Transcript Document 7132913

EXCELLENCE.
ALWAYS.
Tom Peters/4 “Stitched” PPs/18June 2006
EXCELLENCE.
ALWAYS.
Manhole
Cover
Madness and
More ….
Chicagoland’s
Mystery
Disappearances …
THREE
BILLION NEW
CAPITALISTS
—Clyde Prestowitz
“One Singaporean worker
costs as much as …
3 … in Malaysia
8 … in Thailand
13 … in China
18 … in India.”
Source: The Straits Times/2003
“Thaksinomics” (after Thaksin Shinawatra, PM)/
“Bangkok Fashion City”:
“managed
asset reflation”
(add to brand value of Thai textiles by demonstrating
flair
and design excellence)
Source: The Straits Times/2004
“Forget China,
India and the
Internet: Economic
Growth Is Driven
by Women.”
—Headline, Economist,
April 15, 2006, Leader, page 14
EXCELLENCE.
THE MANDATE.
“If you don’t like
change, you’re
going to like
irrelevance even
less.”
—General Eric Shinseki, Chief of Staff. U. S. Army
“It is not the strongest
of the species that
survives, nor the most
intelligent, but the one
most responsive
to change.” —Charles Darwin
“We are in a
brawl with no
rules.”
—Paul Allaire
Sam’s
Secret
#1!
"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
“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 No. 5. By the time our rivals are ready
with wires and screws, we are on version
It gets back to planning
versus acting: We act from day
one; others plan how to plan—
for months.” —Bloomberg by Bloomberg
No. 10.
“This is so simple it sounds stupid, but it is amazing
you
only find oil if you
drill wells.
how few oil people really understand that
You may think you’re
finding it when you’re drawing maps and
studying logs, but you have to drill.”
Source: The Hunters, by John Masters, Canadian O & G wildcatter
“Reward excellent
failures. Punish
mediocre
successes.”
Phil Daniels, Sydney exec
“[Other]
admirals more
frightened of
losing than anxious
to win”
Nelson’s secret:
EXCELLENCE.
STARTERS.
Radio City Music Hall
September 2005
Franchise Lost!
TP:
“How many of you
[600]
crave
really
a new Chevy?”
NYC/IIR/061205
P.P.E.E.R.R.E.
People.
Product.
Execution.
Enthusiasm.
Relentless.
Re-invent.
Excellence.
Did one of ’em ever turn to
the other and say: “Wow, I
wonder what unimaginable
new tools, otherwise not
possible, will be brought
forth for my daughter
Alice, age 17, because
of this deal?”
My (Les’s) Dinner with Henri
JUSTWHATIZZITUMAKE?
My (Les’s) Dinner with Henri
JUST WHAT IS IT
YOU MAKE?
EXCELLENCE.
THE WORD.
Synonyms
Purity
Transcendence
Virtue
Elegance
Majesty
Antonyms
Mediocrity
EXCELLENCE.
GAMECHANGER.
Excellence1982: The Bedrock “Eight Basics”
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
A Bias for Action
Close to the Customer
Autonomy and Entrepreneurship
Productivity Through People
Hands On, Value-Driven
Stick to the Knitting
Simple Form, Lean Staff
Simultaneous Loose-Tight
Properties”
What is In Search of Excellence all about:
People. Emotion. Engagement.
Exuberance. Action-Execution.
Empowerment. Independence. Initiative.
Imagination. Great Stories. Incredible
Adventures. Trust. Caring. Fun. Joy.
Customer-centrism. Profit. Growth.
“Brand You.” “Dramatic Differences.”
Experiences that Make You “Gasp.”
Excellence. Always.
ExIn*: 1982-2002/Forbes.com
DJIA: $10,000 yields $85,000
EI: $10,000 yields $140,050
*Forbes/Excellence Index /Basket of 32 publicly traded stocks
A Comment on Tom Peters in the
Context of the Reagan Revolution …
“Tom Peters and Steve
Jobs did more to make
business cool ‘for the
rest of us’ than any
others.” —Rich Karlgaard, publisher, Forbes
EXCELLENCE.
CAUSES.
ADVERSARIES.
Causes/1966-2006
Implementation/Small Wins
(Stanford GSB/PhD thesis;
1st on implementation per se)
EXCELLENCE (as a worthy business pursuit)
Management Style/Corporate Culture
Soft “Ss”/7-S (Waterman-Peters complete “business model”;
waaaaay beyond Strategy & Structure)
Structure > Strategy (“We shape our structures, then they shape
us …”—Churchillian paraphrase)
Soft Change Levers (> structure; symbols, patterns & settings)
Close to the Customer (novel idea, circa 1982)
MBWA (Managing By Wandering Around—courtesy a much
more intimate than today HP)
Productivity through People (novel idea, circa 1982)
Chaos/Crazy Times Call for Crazy Organizations
Middle-sized companies are cool
Re-imagine!/Innovate or Die!
Small-ish/Scale & Synergy limits-delusions/anti-Big
Mergers
Causes/1966-2006
Women/Market opportunity
Women/Leaders (right for the times)
Design/Design-as-soul
Wow! (Hot language)
Weird!
Passion!/Enthusiasm!/Exuberance! (as Leader Lever #1)
Brand You (or else)
PSF = Bedrock (add value or bust—every group must
demonstrate economic viability)
PSF + Brand You + WOW Projects = New Biz Logic
Sales/+R > -C (increasing revenue more important than cutting cost)
HealthCare/Wellness-Safety-H5N1
Brand = Talent (best roster wins)
New VA Ladder/Products-Services-SOLUTIONSEXPERIENCES-DREAMKETING (Dream Marketing)-LOVEMARK
Different > > Better
Boomers & Geezers/marketing to new “mega-segment”
Hardball: Are You Playing to Play or Playing to Win? by
George Stalk & Rob Lachenauer/HBS Press
“The winners in business have always played hardball.”
“Unleash massive and overwhelming force.” “Exploit
anomalies.” “Threaten your competitor’s profit
sanctuaries.” “Entice your competitor into retreat.”
Approximately 640 Index entries: Customer/s
(service, retention, loyalty),
worker/s),
0.
4.
People (employees, motivation, morale,
Innovation (product development, research &
development, new products),
0.
M.I.A.*: Talk. (Present.) Listen. (Interview.)
Sell. (Life = Sales.) Do. (Execution-Implementation.)
Talent. (Recruit-Develop-Retain.) Project
Management. (Create. Solicit support.
Execution. Adoption-Client “Culture Change.”)
Product. (“It.”) Innovation. (Design.
Creativity. “Buzz-building.” Politics.) Leadership.
