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To appreciate this presentation [and ensure that it is not a mess], you need Microsoft fonts: NOTE: “Showcard Gothic,” “Ravie,” “Chiller” and “Verdana” “Do I have to work ‘til ninety?” The Black Swan has landed! “[other] admirals more frightened of losing than anxious to win” On NELSON: “Nothing is so contagious as enthusiasm.” —Samuel Taylor Coleridge Focus on upside! Period! Best Time of your life! “When the seas are calm, all ships alike show mastership in floating.” —WSC* (*with apologies to Aussies) Web. (<25) R&D Could Thoroughly Rotten Times Be The Ultimate Opportunity For Greatness/Excellence?* (*Hint: The Answer May Be/Is “Yes.”) (*Hint: What’s the Alternative?) Informa/The Grove/15.01.09 Tom Peters’ Excellence. Always. Informa/The Grove/15.01.09 It Ain’t Rocket Science! Sunday “Drive By”: The CEO of a very successful mid-sized bank, in the Mid-west, attended a seminar of mine in Northern California in the mid-80s—but I remember the following as if it were yesterday. I’ve forgotten the specific context, but I recall him saying to me, pretty much word “Tom let me tell you the definition of a good lending officer. After church on Sunday, on the way home with his family, he takes a little detour to drive by the factory he just lent money to. Doesn’t go in or any such thing, just drives by and takes a look.” for word, “Berezovsky … came under attack from the newly powerful Primakov, and was shunned by most of the Putin made a point of attending Berezovsky’s wife’s birthday party. Berezovsky repaid Putin by championing his candidacy to run the F.S.B., Russia’s secret police, formerly the K.G.B., and ultimately by suggesting that the Family make him president. To sum up, the man’s political elite. qualifications were: he did not take a bribe from a car dealership and had been unafraid to go to a party for an acquaintance who had fallen into disfavor.” —”Dead Soul,” Vanity Fair, October 2008 The Real World’s “Little” Rule Book Ben/tea Norm/tea DDE/make friends DDE/NM/smile WFBuckley/make friends-help friends Gust/Suck down Charlie/poker pal-BOF Edward VII/dance-flattermingle-learn the language Vlad/birthday party of outgroup guy’s wife CIO/finance network ERP installer/consult-“one line of code” GE Energy/make friends risk assessment GWB/check the invitation list GHWB/T-notes Hank/60 calls MarkM/5K-5M Delaware/show up Oppy/snub Lewis Strauss -$4.3T/tin ear tp.com/Big 4-What do you think? Design Ubiquity: The Practice of “Nudgery” “Design is everything. Everything is design.” “We are all designers.” Inspiration: The Power of Design: A Force for Transforming Everything, Richard Farson. And Judgment Under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases, Daniel Kahneman & Amos Tversky; Why We Buy, Paco Underhill. Also Sway-Nudge-Multipliers-Mundane Tools-etc. 45% 86% 401(k) active opt-in: 401(k) as default: Source: New York Times, 1202.08 (research by Richard Thaler, co-author Nudge) No waste baskets/paper recycling Cases vs charts Default/401(k)/45% vs 86% Designer next to the CEO Opel plant away from factory Rickover’s chair/Sunlight in my eyes/LBJ on the edge of the rug Thank you notes/10 years Stew/Wrapped and loose fish/2X Stew/No exit aisles Wal*Mart/Oversized carts Coins with likenesses Post Office architecture Pat visits the Local president Thom Mayer and the crossed arms “Management” of body language (2/3rds of communication) 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) **Docs, nurses make own checklists on whatever process-procedure they choose **Within weeks, average stay in ICU down 50% Source: Atul Gawande, “The Checklist” (New Yorker, 1210.07) Socks = 10K You = Your calendar* *Calendars never lie “It’s always showtime.” —David D’Alessandro, Career Warfare Prowl the bowels of the organization First question asked Top of the agenda Calendar! Checklist/Peter Pronovost/ICU line infections/50%-0% Visible measures/Creech and billboards Creech/mechanics’ “drive by” Food at front Seating arrangement Table shape Physical arrangements (distance, co-location, grand or not/Apple) Geologists/Geophysicists XFX/Cross-functional Excellence (meetings, talks, etc) “The hang out axiom” (“We are what we eat.”) See greenery, recover faster (map, smell of cookies, pianos/ Planetree) Vary road crossing times/engage “Everything matters” -80% Source: Nudge, Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein, etching of fly in the urinal reduces “spillage” by 80%, Schiphol Airport Sexy voice/USAF Walls of yesterday or tomorrow Staff “lives with” line “Broken windows”-“beer and piss patrol”/sense of order, small crimes beget large ones Washington and “dress for success”/winter 1776 Dress code Fly in the urinal/-80% Parking lot location/elevator speed/food court Behavioral Primacy! E.g.: plate size; location of platters, 6.5 feet Away = -63% “Seconds” Source: Brian Wansink, Mindless Eating (20 lbs per year; 200 decisions per day) Plate size/distance from “seconds” (6.5 feet = 63%) >50 feet = 50 miles/T Allen Casual gathering places/ “nooks”/ 3M-Austin Walk down the stairs once a month/ 9-11 survivor Glasses in the cup (two weeks) TP party prep “Renegade” buildings Welcoming reception area (Insta“smell culture”) Burlington Police Department/ decals on glasses/12.31.06 Bike at the door/Running shoes next to the bed Measures/New (TP & Seabees) Reports (WIAR/Women’s Initiative Annual Report/Deloitte & Touche) MBWA Grant sleep on the ground, travel with one assistant Promotions/Deep dip “Small” personal gestures Focus/One inescapable campaign/ Welch-GE FLOWER POWER BLOOMBERG’S FLOWER POWER Bloomberg/Flower Power Hustle/Gandhi Stand-up meetings Ask vs talk “What do you think?” Engaged listening Go to door to meet Obama transition Awareness of “Kremlinologists” “Courtesies of a small and trivial character are the ones which strike deepest in the grateful and appreciating heart.” —Henry Clay Jim Jeffords oversight! The … Hire for smile! TOV/tone of voice Master the arcane rules/ Al Smith/LBJ/Dole/Tom DeLay “Eighty percent of success is showing up”/Woody Allen/ Delaware “Courtesies of a small and trivial character are the ones which strike deepest in the grateful and appreciating heart.”/Henry Clay Jeffords/Missing invitation Flowers Nudgery/The Hang Out Axiom We are the company we keep The “We are what we eat” axiom: At its core, every (!!!) relationship-partnership decision (employee, vendor, customer, etc) is a strategic decision about: “Innovate, ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ ” 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 “[CEO A.G.] Lafley has shifted P&G’s focus on inventing all its own products others’ inventions at least half the time. One successful to developing example Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, based on a product found in an Osaka market.” —Fortune “Diverse groups of problem solvers—groups of people with diverse tools—consistently outperformed groups of the best and the brightest. If I formed two groups, one random (and therefore diverse) and one consisting of the best individual performers, the first group almost always did better. … Diversity trumped ability.” —Scott Page, The Difference: How the Power of Diversity Creates Better Groups, Firms, Schools, and Societies Diversity True “Bottom Line” “Business has to give people enriching, rewarding lives, or it's simply not worth doing.” —Richard Branson Organizations exist to serve. Period. Leaders live to serve. Period. 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 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. “Managers have lost dignity over the past decade in the face of wide spread institutional breakdown of trust and self-policing in business. To regain society’s trust, we believe that business leaders must embrace a way of looking at their role that goes beyond their responsibility to the shareholders to include a civic and personal commitment to their duty as institutional custodians. In other words, it is time hat management became a profession.” —Rakesh Khurana & Nitin Nohria, “It’s Time To Make Management a True Profession,” HBR/10.08 “Too Much Cost, Not Enough Value” … “Too Much Speculation, Not Enough Investment” … “Too Much Complexity, Not Enough Simplicity” … “Too Much Counting, Not Enough Trust” … “Too Much Business Conduct, Not Enough Professional Conduct” … “Too Much Salesmanship, Not Enough Stewardship” … “Too Much Focus on Things, Not Enough Focus on Commitment” … “Too Many Twenty-first Century Values, Not Enough EighteenthCentury Values” … “Too Much ‘Success,’ Not Enough Character” —chapter titles from John Bogle, Enough. The Measures