to get things done.” —Peter Drucker FLOWER POWER S = ƒ(Thank you notes per Day, flowers given per Month, Acts of Appreciation per Week) S = ƒ (%TM“TSS,” PM“TSS,” D“TD”“TSS”) % of time, measured, on This Soft Stuff, purposeful management of this Soft Stuff, daily “to do” concerning “this Soft Stuff” O(B) = ƒ(XX) O(B), the “blueness” of one’s “ocean” [think Blue Ocean Strategy, the popular book], is directly proportional to one’s eXcellence in eXecution/XX, per me. [If one finds a “strategic” “blue ocean,” one will, especially in today’s world, copied immediately; the only “defense”— possibility of sustaining success—is XX/eXcellence in eXecution. Think EXXON MOBIL; they and their rivals know where the hydrocarbons are—but EXXON MOBIL handily out-executes the competition.] S(O) = ƒ(XXFX) The single most important cause of failure to execute effectively is the lack of effective cross-functional communication-execution. Hence, Organizational Success is a eXcellence (X) in crossfunctional (XF) eXecution (X). Attached function of as Appendix II is my: The “XF-50”: 50 Ways to Enhance CrossFunctional Effectiveness and Deliver Speed, “Service Excellence” and “Value-added Customer ‘Solutions.’” S(O) = ƒ(X“SIT”) In 1982 in In Search of Excellence, Bob Waterman and I wrote about the idea of “MBWA,” or Managing By Wandering Around; we came across “MBWA” at Hewlett-Packard, then a much smaller company, and it was love at first sight! For reasons described in Appendix III, I recently returned to the centrality of that notion—and created a list of 50 “Have Yous.” That is, instead of worrying ceaselessly about “strategy” and “blue oceans,” how good a job have you done at Staying In Touch with your extended internal and external “organizational family”? That is: S(O), X “SIT,” eXcellence at Staying In Touch. Organizational Success, is a function of MBWA: 20M Notes from William Easterly’s: The White Man’s Burden: Why the West’s Effort to Aid the Rest Have Done So Much Ill and so Little Good “The West spent … trillion $2.3 on foreign aid over the last five decades and still has not managed to get twelve-cent medicines to children to prevent half of all malaria deaths. The West spent $2.3 trillion and still not managed to get three dollars to each new mother to prevent five million child deaths. … But I and many other like-minded people keep trying, not to abandon aid to the poor, but to make sure it reaches them.” Easterly, maligned by many, is the arch-enemy of the Big Plan [his capital letters, not mine] sent from afar; and the vociferous fan of practical activities of those he calls “Searchers” … who learn the ins and outs of the culture, politics and local conditions “on the ground” in order to use local levers and local players, and get those 12cent medicines to community members. Read on, “Planners” vs “Searchers” … “In foreign aid, Planners announce good intentions but don’t motivate anyone to carry them out; Searchers find things that work and get some reward. Planners raise expectations but take no responsibility for meeting them; Searchers accept responsibility for their actions; Planners determine what to supply; Searchers find out what is in demand. Planners apply global blueprints; Searchers adapt to local conditions. Planners at the top lack knowledge of the bottom; Searchers find out what the reality is at the bottom. Planners never hear whether the planned recipients got what they needed; Searchers find out if the customer is satisfied. … A Planner thinks he already knows the answers; he thinks of poverty as a technical engineering problem that his answers will solve. A Searcher admits he doesn’t know the answers in advance; he believes that poverty is a complicated tangle of political, social, historical, institutional, and technological factors; he hopes to find answers to individual problems only by trial and error experimentation. A planner believes outsiders know enough to impose solutions; a Searcher believes only insiders have enough knowledge to find solutions, and that most solutions must be homegrown. …” Derived from the above and more, I have extracted a series of “lessons” from the Easterly book. These implementation lessons are, in fact, universal: Lesson (#1 of sooooooo many): Show up! (On the ground, where the action—and possible implementation—is.) Lesson: Invest in ceaseless study of conditions “on the ground”—social and political and historical and systemic. “Ninety percent of success is showing up.” —Woody Allen Lesson: Talk to the “locals.” Lesson: Listen to the “locals.” Lesson: Hear the “locals.” Lesson: Listen to the “locals.” Lesson: Hear the “locals.” Lesson: Listen to the “locals.” Lesson: Hear the “locals.” Lesson: Listen to the “locals.” Lesson: Hear to the “locals.” Lesson: Listen to the “locals.” Lesson: Hear to the “locals.” Lesson: Respect the “locals.” Lesson: Empathize with the “locals.” Talk. Listen. Hear. Respect. Lesson: Try to blend in, adopting local customs, showing deference were necessary—almost everywhere; and never interrupt the “big man” in front of his folk, even, or especially, if you think he is 180 degrees off. Lesson: Seek out the local leaders’ second cousins, etc, to gain indirect assess over their uncle twice removed! (Etc & etc.) Lesson: Have a truly crappy office, and other un-trappings! Lesson: Remember, you do not in fact have the answers despite your PhD with, naturally, honors, from the University of Chicago—where you were mentored by not one, but two, Nobel Laureates in economics. Lesson: Regardless of the enormity of the problem, proceed by trial (manageable in size) and error, error, error. (Failure motto: “Do it right the first time!” Success motto: “Do it right the 37th time!” And hustle through those 37 tries—see the next slide.) Nothing is “scalable”!* Nothing is “scalable”!* *Every replication must exude the perception of uniqueness—even if it means a half-step backwards. (“It wouldn’t have worked if we hadn’t done it our way.”) “Buy in”“Ownership”Authorial bragging rights-“Born again” Champion = One Line of Code! Speed kills! Lesson: Short-circuiting political process kills! Lesson: Premature rollout kills! Lesson: Too much publicity-visibility kills! Lesson: Too much money kills! Lesson: Too much technology kills! Lesson: Lesson: Never forget the atmospherics, such as numerous celebrations for tiny milestones reached, showering praise on the local leader and your local cohorts, while you assiduously stand at the back of the crowd—etc. Lesson: The experiment has failed until the systems and political rewards, often small, are in place, with Beta tests completed, to up the odds of repetition. Lesson: Most of your on-the-ground staff must consist of respected locals—the de facto or de jure Chairman or CEO must be a local; you must be virtually invisible. Lesson: Spend enormous “pointless” social time with the local political leaders—in Gulf War I, Norm Schwarzkopf spent his evenings, nearly all of them, drinking tea until 2AM or 3AM with the Saudi crown prince; he called it his greatest contribution! Give good tea!* *Norm, Ben Lesson: For projects involving children or health or education or community development or sustainable small-business growth (most projects), women are by far the most reliable and most central and most indirectly powerful local players in even the most chauvinist settings—their characteristic process of “implementation by indirection” means “life or death” to sustainable project success; moreover, the expanding concentric circles of women’s traditional networking processes is by far the best way to “scale up”/expand a program. (Men should not even try to understand what is taking place. Among other things, this networking indirection-largely invisible process will seemingly “take forever” by most men’s “action now, skip steps” S.O.P.—and then, from out of the blue, following an eternity of rambling discussions-on-top-oframbling-discussions, you will wake up one fine morning and discover that the thing is done that everything has fallen in place “overnight” and that ownership is nearly universal. Concomitant imperative; most of your (as an outsider) staff should be women, alas, most likely not visibly “in charge.” For projects involving children or health or education or community development or sustainable smallbusiness growth (most projects), women are by far the most reliable and most central and most indirectly powerful local players even in the most chauvinist settings. Regardless of the topic—mundane or grand— it is attending to the same “mundane” “human” “timeless” “basics” that shape the outcome and determine the degree of implementation. The Master of GTD* is the true Master of the Universe. Lesson of Lessons: *GTD/Getting Things Done “Women are the majority market” —Fara Warner/The Power of the Purse “Goldman Sachs in Tokyo has developed an index of 115 companies poised to benefit from women’s increased purchasing power; over the past decade the value of shares in Goldman’s basket has risen by 96%, against the Tokyo stockmarket’s rise of 13%.” —Economist, April 15 most significant variable in every “The sales situation is the gender of the buyer, and more importantly, how the salesperson communicates to the buyer’s gender.” —Jeffery Tobias Halter, Selling to Men, Selling to Women “AS LEADERS, WOMEN RULE: New Studies find that female managers outshine their male counterparts in almost every measure” TITLE/ Special Report/ BusinessWeek “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 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” “Forget China, India and the Internet: Economic Growth Is Driven by Women.” —Headline, Economist, April 15, 2006, Leader, page 14 10 UNASSAILABLE REASONS WOMEN RULE Women make [all] the financial decisions. Women control [all] the wealth. Women [substantially] outlive men. Women start most of the new businesses. Women’s work force participation rates have soared worldwide. Women are closing in on “same pay for same job.” Women are penetrating senior ranks rapidly [even if the pace is slow for the corner office per se]. Women’s leadership strengths are exceptionally well aligned with new organizational effectiveness imperatives. Women are better salespersons than men. Women buy [almost] everything—commercial as well as consumer goods. So what exactly is the point of men? !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! “People turning 50 more than half of today have their adult life ahead of them.” —Bill Novelli, 50+: Igniting a Revolution to Reinvent America We are the Aussies & Kiwis & Americans & Canadians. We are the Western Europeans & Japanese. We are the fastest growing, the biggest, the wealthiest, the boldest, the most (yes) ambitious, the most experimental & exploratory, the most different, the most indulgent, the most difficult & demanding, the most service & experience obsessed, the most vigorous, (the least vigorous,) the most health conscious, the most female, the most profoundly important commercial market in the history of the world—and we will be the Center of your universe for the next twentyfive years. We have arrived! Over-rated: Big companies! Public companies! “Cool” industries! Stability (“Built to last”)! Famous CEOs! “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 #4 Japan #2T china #2t USA #1 Germany Reason!!! Mittelstand Over-rated: Big companies! Public companies! “Cool” industries! Stability (“Built to last”)! Famous CEOs! Family Businesses Two-thirds of total #s of companies One-half of biggest companies >One-half GDP >One-half employment 6% more profitable 7% better ROA Higher income growth Higher revenue growth Source: John Davis, HBS Over-rated: Big companies! Public companies! “Cool” industries! Stability (“Built to last”)! Famous CEOs! “Natural selection is death. ... Without huge amounts of death, organisms do not change over time. ... Death is the mother of structure. ... It took four billion years of death ... to invent the human mind ...” — The Cobra Event 7,700,000 – 7,200,000 = 500,000 Over-rated: Big companies! Public companies! “Cool” industries! Stability (“Built to last”)! Famous CEOs! Jim’s Group Jim’s Mowing Canada Jim’s Mowing UK Jim’s Antennas Jim’s Bookkeeping Jim’s Building Maintenance Jim’s Carpet Cleaning Jim’s Car Cleaning Jim’s Computer Services Jim’s Dog Wash Jim’s Driving School Jim’s Fencing Jim’s Floors Jim’s Painting Jim’s Paving Jim’s Pergolas [gazebos] Jim’s Pool Care Jim’s Pressure Cleaning Jim’s Roofing Jim’s Security Doors Jim’s Trees Jim’s Window Cleaning Jim’s Windscreens Note: Download, free, Jim Penman’s book: What Will They Franchise Next? The Story of Jim’s Group Basement Systems Inc. *Basement Systems Inc. *Larry Janesky *Dry Basement Science (115,000!) *1990: $0; 2003: $13M; 2007: $62,000,000 Over-rated: Big companies! Public companies! “Cool” industries! Stability (“Built to last”)! Famous CEOs! Mission impossible? $36B/’98 minus $675M/‘07 Market capitalization lost per day, 19982007: $10,000,000/Day *Lived in same town all adult life *First generation that’s wealthy/ no parental support *“Don’t look like millionaires, don’t dress like millionaires, don’t eat like millionaires, don’t act like millionaires” *“Many of the types of businesses [they] are in could be classified as ‘dull-normal.’ [They] are welding contractors, auctioneers, scrap-metal dealers, lessors of portable toilets, dry cleaners, re-builders of diesel engines, paving contractors …” Source: The Millionaire Next Door, Thomas Stanley & William Danko Black Swans: This is how you earn your pay!