Transcript Tom Peters on … Action “You Only Find Oil If You Drill Wells”

Tom Peters on …
Action
“You Only Find Oil If
You Drill Wells”
CONTEXT
“It is not the strongest of
the species that survives,
nor the most intelligent,
but the one most
responsive
to change.”
—Charles Darwin
“too
much talk, too
little do”
TP/BW on BigCo Sin #1:
“Ninety percent of what
we call ‘management’
consists of making it
difficult for people to get
things done.” – Peter Drucker
“Forbes100” from 1917 to 1987: 39
members of the Class of ’17 were
alive in ’87; 18 in ’87 F100; 18 F100
“survivors” underperformed the
market by 20%; just 2 (2%), GE &
Kodak, outperformed the market
1917 to 1987.
S&P 500 from 1957 to 1997: 74 members of the Class of ’57
were alive in ’97; 12 (2.4%) of 500 outperformed the market from
1957 to 1997.
Source: Dick Foster & Sarah Kaplan, Creative Destruction:
Why Companies That Are Built to Last Underperform the Market
“I am often asked by would-be entrepreneurs
seeking escape from life within huge corporate
structures, ‘How do I build a small firm for
Buy
a very large one
and just wait.”
myself?’ The answer seems obvious:
—Paul Ormerod, Why Most Things Fail:
Evolution, Extinction and Economics
A BIAS FOR ACTION
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”
“Never forget
implementation
boys. In our work it’s
what I call the
‘missing 98
percent’ of the client
puzzle.”
—Al McDonald/McKinsey
“We have a
‘strategic plan.’
It’s called doing
things.”
— Herb Kelleher
“This is so simple it sounds stupid, but it is amazing
you
only find oil if you
drill wells.
how few oil people really understand that
You may think you’re
finding it when you’re drawing maps and
studying logs, but you have to drill.”
Source: The Hunters, by John Masters,
Canadian O & G wildcatter (80%)
“We made mistakes. Most of them were
omissions we didn’t think of when we initially
wrote the software. We fixed them by doing it
over and over, again and again. We do the
same today: While our competitors are still
sucking their thumbs trying to make the
design perfect, we’re already on prototype
version No. 5. By the time our rivals are
ready with wires and screws, we are on
version
No. 10. It gets back to
planning versus acting: We
act from day one; others plan
how to plan—for months.”
—Bloomberg by Bloomberg
"I think it is very important
for you to do two things:
act on your temporary
conviction as if it was a
real conviction; and when
you realize that you are
wrong, correct course very
quickly.” —Andy Grove
S.A.V.
Screw Around Vigorously
Sam’s
Secret
#1!
“Fail faster.
Succeed
sooner.”
David Kelley/IDEO
Fail.
Forward.
Fast.
–High-tech Exec/PA
“Reward excellent
failures. Punish
mediocre
successes.”
Phil Daniels, Sydney exec
Boyd on
TEMPO
“The most
successful people
are those who
are good at plan B.”
—James Yorke, mathematician, on chaos theory
in The New Scientist
He who has the
quickest O.O.D.A.
Loops* wins!
*Observe. Orient. Decide. Act./Col. John
Boyd
OODA Loop/Boyd Cycle
“Unraveling the competition” Quick
Transients/Quick Tempo (NOT JUST
SPEED!) Agility “So quick it is
disconcerting” [adversary over-reacts
or under-reacts] “Winners used
tactics that caused the enemy to
unravel before the fight” (NEVER
HEAD TO HEAD)
BOYD: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed
the Art of War (Robert Coram)
“The stuff has got to
be implicit. If it is
explicit, you can’t do
it fast enough.”
—John Boyd
BOYD: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed
the Art of War (Robert Coram)
Tempo!*
70-10
*Boyd/O.O.D.A. Loops/Mike Leach/Texas Tech
70-10/Nebraska/Unk QB 643 yards K.State/
Linemen spread wide/All legals go out for
pass/Defenders confused & tire (Boyd/Tempo
is not speed/“Re-arrange the mind of the enemy”—T.E.
“By changing the geometry of
the game, and pushing the limits of
space and time on the gridiron, Mike
Leach is taking Texas Tech to some
far out places.” —Michael Lewis (NY Times
Lawrence)/
Magazine, 12.04.05, on Mike Leach/Texas Tech)
“In war, delay is fatal.” —Napoleon
“The only way to whip an army is
to go out and fight it.” —Grant
“ … demonstrating the tactic that
would become his hallmark: the
immediate move to seek out the
enemy and attack him” —John Mosier,
on Grant “A good plan executed right
now is far preferable to a ‘perfect’
plan executed next week.” —Patton
Relentless!*
*Churchill, Grant, Patton, Welch, Bossidy, Nardelli (GE execs),
UPS, FedEx, Microsoft/Gates-Ballmer, Eisner, Weill, eBay, NixonKissinger, Gerstner, Rice, Jordan, Armstrong
“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
Grant had
an extreme, almost phobic dislike
of turning back and retracing his
steps. If he set out for somewhere, he would get
important peculiarity of his character:
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
“METABOLIC
MANAGEMENT”
The Leadership11
1. Talent Management
2. Metabolic Management
3. Technology Management
4. Barrier Management
5. Forgetful Management
6. Metaphysical Management
7. Opportunity Management
8. Portfolio Management
9. Failure Management
10. Cause Management
11. Passion Management
“The secret of fast
progress is
inefficiency, fast
and furious and
numerous failures.”
—Kevin Kelly
“Active mutators in placid
times tend to die off. They
are selected against.
Reluctant mutators in
quickly changing times are
also selected against.”