of Money, Business, and Life (Bogle is founder of the Vanguard Mutual Fund Group) Good Stuff “What affects the game business the most is makers’ ability to introduce products that surprise consumers, rather than only economic conditions.” —Satoru Iwata, CEO, Nintendo, “Managing Through a Crisis: The Best Managers,” BusinessWeek, 19 January 2009 8:45AM, 6:15PM 2-cent candy Free lemon It starts in the parking lot. Etc. Great Stuff “You do not merely want to be the best of the best. You want to be considered the only ones who do what you do.” —Jerry Garcia Insanely great” Jim’s Group “In Blackburn, olds four-year- are making podcasts. In Suffolk, the sometimes tedious and impractical ritual of morning Assembly has been replaced in one school by a news video compiled by pupils; posting it on YouTube means parents can watch as well—and they do. … Learners at all stages and ages, from all over the world, are downloading free tutorials while they replenish their iPods, courtesy of iTunes U. … Source: The Guardian, 0113.09, “Resource 2009,” a preview of BETT 2009 “We need to further expand the concept of what a video game is—we will redefine games to include anything bringing people joy, including music, cameras, and health-management features.” —Satoru Iwata, CEO, Nintendo, “Managing Through a Crisis: The Best Managers,” BusinessWeek, 19 January 2009 “MirandaNet is pioneering the concept of ‘braided learning’—digital exchanges using instant messaging an social networking where members contribute their comments, judgments and evidence to create shared insights to influence current professional thinking. … Braided learning allows professionals to create their own knowledge that can be used locally, regionally and nationally; they become activist professionals.” Source: The Guardian, 0113.09, “Resource 2009,” a preview of BETT 2009 “The Billion-man Research Team: Companies offering work to online communities are reaping the benefits of ‘crowdsourcing.’” —Headline, FT, 0110.07 “There’s a fundamental shift in power happening. Everywhere, people are getting together and, using the Internet, disrupting whatever activities they’re involved in.” —Pierre Omidyar, founder, eBay Rob McEwen/CEO/ Goldcorp Inc./ Red Lake gold Source: Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything, Don Tapscott & Anthony Williams 20 January 2009 “Technology massively multiplies soft power— particularly video technology, and particularly in the hands of non-state actors. … The power and distinction of a government’s voice is lost in the competing chatter, and in some ways it becomes the least compelling simply because it’s the least novel. It’s not just words competing against words. Images are now competing against images. People are visual creatures, and they tend to respond to videos and pictures on a much less YouTube (and whatever follows it) will soon have greater global influence over narratives about international events (if it doesn’t already) than any government information source could hope to have.” rational and much more visceral level. … —Foreign Policy, Nov-Dec 2008 We ARE NAKED. The entire distributed community is part of our “corporate culture.” The entire distributed community is part of our “Brand.” We are accountable to the entire distributed community. Our power can multiply overnight. Our power can dissipate in a click. CSM/101 Tired “Citigroup to break itself up” Sorry, Sandy: Source: Headline, p1, Financial Times, 0114.09 “Development can help great people be even better—but if I had a dollar to spend, I’d spend 70 cents getting the right person in the door.” —Paul Russell, Director, Leadership & Development, Google the most important aspect of business “In short, hiring is and yet remains woefully misunderstood.” Source: Wall Street Journal, 10.29.08, review of Who: The A Method for Hiring, Geoff Smart and Randy Street Who? —The screening interview —The “Topgrading Interview” (story and patterns) —Focused interview —Reference interview* *Detailed rituals, goals, follow-up Source: Who: The A Method for Hiring, Geoff Smart and Randy Street “I regard apologizing as the most magical, healing, restorative gesture human beings can make. It is the centerpiece of my work with executives who want to get better.” —Marshall Goldsmith, What Got You Here Won’t Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful The GTD* MBA *Getting Things Done “Execution is strategy.” —Fred Malek fffffii Core *Managing people I, II, III, IV *Creating and managing systems with high impact *Leadership I, II *Servant leadership *Execution I, II, III *Creating a “Try it now”-“Fail Forward Fast”-“Ready. Fire. Aim.” “culture” *Maximizing ROIR [Return On Investment in Relationships] Sales I, II, III, IV * *Service basics I, II *Creating incredible customer experiences Core *The art and science of influence I, II *Crucial conversations-Crucial confrontations *Accounting* I, II [*acctg., not “finance”] *Accountability I, II *Calendar mastery/Mastering “to don’t” *MBWA I, II *Nurturing and harvesting curiosity in one and all *Giving great presentations I, II *Active listening I, II *Excellence as aspiration, Excellence everywhere, Excellence all the time Other *Recruiting top talent for 100% of enterprise jobs *Recruiting for smiles, enthusiasm, energy *Nurturing top talent *Helping people (employees, customers, vendors, communities) grow and realize their dreams *The promotion decision *Women as pre-eminent leaders *The power of decentralization—and the barriers thereto Other *The art of finding and loving freaks *Creating an environment of respect and decency *The pre-eminent role of emotion in everything *Saying “thank you” I, II *Aggressive apologizing *Giving good phone, working the phones *Creating and nurturing lasting win-win alliances *The real “stuff”-basics of crossfunctional excellence Other *The Art of the Nudge *Rapid prototyping of everything, and the Art of Serious Play *Rewarding failures *Increasing a business’s metabolic rate *Diversity power everywhere *The power of universal transparency me First “To develop others, start with yourself.” —Marshall Goldsmith “Work on me first.” —Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan and Al Switzler/Crucial Conversations “Being aware of yourself and how you affect everyone around you is what distinguishes a superior leader.” —Edie Seashore (Strategy + Business #45) “How can a high-level leader like _____ be so out of touch with the truth about himself? It’s more common than you would imagine. In fact, the higher up the ladder a leader climbs, the less accurate his self-assessment is likely to be. The problem is an acute lack of feedback [especially on people issues].” —Daniel Goleman (et al.), The New Leaders Park your ego at the door “If I had said ‘yes’ to all the projects I turned down and ‘no’ to all the ones I took, it would have worked out about the same.” —Hollywood studio senior exec to William Goldman (from The Drunkards Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives, by Leonard Mlodinow) “We have a ‘strategic plan.’ It’s called doing things.” — Herb Kelleher Core Value “We are thoughtful in all we do.” Thoughtfulness is key to customer retention. Thoughtfulness is key to employee recruitment and satisfaction. Thoughtfulness is key to brand perception. Thoughtfulness is key to your ability to look in the mirror—and tell your kids about your job. “Thoughtfulness is free.” Thoughtfulness is key to speeding things up— it reduces friction. Thoughtfulness is key to transparency and even cost containment—it abets rather than stifles truth-telling. “Kindness is free.” none! 139,380 former patients from 225 hospitals: Press Ganey Assoc: none of THE top 15 factors determining Patient Satisfaction referred to patient’s health outcome P.S. directly related to Staff Interaction P.P.S. directly correlated with Employee Satisfaction Source: Putting Patients First, Susan Frampton, Laura Gilpin, Patrick Charmel “There is a misconception that supportive interactions require more staff or more time and are therefore more costly. Although labor costs are a substantial part of any hospital budget, the interactions themselves add nothing to the budget. Kindness is free. Listening to patients or answering their questions costs nothing. It can be argued that negative interactions—alienating patients, being non-responsive to their needs or limiting their sense of control—can be very costly. … Angry, frustrated or frightened patients may be combative, withdrawn and less cooperative—requiring far more time than it would have taken to interact with them initially in a positive way.” —Putting Patients First, Susan