* ** *See: The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable, Nassim Nicholas Taleb *WSC: “When the seas are calm all ships alike show mastership in sailing.” #15/15 The “9 Ps of Leadership PURPOSE. PASSION. Potential. Presence. Personal. PERSISTENCE. PEOPLE. Potent. Positive. “[other] admirals more frightened of losing than anxious to win” On NELSON: Joe J. Jones 1942 – 2008 HE WOULDA DONE SOME REALLY COOL STUFF BUT … HIS BOSS WOULDN’T HIM! LET 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 appendix one The “Have you …” 50 “Mapping your competitive position” or … While waiting last week [early December 2007] in the Albany airport to board a Southwest Airlines flight to Reagan, I happened across the latest Harvard Business Review, on the cover of which was a yellow sticker. The sticker had on it the words “Mapping your competitive position.” It referred to a feature article by my friend Rich D’Aveni. His work is uniformly good—and I have said as much publicly on several occasions dating back 15 years. I’m sure this article is good, too— though I didn’t read it. In fact it triggered a furious negative “Tom reaction” as my wife calls it. Of course I believe you should worry But instead of obsessing on competitive position and other abstractions, as the B-schools and consultants would always have us do, I instead wondered about some “practical stuff” which I believe is more important to the shortand long-term health of the enterprise, tiny or enormous. about your “competitive position.” “Unfortunately many leaders of major companies believe their job is to create the strategy, organization and organization processes— remaining aloof from the people doing the work.” —George Kohlrieser, Hostage at the Table (GK is, among other things, a hostage negotiator with a 95% success rate) 1. Have you in the last 10 days … visited a customer? 2. Have you called a customer … TODAY? 3. Have you in the last 60-90 days … had a seminar in which several folks from the customer’s operation (different levels, different functions, different divisions) interacted, via facilitator, with various of your folks? 4. Have you thanked a front-line employee for a small act of helpfulness … in the last three days? 5. Have you thanked a front-line employee for a small act of helpfulness … in the last three hours? 6. Have you thanked a frontline employee for carrying around a great attitude … today? 7. Have you in the last week recognized—publicly—one of your folks for a small act of cross-functional co-operation? 8. Have you in the last week recognized—publicly—one of “their” folks (another function) for a small act of cross-functional co-operation? 9. Have you invited in the last month a leader of another function to your weekly team priorities meeting? 10. Have you personally in the last week-month called-visited an internal or external customer to sort out, inquire, or apologize for some little or big thing that went awry? (No reason for doing so? If true—in your mind—then you’re more out of touch than I dared imagine.) 1. Have you in the last 10 days … visited a customer? 2. Have you called a customer … TODAY? Blog1231.07 FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FOR IMMEDIATE ACTION! FOR IMMEDIATE ACTION! FOR IMMEDIATE ACTION! OLD YEAR’S RESOLUTION! Call (C-A-L-L!) (NOT E-MAIL!) 25-50 (NO LESS THAN 25) people … TODAY * …to thank them for their support this year (2007) … and wish them and their families and colleagues a Happy 2008! ** *** **** ***** ****** *Today = TODAY = N-O-W (not “within the hour”) **Remember: ROIR > ROI. ROIR = Return On Investment in Relationships. Success = ƒ(Relationships). ***This is the most important piece of advice I have provided this year. ****This is … Not Optional. *****Trust me: This is fun!!!! ******Trust me: This “works.” Happy 2008!!! I posted this at tompeters.com on New Year’s Eve 2007. 11. Have you in the last two days had a chat with someone (a couple of levels down?) about specific deadlines concerning a project’s next steps? 12. Have you in the last two days had a chat with someone (a couple of levels down?) about specific deadlines concerning a project’s next steps … and what specifically you can do to remove a hurdle? (“Ninety percent of what we call management consists of making it difficult for people to get things done.”—Peter “His eminence” Drucker.) 13. Have you celebrated in the last week a “small” (or large!) milestone reached? (I.e., are you a milestone fanatic?) 14. Have you in the last week or month revised some estimate in the “wrong” direction and apologized for making a lousy estimate? (Somehow you must publicly reward the telling of difficult truths.) 15. Have you installed in your tenure a very comprehensive customer satisfaction scheme for all internal customers? (With major consequences for hitting or missing the mark.) 16. Have you in the last six months had a week-long, visible, very intensive visit-“tour” of external customers? 17. Have you in the last 60 days called an abrupt halt to a meeting and “ordered” everyone to get out of the office, and “into the field” and in the next eight hours, after asking those involved, fixed (f-i-x-e-d!) a nagging “small” problem through practical action? 18. Have you in the last week had a rather thorough discussion of a “cool design thing” someone has come across—away from your industry or function—at a Web site, in a product or its packaging? 19. Have you in the last two weeks had an informal meeting—at least an hour long—with a frontline employee to discuss things we do right, things we do wrong, what it would take to meet your mid- to long-term aspirations? 20. Have you had in the last 60 days had a general meeting to discuss “things we do wrong” … that we can fix in the next fourteen days? UniCredit Group/ UniCredito Italiano* ** —3rd party measurement —Customer-initiated measurement —Primary $$$$ incentives —“Factories” —Primary Corporate Initiative —Etc *#13 **TP/#1 The director of staff services at the giant financial services firm, UniCredit Group, installed the most thorough internal customer satisfaction measures scheme I have seen—with exceptional rewards for those who make the grade with their internal customers. 21. Have you had in the last year a one-day, intense offsite with each (?) of your internal customers—followed by a big celebration of “things gone right”? 22. Have you in the last week pushed someone to do some family thing that you fear might be overwhelmed by deadline pressure? 23. Have you learned the names of the children of everyone who reports to you? (If not, you have six months to fix it.) 24. Have you taken in the last month an interesting-weird outsider to lunch? 25. Have you in the last month invited an interesting-weird outsider to sit in on an important meeting? 26. Have you in the last three days discussed something interesting, beyond your industry, that you ran across in a meeting, reading, etc? 27. Have you in the last 24 hours injected into a meeting “I ran across this interesting idea in [strange place]”? 28. Have you in the last two weeks asked someone to report on something, anything that constitutes an act of brilliant service rendered in a “trivial” situation— restaurant, car wash, etc? (And then discussed the relevance to your work.) 29. Have you in the last 30 days examined in detail (hour by hour) your calendar to evaluate the degree “time actually spent” mirrors your “espoused priorities”? (And repeated this exercise with everyone on team.) 30. Have you in the last two months had a presentation to the group by a “weird” outsider? You = Your calendar* *Calendars never lie All we have is our time. The way we spend our time is our priorities, is our “strategy.” Your calendar knows what you really care about. Do you? 31. Have you in the last two months had a presentation to the group by a customer, internal customer, vendor featuring “working folks” 3 or 4 levels down in the vendor organization? 32. Have you in the last two months had a presentation to the group of a cool, beyond-our-industry ideas by two of your folks? 33. Have you at every meeting today (and forever more) re-directed the conversation to the practicalities of implementation concerning some issue before the group? 34. Have you at every meeting today (and forever more) had an end-of-meeting discussion on “action items to be dealt with in the next 4, 48 hours? (And then made this list public—and followed up in 48 hours.) And made sure everyone has at least one such item.) 35. Have you had a discussion in the last six months about what it would take to get recognition in local-national poll of “best places to work”? 36. Have you in the last month approved a cool-different training course for one of your folks? Have you in the last month taught a front-line training course? 37. 38. Have you in the last week discussed the idea of Excellence? (What it means, how to get there.) 39. Have you in the last week discussed the idea of “Wow”? (What it means, how to inject it into an ongoing “routine” project.) 40. Have you in the last 45 days assessed some major process in terms of the details of the “experience,” as well as results, it provides to its external or internal customers? 41. Have you in the last month had one of your folks attend a meeting you were supposed to go to which gives them unusual exposure to senior folks? 42. Have you in the last 60 (30?) days sat with a trusted friend or “coach” to discuss your “management style”—and its long- and short-term impact on the group? 43. Have you in the last three days considered a professional relationship that was a little rocky and made a call to the person involved to discuss issues and smooth the waters? (Taking the “blame,” fully deserved or not, for letting the thing-issue fester.) 44. Have you in the last … two hours … stopped by someone’s (two-levels “down") officeworkspace for 5 minutes to ask “What do you think?” about an issue that arose at a more or less just completed meeting? (And then stuck around for 10 or so minutes to listen—and visibly taken notes.) 45. Have you … in the last day … looked around you to assess whether the diversity pretty accurately maps the diversity of the market being served? (And …) 46. Have you in the last day at some meeting gone out of your way to make sure that a normally reticent person was engaged in a conversation—and then thanked him or her, perhaps privately, for their contribution? 47. Have you during your tenure instituted very public (visible) presentations of performance? 48. Have you in the last four months had a session specifically aimed at checking on the “corporate culture” and the degree we are true to it—with all presentations by relatively junior folks, including front-line folks? (And with a determined effort to keep the conversation restricted to “real world” “small” cases—not theory.) 49. Have you in the last six months talked about the Internal Brand Promise? 50. Have you in the last year had a full-day off site to talk about individual (and group) aspirations? Relationships (of all varieties): THERE ONCE WAS A TIME WHEN A THREE-MINUTE PHONE CALL WOULD HAVE AVOIDED SETTING OFF THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL THAT RESULTED IN A COMPLETE RUPTURE. R.O.I.R. Return On Investment In Relationships Job One. “You must care.” —General Melvin Zais “Courtesies of a small and trivial character are the ones which strike deepest in the grateful and appreciating heart.” —Henry Clay appendix two The “XF-50”: 50 Ways to Enhance CrossFunctional Effectiveness and Deliver Speed, “Service Excellence” and “Valueadded Customer ‘Solutions’” X =XFX* *Excellence = Cross-functional Excellence A 2007 letter from John Hennessy, president of (1) Stanford University, to alumni laid out his long-term “vision” for that esteemed institution. The core of the vision’s promise was more multi-disciplinary research, aimed at solving some of the world’s complex systemic problems. (2) The chief of GlaxoSmithKline, a few years ago, announced a “revolutionary” new drug discovery process—human-scale centers of interdisciplinary excellence, called Centers of Excellence in Drug Discovery. (It worked.) (3) Likewise, amidst a study of organization effectiveness in the oil industry’s exploration sector, I came across a particularly successful firm—one key to that success was their physical and organizational mingling of formerly warring (two sets of prima donnas) geologists and geophysicists. (4) The cover story in Dartmouth Medicine, the Dartmouth med school magazine, featured a “revolutionary” approach, “microsystems,” as “the big idea that [might] save U.S. healthcare.” The nub is providing successful patient outcomes in hospitals by forming multi-function patient-care teams, including docs, nurses, labtechs and others. (“Co-operating doc” may top the oxymoron scale.) (5) One of the central responses to 911 is an effort to get intelligence services, home to some of the world’s most viscous turf wars, talking to one another—we may have seen some of the fruits of that effort in the recently released National Intelligence Estimate. And in the military, inter-service co-operation has increased by an order of magnitude since Gulf War One—some of the services’ communication systems can actually be linked to those of other services, a miracle almost the equal of the Christmas miracle in my book! 1. It’s our organization to make work—or not. It’s not “them,” the outside world that’s the problem. The enemy is us. Period. 2. Friction-free! Dump 90% of “middle managers”—most are advertent or inadvertent “power freaks.” We are all—every one of us—in the Friction Removal Business, one moment at a time, now and forevermore. 