Transcript Document 7114601

LONG
Tom Peters’
EXCELLENCE.
ALWAYS.
The [eternal] basics.
MedImmune/28 August 2008
To appreciate
this presentation [and ensure
that it is not a mess], you need
Microsoft fonts:
NOTE:
“Showcard Gothic,”
“Ravie,” “Chiller”
and “Verdana”
Slides at …
tompeters.com
L(+21) = L(-21)
Leadership(21A.D.) =
Leadership(21B.C.)
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
“We Have …
Thank
you, Howard
(Starbucks)!
Sports: You
beat
yourself!
Internal
organizational
excellence in
execution =
Deepest “Blue
Ocean”
When The “Enemy” Really Wins
“Obsessing about your
competitors, trying to match or best their
offerings, spending time each day wanting to
know what they are doing, and/or measuring
your company against them—these activities
have no great or winning outcome. Instead you are
“Lose Your Nemesis”:
simply prohibiting your company from finding its own way to be truly
meaningful to its clients, staff and prospects. You block your company from
finding its own identity and engaging with the people who pay the bills. … Your
competitors have never paid your bills and they never will.” —Howard Mann, Your
Business Brickyard: Getting Back to the Basics to Make Your Business More Fun to Run*
*Mr Mann also quotes Mike McCue, former VP/Technology at Netscape: “At Netscape the
competition with Microsoft was so severe, we’d wake up in the morning
thinking about how we were going to deal with them instead of how we would
What I realize now is
that you can never, ever take your eye off the
customer. Even in the face of massive
competition, don’t think about the
competition. Literally don’t think about them.”
build something great for our customers.
Thank
you Ben,
Norm, Ike and
Delaware
Give
good
tea!
“In the same bitter winter of 1776 that Gen. George Washington led his beleaguered troops
across the Delaware River to safety, Benjamin Franklin sailed across the Atlantic to Paris to
engage in an equally crucial campaign, this one diplomatic. A lot depended on the bespectacled
and decidedly unfashionable 70-year-old as he entered the world’s fashion capitol sporting a
Franklin’s miracle was that armed
only with his canny personal charm and reputation as a
scientist and philosopher, he was able to cajole a wary
French government into lending the fledgling American
nation an enormous fortune. … The enduring image of Franklin in Paris tends
simple brown suit and a fur cap. …
to be that of a flirtatious old man, too busy visiting the city’s fashionable salons to pursue affairs
When Adams joined Franklin in
Paris in 1779, he was scandalized by the late hours and
French lifestyle his colleague had adopted, says [Stacy
Schiff, in A Great Improvisation] Adams was clueless that
it was through the dropped hints and seemingly offhand
remarks at these salons that so much of French diplomacy
was conducted. … Like the Beatles arriving in America, Franklin aroused a fervor—his
of state as rigorously as John Adams.
face appeared on prints, teacups and chamber pots. The extraordinary popularity served
Franklin’s diplomatic purposes splendidly. Not even King Louis XVI could ignore the enthusiasm
that had won over both the nobility and the bourgeoisie. …”
Source: “In Paris, Taking the Salons By Storm: How the Canny Ben Franklin Talked
the French into Forming a Crucial Alliance,” U.S. News & World Report, 0707.08
“Allied commands depend
on mutual confidence
[and this confidence]
is gained, above all
through the development
of friendships.”
—General D.D. Eisenhower,
Armchair General* (05.08)
*“Perhaps his most outstanding ability [at West Point] was
the ease with which he made friends and earned the trust
of fellow cadets who came from widely varied backgrounds;
it was a quality that would pay great dividends during his
future coalition command
“eighty percent
of success is
showing up.”
—Woody Allen
Do tea!
Make friends!
Show up!
Commentary on David O. Stewart’s
The Summer of
1787: The Men
Who Invented
the Constitution
Tom Peters/0409.08
*** Show up!!!!!!!!!!!!
*** Keep showing up!!
*** Control the process through indirect
actions, like doing first drafts, writing
Minutes.
*** Remember the social graces—your
emotional “presentation of self” is more
important than even “all important”!!!
*** Hang in! Tenacity-relentlessness rules!
(Wear the bastards down. No kidding,
this is a matchless “success tool.”)
*** There’s no such thing as a “dull meeting.”
(No kidding!) Every get together is an
opportunity to press your agenda, directly
or indirectly, to perform a small favor with
the expectation of “return on investment”
at some point in the future.
*** Bite your tongue and listen, listen, listen—even to
bores. Nothing wins support like effective listening;
it’s the greatest gift you can give anyone!! (This is
triply important when you are desperate to correct
something someone has to say, even an “enemy” of
your cause—attentive listening is a peerless “win
’em over” “strategic” “tool.”)
*** “Sub-committees rule! It’s the little chances to
become Master of Something and perform-influence
in a small group setting that lead to the
accumulation of power and the ability to control the
flow in an area important to you.
*** Continually “illustrate” your ability to perform well
at almost any task and build a towering reputation
for reliability.
*** Cool off! No passion, no success! Too much abrasiveness
in pursuit of a cause that inflames you kills opportunity to
succeed like nothing else. (Folks love to put an abrasive
person in his place, even if they agree with him.)
*** Take a punch and keep on trucking. Losses are common—
live with ’em, take ’em with good grace, and then
persevere through out-persevering the other guy/s.
(*** Speaking of “punch,” out-drinking the other guy sure
worked in the summer of 1787. Reach your own
conclusions here …)
*** Grow up, accept life. Life, effectiveness is indeed about
horse trading as often as not—and at times consorting
with one’s enemies. (“The enemy of my enemy is my
friend.” Keep your passion, stay above the waterline on
issues of deep principal—but accept, and embrace, the
messy-as-hell “real world”!
*** Remember the black flies! “Little”
distractions can change the whole game.
*** Be ready with “Plan B.” Repeat: Nothing
in the real world follows the script.
*** Nobody, even George Washington, gets
more than about 60% of what they want!
*** Keep your word. A reputation for integrity
is priceless.
*** Don’t bite off more than you can chew,
even when “can’t miss” opportunities to
further your cause arise—overloading and
thence compromising effectiveness is a
big black eye.
*** Do something! “Small wins,” accumulated
regularly, build momentum!
*** Work assiduously on your public
presentation skills!
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
Thank
you Mark,
Hank and
David …
3K/5M
5,000 miles for
a 5-minute
face-to
-face meeting
“I call 60 CEOs
to
wish them happy
New Year. …”
[in
the first week of the year]
—Hank Paulson, former CEO, Goldman Sachs
Source: Fortune, “Secrets of Greatness,” 0320.05
General David Petraeus’ “White lines along the road”:
“Secure and serve the population.
Live among the people.
Promote reconciliation.
Move mounted, work dismounted;
situational awareness can only be
achieved by operating face-to-face,
not separated by ballistic glass.
Walk.*”
—David Petraeus, Men’s Journal (06.08)
* “I love that last one for its simplicity.” —DP
Thank
you Bill …
William Easterly, The White Man’s Burden:
Why the West’s Effort to Aid the Rest Have
Done So Much Ill and so Little Good: “The
$2.3 trillion
West spent …
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.”
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.”
For projects involving children or
health or education or community
development or sustainable
small-business growth (most
women
projects),
are by
far the most reliable and most
central and most indirectly
powerful local players even in the
most chauvinist settings.
Lesson: Show up.
Lesson: Listen to the
“locals.”
Lesson: Hear the
“locals.”
Lesson: Engage the
locals.
Lesson: Try a lot of stuff.
Lesson: Women rule.
Thank
you John, Mike,
Andy, “Great
One” and Phil …
“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 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
"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
“You miss
100% of
the shots you
never take.”
—Wayne Gretzky
“Reward
excellent failures.
Punish mediocre
successes.”
Phil Daniels, Sydney exec
Thank
you Rich …
The “Have
you …” 50
“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?
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?
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?
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?
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?
Thank
you Fred and
Larry …
“Execution is
strategy.”
—Fred Malek
DECENTRALIZATION.
EXECUTION.
ACCOUTABILITY.
6:15A.M.
Ex-ecu-tion!
“Execution is
the job of the
business
leader.”
—Larry Bossidy & Ram
Charan/ Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done
“Execution is a
systematic
process
of rigorously
discussing hows and whats, tenaciously
following through, and ensuring
accountability.”
—Larry Bossidy & Ram Charan/ Execution:
The Discipline of Getting Things Done
(1) sum of Projects =
Goal (“Vision”)
(2) sum of Milestones =
project
(3) rapid Review +
Truth-telling =
accountability
“Costco figured out
the big, simple things
and executed with
total fanaticism.”
—Charles Munger, Berkshire Hathaway
“almost inhuman
disinterestedness in
… strategy” —Josiah Bunting
on
U.S. Grant (from Ulysses S. Grant)
Ac-counta-bil-ity!
“GE has set a standard
of candor. … There is no
puffery. … There isn’t
an ounce of denial in
the place.”
—Kevin Sharer, CEO Amgen,
on the “GE mystique” (Fortune)
6:15A.M.
Thank
you Conoco
et al.
X =XFX*
*Excellence = Cross-functional Excellence
Never
waste a
lunch!
????
% XF
lunches*
*Measure!
CIO Question:
% Doc
lunches*
*Last 30 days
George Crile (Charlie Wilson’s War) on Gust
“He had
become something of a
legend with these
people who manned the
underbelly of the
Agency [CIA].”
Avrakotos’ strategy:
The “XF-50”: 50 Ways to
Enhance CrossFunctional
Effectiveness and
Deliver Speed, “Service
Excellence” and “Valueadded Customer
‘Solutions’”
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(PL) /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!)
CXFBPO/Chief Cross-functional Brownie-points
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”
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 cooperation across former barriers.
rights in the now ubiquitous “knowledge management” arena.
Thank
you
Heather
“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?
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
(more
or less)
(circa 0331.2007)
effectiveness
imperatives.
Women are better salespersons than men.
Women buy [almost] everything—commercial
as well as consumer goods.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
So what exactly is the point of men?
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
The Perfect Answer
Jill and Jack buy
slacks in black…
Age 3
days, baby
girls 2X eye
contact.
“People powered”:
Source: Martha Barletta, Marketing to Women
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] see power
in terms of
influence,
not rank.” —Fortune
Mrs Coach K
Thank
you ….
Single
greatest act
of pure
imagination
Thank
you Sheik
Mohammad
** “Where’s the Dubai”
in you strategy, or
project portfolio?
**Strategy doc should be
exciting —excite a
spouse or teenager, or a
meeting of frontline folks
Thank you
Jim and Larry …
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
Thank
you
Dov …
“Most managers spend a great deal of time thinking about what they plan to do,
but relatively little time thinking about what they plan not to do.. As a result,
they become so caught up … in fighting the fires of the moment that they cannot
really attend to the longterm threats and risks facing the organization. So the
first soft skill of leadership the hard way is to cultivate the perspective of
Marcus Aurelius: avoid busyness, free up your time, stat focused on what really
Let me put it bluntly: every leader should
routinely keep a substantial portion of his or
her time—I would say as much as 50 percent—
unscheduled. … Only when you have substantial ‘slop’ in your
matters.
schedule—unscheduled time—will you have the space to reflect on what you are
doing, learn from experience, and recover from your inevitable mistakes.
Leaders without such free time end up tackling issues only when there is an
immediate or visible problem. Managers’ typical response to my argument about
Yet
we waste so much time in unproductive
activity—it takes an enormous effort on the
part of the leader to keep free time for the
truly important things.”
free time is, ‘That’s all well and good, but there are things I have to do.’
—Dov Frohman (& Robert Howard), Leadership The Hard Way:
Why Leadership Can’t Be Taught—And How You Can Learn It Anyway
(Chapter 5, “The Soft Skills Of Hard Leadership”)
Thank
you
Eleanor
“Do one thing
every day
that scares
you.”
—Eleanor Roosevelt
Thank
you Siberia in
May, Peter, Herb,
Marcus and
Bob…
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
… 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 … Excellence.
“You have to
treat your
employees like
customers.”
—Herb Kelleher,
upon being asked his “secret to success”
Source: Joe Nocera, NYT, “Parting Words of an Airline Pioneer,”
on the occasion of Herb Kelleher’s retirement after 37 years
at Southwest Airlines (SWA’s pilots union took out a full-page
ad in USA Today thanking HK for all he had done; across the
way in Dallas American Airlines’ pilots were picketing the
Annual Meeting)
#1 cause of
Dis-satisfaction?
2 per Year =
Excellence +
Legacy
“Leaders
‘SERVE’
people.
Period.”
—inspired by Robert Greenleaf
PARC’s Bob Taylor:
“Connoisseur
of Talent”
(from Warren Bennis & Patricia Ward Biederman, Organizing Genius)
“The leaders of Great Groups
love talent and know
where to find it. They
revel in the talent
of others.”