(USMA, etc.) E.Q. (Connect.) “Culture”
Change. (Lasting impact.) Diversity. (Crosscultural Effectiveness.) Career Creation.
(Brand You life-lifestyle.) Wellness. (Life.)
*B.Schools (“M.I.A.” or at most “B.I.A.”—barely in action)
Adversaries
B-schools (crappy at soft skills, implementation, leadership)
Strategy-is-all
By-the-numbers management
Dis-passionate management
Focus groups
Intuition discounted
Leading as an intellectual task
Leading without passion
Cool language in Hot times
Dilbert (accepting cubicle slavery)
Bigness per se (severe scale limitations—even at Microsoft)
White guys! (not really, but enough already)
18-44 emphasis in marketing (geezers > youth for foreseeable future)
-Cost > +Revenue (cost cutting more important than organic revenue
growth)
CI (continuous improvement in an age of discontinuous world)
LESS THAN THE NO-HOLDS-BARRED PURSUIT OF
EXCELLENCE
EXCELLENCE.
ALWAYS.
“Why in the
world did
you go to
Siberia?”
The Peters
Principles: Enthusiasm.
Emotion. Excellence. Energy.
Excitement. Service. Growth.
Creativity. Imagination. Vitality.
Joy. Surprise. Independence.
Spirit. Community. Limitless
human potential. Diversity. Profit.
Innovation. Design. Quality.
Entrepreneurialism. Wow.
An emotional,
vital, innovative, joyful, creative,
entrepreneurial endeavor that
elicits maximum concerted
human potential in the
wholehearted service
of others.***
Business* ** (*at its best):
**Excellence. Always.
***Employees, Customers, Suppliers, Communities, Owners, Temporary partners
The
Ultimate
Business:
Creative
Endeavor.
The
Ultimate
Business:
Personal
DevelopmentGrowth
Experience.
The
Ultimate
Business:
Transcendent
Service
Opportunity.
EXCELLENCE.
YOU & ME.
“In Tom’s world, it’s
always better to try a
swan dive and deliver a
colossal belly flop than
to step timidly off the
board while holding
your nose.”
—Fast Company /October2003
“This is the true joy of Life, the
being used for a purpose
recognized by yourself as a
mighty one … the being a force of
Nature instead of a feverish,
selfish little clod of ailments
and grievances complaining that
the world will not devote itself
to making you happy.”
—GB Shaw/Man and Superman
“My only goal is to
have no goals. The
goal, every time, is
that film, that very
moment.”
—Bernardo Bertolucci
“Life is not a journey to the
grave with the intention of
arriving safely in a pretty and
well-preserved body—but
rather a skid in broadside,
thoroughly used up, totally
worn out, and loudly
proclaiming, ‘Wow, what
a ride!’ ” —anon.
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:
ALL YOU
NEED TO
KNOW*
*more or less
Cause
“Create a
‘cause,’ not a
‘business.’’
—Gary Hamel
“Management has a lot to do with
answers. Leadership is a function of
questions. And the first question for a
‘Who do
we intend to be?’
leader always is:
Not ‘What are we going to do?’ but ‘Who
do we intend to be?’” —Max De Pree, Herman Miller
“We are a
‘life Success
Company”’
—Dave Linegar, founder, RE/MAX
Artist
Leader Job 1
Paint
Portraits of
Excellence!
“I never, ever thought of
myself as a businessman.
I was interested in
creating things
I would be
proud of.” —Richard Branson
People
Brand =
Talent.
“Leaders
‘do’
people.”
—Anon.
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
Decency
“It was much later that I realized Dad’s
secret. He gained respect by giving it.
He talked and listened to the fourthgrade kids in Spring Valley who shined
shoes the same way he talked and
listened to a bishop or a college
president. He was seriously
interested in who you were
and what you had to say.”
—Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot, Respect
Grace
“Thank
you”
“The two most
powerful things in
existence: a kind word
and a thoughtful
gesture.”
—Ken Langone
Rodale’s on “Grace” …
elegance … charm …
loveliness … poetry in
motion … kindliness ..
benevolence … benefaction
… compassion … beauty
Intangibles
“Hard is soft.
Soft is
hard.”*
*In Search of Excellence
Selfmanagement
“The First step in a
‘dramatic’
‘organizational change
program’ is obvious—
dramatic personal
change!” —RG
You = Your
Calendar
“You must
be
the change you
wish to see in the
world.”
Gandhi
“Before you can inspire with
emotion, you must be
swamped with it yourself.
Before you can move their
tears, your own must flow. To
convince them, you must
yourself believe.” —Winston Churchill
MBWA
“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
“A body can
pretend to care,
but they can’t
pretend to be
there.”
— Texas Bix Bender
“You can’t lead a
cavalry charge if you
think you look funny
on a horse.”
—John Peers, President,
Logical Machine Corporation
Curiosity
“Why?”
Ears
“If you don’t
listen, you
don’t sell
anything.”
—Carolyn Marland/MD/Guardian Group
Conformity
“Companies have
defined so much
‘best practice’ that
they are now more
or less identical.”
Jesper Kunde, Unique Now ... or Never
“To grow, companies
need to break out of a
vicious cycle of
competitive
benchmarking and
imitation.”
—W. Chan Kim & René Mauborgne,
“Think for Yourself —Stop Copying a Rival,” Financial Times/08.11.03
“The short road
to ruin is to
emulate the
methods of your
adversary.”
— Winston
Churchill
Action
“We have a
‘strategic’
plan. It’s
called doing
things.”
— Herb Kelleher
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
Focus
“Dennis,
you need a
‘To-don’t ’
List !”
“I used to have a rule for myself that at any
point in time I wanted to have in mind — as it
so happens, also in writing, on a little card I
carried around with me — the three big
things I was trying to get done.
Three.
Not two.
Not four. Not five. Not ten. Three.”
— Richard Haass, The Power to Persuade
Change
“If you don’t like
change, you’re
going to like
irrelevance even
less.”
—General Eric Shinseki, Chief of Staff. U. S. Army
“I’m not
comfortable
unless I’m
uncomfortable.”
—Jay
Chiat
“The most
successful people
are those who
are good at
‘plan B.’”
—James Yorke,
mathematician, on chaos theory in The New Scientist
Relentless
“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
Richard &
Kevin
Sir Richard’s Rules:
Follow your passions.
Keep it simple.
Get the best people to help you.
Re-create yourself.
Play.
Kevin Roberts’ Credo
1. Ready. Fire! Aim.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
If it ain’t broke ... Break it!
Hire crazies.
Ask dumb questions.