Frampton, Laura Gilpin, Patrick Charmel The Black Swan 44: Tactical Rules for Survival (and success) in Looney times Tom Peters/03 October 2008 The Black Swan has landed! Career = 1 or 2 black swans “I [will] not accept the explanation of a recession negatively effecting the [new] business. There are still people traveling. We just have to get them to stay in our hotel.” —Horst Schulze, former president of Ritz Carlton, on his new luxury hotel chain, Capella, from Prestige (06.08) Black Swan Tactical Rules 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. K.I.S.S. Hammer on the basics. Focus on us, not the competition. Puzzle-solving: How to turn this into an opportunity. MBWA/X. MBWA/I. MBWA/Vendors. Waaaaay over-communicate!!!!!! (With everyone—start with your banker.) Black Swan Tactical Rules 9. All work is team work. 10. Transparency. 11. Work the phones. 12. Perception of fairness. 13. Share the pain. 14. Decency!!!!!!! 15. Grace!! 16. “Thank you.” 17. Control your impatience— no temper tantrums. 18. Constant attitude checks—you. Black Swan Tactical Rules 19. Dress for success. 20. Avoid burnout/you, the team, the entire organization. 21. Re-emphasize the company values-philosophy. (Now, more than ever.) 22. Quality!!!!!! (Now, more than ever.) 23. No corner cutting. (Now, more than ever.) 24. Constant reviews/War room. 25. Celebration of small wins. Black Swan Tactical Rules 26. People First/HR is King. 27. Help people with personal financial management. 28. Be generous to those who are let go—e.g. healthcare benefits. 29. Don’t over-analyze. 30. Don’t under-analyze. 31. Cuts all at once—if possible. 32. Cuts explained in great detail. 33. Quantitative calendar management—focus on “to don’ts.” Black Swan Tactical Rules 34. Increase customer-service training. 35. In general, minimize training cuts. 36. Be(very)ware R&D cuts; R&D quick pay SWAT teams. 37. Beware such things as sales travel cuts, ad cuts. 38. “Across the board” = Dumb. 39. Is this a time to over-invest if cash is at hand? (E.g., distressed innovative start-ups?) Black Swan Tactical Rules 40. Stealth work on the likes of XF communication. 41. This could last a long time— LT prep is necessary now. 42. Prepare/Be prepared for more Black Swans. 43. Excellence. (Now, more than ever.) (44. Remember all this in peacetime—Chuck Knight’s legacy.) this is your life. Think 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 this is your life. Think GRANT NELSON MONTY GRANT* Source (mostly): Grant, Jean Edward Smith “This [adolescent] incident [of getting from point A to point B] is notable not only because it underlines Grant’s fearless horsemanship and his determination, but also it is the first known example of a very important peculiarity of his character: Grant had an extreme, almost phobic dislike of turning back and retracing his steps. If he set out for somewhere, he would get there somehow, whatever the difficulties that lay in his way. This idiosyncrasy would turn out to be one the factors that made him such a formidable general. Grant would always, always press on— turning back was not an option for him.” —Michael Korda, Ulysses Grant “A generation of American officers had been schooled to believe the art of generalship required rigid adherence to certain textbook theorems.”/151 “The nature of Grant’s greatness has been a riddle to many observers. … did not hedge his bets … disregarded explicit instructions … nothing to fall back on … violating every maxim held dear by the military profession … new dimension: ability to learn from the battlefield … finished near the bottom of his [West Point] class in tactics … carried the fight to the enemy … maintain the momentum of the attack … military greatness is the ability to recognize and respond to opportunities presented.”/152-3 “Grant had an aversion to digging in.”/153 “Grant had an intangible advantage. He knew what he wanted.”/153 “Grant’s seven-mile dash changed the course of the war.”/157 “The one who attacks first will be “dogged”/159 “unconditional surrender”/162 “simplicity and determination”/166 “quickness of mind that allowed him to make on the spot adjustments … [his] battles were not elegant set-piece operations”/166 “[other Union general] preferred preparation to execution … became a friend of detail … victorious.”