—Warren Bennis &
Patricia Ward Biederman, Organizing Genius
“We are a
‘Life Success’
Company.”
Dave Liniger, founder, RE/MAX
Our Mission
To develop and manage talent;
to apply that talent,
throughout the world,
for the benefit of clients;
to do so in partnership;
to do so with profit.
WPP
Brand =
Talent.
‘do’
“Leaders
people.
Period.”
—Anon.
Thank you
Gust and Walter…
George Crile (Charlie Wilson’s War) on Gust
“He had
become something of a
legend with these
people who manned the
underbelly of the
Agency [CIA].”
Avrakotos’ strategy:
George Crile (Charlie Wilson’s War) on Charlie
Wilson: “The way things normally work,
if you’re not Jewish you don’t get into
the Jewish caucus, but Charlie did. And
if you’re not black you don’t get into the
black caucus. But Charlie plays poker
with the black caucus; they had a game,
and he’s the only white guy in it. The
House, like any human institution, is
moved by friendships, and no matter
what people might think about Wilson’s
antics, they tend to like him and enjoy
his company.”
itics politics politi
itics politics politi
itics politics politi
itics politics politi
itics politics politi
itics politics politi
All success is a
Matter of
implementation.
All implementation is
a matter of politics.
???????
“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!”
Loser:
“He’s such a
suck-up!”
Winner:
“He’s such a
suck-down.”
Thank you Nelson
and Ben …
“I am a
dispenser of
enthusiasm.”
—Ben Zander
Thank you
Gene and Bob …
Hard Is Soft
Soft Is Hard
Hard Is Soft (Plans, #s)
Soft Is Hard (people,
customers, values,
relationships))
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.
“Courtesies of a small and
trivial character are the
ones which strike
deepest in the grateful
and appreciating heart.”
—Henry Clay
“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
Listening Is An Act of Love: A Celebration of American
Life from the StoryCorps Project, Dave Isay*
“Our stories—the stories of everyday
people—are as interesting and important
as the celebrity stories we are bombarded with …
“If we take the time to listen, we’ll find wisdom, wonder
and poetry in the lives and stories of the people all
around us …
“We all want to know our lives have mattered …
“Listening is an act of love.”
Guiding principles:
“The deepest
human need is
the need to be
appreciated.”
William James
FLOWER
FLOWER
POWER
POWER
R.O.I.R.
Return On
Investment In
Relationships
Attending to
the “Last 98%”:
The New
Management “Science,”
or …
“Hard Is Soft,
Soft Is Hard”
Tom Peters/12.03.2008
S = f( ___ )
Success Is a
Function of …
S = ƒ(#&DR; -2L, -3L, 4L; I&E)
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 entire organization working for you.
S = ƒ(#non-FF, #non-FL)
Number of friends, number of lunches with people not in my function
S = ƒ(#FF)
Number of friends in the finance function-organization
S = ƒ(OF)
Oddball friends
S = ƒ(PDL)
Purposeful, deep listening—this is very hard
S = ƒ(#EODD3MC)
Number of end-of-the-day difficult (you’d rather avoid) “3-minute calls” that
soothe 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.
S = ƒ(#TN)
Number of thank you notes sent
S = ƒ(#C, PTS/“OLC”, SAPA)
# of consultations, perception of being taken serious (Responsible for “one line of
code,” small act of public appreciation
S = ƒ(SU)
Showing up (Woody Allen, Delaware’s ridiculous influence on the
U.S. Constitution)
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
S = ƒ(CPRM, TS)
Conscious-planned Relationship management, time spent thereon
S = ƒ(TN/d, FG/m, AA/d)
Thank you notes per Day, flowers given per Month, Acts of Appreciation per Day
S = ƒ(PT100%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(APLSLFCT)
Awareness, perception of little snubs—and lightening fast
correction thereof
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(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(TWA, P, NP)
Time wandering around, purposeful, non-planned
S = ƒ(SBS)
Slack built into Schedule
S= ƒ(TSHR)
Time spent … Hurdle Removing
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”
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 organization processes
S = ƒ(H-TS)
Time spent on Hiring
S = f(%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”
Thank you
Warren …
Questions: What do others think of you? [Are you sure?] What
do you think of you? [Are you sure?] What is your impact on
others? [Are you sure?] What is your impact on others? [Are
you sure?] What is your impact on others? [Are you sure?]