Pursue failure.
Lead, follow ... or get out of the way!
Spread confusion.
Ditch your office.
Read odd stuff.
10. Avoid moderation!
Passion &
Enthusiasm
I am a
dispenser of
enthusiasm.”
—Ben Zander
“Nothing is so
contagious as
enthusiasm.”
—Samuel Taylor Coleridge
“A man without
a smiling face
must not open a
shop.”
—Chinese Proverb*
*Courtesy Tom Morris, The Art of Achievement
Hustle
“Most important,
upped the
energy level at
he
Motorola.”
—Fortune on Ed Zander/08.05
Sunny
“Ronald Reagan
radiated an
almost
transcendent
happiness.”
—Lou Cannon
“A leader is
a dealer in
hope.”
Napoleon
Aim High
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
“Beware of the
tyranny of making
Small Changes to Small
Things. Rather, make
Big
Changes to
Things.”
Big
—Roger Enrico, former Chairman, PepsiCo
Stay Hungry.
Stay Foolish.
Steve Jobs
Dream
“the wildest
chimera of a
moonstruck
mind”
—The Federalist on TJ’s
Louisiana Purchase
“Tell me, what
is it you plan to
do with your
one wild and
precious life?”
—Mary Oliver
Sell
.
“Everyone
lives by
selling
something.”
– Robert Louis Stevenson
Valueadded
$415/SqFt
$798/SqFt
Experience
Experience: “Rebel Lifestyle!”
“What we sell is the ability for
a 43-year-old accountant to
dress in black leather, ride
through small towns and have
people be afraid
of him.”
—Harley exec, quoted in Results-Based Leadership
No Limits
“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
The
Irreducible209+/
Sales122/60TIBs
Tom Peters/0607.2006
The
Irreducible209
A frustrated participant at a seminar for investment bankers in Mauritius listened
impatiently to my explanation of differences of opinion among me, Mike Porter,
“What,
if anything,” he asked,
“do you believe ‘for
sure’?”
Gary Hamel, Jim Collins, etc. Finally, he’d had enough.
I mumbled something, but his query started rumbling
around in my mind. Three days later, wandering on a Sunday in London, the idea of
“the irreducibles” occurred to
me—and I started jotting down notes on stuff I do indeed believe “for sure.” Before
I knew it, a few days later, the list had grown to 209 items. Hence “The
Irreducible209” that follows.
Tom Peters
1.
2.
3.
4.
Hare 1, Tortoise 0. (Hare-y times.)
Tempo. (O.O.D.A.)
MBWA.
Appreciation. (“Motivator” #1.)
(Can’t be faked. Good.)
5. Decency.
6. Hurry.
7. Time out.
8. One matters.
9. Big change. Short time. (Alt not work.)
10. Excellence. Always.
11. Passion. Energy. Hustle. Enthusiasm.
Exuberance. (Move mountains. No alt.)
12. You must care.
13. Emotion.
14. Hard is soft. (Soft is hard.)
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
Men. Women. Different. Contend. Connect.
Women. Buy. All. (RU listening?)
Quality. (“Mind-blowing.” Beyond 6-Sigma.)
Re-invent. Re-pot. (Required.)
Jaywalk.
Big change. Small # of people. (Always.)
Experiment. Now.
Failure. Normal.
Most failures, most success.
(Fail. Forward. Fast.)
24. “Reward excellent failures. Punish
mediocre successes.”
25. Women leaders. (Altered times.)
26. Extremism. (Good business. Bad politics.)
27. Innovation source. Only. Extreme irritation.
28. Smile.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
You must care.
Mentor. (Highest ROI.)
Best “roster” wins.
Wow. (Okay in biz.)
We all have customers. (Biz. Personal.)
All contacts = Experiences.
Cirque du Soleil. (Peerless.)
Leaders create space for growth.
Quests. (Only.)
High aspirations, “high” results.
(Self-fulfilling prophecy.)
39. Attitude 1, Skills 0. (Mostly.)
(Attitude 1, Skill 0.3?)
40. Sometimes: Skill 1, Attitude 0.1.
41. Must “love,” not “like.”
42. Wegman’s.” (No excuses. “Mere” groceries.)
43. Less than your best. Cheating.
44.
45.
46.
47.
48.
49.
50.
51.
52.
53.
54.
55.
Brand You. (No alt.)
Self-sufficiency. (Biggest LT turn-on.)
In the moment.
The moment wins.
Tomorrow = Never.
Action 1, Plan 0.1.
“Execution” can be a “system.”
Realism.
Own up. Move on.
Accountability.
Work hard > Work smart. (Mostly.)
Feedback. Necessary. Fast. (R.F.A. in
“RFA times.”)
56. Customers. Listen. Lead. (Paradox.)
57. “On stage.” Always. (GW, FDR, RG =
Supreme actors.)
58.
59.
60.
61.
62.
63.
64.
65.
66.
Master statistical analysis.
Excellence = Set the table.
Legacy. (Will it have mattered?)
“Great.” (Why not?)
Radicals rule. (Think … Olympics.)
!!! = Good.
Red 1, Brown 0. (Red times.)
Talk. Listen. (“Big 2.” Master.)
Politics. (Normal-inevitable state
of affairs. Master.)
67. Student. Forever.
68. “Why?” (Question #1.)
69. Don’t belittle.
70. Respect.
71. All we have: this moment.
(“Moments matter most”?)
72. Now. (Procrastination. Death.)
73.
74.
75.
76.
Exercise.
Paint. (Leader. Portraits of Excellence.)
Best story wins.
“You must be the change you wish
to see in the world.”
77. Two “big ones.” Max. (Priorities.)
78. No “I” in Team. (“I” in Win.)
79. “I” in Win. (No “I” in Team.)
80. Different 1, Better 0. (Better = 0.1)
81. Imitation = Mistake. (Learn, from who?)
82. Choose/battle the “right” competitor.
83. Schools. Creativity. Entrepreneurship.
(Not.)
84. MBAs. Creativity. Entrepreneurship.
Leadership. (Not.)
85. Design. Under-rated. Wildly.
(Still.) (Everything.)
86.
87.
88.
89.
You = Calendar. (Calendar. Never. Lies.)
Laugh.
Handshake. (Quantity. Quality.)
Don’t fold your hands in front of your
chest. Ever. (Never.)
90. Grace. (“Works” in biz.)
91. Weird. Wins. (Weird times.)
92. Crazy times. Crazy orgs.
93. Internet. All.
94. Women. Boomers-Geezers. Market. All.
95. Passion.
(Repeat. So what?)
96. Energy.
(Repeat. So what?)
97. Hustle.
(Repeat. So what?)
98. Enthusiasm. (Repeat. So what?)
99. Exuberance. (Repeat. So what?)
100. Smile.
(Repeat. So what?)
101. Care.
(Repeat. So what?)
102. Simplicity. Redundancy. Resilience. Bloodymindedness. Visible optimism. (Success.)
103. Act. (Repeat. So what?)
104. Appreciate. (Repeat. So what?)
105. Fun. (Biz. Why not?)
106. Joy. (Biz. Why not?)
107. Sales = Life.
108. Marketing = Life.
109. Long-term. “Top line.”
110. Great company = Creates the most
individual success stories. (RE/MAX)
111. Talent first, performance byproduct.
112. Sustained Wow* 1, “Shareholder
value,” 0.2 (*Product, People.)
113. Commitment, by invitation only.
114. Creativity, by invitation only.
115. HR = #1. (Ought to.)
116. Face-to-face. (5K miles, 5 minutes.)
117. Negotiation. Make all winners.
(Save face.)
118. Grace makes enemies friends.
119. Network.
120. Invest in relationships. (Think ROIR.
Return On Investment in Relationships.)
118. Relationship investment. Forethought.
Calendar item. Intensity.
119. Innovation. Easy. (Hang out
with weird.)
120. Weird = Win. (Weird times.)
121. “The bottleneck is at the top
of the bottle.”
122. Good Board = Weird Board.
(At least, surprising.)
123. No contention, no progress.
124. “Crucial conversations.” “Crucial
confrontations.” (Study. Learn. Do.)
125. Honest feedback.
126. Gaspworthy. Yes.
127. “Insanely great.”
128. “Astonish me.”
129. “Make it immortal.”
130. “Will you remember it in 20 years?”
131. No small opportunities. (Reframe.)
132. One playmate, one playpen = Enough.
133. End run. Sensible.
134. Allies are there for the finding.
135. Find successes. Build on successes.
(Pos > Neg. Encourage > Fix.)
136. Somebody’s doing it today. Find ’em.
137. Someone is living 2016 in 2006.
(Find ’em. Study ’em.)
138. Don’t “benchmark,” “futuremark.”
(2016. Happening. Somewhere.)
139. “PMA.” It works.
140. There are no experts. (You are the expert.)
141. Life is short.
142. “Sustained success.” Fat chance.
Make today matter. (“Sustained.” Ha.)
143. Collaborate. (Networked world.)
144. Go solo. (Individual. Unit of
Intellectual Capital.)
145. There are no “perfect” plans. (Do. Wins.)
146. Plans motivate. (Right or wrong.
Sense of purpose.)
147. Never rest.
148. Get some sleep.
149. Winning = Embracing paradox.
150. Ambiguity = Opportunity.
151. Resilience.
152. Relentless-ness.
153. None. Above. Comeuppance.
(GM. Sears. U.S. Steel. DEC.)
154. Be yourself. Period.
155. Never work with jerks. Including
customers. (Life. Too short.)
156. Under-promise, over-deliver.
157. Talent. (Powerful word.)
158. “Customer = Anyone whose actions
affect your results.”
159. Competition stinks. (Seek the soft
spots where you can dominate.)
160. K.I.S.S./Keep It Simple, Stupid.
161. Beauty. (Good biz word.)
162. “See the beauty in a hamburger bun.”
(Go. Ray.)
163.
164.
165.
166.
Own up. Quick. ( Denial. Cancer.)
Celebrate. Often.
78 people = 78 approaches. (Each. Unique.)
Weed. Ceaselessly. (Prune. Stupid.
Rules. Non-stop.)
167. Get out of the way. (You = The problem.)
168. Smile. Sunny. Optimism. (If it kills you.)
169. Flowers. (Cheery workplace.)
170. Enjoy. (Or get the hell.)
171. Be intolerant of “sour.” (1 = Major pollution)
172. No “quick trigger” on promotion.
(Too important.)
173. Evaluation = Lots of study-time.
174. Evaluation = “Life or death” to evaluee.
175. “360” evaluation. No fad.
176. Exit when you’re done. (Done.
Sooner than you think.)
177. Today. Now. My Project. Am. Is. I. Period.
178. “Beautiful” systems. (Good biz phrase.
Not oxymoron.)
179. Build on strengths > Fix weaknesses.
180. “To don’t” = “To do.” (“To don’t” >
“To do” ?)
181. Leaders “Do” People. (Period.)
182. Leaders enjoy leading.
183. Serious leadership training = Serious.
184. Priorities. Obvious. (Or else.)
185. 5 “Priorities” = 0 Priorities.
(3 “Priorities” = 0 Priorities?)
186. People. First. Last. Always.
187. It. Is. Always. The. People.
188. Handshake. (Quantity. Quality.)
189. Don’t fold your hands in front of
your chest. Ever. (Never.)
190. Simplicity. Redundancy. Resilience.
Bloody-mindedness. Visible
optimism. (Success.) (Repeat.)
191. Employee Entrance = Guest
Entrance.
192. Put the customer SECOND.
(Thanks, Hal.)
193. Flowers. (Or did I say that before?
No matter if I did.)
194. Big Mergers don’t work. Small
acquisitions can/do work—if you
don’t screw with their energy.
195. Instinctively “head for the front
line.” (In all contexts.)
196. Success = DDMMPR/"D-squared,
M-squared, PR” = DramDiff +
Money-Financial Acumen + Good
“Marketing” Instincts + Stellar People
+ Resilience (The “fab five”: What.
Every. Small. Biz. Needs.) (Big too.)
197. Core Mechanism (“Game-changing
Solutions”): PSF (Professional Service
Firm “model”) + Wow! Projects
(“Different” vs “Better”) + Brand You
(“Distinct” or “Extinct”)
198. 2011/2016 has already happened.
Find it.
199. Kids “know” kids. Oldies “know” oldies.
Women “know” women. (Staff
accordingly.)
200. Everybody is my customer.
201. Cosset “vendors.”
202. I want to run a Housekeeping department.
(And you?)
203. The military doesn’t follow the “military
model.” (Initiative = Excellence.)
204. No such thing as “going to absurd lengths”
to serve the Customer. (HSM & Lefties.)
205. Forget the “customer.” All = “Clients.”
206. It takes decades to get over “sleights.”
(So don’t sleight.)
207. Don’t “dumb down.” Ever.
NO LESS THAN
EXCELLENCE.
EVER.
209. EXCELLENCE.
ALWAYS.
208.
Work In Progress
XXX. One size fits. One. Only. (Evaluations. Period.)
XXX. Teaching. Individualized. Only. (6 billion people =
6 billion learning trajectories.) (Montessori.)
XXX. First impression. Matters. Shapes all that comes.
Hard to overcome. (Understatement.)
XXX. Jerks. Don’t work with. (Life = Too short.)
XXX. Manage [the hell out of] first impressions.
XXX. Last impression. Matters. Dominates memory.
Hard to overcome. (Understatement.)
XXX. Manage [the hell out of] last impressions.
XXX. Plain English.
XXX. K.I.S.S. (450/8.)
XXX. $798. $55,000,000,000. 3,000,000,000.
7AM-7PM. 6:15AM.
XXX. Donnelly Weatherstrip rules.
XXX. Managers do things right. Leaders do the
right thing. NOT.
GE
(more or less)
:
The Sales122:
122 Ridiculously
Obvious Thoughts
About Selling Stuff
Tom Peters/0402.2006
This list was first prepared for GE Energy
sales & marketing people in January. It
started with a half-dozen items, and grew
like Topsy. Possibly, given its origins, it’s a
little tilted toward complex, engineeringbased sales. In any event, it makes a perfect
companion to “The Irreducibles209.” This,
too, is effectively a list of “irreducibles.”
Tom Peters
1. “Strategy” overrated, simply “doin’ stuff” underrated. See
Kelleher and Bossidy: “We have a ‘strategic plan,’ it’s called
doing things.”—Herb Kelleher. “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. Action has its own logic—ask Genghis Khan,
Rommel, COL John Boyd, U.S. Grant, Patton, W.T. Sherman.
2. What are you personally great at? (Key word: “great.”) Play
to strengths! “Distinct or Extinct.” You should aim to be
“outrageously good”/B.I.W. at a niche area (or more).
3. Are you a “personality,” a de facto “brand” in the industry?
The Dr Phil of ...
4. Opportunism (with a little forethought) mostly wins.
(“Successful people are the ones who are good at Plan B.”)
5. Little starts can lead to big wins. Most true winners—think
search & Google—start as something small. Many big deals—
Disney & Pixar—could have been done as little-er deals if you’d
had the guts to jump before the value became obvious.
6. Non-obvious targets have great potential. Among many
other things, everybody goes after the obvious ones. Also,
the “non-obvious” are often good Partners for technology
experiments.
7. The best relationships are often (usually?) not “top to
top”! (Often the best: hungry division GMs eager to make a
mark.)
8. IT’S RELATIONSHIPS, STUPID—DEEP AND FROM MULTIPLE
FUNCTIONS.
9. In any public-sector business, you must become an avid
student of “the politics,” the incentives and constraints,
mostly non-economic, facing all of the players. Politicians are
usually incredibly logical—if you (deeply!) understand the
matrix in which they exist.
10. Relationships from within our firm are as important—
often more important—as those from outside—again broad is
as important as deep. Allies—avid supporters!—within and
from non-obvious places may be more important than
relationships at the Client organization. Goal: an “insanely
unfair ‘market share’” of insiders’ time devoted to your
projects!
“Everyone lives by
selling something.”
—Robert Louis Stevenson
11. Interesting outsiders are essential to innovative proposal
and sales teams. An “exciting” sales-proposal team is as
important as a prestigious one.
12. Is the proposal-sales team weird enough—weirdos come
up with the most interesting, game-changer ideas. Period.
13. Lunch with at least one weirdo per month. (Goal: always
on the prowl for interesting new stuff.)
14. Gratuitous comment: Lunches with good friends are
typically a waste of (professional) time.
15. Don’t short-change (time, money, depth) the proposal
process. Miss one tiny nuance, one potential incentive that
“makes my day” for a key Client player—and watch the whole
gig be torpedoed.
16. “Sticking with it” sometimes pays, sometimes not—it
takes a lot of tries to forge the best path in. Sometimes you
never do, after a literal lifetime. (Ah, life.)
17. WOMEN ARE SIMPLY BETTER AT RELATIONSHIPS—don’t
get hung up—particularly in tech firms—on what industriescountries “women can’t do.” (Or some such bullshit.)
18. Work incessantly on your “story”—most economic value
springs from a good story (think Perrier)! In sensitive public
or quasi-public negotiations, a compelling story is of immense
value—politics is about the tension among competing stories.
(If you don’t believe me, ask Karl Rove or James Carville.)
(“Storytelling is the core of culture.” —Branded Nation: The
Marketing of Megachurch, College Inc., and Museumworld,
James Twitchell)
19. Call this 18A, or 18 repeat: Become a first-rate
Storyteller! (“A key – perhaps the key – to leadership is the
effective communication of a story.”—Howard Gardner,
Leading Minds: An Anatomy of Leadership)
20. Risk Assessment & Risk Management is more about
stories than advanced math—i.e., brilliant scenario
construction.
21. Good listeners are good sales people. Period.
22. Lousy listeners are lousy sales people. Period.
23. GREAT LISTENERS ARE GREAT SALES PEOPLE. (Listening
“skills” are hard to learn and subject to immense effort in
pursuit of Mastery. A virtuoso “listener” is as rare as a
virtuoso cello player.) (“If you don’t listen, you don’t sell
anything.”—Carolyn Marland/MD/Guardian Group)
24. Things that are funny to me (American) are often-mostly not
funny to those in other cultures. (Humor is as fine-edged as it
gets, and rarely travels.)
25. You don’t know Jack Squat about other peoples’ cultures—
especially if you are a typically myopic American. (Like me.)
26. Are you a great interviewer? It’s a make or break skill.
(Think Barbara Walters’ skill at extracting unwanted truths from
pros in persona-protection ... in front of 10s of millions of
people.
27. Are you a great (not merely “good”) presenter? Mastering
presentation skills is a life’s work—with stupendous payoff.
28. Work like hell on the Big 2: LISTENING/INTERVIEWING,
PRESENTING. These are “the essence of [sales] life”—and
usually picked-up in an amateurish fashion. Mistake! (Become a
“professional student” of these two areas, achieve Mastery.)
29. Are you good at flowers? Think: FLOWER POWER! (see
Harvey Mackay’s “Mackay 66”—what you should know about a
Client; e.g., birthdays & anniversaries.) (My “flowers budget” is
out of control. Hooray for me.)
30. You can’t do it all—be clear at what you are good at, bad at,
indifferent at. Hubris sucks.
“If you don’t
listen,
you don’t sell
anything.”
—Carolyn Marland/
Managing Director/
Guardian Group
31. The point is not to “prove yourself.” (That’s ego-talk.) Let
the best person present to the Client—perhaps a “lower level”
geek. (“Control freaks” get their just desserts in the long haul—
or sooner.)
32. The numbers will more or less take care of themselves over
the long haul—if the relationship/s is/are solid gold.
33. The Gold Standard in selling: INDISPENSABLE to the Client.
No other goal is worthy.
34. Never stop growing-broadening-deepening the relationship.
The key to “indispensability” is to get the Client more and more
… and more … and then more … imbedded in “our” web. Hence
the so-called “selling process” is only the first step!
35. USE THE WORD “WE” … CONSTANTLY & RELIGIOUSLY!
(E.g.: “We”—the Client & me—“are going to change the world
with this service.”)
36. Don’t waste your time on jerks—it’ll rarely work out in the
mid- to long-term.
37. Genius is walking away from lousy “scores” (deals)—and
accepting the attendant heat. Big Business is the premier home
to Big Egos overpaying by a factor of 2 to 22 with billion$$$$ at
stake. (Think Jerry Levin and AOL Time Warner.)
38. You haven’t a clue as to how this situation will actually play
out—be prepared to move fast in a different direction.
39. Keep your word.
40. KEEP YOUR WORD.
41. Underpromise (i.e., don’t over-promise; i.e., cut yourself a
little slack) even if it costs you business—winning is a long-term
affair. Over-promising is Sign #1 of a lack of integrity. You will
pay the piper.
42. There is such a thing as a “good loss”—if you’ve tested
something new and developed good relationships. A half-dozen
honorable, ingenious losses over a two-year period can pave the
way for a Big Victory in a New Space in year 3.
43. It’s a competitive world out there. New, innovative products
are harder to sell than old stand-bys. Nonetheless, you will be a
long-term star to the extent that you are willing to push the
harder-to-sell-at-the-moment Innovative Products that cement
long-term Client success (Indispensability!) —even if it means a
#s hit this quarter. PART OF YOUR JOB: TAKE CLIENTS ON AN
ADVENTURE THAT PUTS THEM AHEAD OF THE GAME CALLED
(GAMECHANGING—hopefully) COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE!
44. Think “legacy”—what the hell is all this really about for you
and the world? (“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one
wild and precious life?”
—Mary Oliver)
45. THERE ARE NO “MODERATES” IN THE HISTORY BOOKS!
46. Keep it simple! (Damn it!) No matter how “sophisticated” the
product. If you can’t explain it in a phrase, a page, or to your 14year-old ... you haven’t got it right yet.
47. Know more than the next guy. Homework pays. (of course
it’s obvious—but in my work it is too often honored in the
breach.)
48. Regardless of project size, winning or losing invariably
hinges on a raft of “little stuff.” Little stuff is and always has
been everything!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!—or, “one man’s little stuff is
another man’s 7.6 Richter deal-breaker.”
49. In public settings in particular, face saving is all. When
something changes, allow the other guy to come out looking like
a winner, especially if he has lost. (Even if you must accept the
egg on your face—he will always remember you!)
50. Don’t hold grudges. (It is the ultimate in small mindedness—
and incredibly wasteful and ineffective. There’s always
tomorrow.)
51. IT’S ALWAYS “THE POLITICS”—wee private-sector deal or
giant public sector deal. (Every player, small or large, is angling
for something. Master the calculus of advantage.)
52. To beat the “turnover problem” in key Client posts amidst
long negotiations, invest outrageous amounts of time building a
wide & deep set of relationships with mid-level (& lower!!)
“plodding” “careerists.” The invisible careerists are the
bedrock upon which repeated success is built! (My “Capitol Hill
Axiom”: It’s the 24-year-old LA who in the end briefs the
Senator right before she goes to the Floor to vote.)
53. Speaking of “she”: Gender differences are Enormous—
dealing with a woman and dealing with a man are different
kettles of fish—you must become an A+ student of gender
differences. (E.g.: Men are typically more interested in the
short-term “score.” Women are more interested in the longterm consequences.)
54. “LITTLE PEOPLE” OFTEN HAVE BIG FRIENDS.
55. This is not war, damn it. All parties can win (or not lose,
anyway). And losing bidders can walk away from a deal with
increased respect for you and your team.
56. Never, ever dump on a competitor—the Tom Watson IBM
glory-days mantra.
57. Never forget the “Law of Cousins!” In developing nations
in particular, power brokers at all levels are at least cousins!
Consideration for a second cousin can pay off big time.
58. Speaking of “favors,” jail sucks.
59. Work hard beats work smart. (Mostly.)
60. REPEAT: HE/SHE WHO HAS THE MOST-BEST
RELATIONSHIPS WINS. RELATIONSHIPS ARE THE ESSENCE OF
THE WORK OF THE SALESPERSON. THE HARD ... AND LONG ...
WORK OF THE SALESPERSON.
61. Mano v mano “hardball” is seldom the answer—end runs
based and patient multi-level relationship building via deeperwider networks win.
62. If the deal is wired from below, truly wired, than the socalled “big negotiations” are essentially irrelevant.
63. If every quarter is a “little better” than the prior quarter—
then you are not taking any serious risks.
64. Phones beat email.
“Nothing is so
contagious as
enthusiasm.”
—Samuel Taylor Coleridge
65. A THREE-MINUTE CALL TODAY CAN AVOID A GAME-LOSER
OF A FIASCO NEXT MONTH. There was always a time when a
little thing could have been addressed that headed off a
subsequent big thing. As to avoiding that call, didn’t someone
say, “Pride goeth before the fall”?
66. Be hyper-organized about relationship management—you
are in the anthropology business. Study the great pols! Brilliant
NRM (network relationship management) is not accidental! It is
not catch-as-catch can. (Football analogies are cute—but deep
political understanding pays the private-school tuition.)
67. Obsess on ROIR (Return On Investment In Relationships).
68. “THANK YOU” NOTES: World’s highest-return investment!!
69. The way to anyone’s heart: Doing a nice thing for their kid.
(But, gawd, does this take a gentle touch.)
70. Scoring off other people is stupid. Winners are always in the
business of creating the maximum # of winners—among
adversaries at least as much as among “partners.”
71. Your colleagues’ successes are your successes. Period.
(Trust me, my greatest personal success—financially as well as
artistically—has been creating a bigger pond in which everyone
wins, even if my “market share” is down.)
72. Lend a helping hand, especially when you don’t have the
time. E.g. share relationships—the more you give away the
more you get in return (just like they say in church).
73. Listen up: “It was much later that I realized Dad’s
secret. He gained respect by giving it. He talked and listened
to the fourth-grade kids in Spring Valley who shined shoes
the same way he talked and listened to a bishop or a college
president. He was seriously interested in who you were and
what you had to say.” —Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot, Respect.
(I.e., Respect is Cool.)
74. Mentoring is a thrill—and the practical payoff is
enormous. The best mentors have the whole world working
its buns off for them!
75. Hire for enthusiasm. Promote for enthusiasm. Cherish
enthusiasm. REMOVE NON-ENTHUSIASTS—THEY ARE
CANCERS. (“Nothing is so contagious as enthusiasm.”—
Samuel Taylor Coleridge. “A man without a smiling face
must not open a shop.”—Chinese Proverb.)
76. IT’S ALWAYS YOUR PROBLEM—you sold it to them.
77. It’s never over: While there may be an excellent service
activity in your company, the “relationship” belongs to You!
Hence the “aftersales” “moments of truth” are at least as—if
not more than*--important to the Continuing Relationship as
the sale “transaction” itself. (*I vote for “more than.”) You’ll
get your biggest “points” with the Client for being an effective
after-the-fact go-between with your company.
78. Don’t get too hung up on “systems integration”—first &
foremost, the individual bits have got to work.
79. For God’s sake don’t over promise on “systems
integration”—it’s nigh on impossible to deliver.
80. On the other hand … winners clamber Up the Value-added
Ladder, and offer ever so much more than “mere” product. ALL
SUCCESSFUL SALES PEOPLE ARE IN THE “SOLUTIONS
BUSINESS”—no matter how jargony that may sound.
81. “Systems” / “Solutions” selling means grappling directly
with “culture change” in Client organizations. (“The business of
selling is not just about matching viable solutions to the
customers that require them. It’s equally about managing the
change process the customer will need to go through to
implement the solution and achieve the value promised by the
solution”—Jeff Thull, The Prime Solution: Close the Value Gap,
Increase Margins, and Win the Complex Sale)
82. Shit happens. That’s what they pay you for.
83. This is not a “GE” or “Ben & Jerry’s” sale—it is a Joe
Jones/Jane Jones sale. YOU ARE THE “BRAND” THE CLIENT
BUYS—especially over the long haul.
84. Duh: You make money, the company makes money—on
repeat business.
85. Master—yes, you—the “PR” Game. “Word of Mouth” is not
accidental! You want Word of Mouth? Make it happen!
86. GOAL #1: MAKE YOUR CLIENT A HERO—YOU ARE NOT THERE
TO GET CREDIT. (“Taking credit” is for egomaniacs. And losers.)
87. “Decent margins,” over the mid- to long-term, are a product
of better relationships, not better “negotiating skill.” (Mostly.)
“You can’t behave
in a calm, rational
manner. You’ve got
to be out there on
the lunatic fringe.”
—Jack Welch
88. In the immortal words of ex-GE Vice Chairman Larry
Bossidy, more or less, “Realism rocks.” (“Bullshit artist” and
“great salesperson,” contrary to conventional wisdom, are
Diametric Opposites. “Truthteller” and Great Salesperson is
more like it.)
89. Be the first to tell the Client bad news (e.g., slipped
delivery); his intelligence sources will tell him fast—you want to
be there first with your story and to enhance your rep as
Truthteller!
90. Work like hell to get a reputation as a valued industry
expert, to become an industry resource.
91. Work the Trade Association angle for all its worth—it may
take a decade to pay off—e.g., when you become an officer or
are on an important panel or testify Before Congress.
92. PAY YOUR DUES IN THE CLIENT ORG AND IN YOUR OWN
ORG!
93. It’s all bloody tactics.
94. You must ... LOVE .... the product! (Period.)
95. YOU MUST LOVE THE PRODUCT!
96. Don’t over-schedule. “Running late” is inexcusable at any
level of seniority; it is the ultimate mark of self-importance
mixed with contempt.
97. Women are better salespeople. (See Addendum.)
98. Women alone understand Women.
99. Actually, Women by and large understand Men better than
Men understand Men.
100.Women purchasers buy Stories and recommendations.
101. Women take longer to become Loyal purchasers, but then
stay Loyal.
102. Men buy Stats.
103. Men decide fast, but are fickle.
104. Men & Women are … VERY, VERY … Different.
105. Women buy most things. Consumer. Increasingly,
professional goods and services.
106. Women’s Market is Opportunity #1.
107. Boomers. Many, many. Lots & lots & lots of … $$$.
108. Boomers-Geezers are very different purchasers than those
in other categories.
109. It takes time to get to know people. (DUH.)
110. The very idea of “efficiency” in relationship
development is ... STUPID.
111. MBWA (still) rules.
112. “Preparing the soil” is the “first 98 percent.” (Or
more.)
113. WORK THE PHONES!
114. Rule 5K-5M: 5K miles for a 5-Minute meeting often
makes sense. (Yes, often.) (Even with constrained travel
budgets.) (Thanks, super-agent Mark McCormack.)
115. Become a student! Study great salespeople!
(Including Presidents.) (“Natural” is a little bit true—but
then Naturals are always the ones who study hardest—
e.g., Jerry Rice.)
116. Become a student! Yes, you can study Relationship
Building. So, study …
117. Beware complexifiers and complicators. (Truly
“smart people” ... Simplify things.)
118. The smartest guy in the room rarely wins—alas,
he usually is aware he’s the
smartest guy. (And needn’t waste his time on
that “soft relationship crap.”)
119. Be kind. It works.
120. Be especially kind when there are screw-ups.
(There’s plenty of time later to
Play the Great Accountability Game.)
121. Presidents never tire of being treated like
Presidents.
122. Luck matters.
So: Good luck!
ADDENDUM: Women Rock … as Salespersons (From Item
#98.)
And the answers are?
“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
Bonus
Stating the Obvious:
THE PROBLEM
IS RARELY THE
PROBLEM.
THE PROBLEM IS
RARELY/NEVER THE
PROBLEM. THE
RESPONSE TO THE
PROBLEM INVARIABLY
ENDS UP BEING THE
REAL PROBLEM.* **
*Watergate, M Stewart, 90% of “scandals”
**And: PERCEPTION IS ALL THERE IS!
OFTEN AS
NOT/MORE OFTEN
THAN NOT THE
UNDERLYING
PROBLEM IS IN
FACT NOT MUCH OF
A PROBLEM.
PERCEPTION IS
ALL THERE
IS. PERIOD.*
*From Whole Foods to IBM to the corner deli
POWER WORDS!
“I’m sorry.”
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.
Relationships
(of all varieties):
Stating the Obvious:
MORE POWER
WORDS/IDEAS
Thank
You!