—Carl Sagan & Ann Druyan,
Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors
“How we feel about the evolving future tells us who we
are as individuals and as a civilization: Do we search
for stasis—a regulated, engineered world? Or do we
embrace dynamism—a world of constant creation,
discovery and competition? Do we value stability and
control or evolution and learning? Do we think that
progress requires a central blueprint, or do we see it as
a decentralized, evolutionary process?? Do we see
mistakes as permanent disasters, or the correctable
byproducts of experimentation? Do we crave
predictability or relish surprise? These two poles, stasis
and dynamism, increasingly define our political,
intellectual and cultural landscape.”
—Virginia Postrel, The Future and Its Enemies
“If things seem
under control, you’re
just not going fast
enough.”
—Mario Andretti
“I’m not comfortable
unless I’m
uncomfortable.”
—Jay Chiat
“If it works,
it’s obsolete.”
—Marshall McLuhan
Bossidy on
EXECUTION
“I saw that leaders placed too much
emphasis on what some call highlevel strategy, on intellectualizing and
philosophizing, and not enough on
implementation. People would agree
on a project or initiative, and then
nothing would come of it.” —Larry Bossidy
& Ram Charan/Execution: The Discipline
of Getting Things Done
“Execution is
the job of the
business
leader.”
—Larry Bossidy & Ram Charan/
Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done
“Execution is a
systematic
process
of rigorously
discussing hows and whats, tenaciously
following through, and ensuring
accountability.”
—Larry Bossidy & Ram Charan/ Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done
“Realism is
the heart of
execution.”
—Larry Bossidy & Ram Charan/Execution:
The Discipline of Getting Things Done
“robust
dialogue”
—Larry Bossidy & Ram Charan/
Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done
“GE has set a standard
of candor. … There is no
puffery. … There isn’t an
ounce of denial in the
place.” —Kevin Sharer, CEO Amgen,
on the “GE mystique” (Fortune)
“The person who is a little less conceptual but is
absolutely determined to succeed will usually find the
right people and get them together to achieve
objectives. I’m not knocking education or looking for
But if you have to choose
between someone with a staggering IQ
and an elite education who’s gliding
along, and someone with a lower IQ but
who is absolutely determined to
succeed, you’ll always do better with
the second person.” —Larry Bossidy/
dumb people.
Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done
Duct Tape Rules!
“Andrew Higgins, who built landing craft
in WWII, refused to hire graduates of
engineering schools. He believed that
they only teach you what you can’t do in
engineering school. He started off with 20
employees, and by the middle of the war
had 30,000 working for him. He turned out
20,000 landing craft. D.D. Eisenhower told
me, ‘Andrew Higgins won the war for us.
He did it without engineers.’ ”
—Stephen Ambrose/Fast Company
The Leader’s Seven Essential Behaviors
*Know your people and your
business
*Insist on realism
*Set clear goals and priorities
*Follow through
*Reward the doers
*Expand people’s capabilities
*Know yourself
Source: Larry Bossidy & Ram Charan, Execution:
The Discipline of Getting Things Done
Action8/VPMR+/Peters on Bossidy
*External Focus (Competitors/Customers)
*Realism/Truth-telling
*Vision
*Projects (Must add up to Vision)
*Milestones
*Commitment/Energy
*RapidReview
*Consequences (+/-)
M+P=V
TACTIC #1
Culture of Prototyping
“Effective prototyping may be
the most valuable core
competence an innovative
organization can hope to have.”
Michael Schrage
EXCELLENCE.
4/40.
De-central-iza-tion!
Ex-ecu-tion!
Ac-counta-bil-ity!
6:15A.M.
K.I.S.S.
450/8
“I wanted GE to operate with
the speed, informality, and open
communication of a corner
store. Corner stores often have
strategy right. With their limited
resources, they have to rely on
laser-like focus on doing one
thing very well.”
—Jack Welch/Fortune/04.05
Lee’s Rule:
Run It off a
Blackberry!
“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.
BIAS
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”
Importance of Success Factors by Various “Gurus”/
Estimates (Unreliable) by Tom Peters
Strategy
Systems
Passion/
Execution
Leadership
Porter
45%
20
20
15
Drucker
35%
30
15
20
Bennis
20%
20
35
25
Peters
15%
20
30
35
MBWA
MBWA
5,000
miles for a 5
min. meeting!
Mark McCormack:
“The first and greatest
imperative of command
is to be present in
person. Those who
impose risk must be
seen to share it.”
—John Keegan, The Mask of Command
LET US MARCH
A man approached JP Morgan, held up an envelope, and
said, “Sir, in my hand I hold a guaranteed formula for
success, which I will gladly sell you for $25,000.”
“Sir,” JP Morgan replied, “I do not know what is in the
envelope, however if you show me, and I like it, I
give you my word as a gentleman that I will pay you what
you ask.”
The man agreed to the terms, and handed over the
envelope. JP Morgan opened it, and extracted a single
sheet of paper. He gave it one look, a mere glance, then
handed the piece of paper back to the gent.
And paid him the
agreed-upon $25,000.
1. Every morning, write
a list of the things
that need to be done
that day.
2. Do them.
Source: Hugh MacLeod/tompeters.com/NPR
Do
them!
“In classical times when
Cicero had finished speaking,
the people said, ‘How well he
spoke,’ but when
Demosthenes had finished
speaking, they said, ‘Let
march.’”
us
—Adlai Stevenson
Let us
march.
“[Other]
admirals more
frightened of
losing than anxious
to win”
Nelson’s secret:
“A year from now
you may wish
You had
started today.”
—Karen Lamb
You only find
oil if you drill
wells.
—T he Hunters, by John Masters,
Canadian O & G wildcatter
“I don’t
know
if ‘it’ is possible.’
I do know it’s
‘necessary.’”
TP/Chile: