Transcript EXCELLENCE. ALWAYS. LONG Tom Peters’

LONG
Tom Peters’
EXCELLENCE.
ALWAYS.
Catalyst For Change
National Black MBA Association
Washington/17 September 2008
To appreciate
this presentation [and ensure
that it is not a mess], you need
Microsoft fonts:
NOTE:
“Showcard Gothic,”
“Ravie,” “Chiller”
and “Verdana”
The 100
Year
Storm
***Hubris
Axiom [upon which Nobel prizes were won]: We can
eradicate risk [with the new math, the new instruments].
We can refine the eradication process ad
infinitum [derivatives of derivatives of derivatives].
A few tens of trillions of $$ of exposure—so
what?
We don’t want to be the first1st to bail—only
wimps quit when they get their third
consecutive $10M bonus at age 29.
I got this because I’m smart—this was not
repeat not luck; I deserved every damn penny.
[Counter text: Fooled By Randomness—Nassim Nicholas Taleb]
***Greed
Duh.
***Quant primacy
Too much faith in super-smart intellectuals
[Reminds me to the point of dotting of the “i”s and crossing of
the “t”s of David Halberstam’s The Best & The Brightest—on the
Vietnam quagmire]
If you’re not a 100% quant convert, you’re “old
school” and held up to ridicule—even if you’re
Warren Buffett.
***Step shift in complexity
Fact is, “it” became incomprehensible.
Connectedness [in general, global] totally new
and, again, incomprehensible.
***Perception Is Everything
Financial markets are, by design, a house of
cards—e.g., basic idea is to take a dollar of
deposits and lend 10 based thereupon,
depending on the depositors not to withdraw
all at once.
Emotions rule as much on Wall Street as at the
football stadium!!!!!!
Expectations are
everything!!!!!
Madness of crowds is just that—madness!!!!!
It is axiomatic that house prices will rise and
rise and rise—and then rise some more.
***Basics Rotten
Mary and Joe couldn’t have
paid the loan back if hell had
frozen over—they were not,
simply, creditworthy.
The incentives were nutty—lend to anyone and
everyone and collect the full commission when
you book the loan and get fired if you don’t
book it.
[Message from In Search of Excellence, in another context, It’s
the basics, stupid—Japan is killing us, circa 1980, because (1)
their cars work and (2) they ask their workers how to make
them even better.]
***Good Ideology Run Amok
De-regulation = Holy.
If de-regulation is good, then more is
better.
***Thank God for Paulson—It’d Be Worse Without
Him.
***No One
Knows the
Ending to This
Story
***History Repeats Repeats Repeats Itself
South Sea Bubble
Tulips
Etc
Etc
Etc
S&L
Junk bonds
Dot-com
Sub-prime
TK
TK
TK
***Black Swans
Believe it: s%^& happens.
The Black Swan.]
[See Taleb once again—
NB: Your response to one or two black swans is
your life legacy—it’s easy to be a genius when
the market is rising rising rising.
Slides at …
tompeters.com
MBWA
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
Hard Is Soft
Soft Is Hard
Hard Is Soft (Plans, #s)
Soft Is Hard (people,
customers, values,
relationships))
“You must
be
the change you
wish to see in the
world.”
Gandhi
“It’s always
showtime.”
—David D’Alessandro, Career Warfare
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.
“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
L(+21) = L(-21)
Leadership(21A.D.) =
Leadership(21B.C.)
“We Have …
Thank
you, Howard
(Starbucks)!
Internal
organizational
excellence* ** =
Deepest “Blue
Ocean”
Thank
you ,Herb
“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)
Thank
you Ben,
Norm, Ike, and
Delaware
Give
good
tea!
“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
Thank
you , Nelson
Mandela …
Thank
you ,
Rich …
“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?
*
*
*
The “Have
you …” 50*
*See Appendix One
Thank
you ,
Conrad …
Conrad Hilton, at a gala
celebrating his life,
was asked, “What was the
most important lesson
you’ve learned in you long
and distinguished career?”
His immediate answer …
Conrad Hilton, at a gala celebrating his life,
was asked, “What was the most important lesson you’ve learned
in you long and distinguished career?”
His immediate answer:
“remember
to tuck the
shower curtain
inside the
bathtub”
Thank
you
Dr. Groopman
“The four most important
words in any
organization
‘What do
you think?’ ”
are …
Source: courtesy Dave Wheeler,
posted at tompeters.com, source of
original unknown (0609.08)
Thank
you ,
Walter
itics politics politi
itics politics politi
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???????