MBWA*
*5,000 miles for a 5-minute face-to
-face meeting (courtesy superagent Mark McCormack)
Say it with …
FLOWERS
POWER IDEAS!
You must care.
—General Melvin Zais
Tom’s
60TIBs*
*TIB = This I Believe
EXCELLENCE.
ALWAYS.
1. TECHNICOLOR
RULES! (Passion Moves
Mountains!)
2. Audacity
Matters!
3. Revolution
Now!
4. Question
Authority! (& Hire
Disrespectful
People.)
5. Disorganization
Wins! (LOVE THE
MESS!)
6. Think 3M: Markets Matter
Most. ONLY EXTREME
COMPETITION STAVES OFF
STALENESS. (You can take the
boy out of Silicon Valley, but
you can’t take Silicon Valley
out of the boy!)
7. Three Hearty Cheers
for Weirdos. (Bill Gates,
Steve Jobs, Larry Ellison,
Scott McNealy, Craig
Venter et al.)
8. Message 2006:
Technology Change (Infosciences, Biosciences) Is
in Its Infancy! (WE AIN’T
SEE NOTHIN’ YET!)
9. Everything Is Up For
Grabs! Volatility Is Thy
Name! (Forever & Ever.
Amen.) RE-INVENT …
OR DIE!
10. Big Stinks.
(Mostly.) (VERY
Mostly.)
11. “Permanence” Is a
Snare & a Delusion.
(Forget “Built to Last.”
It’s Yesterday’s
Idea.) (Try “Built for
Impact.”)
12. “Kaizen”
(Continuous
Improvement) Is VDS/
Very … Dangerous
… Stuff.
13. DESTRUCTION
RULES!
14. Forget It!
(“Learning” = Easy.
“Forgetting” = Nigh
on Impossible.)
15. Innovation Is Easy: Hang
Out with Freaks.
(Employees, Board
Members, Customers,
Suppliers, Alliance
Partners, Consultants.)
16. Boring Begets
Boring. (Cool
Begets Cool.)
17. Think “Portfolio.”
(We’re All V.C.s.)
18. Perception Is All There
Is. (“Insiders” … ALWAYS …
overestimate the Radicalism
of What They’re Up To.)
19. Action … ALWAYS … Takes
Precedence. Think:
R.F!A./Ready. Fire! Aim.
(REWARD SUCCESS. REWARD
FAILURE. PUNISH …
INACTION.)
20. He Who Makes &
Tests the Quickest &
Coolest Prototypes
Reigns!
21. Haste Makes
Waste.
(SO GO WASTE!)
22. Screwups are … the …
Mark of Excellence. (“Do It
Right the First Time” Is
a Very Stupi Idea.)
23. Play Hard! Play
Now! (Cherish Play!)
24. TALENT TIME!
(He/She Who Has
the Best “Roster”
Rules!)
25. Re-do Education. Totally.
(FOSTER CREATIVITY … NOT
UNIFORMITY.) (THE
NOISIEST CLASSROOM
WINS.)
26. Diversity’s
Hour Is Now!
SHE
27.
…
Is the Best
Leader!
28. MARKETING MANTRA:
Embrace the “BIG THREE”
Demographics. (1) SHE … is the
Customer. (For everything.) (2)
Rapidly Aging Boomers Have …
ALL THE MONEY. (3) Green
Matters. (TRILLIONS OF $$$$$ Are
at Stake.) (NOBODY … Gets It.)
(Mere “Programs” Will Not Suffice.)
29. Re-boot Healthcare.
(UNDERSTATEMENT.)
30. WHAT ARE WE
SELLING? “Experiences” &
“Solutions” > “Quality” &
“Satisfaction.” (The
Traditional Value-added
Equation Is Being Set
on Its Ear.)
31. DESIGN = New
Seat of the Soul.
32. Branding Is for …
EVERYONE. He Who Has the
… BEST STORY … Takes
Home the Marbles.
33. DRAMATIC
DIFFERENCE =
Only Difference.
34. WORDS/Language
Matters … a Lot. (E.g.:
Three Hearty Cheers
for “Wow”!)
35. WHAT MATTERS
IS STUFF THAT
MATTERS. (Query #1:
“Are You Proud
of It?”)
36. eALL. (IS/IT:
Half-way = No Way.)
37. DREAM … Big!
DREAM … Enormous!
DREAM … Gargantuan!
(These Are XXX Times.)
38. THINK MIKE!
(Michelangelo: “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.”)
39. There Is Only …
ONE BIG ISSUE:
(Crappy) Crossfunctional
Communication.
40. Stop Doing Dumb Stuff.
(SYSTEMATIZE THE
PROCESS OF “UNDUMBING.”)
41. Beautiful
Systems Are …
BEAUTIFUL.
42. The … WHITECOLLAR
REVOLUTION
… Will Devour
Everything in Its Path.
43. Take Charge of
Your Destiny!
BrandYou Moment!
DISTINCT … OR
EXTINCT!
44. “Powerlessness”
Is a State of Mind!
Think: King. Gandhi.
DeGaulle.
45. Pursue
Adventure … in
Every Task.
46. EXCELLENCE …
Is a State of Mind.
(Excellence Takes a
Minute.) (No Bull.)
47. SHOW UP! (If
You Care, You’re
There.)
48. YOUR CALENDAR
KNOWS ALL.
(You = Calendar.)
(Mind Your “TO
DON’T” List.)
49. LIFE IS SALES.
(The Rest Is
Details.)
50. Boss Mantra #1:
“I DON’T KNOW.” (“I
Don’t Know” =
Permission to
Explore.)
51. Management Role 1:
GET OUT OF THE WAY.
(Clear the Way.) (“Manager”
= Hurdle Removal
Professional.)
52. Epitaph from Hell:
“He Woulda Done Some
Truly Cool Stuff …
But His Boss Wouldn’t
Let Him.”
53. Change Takes
However Long You
Think It Takes.
(Eschew …
“Incrementalism.”)
54. Respect! (Rule 1:
Don’t Belittle!)
55. “Thank You”
Trumps All!
56. Integrity Matters!
Integrity = Credibility.
(Dennis K. Is a Jerk.)
57. SOFT IS
HARD. HARD IS
SOFT. (Numbers Are
Soft. People Are Not.)
58. Try Sunny!
(Sunny Begets
Sunny.
Gloomy Begets
Gloomy.)
59. DISPENSE
ENTHUSIASM
!
60. FUN …Is Not a 4Letter Word. So, too …
JOY. (And GRACE.)
The End.
EXCELLENCE.
ALWAYS.