3. No “stovepipes”! “Stove-piping,” “Silo-ing” is an Automatic Firing Offense. Period. No appeals. (Within the limits of civility, somewhat “public” firings are not out of the question—that is, make one and all aware why the axe fell.) 4. Everything on the Web. This helps. A lot. (“Everything” = Big word.) 5. Open access. All available to all. Transparency, beyond a level that’s “sensible,” is a de facto imperative in a Burn-the-Silos strategy. Project managers rule!! Project managers running XF (crossfunctional) projects are the Elite of the organization, and seen as such and treated as such. (The likes of construction companies have practiced this more or less forever.) 6. 7. “Value-added Proposition” = Application of integrated resources. (From the entire supplychain.) To deliver on our emergent business raison d’etre, and compete with the likes of our Chinese and Indian brethren, we must co-operate with anybody and everybody “24/7.” IBM, UPS and many, many others are selling far more than a product or service that works—the new “it” is pure and simple a product of XF co-operation; “the product is the co-operation” is not much of a stretch. “We have met the enemy and he is us.” —Walt Kelly/“Pogo” Schlumberger! A January 2008 BusinessWeek cover story informed us that Schlumberger may well take over the world: “THE GIANT STALKING BIG OIL: How Schlumberger Is Rewriting the Rules of the Energy Game.” In short, Schlumberger knows how to create and run oilfields, anywhere, from drilling to fullscale production to distribution. And the nugget is hardcore, relatively small, technically accomplished, highly autonomous teams. As China and Russia, among others, make their move in energy, state run companies are eclipsing the major independents. (China’s state oil company just surpassed Exxon in market value.) At the center of it all, abetting these new players who are edging out the Exxons and BPs, the Kings of Large-scale, Long-term Project Management wear Schlumberger overalls. (The pictures in the article from Siberia alone are worth the cover price.) At the center of the center of the Schlumberger “empire” is a relatively newly configured outfit, reminiscent of IBM’s Global Services and UPS’ integrated logistics’ experts and even Best Buy’s now ubiquitous “Geek Squads.” The Schlumberger version is simply called IPM, for Integrated Project Management. It lives in a nondescript building near Gatwick Airport, and its chief says it will do “just about anything an oilfield owner would want, from drilling to production”—that is, as BusinessWeek put it, “[IPM] strays from [Schlumberger’s] traditional role as a service provider* and moves deeper into areas once dominated by the majors.” (*My old pal was solo on remote offshore platforms interpreting geophysical logs and the like.) 8. “XF work” is the direct work of leaders! 9. “Integrated solutions” = Our “Culture.” (Therefore: XF = Our culture.) 10. Partner with “best-in-class” only. Their pursuit of Excellence helps us get beyond petty bickering. An all-star team has little time for anything other than delivering on the (big) Client promise. 11. All functions are created equal! All functions contribute equally! All = All. 12. All functions are “PSFs,” Professional Service Firms. “Professionalism” is the watchword—and true Professionalism rise above turf wars. You are your projects, your legacy is your projects—and the legacy will be skimpy indeed unless you pass, with flying colors, the “works well with others” exam! 13. We are all in sales! We all (a-l-l) “sell” those Integrated Client Solutions. Good salespeople don’t blame others for screw-ups—the Clint doesn’t care. Good salespeople are “quarterbacks” who make the system work-deliver. 14. We all invest in “wiring” the Client organization—we develop comprehensive relationships in every part (function, level) of the Client’s organization. We pay special attention to the so-called “lower levels,” short on glamour, long on the ability to make things happen at the “coalface.” 15. We all “live the Brand”—which is Delivery of Matchless Integrated Solutions which transform the Client’s organization. To “live the brand” is to become a raving fan of XF co-operation. C(I)>C(E)* *Internal customer relations [C(I)] are perhaps-often more important than external relationships [C(E)]. That is, if you Internal Relationships are excellent, you’ll have your whole company working for you to get your jobs to the head of the queue. 16. We use the word “partner” until we want to barf! (Words matter! A lot!) 17. We use the word “team” until we want to barf. (Words matter! A lot!) 18. We use the word “us” until we want to barf. (Words matter! A lot!) 19. We obsessively seek Inclusion—and abhor exclusion. We want more people from more places (internal, external—the whole “supply chain”) aboard in order to maximize systemic benefits. 20. Buttons & Badges matter—we work relentlessly at team (XF team) identity and solidarity. (“Corny”? Get over it.) 21. All (almost all) rewards are team rewards. 22. We keep base pay rather low—and give whopping bonuses for excellent team delivery of “seriously cool” cross-functional Client benefits. WE NEVER BLAME OTHER PARTS OF THE ORGANIZATION FOR SCREWUPS. 24. WE TAKE THE HEAT—THE WHOLE TEAM. (For anything and everything.) (Losing, like winning, is a team affair.) 25. “BLAMING” IS AN AUTOMATIC FIRING OFFENSE. 23. 26. “Women rule.” Women are simply better at the XF communications stuff—less power obsessed, less hierarchically inclined, more group-team oriented. 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’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 “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 27. Every member of our team is an honored contributor. “XF project Excellence” is an “all hands” affair. 28. We are our XF Teams! XF project teams are how we get things done. 29. “Wow Projects” rule, large or small—Wow projects demand by definition XF Excellence. 30. We routinely attempt to unearth and then reward “small gestures” of XF cooperation. 31. We invite Functional Bigwigs to our XF project team reviews. 32. We insist on Client team participation—from all functions of the Client organization. 33. An “Open talent market” helps make the projects “silo-free.” People want in on the project because of the opportunity to do something memorable—no one will tolerate delays based on traditional functional squabbling. 34. Flat! Flat = Flattened Silos. Flat = Excellence based on XF project outcomes, not power-hoarding within functional boundaries. 35. New “C-level”? We more or less need a “C-level” job titled Chief Bullshit Removal Officer. That is, some kind of formal watchdog whose role in life is to make cross-functionality work, and I.D. those who don’t get with the program. 