/158 suffered from ‘the slows’ …”/170 Message to Halleck from McClellan: “Do not hesitate to arrest him” [following great victory]/172 … “learned how to withstand attacks from the rear” [Army politics]/179 “He never credited the enemy with the capacity to take the offensive.”/185 “tenacity [like Wellington]”/187 “I haven’t despaired of whipping them yet” [at a very low point]/195 … “inchoate bond [between Grant and soldiers]”/201 … “The genius of Grant’s command style lay in its simplicity. Grant never burdened his division commanders with excessive detail. … no elaborate staff conferences, no written orders prescribing deployment. … Grant recognized the battlefield was in flux. By not specifying movements in detail, he left his subordinate commanders free to exploit whatever opportunities developed.”/202 “If anyone other than Grant had been in command, the Union army certainly would have retreated.”/204 Lincoln (urged to fire Grant): “I can’t spare this man; he fights.”/205 “Grant turned defeat into Union victory.”/206 “moved on intuition, which he often could not explain or justify.”/208 “instinctive recognition that victory lay in relentlessly hounding a defeated army into surrender.”/213 Nathan Bedford Forrest, successful Confederate commander: “amenable to no known rules of procedure, was a law unto himself for all military acts, and was constantly doing the unexpected at all times and places.”/213 “The art of war does not require complicated maneuvers; the simplest are the best, and common sense is fundamental. From which one might wonder how it is generals make blunders; it is because they try to be clever.” —Napoleon on Simplicity, from Napoleon on Project Management by Jerry Manas. “Above all the troops appreciated Grant’s unassuming manner. Most generals went about attended by a retinue of immaculately tailored staff officers. Grant usually rode alone, except for an orderly or two to carry messages if the need arose. Another soldier said the soldiers looked on Grant ‘as a friendly partner, not an arbitrary commander.’ Instead of cheering as he rode by, they would ‘greet him as they would address one of their neighbors at home. ‘Good morning, General,’ ‘Pleasant day, General’ … There was no nonsense, no sentiment; only a plain businessman of the republic, there for the one single purpose of getting that command over the river in the shortest time possible.’” [Grant: 5-feet 8-inches with a slouch]/232 After the victory at Chattanooga: “The [Union senior] officers rode past the Confederates smugly without any sign of recognition except by one. ‘When General Grant reached the line of ragged, filthy, bloody, despairing prisoners strung out on each side of the bridge, he lifted his hat and held it over his head until he passed the last man of that living funeral cortege. He was the only officer in that whole train who recognized us as being on the face of the earth.’”/ 281 “Grant was unhappy about going into winter quarters. He saw no reason to keep the army idle, and the pause would give the rebels time to reorganize.”/282 TP’s take: Intuition takes precedence (listen attentively but act on intuition) … Move today > perfect plan tomorrow [subsequent Patton line] … Great advantage: When moving, you know what you’re up to and you’re moving [the one sitting still is, thence, always reactive] [Boyd: quickest O.O.D.A. loops/Observe. Orient. Decide. Act. Disorient enemy] … Action! ... Keep moving! … Engage! … Offense! [weakness-strength: can’t even imagine enemy counter-attacking; little conception of defense] … Momentum! …. Keep ’em off balance … … Adjust … Adapt … … Opportunism! … Constantly revise in accordance with conditions and opportunities in the field [life = excellence at “Plan B”] … Doggedness … Relentless!! [trait shaped in early childhood] … Never retreat … Simplicity! … Wide latitude for division commanders … minimum written orders, conferences, etc … keep his own council … HQ is Grant & his horse … no retinue! … commune with soldiers/exude quiet confidence/Approachable … decent … Self-accountability! … Evade orders (or ignore) … Share harm & hardship … total victory/ demand “unconditional surrender”—G’s first claim to fame [Nelson: other Admirals avoid loss, friend and foe as in Grant’s case vs Nelson’s seek victory] … [Life 101: politics between the Generals: E.g., Grant & Halleck] NELSON The Nelson Baker’s Dozen 1. Simple-clear scheme (“Plan”) (Not wildly imaginative) (Patton: “A good plan executed with vigor right now tops a ‘perfect’ plan executed next week.”) 2. SOARING/BOLD/CLEAR/UNEQUIVOCAL/WORTHY/NOBLE/INSPIRING “GOAL”/“MISSION”/“PURPOSE”/“QUEST” 3. “Conversation”: Engagement of All Leaders 4. Leeway for Leaders: Select the Best/Dip Deep/Initiative demanded/Accountability swift/Micromanagement absent 5. LED BY “LOVE” (Lambert), NOT “AUTHORITY” (Identify with sailors!) 