What are the “little things” you (perhaps unconsciously) do that
cause people to shrivel—or blossom? [Are you sure?] What do
you want? [Are you sure?] Are you aware of your changing
moods? [Are you sure?] How fragile is your ego? [Are you sure?]
Do you have a true confidant? [Are you sure?] Do you perform brief
or not-so-brief self-assessments? Do you talk too much? [Are you
sure?] Do you know how to listen? [Are you sure?] Do you
listen? [Are you sure?] What is your style of “hashing things
out”? Are you perceived as (a) arrogant, (b) abrasive (c) attentive,
(d) genuinely interested in people, (e) etc? [Are you sure?] Are
you flexible? Have you changed your mind about anything important
in a while? Are you comfortable-uncomfortable with folks on the
front line? Do you think you’re “in touch with the pulse of
things around here”? [Are You Sure?] Are you too
emotional/intuitive? Are you too unemotional/rational? Do you
spend much time with people who are new to you? [Do you think
questions like this are “so much BS”?]
“You must
be
the change you
wish to see in the
world.”
Gandhi
Thank you
Adrian …
CUSTOMERS:
“Future-defining
customers may account
for only 2% to 3% of
your total, but they
represent a crucial
window on the future.”
—Adrian Slywotzky, Mercer Consultants
We are the
company
we keep
We become
who we hang
out with
The “Hang Out 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
Thank you
WDCPs …
Trapper:
<$20
per beaver pelt.
Source: WSJ
wdcp/“Wildlife
Damage-control
Professional”: $150 to
“remove” “problem beaver”;
$750-$1,000 for
flood-control piping … so
that beavers can stay.
Source: WSJ
Trapper =
Redneck
WDCP = PSF/
Professional Services
Provider
7X to 40X
for
“Solution”
[rather than “service transaction”]
Up,
Up,
Up,
Up
the Value-added Ladder.
Auckland/pm
taipei/vp
singapore/pm
bangkok/dpm
flanders
amsterdam/MPs
barcelona/ma
Kuala Lumpur/CM
lisbon/ma
dublin/pm
buenos aires
são paulo
Warsaw/MPs
london/mps
milan
SEOUL/Ma
mexico d.f./m
istanbul/dpm
dubai/rfm
oman/rfm
usa
stockholm/mps
shanghai
mauritius/pm
johannesburg
bucharest/CM
“M” = $0
IB :
$55B*
M
*Also HP-EDS
“THE GIANT STALKING BIG OIL: How
Schlumberger Is
Rewriting the Rules of the Energy
Game.”: “IPM [Integrated Project
Management] strays from
[Schlumberger’s] traditional role
as a service provider and moves
deeper into areas once dominated
by the majors.”
Source: BusinessWeek cover story, January 2008
“Big Brown’s New Bag: UPS Aims
to Be the Traffic Manager for
Corporate America” —Headline/BW
“UPS wants to take over the
sweet spot in the endless loop
of goods, information and
capital that all the packages
[it moves] represent.” —ecompany.com
(E.g., UPS Logistics manages the logistics of 4.5M Ford vehicles,
from 21 mfg. sites to 6,000 NA dealers)
The Value-added Ladder/TRANSFORMATION
Customer Success through
Implemented
Gamechanging Solutions*
Services
Goods
Raw Materials
*Subject-matter Professionals and
Organization Effectiveness Experts (Degree: MBA,
Organizational Psychology)
Thank you
Country Walkers …
L(+21) = L(-21)
Leadership(21A.D.) =
Leadership(21B.C.)
EXCELLENCE.
BEDROCK.
LEADERSHIP.
THE 9Ps.
THE 1M.
THE 9Ps.
PURPOSE.
PASSION.
Potential.
Presence.
Personal.
PERSISTENCE.
PEOPLE.
Potent.
Positive.
MBWA
“I am a …
Dispenser of
Enthusiasm!”
—Ben Zander
Relentless: “One of
my superstitions had always been
when I started to go anywhere or
not to
turn back , or stop,
to do anything,
until the thing intended was
accomplished.” —Grant
“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
‘do’
“Leaders
people.
Period.”
—Anon.
The 1m
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
Geron-imo!
"Life is not a journey to the
grave with the intention of
arriving safely in one pretty
and well preserved piece, but
to skid across the line
broadside, thoroughly used
up, worn out, leaking oil,
shouting ‘GERONIMO!’ ”
—Bill McKenna, professional motorcycle racer
(Cycle magazine 02.1982)