36. Huge (H-U-G-E) co-operation bonuses. Senior team members who conspicuously shine in the “working together” bit are rewarded or punished Big Time. (A million bucks in one case I know—and a noncooperating very senior was sacked.) James Robinson III: $500K (on the spot, collaboration) Alan Puckett: Fire the best! (failure to collaborate) 37. Get physical!! “Co-location” is the most powerful “culture changer. Physical X-functional proximity is almost a guarantee (yup!) of remarkably improved cooperation—to aid this one needs flexible workspaces that can be mobilized for a team in a flash. 38. Ad hoc. To improve the new “X-functional Culture,” little XF teams should be formed on the spot to deal with an urgent issue—they may live for but ten days, but it helps the XF habit, making it normal to be “working the XF way.” 39. “Deep dip.” Dive three levels down in the organization to fill a senior role with some one who has been pro-active on the XF dimension. 40. Formal evaluations. Everyone, starting with the receptionist, should have an important XF rating component in their evaluation. 41. Demand XF experience for, especially, senior jobs. The military requires all would-be generals and admirals to have served a full tour in a job whose only goals were cross-functional. Great idea! 42. Early project “management” experience. Within days, literally, of coming aboard folks should be “running” some bit of a project, working with folks from other functions—hence, “all this” becomes as natural as breathing. 43. “Get ’em out with the customer.” Rarely does the accountant or bench scientist call one the customer. Reverse that. Give everyone more or less regular “customer-facing experiences.” One learns quickly that the customer is not interested in our in-house turf battles! 44. Put “it” on the–every agenda. XF “issues to be resolved” should be on every agenda—morning project team review, weekly exec team meeting, etc. A “next step” within 24 hours (4?) ought to be part of the resolution. 45. XF “honest broker” or ombudsman. The ombudsman examines XF “friction events” and acts as Conflict Resolution Counselor. (Perhaps a formal conflict resolution agreement?) 46. Lock it in! XF co-operation, central to any value-added mission, should be an explicit part of the “Vision Statement.” 47. Promotions. Every promotion, no exceptions, should put XF Excellence in the top 5 (3?) evaluation criteria. 48. Pick partners based on their “co-operation proclivity.” Everyone must be on board if “this thing” is going to work; hence every vendor, among others, should be formally evaluated on their commitment to XF transparency—e.g., can we access anyone at any level in any function of their organization without bureaucratic barriers? 49. Fire vendors who don’t “get it”—more than “get it,” welcome “it” with open arms.” 50. Jaw. Jaw. Jaw. Talk XF cooperation-value-added at every opportunity. Become a relentless bore! Excellence! There is a state of XF Excellence per se. Talk about it. Pursue it. Aspire to nothing less. 51. X =XFX* *Excellence = Cross-functional Excellence “C-levels” to Abet Cross-functional Excellence CGRO/Chief Grunge Removal Officer CXFCO/Chief Cross-functional Communication Officer CIS-CDO/Chief Information Sharing & Common Database Officer CHRO(PMLC) /Chief Human Resources Officer (Project Managers, Love and Care of) CPMFO/Chief Project Management Finance Officer CTAO/Chief Team-space Assignments Officer CE(XFNC) /Chief Executioner (Cross-functional Non-cooperation!) CXFBPDO/Chief Cross-functional Brownie-points Dispensing Officer In We have “C-level” officers for any damn thing you can mention. So I thought I’d add my voice to the fray. If XF (Cross-functional) performance is a/the paramount issue for modern enterprise effectiveness (where one is bringing to bear the wherewithal of the entire enterprise to provide high-value, systemic “solutions” for customers), then XFX/Cross-functional excellence is necessarily priority #1. And we need an exec to lead the charge—try these job titles on for size! The “XF Bible” Building a Knowledge-driven Organization: Overcome Resistance to the Free Flow of Ideas. Turn Knowledge into New Products and Services. Move to a Knowledge-based Strategy —Robert Buckman The 180-degree “Middle Manager Flip” @ Buckman Labs … From: “information choke points” To: “knowledge transfer facilitators,” with 100% (!!!) of their rewards based on spurring co-operation across former barriers. Bob Buckman runs Buckman Labs, a half-billion dollar, Memphis-based specialty chemicals company. You might well roll your eyes at the overused “customer solutions” moniker—but Buckman does just that with panache and for profit, creating and applying chemical compounds in customized ways to deal with production and cleanup issues for specific customer facilities in the likes of the paper and leather-making industries. The devotion to custom “solutions” is the bedrock, the alpha to omega, of the firm’s extraordinary new-product and financial record. Those closer to the intellectual fray than me claim that Bob gets “inventor” rights in the now ubiquitous “knowledge management” arena. In any event, this book is the Buckman Labs saga in extraordinary detail—it is particularly valuable because it moves so far beyond the relatively easy software-technology bit and emphasizes the way in which a company’s culture must be jerked around 180-degrees to destroy former functional barriers. E.g., middle managers, typically choke points guarding information and access to their domain, became “knowledge transfer facilitators,” with 100% (!!!) of their rewards based on spurring co-operation across former barriers. appendix three Attending to the “Last 98%”: The New “Management Science,” or “Hard” Is “Soft,” “Soft” Is “Hard” Tom Peters/17 April 2008 Alternate title … Attending to the “Last 98%”: flower power! Tom Peters/17 April 2008 FLOWER FLOWER POWER POWER Hold in your mind the idea of “flower power” —more to come! S = ƒ( ___ ) Success Is a Function of … SF50: Success Is a Function of* ... *What follows are not in fact true mathematical formulae— obviously. Nonetheless, in tribute to my own scientific background, and, more important, that of many seminar participants, I have chosen this format—which seems to work for those of “my ilk” to whom it has been exposed SF50: 50 “Equations” on achieving success … at pretty much anything S = ƒ(#&DR; -2L, -3L, 4L, I&E) Success is a function of: Number and depth of relationships 2, 3, and 4 levels down inside and outside the organization S = ƒ(SD>SU) Sucking down is more important than sucking up—the idea is to have the [your] entire organization working for you. S = ƒ(#non-FF, #non-FL) Number of friends not in my function S = ƒ(#XFL/m) Number of lunches with colleagues in other functions per month S = ƒ(#FF) Number of friends in the finance organization Loser: “He’s such a suck-up!” Winner: “He’s such a suck-down.” Never* waste a lunch! *More or less S =ƒ(#PK“W”P) S = ƒ(#PK“L”P) # of people you know in the “wrong” places # people you know in “low” places ??????? “Success doesn’t depend on the number of people you know; it depends on the number of people you know in high places!” or “Success doesn’t depend on the number of people you know; it depends on the number of people you know in low places!” It helps to know people in … high places!” It helps more to know people in … low places!” Gust Avarkotos’ “boiler room” CIA pals Walter’s “enabler” P.M. Thank You notes Flexirent’s XSec’s Customer PA lunches Anybody’s XSec Anybody’s PA All customer Purchasing Dept receptionists Secy Chaffee’s letter writer McKinsey report prep staff McKinsey research staff Admiral’s Aide Congressional Committee staff drafter Congressman’s appropriate LA Anybody in Finance The previous entries are shorthand for stories about “low level” relationships determining “high level” decisions—or at least having surprising impact. Flexirent is an Australian consumer financial services company. Its offerings are mostly made through retailers—and following the “80-20 rule,” a small # of retailers control a large share of Flexirent’s business. The Executive Secretary-“PA” (Personal Assistant) to Flexirent’s CEO is a bright, energetic, outgoing person. Along the way, and not accidentally, she has developed very close relationships to the Pas of most of the CEOs of Flexirent’s major customers. Among other things, she more or less regularly (quarterly, roughly) takes her PA pals out for lunch. The goal on both sides is clear, understood and shameless—to enhance unvarnished communications among these true “power players.” One can only imagine the number of times, over, say, five years, that this “back channel” (“front Channel,” in reality) has paved the way for success and staved off disasters. The rest of the entries on the slide are of the same ilk. S = ƒ(OF) Number of oddball friends S = ƒ(PDL) Purposeful, deep listening—this is very hard S = ƒ(“DSTM,” EH, TTAGFG) Don’t shoot the messenger—embrace him! Truth-tellers are gifts from God! S = ƒ(#EODD3MC) Number of end-of-the-day difficult (you’d rather avoid) “3minutecalls” that sooth raw feelings, mend fences, etc. S = ƒ(UFP, UFK, OAPS) Unsolicited favors performed, UFs involving co-workers’ kids, overt acts politeness-solicitude toward co-workers’ spouses, parents, etc. Source: How Doctors Think, Jerome Groopman Relationships (of all varieties): THERE ONCE WAS A TIME WHEN A THREE-MINUTE PHONE CALL WOULD HAVE AVOIDED SETTING OFF THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL THAT RESULTED IN A COMPLETE RUPTURE. S= ƒ(TSHRO) Time spent ... Hurdle Removing for Others Peter Drucker once famously said, “Ninety-percent of what we call ‘management’ consists of making it difficult for people to get things done.” There is more than a grain of truth to that. On the other side, and there can be an “other side,” I see the manager’s principal role as identifying things that get in people’s way (by asking them!) and meticulously getting those things out of their way. Thence, you could cal the boss the CIRO, or Chief Impedance Reduction Officer, or my choice, CHR, Chief Hurdle Remover. In any event the idea is that this is a/the primary task the boss performs—and that it is a systematic, pro-active affair (e.g., on the daily agenda). S = ƒ(A#C, PTS/“OLC”, SAPA) Absolute # of consultations, perception of being taken seriously (Responsible for “one line of code”), small acts of public appreciation S = ƒ(1D) Seeking the assignment of writing first drafts, minutes, etc. (1787) S = ƒ(#SEAs) Number of solid relationships with Executive Assistants S = ƒ(%UL/w-m) % useful lunches per week, month S = ƒ(FG, FOC-BOF, CMO) Favors given, favors owed collectively, balance of favors, conscious management thereof “Buy in”“Ownership”Authorial bragging rights-“Born again” Champion = One Line of Code! “It works this way, Tom. You’re talking to a guy who’s important to implementation down where the rubber meets the road. He’s skeptical—he either really is, or it’s the act he chooses to play. You go over the thing with him and he has a thousand objections. You nod your head a lot, and take copious notes. Then you go back to your guys, and you find a few places where you can very specifically accommodate him. You make the changes, even if they are pretty ugly. Then you go back to him, and show him exactly what you’ve done. You have a ‘born again’ supporter. You took him seriously—and through the changes, he’s now your co-inventor, your savior. Now he’s doing the selling for you. Hey, the whole damn thing wouldn’t have worked were it not for his interjections—that’s the way he frames it to his folks. I tell you, it never fails.” Source: Australian IS-IT chief, mid-sized company in financial services S = ƒ(SU) Showing up (Woody Allen, Delaware’s ridiculous influence on the Constitution of the USA) S = ƒ(KSU, R) Keep showing up; relentlessness (U.S. Grant!!) S = ƒ(DW, TMSTTOG) Drill wells, try more stuff than the other guy (John Masters, Mike Bloomberg) “Ninety percent of success is showing up.” —Woody Allen “This is so simple it sounds stupid, but it is amazing how few oil people really understand that you only find oil if you drill wells. 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 “We made mistakes, of course. Most of them were omissions we didn’t think of when we initially wrote the software. We fixed them by doing it over and over, again and again. We do the same today. While our competitors are still sucking their thumbs trying to make the design perfect, we’re already on prototype version # 5. By the time our rivals are ready with wires and screws, we #10. It gets back to planning versus acting: We act from day one; others plan how to plan— for months.” —Bloomberg by Bloomberg are on version S= ƒ(CM) Conscious calendar management (the calendar never lies) You = Your calendar* *Calendars never lie! “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” Gandhi S = ƒ(CPRM, TS) Conscious-planned Relationship management, time spent thereon R.O.I.R. Far more important than “ROI”! Return On Investment In Relationships FYI: “Relationship power” = “Monopoly power” The goal is clear—an “unfair” share of attention from an internal staffer, a vendor, a customer. We unabashedly pursue through good-betterbest relationships de facto monopoly—the monopolization of other important folks’ love and affection, as it were. FYI: “Sustainable competitive advantage” = “Relationship-based advantage” (period.) Some Resources: Relationships The Manager’s Book of Decencies: How Small Gestures Build Great Companies—Steve Harrison Respect—Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot Hostmanship: The Art of Making People Feel Welcome— Jan Gunnarsson & Olle Blohm (leader as host to hisher employees) The SPEED of Trust: The One Thing that Changes Everything—Stephen M.R. Covey The Dream Manager —Matthew Kelly The Customer Comes Second: Put Your People First and Watch ’Em Kick Butt—Hal Rosenbluth and Diane McFerrin Peters (no relation—be delighted if she was) Crucial Conversations—Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, Al Switzler Crucial Confrontations —Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, Al Switzler Influence: Science and Practice—Robert Cialdini Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ—Daniel Goleman A few of my favorite “reads” on this topic— especially #1. The idea of “competitiveadvantage-through-decency” is extraordinary. Of course, “we know this”—but to see it spelled out this way may change the course of your professional life. S = ƒ(TN/d, FG/m, AA/d) Thank you notes per Day, flowers given per Month, Acts of Appreciation per Day S = ƒ(WLHAO) Willingness to laugh heartily at oneself S = ƒ(PTA100%A“T”S, E“NMF, TTT) Proactive, timely, 100% apologies for “tiny” screw-ups, even if not my fault (it always takes two to tango) S = ƒ(AMR, NBS-SG) Acceptance of mutual responsibilities for all affairs, no blameshifting, scape-goating S = ƒ(RP, PRP>>P) Never forget, and act accordingly: Response to the screwupproblem and perception thereof is (far, far) more important than the problem itself! S = ƒ(APLSLFCT) Awareness, perception of little snubs—and lightening fast correction thereof S= ƒ(RCV) Reduced customer visits (& more time on internal “customer” relationships—that allow us to deliver on customer promises) S= ƒ(U“PIATI”) Understanding … “Perception is all there is!” S= ƒ(“EM”/NSTLT; “F”ITU, -80%) “Everything matters”/No such thing as a “little thing”—etching of fly in the urinal in Amsterdam airport reduces “spillage” by 80% S= ƒ(A“L”IOE) Attention to “little” Indicators Of Excellence—e.g. fresh flowers at the reception desk S= ƒ(“GGT”) “Give good tea”—Ben Franklin in Paris in 1777, Norm Schwarzkopf with the Saudi Crown Prince during Gulf War I; effectiveness at socializing with the “power behind the throne” Give good tea!* *Norm S, Ben F S = ƒ(TN/d, FG/m, AA/d) Thank you notes per Day, flowers given per Month, Acts of Appreciation per Day S = ƒ(WLHAO) Willingness to laugh heartily at oneself S = ƒ(RP, PRP>>P) Never forget, and act accordingly: Response to the screwupproblem and perception thereof is (far, far) more important than the problem itself! S = ƒ(APLSLFCT) Awareness, perception of little snubs—and lightening fast correction thereof S= ƒ(3X“O”C) “Over”-communicate (status, problems) by a factor of three THE PROBLEM IS RARELY/ THE RESPONSE TO THE PROBLEM INVARIABLY ENDS UP BEING THE REAL PROBLEM. NEVER THE PROBLEM. FLOWER POWER S = ƒ(Thank you notes per Day, flowers given per Month, Acts of Appreciation per Week) “The deepest human need is the need to be appreciated.” William James “Courtesies of a small and trivial character are the ones which strike deepest in the grateful and appreciating heart.” —Henry Clay S = ƒ(PTA100%A“T”S, E“NMF, TTT) Proactive, timely, 100% apologies for “tiny” screw-ups, even if not my fault (it always takes two to tango) S = ƒ(AMR, NBS-SG) Acceptance of mutual responsibilities for all affairs, no blameshifting, scape-goating “I’m really sorry.” Power phrase: Amazing how rare this is—which of course is why it’s so powerful. “I screwed up.” Power phrase: S = ƒ(G) Grace S = ƒ(GA) Grace toward adversary S = ƒ(GW) Grace toward the wounded in bureaucratic firefights S = ƒ(PD) Purposeful decency S = ƒ(MB“TSS”MR) Purposeful management of this Soft Stuff by people reporting to me S = ƒ(EC, MMO) Emotional connection, mgt & maintenance of S = ƒ(IMDOP) Investment in Mastery of detailed organizational processes “What I learned from my years as a hostage negotiator is that we do not have to feel powerless—and that bonding is the antidote to the hostage situation.” —George Kohlrieser, Hostage at the Table (GK’s negotiation success rate is >95%) S = ƒ(H-TS) Time spent on Hiring S = ƒ(TSPD, TSP-L1) Time spent on promotion decisions, especially for 1st level managers S = ƒ(%“SS,” H-PD) % soft stuff involved in Hiring, Promotion decisions S = ƒ(%WLP) % women in leadership positions S = ƒ(TWA, P, NP) Time wandering around, purposeful, non-planned S = ƒ(SBS) Slack built into Schedule “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” This “relationship stuff” comes naturally to women (for starters, from the genes); and is painfully difficult for many-most men. “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 S = ƒ (%TM“TSS,” PM“TSS,” D“TD”“TSS”) % of time, measured, on This Soft Stuff, purposeful management of this Soft Stuff, daily “to do” concerning “this Soft Stuff” Q: But where’s the beef? A: This is the beef! “The terms ‘hard facts,’ and ‘the soft stuff’ used in business imply that data are somehow real and strong while emotions are weak and less important.” —George Kohlrieser, Hostage at the Table O(B) = ƒ(XX) O(B), the “blueness” of one’s “ocean” [think Blue Ocean Strategy, the popular book], is directly proportional to one’s eXcellence in eXecution/XX, per me. [If one finds a “strategic” “blue ocean,” one will, especially in today’s world, copied immediately; the only “defense”— possibility of sustaining success—is XX/eXcellence in eXecution. Think EXXON MOBIL; they and their rivals know where the hydrocarbons are—but EXXON MOBIL handily out-executes the competition.] “Equations” #48, #49 and #50 are more about organizational effectiveness than individual effectiveness—and thus round out this brief presentation. S(O) = ƒ(XXFX) The single most important cause of failure to execute effectively is the lack of effective cross-functional communication-execution. Hence, Organizational Success is a eXcellence (X) in crossfunctional (XF) eXecution (X). Attached function of as Appendix II is my: The “XF-50”: 50 Ways to Enhance CrossFunctional Effectiveness and Deliver Speed, “Service Excellence” and “Value-added Customer ‘Solutions.’” S(O) = ƒ(X“SIT”) In 1982 in In Search of Excellence, Bob Waterman and I wrote about the idea of “MBWA,” or Managing By Wandering Around; we came across “MBWA” at Hewlett-Packard, then a much smaller company, and it was love at first sight! For reasons described in Appendix III, I recently returned to the centrality of that notion—and created a list of 50 “Have Yous.” That is, instead of worrying ceaselessly about “strategy” and “blue oceans,” how good a job have you done at Staying In Touch with your extended internal and external “organizational family”? That is: S(O), X “SIT,” eXcellence at Staying In Touch. Organizational Success, is a function of Hard Is Soft Soft Is Hard Hard Is Soft (Plans, #s) Soft Is Hard (people, customers, values, relationships)) “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 of people is [Yet] I came to see in my time at IBM that culture isn’t just one aspect of the very, very hard. game —it is the game.” —Lou Gerstner, Who Says Elephants Can’t Dance The tough-minded Mr Gerstner became a reluctant convert to the power of this “soft stuff.” FLOWER FLOWER POWER POWER