6. Instinct/Seize the Moment/“Impetuosity” (Boyd’s “OODA Loops”: React more quickly than opponent, destroy his “world view”) 7. VIGOR! (Zander: leader as “Dispenser of Enthusiasm”) 8. Peerless Basic Skills/Mastery of Craft (Seamanship) 9. Workaholic! (“Duty” first, second, and third) 10. LEAD BY CONFIDENT & DETERMINED & CONTINUOUS & VISIBLE EXAMPLE (In Harm’s Way) (Gandhi: “You must be the change you wish to see in the world”/ Giuliani: Show up!) 11. Genius (“Transform the world to conform to their ideas,” “Triumph over rules”) (Gandhi, Lee-Singapore) , not Greatness (“Make the most of their world”) 12. Luck! (Right time, right place; survivor) (“Lucky Eagle” vs “Bold Eagle”) 13. Others principal shortcoming: “ADMIRALS MORE FRIGHTENED OF LOSING THAN ANXIOUS TO WIN” Source: Andrew Lambert, Nelson: Britannia’s God of War Nelson’s Way: A Baker’s Dozen/Short 1. Simple scheme. 2. Noble purpose! 3. Engage others. 4. Find great talent, let it soar! 5. Lead by Love! 6. Trust your gut, not the focus group: Seize the Moment! 7. Vigor! 8. Master your craft. 9. Work harder than the next person. 10. Show the way, walk the talk, exude confidence! Start a Passion Epidemic! 11. Change the rules: Create your own game! 12. Shake of the pain, get back up off the ground, the timing may well be right tomorrow! (E.g., Get lucky!) 13. By hook or by crook, quash your fear of failure, savor your quirkiness and participate fully in the fray! Source: Andrew Lambert, Nelson: Britannia’s God of War “He above all encouraged (and prepared) his subordinates to seize the initiative whenever necessary, particularly in the fog of war —and the men who served under him knew what he expected.” —Jay Tolson, on “The Nelson Touch,” The Battle That Changed The World MONTY Monty* Success/Adhere to basic fundamental principals. Success/Concentration Success/Fighting spirit and morale Success/Simplicity Success/Decide what you want to do, and do it. My system/I see no paper My system/Within the framework of my plan, commanders or staff officers carry on in their own way. My system/Cut HQ down Etc. *Master of the Battlefield: Monty’s War Years 1942-1944, Nigel Hamilton Could Thoroughly Rotten Times Be The Ultimate Opportunity For Greatness/Excellence?* (*Hint: The Answer May Be/Is “Yes.”) (*Hint: What’s the Alternative?) 1. Google 2.0 (or whatever) will be followed in short order by Google 3.0, Google 4.0, Google X.0, etc. Despite trying economic times, are you at work on “truly insane” prototypesideas-packages that will allow you to playfor-pay in the unfolding future of the next 36, 48, 72 months? (In service to very difficult times, how many “wild and crazy” futuredefining projects have you cancelled or put on hold—are you confident you have not gutted the future? “We had no choice” is not an acceptable answer.) 2. It is likely your indirect competitors-would be competitors who will give you the most trouble over the next 60 months. Are you sure that your radar screen has distant enough reach? 3. What are the three moves by your competitors that have most surprised you in the last 36 months? Is there anything you could have done to anticipate these moves? 4. Are you Masters of Crowdsourcing and Social Networking (etc.) as tools for marketing and content development and competitive disruption? (If that’s the wrong question, what’s the right question?) 5. I don’t give a damn if it’s the most tired cliché of them all, but the fact is the toughest of times do provide the greatest of opportunities. Do you and your exec team believe that, and act accordingly on a day to day basis? What have you done in the last 60 days that illustrates my point here?* 6. Tough times require the greatest acting skills by leaders. Are you fully aware of the “vibrations” you and your exec team exude? Are you monitoring your own attitudes—and consciously presenting yourselves in ways that increase the determination of 100% of staff. (Are you weeding out whiners—deadly folk in tough times.)