“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!”
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:
Loser:
“He’s such a
suck-up!”
Winner:
“He’s such a
suck-down.”
Thank
you, Henry
“Courtesies of a small and
trivial character are the
ones which strike
deepest in the grateful
and appreciating heart.”
—Henry Clay
The Manager’s Book
of Decencies: How
Small /gestures
Build Great
Companies.
—Steve Harrison, Adecco
“It was much later that I realized
Dad’s secret. He gained respect by
giving it. He talked and listened to
the fourth-grade kids in Spring Valley
who shined shoes the same way he
talked and listened to a bishop or a
He was
seriously interested in
who you were and what
you had to say.”
college president.
Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot, Respect
139,380 former
patients from 225 hospitals:
Press Ganey Assoc:
none
of THE top 15 factors
determining Patient Satisfaction
referred to patient’s health outcome
PS directly related to Staff Interaction
PS directly correlated with Employee
Satisfaction
Source: Putting Patients First, Susan Frampton, Laura Gilpin, Patrick Charmel
“There is a misconception that supportive interactions require
more staff or more time and are therefore more costly. Although
labor costs are a substantial part of any hospital budget, the
interactions themselves add nothing to the budget.
Kindness is
free.
Listening to patients or answering their
questions costs nothing. It can be argued that negative
interactions—alienating patients, being non-responsive to their
needs or limiting their sense of control—can be very costly. …
Angry, frustrated or frightened patients may be combative,
withdrawn and less cooperative—requiring far more time
than it would have taken to interact with them initially in a
positive way.” —Putting Patients First, Susan Frampton,
Laura Gilpin, Patrick Charmel
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?
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
“People turning 50
more
than half of
today have
their adult life
ahead of them.”
—Bill Novelli,
50+: Igniting a Revolution to Reinvent America
Thank
you Sheik
Mohammad
Single
greatest act
of pure
imagination
Thank
you Larry
and Jim
*Basement Systems Inc.
*Larry Janesky
*Dry Basement Science
(115,000!)
*1990: $0; 2003: $13M;
2007:
$62,000,000
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
#4 Japan
#3 USA
#2 China
#1 Germany
Reason!!!
Mittelstand
“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
The last
word:
There is
no “last
word.”
Thank
you Eleanor
and Kevin
“Do one thing
every day
that scares
you.”
—Eleanor Roosevelt
Kevin Roberts’ Credo
1. Ready. Fire! Aim.
2. If it ain’t broke ... Break it!
3. Hire crazies.
4. Ask dumb questions.
5. Pursue failure.
6. Lead, follow ... or get out of the way!
7. Spread confusion.
8. Ditch your office.
9. Read odd stuff.
10.
Avoid moderation!
Thank
you John
“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
“You miss
100% of
the shots you
never take.”
—Wayne Gretzky
“Reward
excellent failures.
Punish mediocre
successes.”
Phil Daniels, Sydney exec
Thank
you , USG …
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
Thank
you , Fred …
DECENTRALIZATION.
EXECUTION.
ACCOUTABILITY.
6:15A.M.
“Execution is
strategy.”
—Fred Malek
Thank
you , Gary …
We are the
company
we keep
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
“Normal” =
“o for 800”
“The
Bottleneck Is at
the Top of the Bottle”
“Where are you likely to find people with the least diversity of
experience, the largest investment in the past, and the greatest
reverence for industry dogma:
At the top!”
— Gary Hamel/Harvard Business Review
Thank
you , 7-11…
“How to flush
$500,000 down
the toilet in one
easy lesson!!”
TP:
< CAPEX
> People!
Brand =
Talent.
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
#1 cause of
Dis-satisfaction?
2/year =
legacy.
‘do’
“Leaders
people.
Period.”
—Anon.
“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
“Leaders
‘SERVE’
people.
Period.”
—inspired by Robert Greenleaf
Thank
you , Mike …
EXCELLENCE.
BEDROCK.
LEADERSHIP.
THE 9Ps.
THE 1M.
PURPOSE.
PASSION.
Potential.
Presence.
Personal.
PERSISTENCE.
PEOPLE.
Potent.
Positive.
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
“Excellence can be obtained if you:
... care more than others think
is wise;
... risk more than others think
is safe;
... dream more than others think
is practical;
... expect more than others think
is possible.”
Source: Anon. (Posted @ tompeters.com by
K.Sriram, November 27, 2006 1:17 AM)