* 7. There are thoughtful ways to tighten belts—and thoughtless ways. Tough times are the true test of an organization’s commitment to sustaining-excellencethrough-people. Tough times demand tough decisions, but do you always go the extra three steps to maintain and enhance human dignity? Please explain steps taken in this regard in some detail.* 8. How many times in the last 24 months have your competitors said, “I can’t believe what they [you] just did—what nerve, what a leap forward?” Do you regularly, or at least occasionally, “stun” your competitors with your audacity? If so, Bravo! If not, why not? Is “stun” too strong a word? If so, why?* 9. Are you wide open-welcoming-joyous in response to customer criticism? Do you really really know what customers think of you? How many times (be precise) in the last 24 months have you turned customer criticism directly into new product or service offerings?* 10. Can you say with a straight face and a clear conscience, “We execute better than anyone in our market.” If not …… 11. List 10 things (20 is my preference) that you’ve done in the last 6 months to underscore and enhance execution excellence in a way that’s visible to customers.* 12. Perpetual question. Always fresh. Is-are your organization-staff role models for aggressively-visible high-integrity behavior? 13. “Presentation” is at least as important as “content.” Is your presentation of data, events, simply “best in the world”? (This is a serious-practical question.) 14. Your businesses are complex. Are you Masters of Simplicity in product and presentation thereof? 15. As individuals and leadership teams, what are your typically unexamined 3 to 5 base assumptions (we all have them) about the way-of-the-world? What is the flipside of each one? What is your-your team’s openness to “violent” challenges to basic beliefs? High? Prove it!* 16. Have you added truly “crazy” playmates to your top team in the last 12, 18, 6 months? Are you avidly seeking contrarian, “way out,” “three sigma” points of view? 17. Are you “stunningly good” at attracting top-diverse talent and rapidly giving them room to roam and grow? How is your talent different (better is okay, too, but different is my question here) than that of your principal competitors?* 18. What does your organization stand for that is “remarkably different” (in a way you could explain to a 12-year-old) from the way your direct and indirect competitors see the world?* 19. I’ve made my little splash in the pond by being a champion of something called Excellence. I am a true believer. (For better or for worse.) “If not Excellence, what?” is my mantra. What role does the pursuit of nothingless-than-excellence-regardless-of-thecircumstances play in your life and that of your organization? 20. We are in the middle of (at the start of, God help us?) incredibly difficult times.* HOW, EXACTLY, CAN YOU-WILL YOU AND YOUR EXEC TEAM MAKE THESE THE BEST-AND-MOST-PRODUCTIVEAND-MOST-IMAGINATIVE YEARS OF YOUR CAREER? (Be precise in answering this.)* The “14Es” The “14 Es” of Excellence Enthusiasm. (Be an irresistible force of nature!) Energy. (Be fire, light fires!) Exuberance. (Vibrate—cause earthquakes!) Execution. (Do it! Get it done! Barriers are baloney! Excuses are for wimps! Accountable!) Empowerment. (Always ask “What do you think?”) Edginess. (Gutsy-at the edge and a little or a lot beyond the pale.) Engaged. (MBWA/Managing By Wandering Around; pursue diverse opinions— the more diversity the merrier!) Enraged. (Determined to challenge & change the status quo!) Emotion. (Connect with people’s reality!) Experience. (Creating something memorable—“insanely Great”/Steve Jobs; “radically thrilling”/BMW.) Eliminate. (Keep it simple!) Errorprone. (Try a lot of stuff and make a lot of booboos and then try some more stuff and make some more booboos—all of it sooner rather than later.) Evenhanded. (Fair to a fault!) Excellence. (If not Excellence, what?) The “14 Es” of Excellence Enthusiasm. Energy. Exuberance. Execution. Empowerment. Edginess. Engaged. Enraged. Emotion. Experience. Eliminate. Errorprone. Evenhanded. Excellence. “[other] admirals more frightened of losing than anxious to win” On NELSON: