lon g/ new order / 1061 tom peters’ excellence. always. xalways master/08august2006
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Lon g/ NEW ORDER / 1061 Tom Peters’ EXCELLENCE. ALWAYS. XAlways Master/08August2006. Slides* at … tompeters.com. 25. 25. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Long/NEW ORDER/1061
Tom Peters’
EXCELLENCE. ALWAYS.
XAlways Master/08August2006
Slides* at …
tompeters.com
2255
2255
“The [Union senior] officers rode past the Confederates smugly without any sign of recognition except by one. ‘When
General Grant reached the line of ragged, filthy, bloody, despairing
prisoners strung out on each side of the bridge, he lifted his hat and held it over his head until he passed the last man of that living funeral cortege. He was the only officer in that whole train
who recognized us as being on the face of the earth.’*”
*quote within a quote from diary of a Confederate soldier
The Irreducible209+/Sales122/60TIBs
Tom Peters/0607.2006
A frustrated participant at a seminar for investment bankers in Mauritius listened impatiently to my explanation of differences of opinion among me, Mike Porter,
Gary Hamel, Jim Collins, etc. Finally, he’d had enough. “What, if anything,” he asked,
“do you believe ‘for sure’?” 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
EXCELLENCE. THE
BASICS.
This is not about …
“customer centrism”“integrated marketing”
etc.etc.etc.
It is about …
CRO*
*Chief Revenue Officer
It is about …
sellin’ a whole lotta stuff and having customers go bananas
with love to the point that they tell every damn friend they have and then start buttonholing strangers on trains and planes
and busses.
Gaspworthy!
Manhole Cover
Madness and More ….
That’s a Big Number ….
Chicagoland’s
Mystery Disappearances …
THREE BILLION NEW CAPITALISTS
—Clyde Prestowitz
43,000
“There is no job that
is America’s God-given
right anymore.”
—Carly Fiorina/HP/January2004
“Deutsche Bank Moves Half of Its Back-office Jobs to India”/
headline/FT/0327 (500 of 900
Research)
“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
Wal*Mart + Home Depot + Walt Disney +
Intel + Microsoft + Pfizer = Flat
Source: “Blue Chip Blues”, Cover, BW, 0417.06
The King Is Dead. Long Live …
Genentech09, Amgen09
> Merck09 (70K-3/394B-5)
Goodnight and Good
Luck.
Unparalleled in “Our” Professional Lifetime*
TerrorismMiddle East instability
H5N1China screw-ups
Globalization backlashEnergy dependence
Environmental threatsLife sciences
“Cold War” with ChinaFraying American fabric
U.S. impotence in the face of Asia’s rise
*Current leaders were not Cold War leaders
“This is a dangerous world and it is going to become more
dangerous.”
“We may not be interested in chaos
but chaos is interested in us.”
Source: Robert Cooper, The Breaking of Nations: Order and Chaos in the Twenty-first Century
Good Morning and Good
News.
New Economy?!
Sergey + Larry >
Harvard/370
“Forget China, India and the
Internet: Economic Growth Is Driven
by Women.” —Headline, Economist,
April 15, 2006, Leader, page 14
EXCELLENCE. THE
GENERAL’S STORY. (AND
THE ADMIRAL’S)
“If you don’t like change,
you’re going to like irrelevance even less.” —General Eric
Shinseki, Chief of Staff. U. S. Army
Nelson’s secret:
“[Other] admirals more frightened of losing than
anxious to win”
EXCELLENCE. THE
MANDATE.
“It is not the strongest of the
species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most
responsive to change.” —Charles Darwin
“The most successful
people are those who
are good at plan B.”
—James Yorke, mathematician, on chaos theory in The New Scientist
“We are in a brawl with
no rules.” —Paul Allaire
Sam’s Secret
#1!
“While many people big oil finds with big companies, over the years
about 80 percent of the oil found in the United States has been
brought in by wildcatters such as Mr Findley, says Larry Nation,
spokesman for the American Association of Petroleum
Geologists.” —WSJ, “Wildcat Producer Sparks Oil
Boom in Montana,” 0405.2006
“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 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
“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
S.A.V.
Screw Around Vigorously
“Reward excellent failures.
Punish mediocre
successes.”Phil Daniels, Sydney exec
EXCELLENCE. STARTERS.
Radio City Music HallSeptember 2005
Franchise Lost!
TP: “How many of you [600] really
crave a new Chevy?”
NYC/IIR/061205
2P.3E.
People.Product.
Execution.Enthusiasm.Excellence.
“Pee Cee Eee-squared X-squared/PCEEXX:
PeopleCustomersEnthusiasm
EnergyeXecutioneXcellence
P.P.E.E.R.R.E.
People.Product.
Execution.Enthusiasm.Relentless.Re-invent.Excellence.
People.Product.
Execution.Enthusiasm.
Relentless.Re-invent.Excellence.
The “3Es”
Tom Peters/02.15.2006
Enthusiasm!
Execution!Excellence!
EXCELLENCE. THE WORD.
Synonyms
PurityTranscendence
VirtueEleganceMajesty
Antonyms
Mediocrity
EXCELLENCE.
GAMECHANGER.
Excellence1982: The Bedrock “Eight Basics”
1. A Bias for Action2. Close to the Customer3. Autonomy and Entrepreneurship4. Productivity Through People5. Hands On, Value-Driven6. Stick to the Knitting7. Simple Form, Lean Staff8. Simultaneous Loose-Tight Properties”
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
Sorry, Jack: The New Rules
Old RuleBig Dogs Own the StreetBe No.1 or No. 2 in the MarketShareholders RuleBe Lean and MeanRank Players; Go With the A’sHire a Charismatic CEOAdmire My Might
Source: Fortune/07.24.2006
New RuleAgile Is Best; Big Can BiteCreate Something NewThe Customer Is KingLook Out, Not InHire Passionate PeopleHire a Courageous CEOAdmire My Soul
X06/Excellence2006: The Bedrock Baker’s Dozen
1. A Bias For Action/Culture of Execution = Job One! 2. DECENTRALIZATION! ACCOUNTABILITY! 3. Fail. Forward. Fast.4. Velocity! Tempo! “Metabolic Management” Matters! 5. INNOVATE … or Die.6. A Damn Good Product. A Damn Cool Product.7. Ride the Value Added Curve to the Sky: Insure “Gamechanging Solutions”; Provide “Spellbinding Experiences”; Become a “Dream Merchant”; Strive to Be a “Lovemark;” Seek “Tattoo Brand” status.8. Relentlessly Pursue the “Big Two” Markets: Women, Boomers & Geezers. 9. Best Talent Wins! Women Rule! HR at the Head Table!
10. Educate for Creativity, Entrepreneurship & “Brand You” Independence.11. Demanded: Radical Technology Strategies! 12. Passion! Enthusiasm! Energy! Excitement! Relentlessness! 13. No Less Than EXCELLENCE. Ever.
X06/Excellence2006: The Bedrock Baker’s Dozen
1. A Bias For Action/A “Culture of Execution” = Job One! (Must be a Systematic Discipline.)
2. DECENTRALIZATION! ACCOUNTABILITY! (Tom’s “Top Two,” 1965-2005.)
3. Fail. Forward. Fast. (“Reward Excellent Failures, Punish Mediocre Successes.” “Most tries wins.”)
4. Velocity! Tempo! “Metabolic Management” Matters! (Hustle! Adapt! Win the “O.O.D.A. Loop” War—Confuse Your Competitors!)
5. INNOVATE … or Die. (“Game-changers” or Bust! Lead the Customer! Shout “NO” to Imitation!)
6. A Damn Good Product. A Damn Cool Product. (Pursue “Dramatic Difference.”
Design Rules!)
7. Ride the Value Added Curve to the Sky: Insure “Gamechanging Solutions”; Provide “Spellbinding Experiences”; Become a “Dream Merchant”; Strive to Be a “Lovemark;” Seek “Tattoo Brand” status.8. Relentlessly Pursue the “Big Two” Markets: Women, Boomers & Geezers. (WOMEN Buy Everything. BOOMERS & GEEZERS Have All the Money!)
9. Best Talent Wins! Women Rule! HR at the Head Table! (“Weird” Matters Most! A Workplace to Brag About! Educate for Creativity!)
10. Educate for Creativity, Entrepreneurship & “Brand You” Independence. (The schools have it all wrong!)
11. Demanded: Radical Technology Strategies! (“Incrementalism” Is for Wimps!)
12. Passion! Enthusiasm! Energy! Relentlessness! (Hard Is Soft! Soft Is Hard!) 13. No Less Than EXCELLENCE. Ever. (Excellence … the #1 Thing That Vaults Us Out of Bed in the Morning, and Matters in the Long run.)
Re-imagine! Speech: Story Line in 100 Words
or Less
Tom Peters/2006
Re-imagine! Speech: Story Line in 100 Words or Less
1. Wildly altered context (technology, China-India, global terrorism, etc)2. Only answer: adaptive skills and bold-breathtaking
innovation (top-line focus rather than cost-cutting focus)3. Race way, way up the value-added curve (implemented
“game-altering solutions” rather than “services,” “experiences” rather than “transactions,” and much more)
4. As part of value-added exercise, pursue Ripe & Enormous “new” markets—Women, Boomers & Geezers
5. Radical (!!!) use of IS-IT6. A “Roster” of Weird & Wondrous & Entrepreneurial
“Talent” engaged in “Wow Projects”7. “Metabolic Leadership” (Passionate-Radical Leaders
who instill a Discipline of Execution, a Quick Tempo-Adaptive Culture and
an appetite to “Eat Radical Change for Breakfast”)
(96 words by my count)
Everything You Need to Know about “Strategy”: Tom’s Baker’s Dozen Axioms
1. Do you have Awesome Talent … Everywhere? Do you push that Talent to pursue … Gaspworthy Quests?2. Is your Talent Pool loaded with Wonderfully Peculiar People who others would
call “problems”? And what about your Extended Community of customers, vendors et al?3. Is your Board of Directors as Cool as your product offerings … and does it have
50 percent (or at least one-third) Women Members?4. Long-term, it’s a “Top-line World”: Is creating a “culture” that cherishes above all things
Innovation and Entrepreneurship your primary aim? Remember: Innovation … not Imitation!5. Are the Ultimate Rewards heaped upon those who exhibit an Unswerving “Bias for Action,” to
quote the co-authors of In Search of Excellence? 6. Do you routinely use hot, Aspirational Words-terms like “Excellence” and B.H.A.G. (Big Hairy
Audacious Goal, per Jim Collins) and “Let’s make a dent in the Universe” (the Word according to Steve Jobs)? Is “Reward excellent failures, punish mediocre successes” your de facto motto?
7. Do you subscribe to Jerry Garcia’s dictum: “We do not merely want to be the best of the best, we want to be the only ones who do what we do”?
8. Do you elaborate on and enhance Jerry G’s dictum by adding, “We subscribe to ‘Best Sourcing’—and only want to associate with the ‘best of the best’.”
9. Do you Embrace the New Technologies with child-like enthusiasm and a revolutionary’s zeal?10. Do you “serve” and “satisfy” customers … or “go berserk” attempting to provide every customer
with an “awesome experience” that does nothing less than transform the way she or he sees the world?
11. Do you understand … to your very marrow … that the two biggest under-served markets are Women and Boomers-Geezers? And that to “take advantage” of these two Monster “Trends” (FACTS OF LIFE) requires fundamental re-alignment of the enterprise?
12. Are your leaders Accessible? Do they wear their Passion on their sleeves? Does Integrity ooze out of every pore of the enterprise? Is “We care” your implicit motto?
13. Do you understand Business
Mantra #1 of the ’00s: DON’T TRY TO COMPETE
WITH WAL*MART ON PRICE OR CHINA
ON COST?
This I Believe: Tom’s Super-TIB25
1. TECHNICOLOR Times.2. Passion! Enthusiasm! Energy!3. Action/R.F.A./O.O.D.A. Speed.4. Screw-ups. BIG SCREW-Ups!5. Mess! Improv!6. Revolution! Re-imagine!7. INNOVATE OR DIE! 8. Decentralize!9. Bulk is BULL! (Mergers don’t work. FOCUS Does!)10 “Different” > “Better”11. eALL/Power Tools for Power Strategies!12. Forgetting/Destruction.13. Hot Language Matters!14. WOW!/WOW Projects.15. VA Bedrock: The “PSF.” (Professional Service Firm.)16. Daring.17. Talent Time! Leaders “Do” People!18. Talent+/Diversity.19. Talent++/Women Rule!20. “Brand You” Universe.21. Design!22. Gasp-worthy Experiences/Lovemarks.23. New Market Demographics/Women/Boomers & Geezers/Green/Wellness.24. Grace.25. EXCELLENCE!
“My only goal is to have no goals. The goal, every time, is that film, that very moment.” —Bernardo Bertolucci
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 CultureSoft “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 OrganizationsMiddle-sized companies are cool Re-imagine!/Innovate or Die!Small-ish/Scale & Synergy limits-delusions/anti-Big Mergers
Causes/1966-2006
Women/Market opportunityWomen/Leaders (right for the times)
Design/Design-as-soulWow! (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 LogicSales/+R > -C (increasing revenue more important than cutting cost)
HealthCare/Wellness-Safety-H5N1Brand = Talent (best roster wins)
New VA Ladder/Products-Services-SOLUTIONS-EXPERIENCES-DREAMKETING (Dream Marketing)-LOVEMARKDifferent > > BetterBoomers & Geezers/marketing to new “mega-segment”
Progress?Excellence1982: The Bedrock “Eight Basics”
1. A Bias for Action 2. Close to the Customer 3. Autonomy and Entrepreneurship 4. Productivity Through People 5. Hands On, Value-Driven 6. Stick to the Knitting 7. Simple Form, Lean Staff 8. Simultaneous Loose-Tight Properties”
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), 4. People (employees, motivation, morale,
worker/s), 0. 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. (Cross-
cultural Effectiveness.) Career Creation. (Brand You life-lifestyle.) Wellness. (Life.)
*B.Schools (“M.I.A.” or at most “B.I.A.”—barely in action)
Progress?Excellence1982: The Bedrock “Eight Basics”
1. A Bias for Action 2. Close to the Customer 3. Autonomy and Entrepreneurship 4. Productivity Through People 5. Hands On, Value-Driven 6. Stick to the Knitting 7. Simple Form, Lean Staff 8. Simultaneous Loose-Tight Properties”
Noble Bill
“This is not to denigrate emphasis on
leadership, entrepreneurship, management and
global business” —WFS
Source: “Brave New World, Bold New B-School”/Tim Westerbeck/BizEd/08.04
Adversaries
B-schools (crappy at soft skills, implementation, leadership)
Strategy-is-allBy-the-numbers managementDis-passionate managementFocus groupsIntuition discountedLeading as an intellectual taskLeading without passionCool language in Hot timesDilbert (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
My (Les’s) Dinner with Henri
JUSTWHATIZZITUMAKE?
My (Les’s) Dinner with Henri
JUST WHAT IS IT YOU MAKE?
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?”
Did one of ’em ever turn to the other and say: “Wow I
wonder what unimaginable new
tools, otherwise not possible, will be
quickly brought forth for our customers
because of this deal?”
“Not long ago, I heard one studio chief utter the
unthinkable: ‘What would happen if I made a movie I actually looked forward to
seeing?’” —Peter Bart, Editor in Chief, Variety; former
Paramount exec, “Hollywood’s Model Doesn’t Produce Art, or Much Profit” (NYT/0721.06)
Them-UsTom Peters/0624.2006
“Them” “Us”
Strategy EXECUTIONPlanning ActionMarketing Selling/SalesMarkets CustomersCustomers ClientsMicro-segmentation Big Stuff (Women, Boomers)Cost minimization Revenue maximizationSynergy/“Efficiencies” Decentralization“Strategic supplier Pioneering supplierProcess ProjectEffectiveness ExcellenceMen WomenLeadership Management + LeadershipStandardization Exceptionalism (53 = 53)Big clients COOL clientsPrestigious Board INTERESTING Board
“Them” “Us”Big Mid-sizeGrowth by merger Organic growthBuy market share Create NEW marketsEfficient, streamlined Value-creating “PSF” “department” Certainty-predictability Ambiguity-opportunityFearful of losing Aggressive pursuit of winningPlan PrototypeCareful evaluation Another prototypeRevised plan Another prototypePeople/Employees TalentEffective HR department Rockin’ Talent Development Center of ExcellenceBenchmark against the Benchmark against the “best”-“industry leader” “coolest”
“Them” “Us”
Benchmark “Future”markOrderly career progression “Up or Out” (PDQ)Head HeartIQ EQ“Professional” PassionateStoic, humble leaders Noisy, emotional “characters” in chargeHire for Resume Hire for intangiblesMeasured-thoughtful Relentless, pig-headed approach determinationTeamwork comes first Teamwork and disruptive individuals equal billingListen to customers Lead customersCustomer “involvement” Intimate-Seamless customer inter-twining
“Them” “Us”MBM (Management MBWA by memo)MBA MFAShareholder Value Great people-product rule comes first Work smart Work hardBuilt to last Built to Rock the WorldReward successes Reward (EXCELLENT) failuresQuality first! Design 1TQuality first Innovation 1THigh-quality Jaw-dropping Experience transactionCVs demo consistent CVs feature Magic Moments performanceGood grades Cool stuff Operational excellence World-rocking INNOVATION
“Them” “Us”Brand LovemarkBest analysis wins Best STORY wins“Beyond politics” Politics-is-life, the rest is detailsOutsource Bestsource“Motivate” Send on QUESTS“Motivate” InviteMeasured language HOT languageProduct-Service Gamechanging SOLUTION, Thrilling EXPERIENCE, DREAM come true, LOVEMARKPastel Technicolor Better Different“Mission success” “Mission EXCELLENCE”Very good EXCELLENCE. ALWAYS.
Porter.Drucker.Bennis.Peters.
Importance of Success Factors by Various
“Gurus”/Biased Estimates by Tom Peters
Strategy Systems Passion Execution
Porter 50% 20 15 15
Drucker 35% 30 15 20
Bennis 25% 20 30 25
Peters 15% 25 25 35
Importance of Success Factors by Various “Gurus”/(Unreliable) Estimates by Tom Peters
Strategy Systems People Passion
Porter 50% 20 20 10
Drucker 25% 35 25 15
Bennis 25% 20 30 25
Peters 15% 20 40 25
good words.Bad words.
Words that may NOT be used in my presence:
“Motivate”
“Market”
Words that may NOT be used in my presence:
“Motivate”
“In the end, management doesn’t
change culture. Management
invites
the workforce itself to change the culture.”
—Lou Gerstner
Words that may NOT be used in my presence:
“Market”
SellSellSell
Words that may NOT be used in my presence: “Motivate” … “Market” … “MBA” … “Plan”
(mostly) … “Worker” … “Job” … “Task” … “Exceeds
expectations” … “HR” … “Employee evaluation” … “Man”
(mostly) … “Shareholder Value”
Words that MAY be used in my presence: “Invite” (v. “Motivate”) … “Sell” (v. “Market”) … “People” (we’d like to serve) (v. “Market segment”) … “Client” (v.
“Customer”) “OJT/MFA” (v. “MBA”) … “Act”/ “Execute” (v. “Plan”) … “Talent” (v. “Worker”) …
“Quest”/“Adventure-in-EXCELLENCE” (v. “Job”) … “Wow Project” (v. “Task”) … “Rockin’ (profit-makin’)
PSF” (v. “Department”) … “Theater” (v. “Office”) … “Breathtaking Experience” (v. “Transaction” that “Exceeds
expectations”) … “Talent Fanatics Inc” (v. “HR”) … “Brand You adventure” (v “Career development”)
“Annual Report development session” … (v.
“Employee evaluation”) … “Woman” (v. “Man”) …
Words that MAY be used in my presence: … “Wow!” (v. “Nice”) … “Bloody-minded”
(v. “Committed”) … “Thank you! (v. “____”) … “Attack”/Innovate (v. “defend”/Entrench)
… “Great stuff. Great people. ‘Do it’ fanatics.” (v. “shareholder value”) …
“EXCELLENCE. ALWAYS.” (v. “Good work”)
(v. “shareholder value”)
Radically Thrilling Language!
“Radically Thrilling.”
—BMW Z4 (ad)
EXCELLENCE: MANAGEMENT VERSUS (??) LEADERSHIP
LEADERSHIP (Eternal!): Invigorate a sizeable # of
people to Aspire to Excellence in pursuit of a Common
(Noble) Goal that revolves around service-of-exceptional-
value to Clients
RIGHT
THINGS.THINGS RIGHT.
Not!“Leadership is doing the right
things. Management is
doing things right.” —WB et al.
The Twain SHALL Meet!
Leadership: Invite Associates/Colleagues/Talent to join
a Gaspworthy Adventure in EXCELLENCE which will provide
matchless Personal and Professional Growth and be of Dramatically Different Service
to selected Clients
Management: Do it!
DRUCKER’S GREAT CONTRIBUTION: management
per se as a/the principal determinant of institutional
effectiveness
“Never forget implementation
boys. In our work it’s what I call the ‘missing 98
percent’ of the client puzzle.” —Al
McDonald
“Leadership” v. “Management”
“In [President Bush’s] belief that America needed to respond
resolutely to the dangers of terrorism, tyranny and
proliferation, he was mainly right. His chief failures stem
from incompetent execution.” —The Economist/05.13.2006
“Execution is strategy.” —TP (1983)
“Operations is policy.” —Fred Malek (1977)
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.
Business* ** (*at its best): An emotional, vital, innovative, joyful,
creative, entrepreneurial endeavor that elicits
maximum concerted human potential in the
wholehearted service of others.***
**Excellence. Always.***Employees, Customers, Suppliers, Communities, Owners, Temporary partners
Business: The Ultimate Creative
Endeavor.
Business: The Ultimate Personal
Development-Growth
Experience.
Business: The Ultimate
Transcendent Service
Opportunity.
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
“To me business isn’t about wearing suits or pleasing stockholders. It’s about being true to
yourself, your ideas and focusing on the essentials.” —Richard Branson
EXCELLENCE.
HTSH.
HTSH: Engage!*
Commit! Engage! Try! Fail! Get up! Try again! Fail again! Try again! But never,
ever stop moving on! Progress for humanity is engendered by those who join and savor the fray by giving one
hundred percent of themselves to their dreams! Not by those timid souls who
remain glued to the sidelines, stifled by tradition, and fearful of losing face or
giving offense to the reigning authorities.
Key words: Commit! Engage! Try! Fail! Persist!
*HTST/Hands That Shape Humanity, Tom Peters’ contribution to a Bishop Tutu exhibit
EXCELLENCE.
DEFINED.
Great Companies … SET THE
AGENDA.*
(PERIOD.)
* “disturb the sleep of …
AGENDA SETTERS: “Set the Table”/ Pioneers/ Questors/ Adventurers
US Steel … Ford … Toyota … Sears … GM … ITT … The Gap … Limited …
Wal*Mart … Tesco … P&G … 3M … Intel … IBM … Apple … Nokia …
Cisco … Dell … MCI … Sun … Microsoft … Google … Enron …
Schwab … GE … Laker … Southwest … People Express … Ogilvy … Virgin
… eBay … Amazon … Sony … Amgen … BMW … CNN … Nike
Built to Last vs Built for Impact
“But what if [former head of strategic planning at Royal Dutch Shell] Arie De Geus is wrong in suggesting, in The
Living Company, that firms should aspire to live forever? Greatness is fleeting and, for corporations, it
will become ever more fleeting. The ultimate aim of a business organization, an artist, an athlete or a stockbroker may be to explode in a dramatic frenzy of value creation during a
short space of time, rather than to live forever.” —Kjell Nordström and Jonas Ridderstråle, Funky Business
“Life is occupied in both perpetuating itself and in surpassing itself. If all it does is maintain itself, then living is
only not dying.” —Simone de Beauvoir
“… Longevity has its place, but I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will, and He’s allowed me to go up the mountain. And I’ve looked over.
And I have seen the Promised Land. And I don’t mind. … I may not get there
with you. …” —MLK/Memphis
TP#1*:
Netscape!
*Where would you rather have worked for those 5 years, Netscape or IBM-HP-Microsoft-Oracle? (Where, 25 years from now, would you
rather to be able to tell someone—e.g., grandchild—that you worked?)
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
“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.
Be-Do
“Work on me
first.” —Kerry Patterson,
Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan and Al Switzler/Crucial Conversations
“The First step in a ‘dramatic’
‘organizational change program’ is obvious—
dramatic personal change!” —RG
“No leader sets out to be a leader per se, but rather
to express him- or herself freely and fully.
That is leaders have no interest in proving
themselves, but an abiding interest in expressing
themselves.” —Warren Bennis, On Becoming a Leader
VALUE ADDED
#1
EXCELLENCE.
REVENUE.MATTERS.
MOST.
“Analysts … preferred cost cutting, as long as they could see two or three years of EPS growth. I
preached revenue and the analysts’ eyes would glaze over. Now revenue is ‘in’ because so many got caught, and
earnings went to hell. They said, ‘Oh my gosh, you need revenues to
grow earnings over time.’
Well, Duh!” —Dick Kovacevich, Wells
Fargo
EXCELLENCE.
SELL. SELL.SELL.
This is not about …
“customer centrism”“integrated marketing”
etc.etc.etc.
It is about …
… sellin’ a whole lotta stuff and having customers go bananas
with love to the point that they tell every damn friend they have and then start buttonholing strangers on trains and planes
and busses.
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. (Cross-cultural Effectiveness.) Career Creation. (Brand
You life-lifestyle.) Wellness. (Life.)
*B.Schools (“M.I.A.” or at most “B.I.A.”—barely in action)
. “Everyone lives by selling
something.”
– Robert Louis Stevenson
SellSellSell
CRO*
*Chief Revenue Officer
“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
TP.27 … on Selling
(Short) (Personal)
Out-prepare!! (huge time commitment!)Learn the “culture”Practice!Care-EmpathyListen-Empathetic listening (SC)“Listen”-Body languageK.I.S.S. (1-page summary. 1 = 1.)Enthusiasm-ENERGY-“Authenticity”!!OBVIOUS belief in productSelling: Solution-Success-Experience-Dream come true-Love-Dramatic DifferenceSelling: Better STORY! (“Best story wins”)Selling: Yourself! (Brand you)“Obvious” Wow!No exaggeration!Spell out commitments!SIMPLE timelineSell “inside”-First! Thorough!Relationships-“Way down”!!Time!!!! (E.g., build trust)Ooze integrityIntroduce to rest of team, esp. “mechanics”SBWA (5K for 5M)Remember: Close!Gotta-make-a-profit (be ready to walk away!)“Good loss”Don’t dis competitors!!Make her-him-target SUCCESSFUL (in a personal way)
C(I)>C(X)
“It’s always showtime.”
—David D’Alessandro, Career Warfare
GE (more or less):
The Sales122: 122 Ridiculously Obvious Thoughts About Selling Stuff
Tom Peters/0402.2006
VALUE ADDED
#2
EXCELLENCE. DRAMATIC.
DIFFERENCE.DOABLE.
EXCELLENCE.
WANTING.
This is not a “mature
category.”
This is an “undistinguishe
d category.”
“The ‘surplus society’ has a surplus of
similar companies, employing
similar people, with
similar educational backgrounds,
coming up with similar ideas,
producing similar things, with
similar prices and similar quality.”
Kjell Nordström and Jonas Ridderstråle, Funky Business
Line Extensions:
86 percent of new
products. 62 percent of revenues.
39 percent of profit.
Source: Blue Ocean Strategy, Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne
“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
EXCELLENCE. DRAMATIC.
DIFFERENCE.DOABLE.
$798
$415/SqFt/Wal*Mart$798/SqFt/Whole
Foods
7X. 730A-800P.
F12A.**’93-’03/10 yr annual return: CB: 29%; WM: 17%;
HD: 16%. Mkt Cap: 48% p.a.
“It’s simple, really, Tom. Hire for s,
and, above all, promote for s.”
—Starbucks middle manager/field
“A man without a smiling face must
not open a shop.” —Chinese Proverb
#1/100
“Best Companies to
Work for”/2005
Wegmans
EXCELLENCE.
#1T.
Donnelly’s Weatherstrip
Service
Weymouth MA
EXCELLENCE.
#1T.
Cirque du Soleil!
And the Winner is …
1. Audacity of Vision2. Innovation/R&D/Design3. Talent Acquisition & Development4. Resultant “Experience”5. Strategic Alliances6. Operations7. Financial Management8. Overall/Sustaining Excellence9. “Wow!”10. Lovemark!
Tattoo Brand: What % of users would tattoo the brand name on their
body?
Top 10 “Tattoo Brands”*
Harley .… 18.9%Disney .... 14.8
Coke …. 7.7Google .... 6.6Pepsi .... 6.1Rolex …. 5.6Nike …. 4.6
Adidas …. 3.1Absolut …. 2.6
Nintendo …. 1.5
*BRANDsense: Build Powerful Brands through Touch, Taste, Smell, Sight, and Sound, Martin Lindstrom
Synonyms
PurityTranscendence
VirtueEleganceMajesty
Antonyms
Mediocrity
“A man without a smiling face must
not open a shop.” —Chinese Proverb
EXCELLENCE. NO EXCUSES.
Summary:
WallopWal*Mart16*
*Or: Why it’s so absurdly easy to beat a GIANT Company
The “Small Guys” Guide: Wallop Wal*Mart16
*Niche-aimed. (Never, ever “all things for all people,” a “mini-Wal*Mart.)
*Never attack the monsters head on! (Instead steal niche business and lukewarm customers.)
*“Dramatically Different” (La Difference ... within our
community, our industry regionally, etc … is as obvious as the end of one’s nose!) (THIS IS WHERE MOST MIDGETS COME UP SHORT.)
*Compete on value/experience/intimacy, not price. (You ain’t gonna beat the behemoths on cost-price in 9.99 out of 10 cases.)
*Emotional bond with Clients, Vendors. (BEAT THE BIGGIES ON EMOTION/CONNECTION!!)
“This is an essay about what it takes to create and sell something remarkable. It is a plea for originality, passion, guts and daring. You can’t be remarkable by following someone else who’s remarkable. One way to
figure out a theory is to look at what’s working in the real world and determine what the successes have in common. But what could the Four Seasons and Motel 6 possibly have in common? Or Neiman-Marcus and Wal*Mart? Or Nokia (bringing out new hardware every 30 days or so) and
Nintendo (marketing the same Game Boy 14 years in a row)? It’s like trying
to drive looking in the rearview mirror. The thing that all these companies
have in common is that they have nothing in common. They
are outliers. They’re on the fringes. Superfast or superslow. Very exclusive or very cheap. Extremely big or extremely small. The reason it’s so hard to follow the leader is this: The leader is the leader precisely because he did something remarkable. And that remarkable thing is now taken—so it’s no
longer remarkable when you decide to do it.” —Seth Godin, Fast Company/02.2003
The “Small Guys” Guide: Wallop Wal*Mart16
*Hands-on, emotional leadership. (“We are a great & cool & intimate & joyful & dramatically different team working to transform our Clients lives via Consistently Incredible Experiences!”)
*A community star! (“Sell” local-ness per se. Sell the hell out of it!)
*An incredible experience, from the first to last moment—and then in the follow-up! (“These guys are cool! They ‘get’ me! They love me!”)
*DESIGN DRIVEN! (“Design” is a premier weapon-in-pursuit-of-the sublime for small-ish enterprises, including the professional services.)
The “Small Guys” Guide: Wallop Wal*Mart16
*Employer of choice. (A very cool, well-paid place to work/learning and growth experience in at least the short term … marked by notably progressive policies.) (THIS IS EMINENTLY DO-ABLE!!)
*Sophisticated use of information technology. (Small-“ish” is no excuse for “small aims”/execution in IS/IT!)
*Web-power! (The Web can make very small very big … if the product-service is super-cool and one purposefully masters buzz/viral marketing.)
*Innovative! (Must keep renewing and expanding and revising and re-imagining “the promise” to employees, the customer, the community.)
The “Small Guys” Guide: Wallop Wal*Mart16
*Brand-Lovemark* (*Kevin Roberts) Maniacs! (“Branding” is not just for big folks with big budgets. And modest size is actually a Big Advantage in becoming a local-regional-niche “lovemark.”)
*Focus on women-as-clients. (Most don’t. How stupid.)
*Excellence! (A small player …
per me … has no right or reason to exist unless they are in Relentless Pursuit of Excellence. One earns the right—one damn day and client experience at a time!—to beat the Big Guys in your chosen niche!)
The Fab Five: What Every Small Biz Needs
Success = DDMMPR/"D-squared, M-squared, PR” = DramDiff + Money-Financial Acumen + Good “Marketing” Instincts + Stellar People +
Resilience
What I’ve Learned about
“Small Business”
Tom Peters26June2006
Passion for PRODUCT.OBSESSION With Product.
LOVE The Product.Aim To Be “ONLY ONES WHO DO WHAT WE DO.”
Keep ADDIN’ Stuff.Invest “UNWISELY” in R&D.
Reside Permanently In The DISCOMFORT Zone.“Unhealthy” PARANOIA Is A Good Thing.
Add Clients That PUSH-PULL.SELL. SELL. SELL. SELL.
Go For Broke: CUSTOMER CONTACT PEOPLE.PERFECTION: Customer Contact People.
Hire for ATTITUDE.INVITE On An Adventure. GREAT CFO/Biz Guy-Gal. NASTY CFO/Biz Guy-Gal.
QUADRANGULAR LEADERSHIP: Visionary-Talent Fanatic-Project Manager-I.P.M. (I.P.M. = Inspired Profit
Mechanic)
More @ Moore
GREAT Logo.DESIGN!
“OVERDO” Marketing Materials.WOMEN Roar. WOMEN Rule. WOMEN Buy.
Diversity = $$$$$$Be RELENTLESS. Cut And RUN.
Product Includes-Features the PACKAGING.Define Your DRAMATIC DIFFERENCE (R.P.O.V.8)
Best STORY Wins.DRESS For Success.
First Goal: AMUSE Yourself.Know YOURSELF.
DON’T Do Stuff You Hate. “Over-invest” In RELATIONSHIPS.
(R.O.I.R.: Return On Investment in Relationships)
SYSTEMATICALLY “Manage” Relationships.“Work” The SUPPORT PEOPLE In Client Orgs.
BLOG As If Your Life Depended On It.SOPHISTICATED Use Of Infotech.
RESPONSE To Problems.Make ’Em PAY.
CLOSE The Sale. Invest BIGTIME In PR.
Media FRIENDLY.Live-To-SCHMOOZE.
Fun/Laughter = $$$$ MBWA: Stay In Touch.
“You Must Be The Change You Wish To See In The World”/GANDHI
5K For 5M.Your CALENDAR Never Lies.
OUT: Pastels. IN: Technicolor
JUST SAY “NO” TO C.E.O.: CIO/Chief Innovation Officer. CSO/Chief Sales Officer.
CWO/Chief Wow Officer
EXCELLENCE Is Very Cool. “MICRO-MANAGE” Your Reputation.Wear Your Integrity On Your SLEEVE.
KEEP Your Promises.EXECUTION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
“A Man Without A Smiling Face MUST NOT Open His Shop.”
RECOGNITION! Work HARD, Not Smart.
“Insanely Great.” THE STANDARD.
Tom/2006/Q97-Q100
Study more.Renew more.Tailor more.Offer more.Listen more.Market more.Practice more.
Challenge more.Socialize more.
Smile more.Follow-up more.
Plan execution more.Cost control more.
“A man without a smiling face
must not open a shop.” —Chinese Proverb
“It’s always
showtime.”
—David D’Alessandro, Career Warfare
Small Giants: Companies That
Choose To Be Great Instead Of
Good —by Bo Burlingham
I HEREBY PLEDGE …
When asked, “What are some examples of companies stepping up to today’s
challenges?” … I will … NEVER AGAIN … offer an example of a Giant Company; instead I’ll refer to
Cirque du Soleil, Donnelly’s Weatherstrip Service, 3K tanning salons, 10.6M women-owned businesses (or the
typically female recipients of micro-lending) …*
*There is more to Biz Life than Giant Cos … LOTS MORE … that “hidden 99%”
VALUE ADDED
#3
EXCELLENCE.
NEW MARKETS.ENORMOUS.
OPPORTUNITIES.
“Idiot” is too kind a
word.
“That’s a very diverse* team.”
—Patrick Cescau, CEO, Unilever**
*1 of 14 Board of Directors members is a woman (not an exec); 2 of 7 Exec Team members are … Indians. (Source: FT/24-25 June.)
**Approximately 85% of Unilever’s
products are purchased by … women.
“That’s a
VERY diverse team.”
—Patrick Cescau, CEO, Unilever* **
*1 of 14 Board of Directors members is a woman (not an exec); 2 of 7 Exec Team members are … Indians. (Source: FT/24-25 June.)
**Approximately 85% of Unilever’s products are purchased by … women.
“That’s a
VERY sick man.”
—Tom Peters
“EXCELLENCE.”
PITIFUL.
????????
Weenie of the year,
2006 …
????????
6/44
P&G
EXCELLENCE.
FOUND.DUH.
“To be a leader in consumer
products, it’s critical to have
leaders who represent the population we
serve.” —Steve Reinemund/PepsiCo
“EXCELLENCE.”
AARGH.
2005
Good Thinking, Guys!
“Kodak Sharpens Digital Focus
On Its Best Customers:
Women”
—Page 1 Headline/WSJ/0705
EXCELLENCE.
OPPORTUNITY.
“Women are the
majority market”
—Fara Warner/The Power of the Purse
USA/F.Stats: Short ’n (Very) Sweet
>50% of stock ownership, $13T total wealth (2X in 15 years)
>$7T consumer & biz spending (>50% GDP; > Japan GDP); >80% consumer spdg (Consumer = 70% all spdg)
57% BA degrees (2002); = ed & social strata, no wage gap
60% Internet users; >50% primary users of electronic equipment
>50% biz trips
WimBiz: Employees > F500; 10M+: 33% all US Biz
Pay from 62% in 1980 to 80% today; equal if education, social status, etc are equal
60% work; 46M (divorced, widowed, never married)
Source: Fara Warner, The Power of the Purse
The Perfect Answer
Jill and Jack buy slacks in black…
1. Men and women are different.2. Very different.3. VERY, VERY DIFFERENT.4. Women & Men have a-b-s-o-l-u-t-e-l-y nothing in common.5. Women buy lotsa stuff.
6. WOMEN BUY A-L-L THE STUFF.7. Women’s Market = Opportunity No. 1.8. Men are (STILL) in charge.9. MEN ARE … TOTALLY, HOPELESSLY CLUELESS ABOUT WOMEN.10. Women’s Market = Opportunity No. 1.
“Women don’t buy
brands. They join them.”
EVEolution
2.6 vs. 21
10. Women’s Market =
Opportunity No. 1.
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?
Fara Warner
Read.
This.
Book.
Damn it.
Cases!McDonald’s (“mom-centered” to “majority consumer”;
not via kids)
Home Depot (“Do it [everything!] Herself”)
P&G (more than “house cleaner”)
DeBeers (“right-hand rings”/$4B)
AXA FinancialKodak (women = “emotional centers of the household”)
Nike (> jock endorsements; new def sports; majority consumer)
AvonBratz (young girls want “friends,” not a blond stereotype)
Source: Fara Warner/The Power of the Purse
“To help revive the company’s sales and profits, McDonald’s
shifted its strategy toward women from one of ‘minority’ consumers who served as a
conduit to the important children’s market to one in
which women are the majority consumers and the main drivers
behind menu and promotion innovation.” —Fara Warner, The Power of the Purse
“The left hand rocks the cradle, The right hand rules the world.” —DeBeers*
(*created new $4B segment in 5 years)
“In those two simple sentences I saw a view of women I had not seen before in advertising. Here
was a company that had the guts to talk openly about what women were still struggling to understand and embrace.” —Fara
Warner, The Power of the Purse
Faith, Lys, Marti, Fara …
Targeting the New Professional Woman:
How to Market and Sell to Today’s 57 Million
Working Women.
—Gerry Myers
EXCELLENCE.
OPPORTUNITY.
10.6
EXCELLENCE.
OPPORTUNITY.
Add It Up!
Doing it right (“Men buy things that other men will buy for women. I buy things that women want.”—successful jeweler/F)
Greater workforce/global participation rate (“bigger contributor to GDP growth than technology, China, India”)
Higher wages (more seniority, promotions—even if not to CEO)
Women-owned businesses (answer to the Glass Ceiling)
EXCELLENCE.
OPPORTUNITY.
Just Say No. 18-44
Stupid Fr*&^ing Idiot-Marketers!
“Critics describe evening news in unflattering
terms— They’re old! They’re set in their
ways! They won’t buy iPods!””
Source: Advertising Age, 05.08.06
2000-2010 Stats
18-44: -1%
55+: +21%(55-64: +47% )
44-65: “New Customer Majority” *
*45% larger than 18-43; 60% larger by 2010Source: Ageless Marketing, David Wolfe & Robert Snyder
“The New Customer Majority is the only adult
market with realistic prospects for significant
sales growth in dozens of product lines for thousands of companies.” —David Wolfe & Robert Snyder,
Ageless Marketing
“Baby-boomer Women: The Sweetest of
Sweet Spots for Marketers” —David Wolfe and
Robert Snyder, Ageless Marketing
“WOMAN of the Year: She’s the most powerful
consumer in America. And as she starts to turn sixty
this month, the affluent baby boomer is doing what she’s always done—redefining
herself.” —Joan Hamilton, Town & Country, JAN06
“Sixty Is the New Thirty”
—Cover/AARP/11.03
EXCELLENCE.
OPPORTUNITY.
Women.Women business owners.
Boomers-Geezers.Single-adults (Urban)
Fastest growing demographic:
Single-person Households (>50% in
London, Stockholm, etc)
Source: Richard Scase
% of homes purchased by single women: 1981, 10%;
2005, 20%
% of homes purchased by single men: 1981, 10%;
2005, 9%
Source: USA Today/02.15.06
EXCELLENCE.
OPPORTUNITY.
Women.Women business owners.
Boomers-Geezers.Single-adults (Urban)
The Irreducible20
9
73. Exercise.74. Paint. (Leader. Portraits of Excellence.)75. Best story wins.76. “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.)
VALUE ADDED
#4
EXCELLENCE.
VALUE ADDED.UP THE LADDER.
EXCELLENCE I.
SOLVE IT.
$55B
And the “M” Stands for … ?
Gerstner’s IBM: “Systems Integrator of choice.”/BW
(“Lou, help us turn ‘all this’ into that long-promised ‘revolution.’ ” )
IBM Global Services* (*Integrated Systems
Services Corp.): $55B
“By making the Global Delivery Model both legitimate and mainstream, we have brought the battle to our territory. That is, after all, the purpose of strategy. We have become the leaders, and incumbents [IBM, Accenture]
are followers, forever playing catch-up. … However, creating a new business innovation is not enough for rules to be changed. The
innovation must impact clients, competitors, investors, and society. We have seen all this in spades. Clients have embraced the model and are
demanding it in even greater measure. The acuteness of their circumstance, coupled with the capability and value of our solution, has made the choice not a choice. Competitors have been dragged kicking
and screaming to replicate what we do. They face trauma and disruption,
but the game has changed forever. Investors have grasped that this is not a passing
fancy, but a potential restructuring of the way the world
operates and how value will be created in the future.” —Narayana Murthy,
chairman’s letter, Infosys Annual Report
The [Only?] Answer
PSF (Professional Service Firm “model”/The Organizing Principle)
+
Brand You(“Distinct” or “Extinct”/The Talent)
+
Wow! Projects (“Different” vs “Better”/The Work)
“Big Brown’s New Bag: UPS
Aims to Be the Traffic Manager for Corporate
America” —Headline/BW/2004
“SCS”/Supply Chain Solutions: 750 locations;
$2.5B; fastest growing division; 19 acquisitions,
including a bank
Source: Fast Company
MasterCard Advisors
I. LAN Installation Co. (3%)
II. Geek Squad. (30%.)
III. Acquired by BestBuy.
IV. Flagship of BestBuy Wholesale “Solutions” Strategy Makeover.
Gamechangging “Solutions”: Bet-the-Company
IBMIBMUPSUPS
XeroxXeroxMasterCardMasterCard
GEGEBestBuyBestBuy
Huge: Customer Satisfaction versus
Customer
Success
EXCELLENCE.NECESSITY.
OPPORTUNITY.
“There is no job that
is America’s God-given
right anymore.”
—Carly Fiorina/HP/January2004
“ ‘Disintermediation’ is overrated. Those who fear disintermediation should in fact be afraid of
irrelevance—disintermediation is just another way
of saying that … you’ve become
irrelevant to your
customers.”
—John Battelle/Point/Advertising Age/07.05
43,000
Chicago:
HRMAC
“support function” / “cost
center”/ “overhead”
or …
Are you … “Rock Stars of the
Age of Talent”
Are you the …
“Principal Engine of
Value Added”*E.g.: Your R&D budget as robust as the New Products team?
DD$21M
A review of Jack and Suzy Welch’s Winning claims there are but two key differentiators that set GE “culture” apart from the herd:
First: Separating financial forecasting and performance measurement. Performance measurement based, as it usually is, on budgeting leads to an epidemic of gaming the system. GE’s performance measurement is divorced from budgeting—and instead reflects how you do relative to your past performance and relative to competitors’ performance; i.e., it’s about how you actually do in the context of what happened in the real world, not as compared to a gamed-abstract plan developed last year.
Second: Putting HR on a par with finance and marketing.
The Irreducible20
9
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.
EXCELLENCE. NO OPTION.
PSF.
“ ‘Disintermediation’ is overrated. Those who fear disintermediation should in fact be afraid of
irrelevance—disintermediation is just another way
of saying that … you’ve become
irrelevant to your
customers.”
—John Battelle/Point/Advertising Age/07.05
Department Head
to …
Managing
Partner, IS [HR, R&D, etc.] Inc.
Answer:
PSF
EXCELLENCE. NO OPTION.
PSF++.
Core Mechanism:“Game-changing Solutions”
PSF (Professional Service Firm “model”/The Organizing Principle)
+
Brand You(“Distinct” or “Extinct”/The Talent)
+
Wow! Projects (“Different” vs “Better”/The Work)
The “PSF35”: Thirty-Five
Professional Service Firm Marks of Excellence
The PSF35: The Work & The Legacy
1. CRYSTAL CLEAR POINT OF VIEW (E very Practice Group: “If you can’t explain your position in eight words or less, you don’t have a position”—Seth Godin)2. DRAMATIC DIFFERENCE (“We are the only ones who do what we do”—Jerry Garcia)3. Stretch Is Routine (“Never bite off less than you can chew”—anon.)4. Eye-Appetite for Game-changer Projects (Excellence at Assembling “Best Team”—Fast) 5. “Playful” Clients (Adventurous folks who unfailingly Aim to Change the World)6. Small “Uneconomic” Clients with Big Aims7. Life Is Too Short to Work with Jerks (Fire lousy clients)8. OBSESSED WITH LEGACY (Practice Group and Individual: “Dent the Universe”—Steve Jobs)9. Fire-on-the-spot Anyone Who Says, “Law/Architecture/Consulting/ I-banking/ Accounting/PR/Etc. has become a ‘commodity’ ”10. Consistent with #9 above … DO NOT SHY AWAY FROM THE WORD (IDEA) “RADICAL”
?????
Do good (excellent?!) work
Make a lot of money
Pointed Point of View!
R.POV8**Remarkable Point Of View/8 Words or less/“If you can’t state your
position in eight words or less you don’t have a position.”—SG
Are you the …
“Principal Engine of
Value Added”*E.g.: Your R&D budget as robust as the New Products team?
The PSF35: The People & The Leadership
18. TALENT FANATICS (“Best-Coolest place to work”) (PERIOD)19. EYE FOR THE PECULIAR (Hiring: Go beyond “same old, same old”) 20. Early Opportunities (vs. “Wait your turn”) 21. Up or Out (Based on “Legacy”/Mentoring as much as “Billings”/“Rainmaking”)22. Slide the Old Aside/Make Room for Youth (Find oldsters new roles?)23. TALENT IS OBSESSED WITH RENEWAL FROM DAY #1 TO DAY #“R” [R = Retirement]24. Office/Practice Leaders Evaluated Primarily on Mentoring-Team Building Skills25. A “PROPRIETARY” TALENT DEVELOPMENT PROCESS (GE)26. Team Leadership Skills Valued Early27. Partner with B.I.W. [Best In World] Outsiders as Needed and to Infuse Different Views
The PSF35: The Firm & The Brand
28. EAT-SLEEP-BREATHE-OOZE INTEGRITY (“My life is my message”—Gandhi)29. Excellence+ in EXECUTION … 100.00% of the Time (No such thing as a “small sins”/World Series Ring to the Batboy!) 30. “Drop everything”/“Swarm” to Support a Harried-On The Verge Team31. SPEND AS AGGRESSIVELY ON R&D AS A TECH FIRM OR CIRQUE DU SOLEIL32. A PROPRIETARY METHODOLOGY (FBR, McKinsey, Chiat Day, IDEO, old EDS)33. Web (Technology) Obsession34. BRAND/“LOVEMARK” MANIACS (Organize Around a Point of View Worth BROADCASTING: “You must be the change you wish to see in the world”—Gandhi)35. PASSION! ENTHUSIASM! (Passion & Enthusiasm have as much a place at the Head Table in a “PSF” as in a widgets factory: “You can’t behave in a calm, rational manner. You’ve got to be out there on the lunatic fringe”—Jack Welch)
The PSF35: The Firm & The Brand
28. EAT-SLEEP-BREATHE-OOZE INTEGRITY (“My life is my message”—Gandhi)
29. Excellence+ in EXECUTION … 100.00% of the Time30. “Drop everything”/“Swarm” to Support a Harried-On The Verge Team
31. SPEND ON R&D LIKE A TECH FIRM.32. A PROPRIETARY METHODOLOGY (FBR, McKinsey, Chiat Day, IDEO, old EDS)
33. BRAND MANIACS (Organize Around a Point of View Worth BROADCASTING)
34. PASSION! ENTHUSIASM!
35. EXCELLENCE. ALWAYS.
“PSF” Nirvana
Counselor
Trusted Advisor
PSF + BY + WP +
DD + E = UVA
PSF (Professional Service Firm) + BY (Brand You) + WP (WOW Projects) +
DD (Dramatic Difference)
+ E (Excellence) = UVA (Unassailable
Value-Added)
Static/Imitative
Integrity.Quality.
Excellence.Continuous Improvement.
Superior Service (Exceeds Expectations.)
Completely Satisfactory Transaction.Smooth Evolution.
Market Share.
Dynamic/Different
Dramatic Difference!Disruptive!
Insanely Great! (Quality++++)
Life-(Industry-)changing Experience!Game-changing!
WOW!Surprise!Delight!
Breathtaking!Punctuated Equilibrium!
Market Creation!
Synonyms
PurityTranscendence
VirtueEleganceMajesty
Antonyms
Mediocrity
EXCELLENCE. UBIQUITOUS.
PSF.
Trapper: <$20 per beaver pelt.
Source: WSJ
WDCP*: $150 to remove
“problem beaver”; $750-$1,000 for flood-control piping … so that beavers can
stay.
* “Wildlife Damage-control Professional”
Source: WSJ
Answer:
PSF
Core Mechanism:“Game-changing Solutions”
PSF (Professional Service Firm “model”/The Organizing Principle)
+
Brand You(“Distinct” or “Extinct”/The Talent)
+
Wow! Projects (“Different” vs “Better”/The Work)
EXCELLENCE.
ATTITUDE.TRANSFORMATION.
PSF.
Fleet Manager
Rolling Stock Cost Minimization Officer
vs/or
Chief of Fleet Lifetime Value Maximization
Strategic Supply-chain Executive
Customer Experience Director (via drivers)
“Big Brown’s New Bag: UPS
Aims to Be the Traffic Manager for Corporate
America” —Headline/BW/2004
“Purchasing Officer” Thrust #1: Cost (at All Costs*) Minimization
Professional? Or/to: Full Partner-Leader in Lifetime
Value-added Maximization?
(*Lopez: “Arguably ‘Villain #1’ in GM tragedy”/Anon VSE-Spain)
HCare CIO: “Technology Executive” (workin’ in a hospital)
Or/to: Full-scale, Accountable (life or death)
Member-Partner of XYZ Hospital’s Senior Healing-Services Team (who happens to be a techie)
PSF Transformation: Credit Department/Trek
Was Is
Credit Dept Financial Services
Hammer on dealers until Make dealers successful so theythey pay CAN pay
AR sold to 3rd party Trek is the commercial financialcommercial co. Company
23 employees 12 employees
Oversee peak AR of $70M Oversee peak AR of $160M
Identify risky dealers Identify opportunities
Cost Center Profit Center
No products Products: Consulting, MC/Visa, Stored value of gift cards, Gift card peripherals, Online payments
Source: John Burke/0330.06
“Typically in a mortgage company or financial services company, ‘risk
management’ is an overhead, not a revenue center. We’ve become more
than that. We pay for ourselves, and we
actually make money for the company.” —Frank
Eichorn, Director of Credit Risk Data Management Group, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage (Source: sas.com)
Mantra:
“Eichorn it!”
Core Mechanism:“Game-changing Solutions”
PSF (Professional Service Firm “model”/The Organizing Principle)
+
Brand You(“Distinct” or “Extinct”/The Talent)
+
Wow! Projects (“Different” vs “Better”/The Work)
Up, Up, Up,
Up
the Value-added Ladder.
The Value-added Ladder/Stuff ‘n’ Things
Goods Raw Materials
The Value-added Ladder/Stuff & Transactions
ServicesGoods
Raw Materials
The Value-added Ladder/Opportunity-seeking
Gamechanging Solutions
ServicesGoods
Raw Materials
Answer:
PSF
The [Only?] Answer
PSF (Professional Service Firm “model”/The Organizing Principle)
+
Brand You(“Distinct” or “Extinct”/The Talent)
+
Wow! Projects (“Different” vs “Better”/The Work)
Wildlife Damage-control
Professional
Are you the …
“Principal Engine of
Value Added”*E.g.: Your R&D budget as robust as the New Products team?
I. LAN Installation Co. (3%)
II. Geek Squad. (30%.)
III. Acquired by BestBuy.
IV. Flagship of BestBuy Wholesale “Solutions” Strategy Makeover.
EXCELLENCE II. EXPERIENCE IT.
“Experiences are as distinct
from services as services are from
goods.” —Joe Pine & Jim Gilmore, The Experience Economy:
Work Is Theatre & Every Business a Stage
“Club Med is more than just a ‘resort’; it’s a means of rediscovering oneself, of inventing an
entirely new ‘me.’ ”
Source: Jean-Marie Dru, Disruption
“The [Starbucks] Fix” Is on …
“We have identified a
‘third place.’ And I
really believe that sets us apart. The third place is that place that’s not work or home. It’s the place our customers
come for refuge.”
Nancy Orsolini, District Manager
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
Up, Up, Up,
Up
the Value-added Ladder.
The Value-added Ladder/Memorable Connection
Spellbinding Experiences
Gamechanging SolutionsServicesGoods
Raw Materials
Warren Goes Shopping …
Q: “Why did you buy Jordan’s Furniture?”
A: “Jordan’s is spectacular. It’s all
showmanship.”
Source: Warren Buffet interview/Boston Sunday Globe/12.05.2004
CXO**Chief eXperience Officer
Extraction & Goods: Male dominance
Services & Experiences: Female
dominance
EXCELLENCE III.
DREAM IT.
Furniture vs. Dreams
“We do not sell ‘furniture’ at
Domain. We sell dreams. This is
accomplished by addressing the half-formed needs in our
customers’ heads. By uncovering these needs, we, in essence, fill in the blanks. We
convert ‘needs’ into ‘dreams.’ Sales are the
inevitable result.” — Judy George,
Domain Home Fashions
DREAM: “A dream is a complete moment in the life
of a client. Important experiences that tempt the client to commit substantial resources. The essence of
the desires of the consumer. The opportunity to help
clients become what they want to be.”
—Gian Luigi Longinotti-Buitoni
The Marketing of Dreams (Dreamketing)
Dreamketing: Touching the clients’ dreams.Dreamketing: The art of telling stories and entertaining.Dreamketing: Promote the dream, not the product.Dreamketing: Build the brand around the main dream.Dreamketing: Build the “buzz,” the “hype,” the “cult.”
Source: Gian Luigi Longinotti-Buitoni
Up, Up, Up,
Up
the Value-added Ladder.
The Value-added Ladder/Emotion
Dreams Come True
Spellbinding Experiences Gamechanging Solutions
ServicesGoods
Raw Materials
“The sun is setting on the Information Society—even before we have fully adjusted to its demands as
individuals and as companies. We have lived as hunters and as farmers, we have worked in factories and now we
live in an information-based society whose icon is the
computer. We stand facing the fifth kind of society: the Dream Society. … Future
products will have to appeal to our hearts, not to our heads. Now is the time to add emotional value to
products and services.”
—Rolf Jensen/The Dream Society:How the Coming Shift from Information to Imagination Will Transform Your Business
CDM*
*Chief Dream Merchant
Big Blue
EXCELLENCE.
ALWAYS.
“What Isn’t Matter Is
What Matters” —section title, Branded Nation: The Marketing of
Megachurch, College Inc., and Museumworld, James Twitchell
Gas ………….….. $1.75 per gallonLipton Iced Tea .. $9.52 per gallonOcean Spray …... $10.00Gatorade ……….. $10.17Diet Snapple …... $10.32STP brake fluid .. $33.60Pepto-Bismol ….. $123.20Vicks NyQuil …... $178.13Evian water ……. $21.19 ($50B-$200B)
Source: Branded Nation: The Marketing of Megachurch, College Inc., and Museumworld, James Twitchell (2004)
VA “Teaching Moment”
“Andy pointed to a molding, about halfway up the
wall …”
EXCELLENCE IV.
LOVE IT.
“Brands have run out
of juice. They’re
dead.” —Kevin Roberts/Saatchi &
Saatchi
Kevin Roberts:
Lovemarks!
Tattoo Brand: What % of users would tattoo the brand name on their
body?
Top 10 “Tattoo Brands”*
Harley .… 18.9%Disney .... 14.8
Coke …. 7.7Google .... 6.6Pepsi .... 6.1Rolex …. 5.6Nike …. 4.6
Adidas …. 3.1Absolut …. 2.6
Nintendo …. 1.5
*BRANDsense: Build Powerful Brands through Touch, Taste, Smell, Sight, and Sound, Martin Lindstrom
Up, Up, Up,
Up
the Value-added Ladder.
Lovemark Dreams Come True
Spellbinding ExperiencesGamechanging Solutions
ServicesGoods
Raw Materials
Lovemark Dreams Come True
Spellbinding ExperiencesGamechanging Solutions
ServicesGoods
Raw Materials
Damn it …
Lovemark: IBMUPSPSF
Logistics “Department”HR “Department”
CL O*
*Chief Lovemark Officer
Up, Up, Up,
Up
the Value-added Ladder.
Lovemark Dreams Come True
Spellbinding ExperiencesGamechanging Solutions
ServicesGoods
Raw Materials
EXCELLENCE.
SOUL I.THE STORY.
“Storytelling
is the core of culture.”
—Branded Nation: The Marketing of Megachurch, College Inc., and Museumworld, James Twitchell
“Leaders don’t just make products and make
decisions. Leaders make
meaning.” – John Seely Brown
Best Story Wins!
“A key – perhaps the key – to leadership is
the effective communication
of a story.”—Howard Gardner/Leading Minds:
An Anatomy of Leadership
Market Power = Story Power
Exercise: Take a complex financial-market-
strategic analysis you are preparing to present
—and convert it into a high-impact, mountain-
moving number-less story.*
*Shell’s (et al.) “scenario planning”
CSTO*
*Chief Storytelling Officer
EXCELLENCE.
SOUL II.DESIGN.
All Equal Except …
“At Sony we assume that all products of our competitors have basically the same technology, price, performance
and features. Design is the only thing that
differentiates one product from another in the marketplace.” —
Norio Ohga
“Design is
treated like a religion at
BMW.”Fortune
“We don’t have a good language to talk about this kind of thing. In
most people’s vocabularies, design means veneer. … But to me, nothing could be further from the meaning
of design. Design is the fundamental soul
of a man-made creation.” —Steve Jobs
“With its carefully conceived mix of colors and textures,
aromas and music, Starbucks is more indicative of our era than the iMac. It is to the Age of
Aesthetics what McDonald’s was to the Age of Convenience or Ford was to the Age of Mass Production—the touchstone success story, the exemplar of all that
is good and bad about the aesthetic imperative. …
‘Every Starbucks store is carefully designed to enhance the quality of everything the customers see, touch, hear,
smell or taste,’ writes CEO Howard Schultz.”
-—Virginia Postrel, The Substance of Style: How the Rise of AestheticValue Is Remaking Commerce, Culture and Consciousness
Westin’s …
Heavenly Bed
Hypothesis: “Design” is the principle
“metaphor” for the encompassing Value-
added Imperative!
“If you can’t win on ‘cost,’ then you’re left with
‘cool.’ ” —Anon./NZ
CDO**Chief Design Officer
EXCELLENCE.
SYSTEMS. DESIGN. K.I.S.S.
“One bank is currently claiming to …
‘leverage its global footprint to provide effective financial solutions for its customers by providing a
gateway to diverse markets.”
—Charles Handy
“I assume that it is just saying that it is
there to ‘help its customers
wherever they are’.”
—Charles Handy
450/8
"A business unit strategy should be less than fifty pages
long and should be easy to understand. Its essence should be describable in one page ... If
you can't describe your strategy in twenty minutes,
simply and in plain language, you haven't got a plan.” —Larry
Bossidy
“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.
EXCELLENCE.
VALUE ADDED.NEW LADDER.NEW LEADER.
CXO**Chief eXperience Officer
CDM*
*Chief Dream Merchant
CFO*
*Chief Festivals Officer
CPI**Chief Portal Impresario
CCO*
*Chief Conversations Officer
CL O*
*Chief Lovemark Officer
CSO*
*Chief Seduction Officer
CSTO*
*Chief Storytelling Officer
CDO**Chief Design Officer
CWO**Chief WOW Officer
CRO*
*Chief Revenue Officer
EXCELLENCE. EVERYWHERE.
Better By Design: A National Strategy
NZ = Design
Excellence
New ZealandSpain
PortugalIreland
Singapore Taiwan
PhilippinesUAEChile
(Romania)
“ ‘MADE IN TAIWAN’: From
Cheap Manufacturing to Chic Branding”
—Headline/Advertising Age/06.05
Taiwan, Your Partner in InnoValue
Poster/Bucharest/03.06
London circa 1976: “You can’t build a ‘real
economy’ on services, finance, advertising,
etc.”
London circa 2006:
deliberately aims to be the “capital of the 21st
century”
The Irreducible20
9
163. Own up. Quick. ( Denial. Cancer.)
164. Celebrate. Often.165. 78 people = 78 approaches. (Each. Unique.)166. 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.)
VALUE ADDED
#5
EXCELLENCE.BEDROCK.
INNOVATION
EXCELLENCE.
INNOVATE. OR. DIE.
What “We” Know “For Sure” About Innovation
Big mergers [by & large] don’t workScale is over-rated
Strategic planning is the last refuge of scoundrelsFocus groups are counter-productive“Built to last” is a chimera (stupid)
Success kills“Forgetting” is impossible
Re-imagine is a charming idea“Orderly innovation process” is an oxymoronic phrase
(= Believed only by morons with ox-like brains)“Tipping points” are easy to identify … long after they will do you any good
“Facts” aren’tAll information making it to the top is filtered
to the point of danger and hilarity“Success stories” are the illusions of egomaniacs (and “gurus”)
If you believe the memoirs of CEOs you should be institutionalized“Herd behavior” (XYZ is “hot”) is ubiquitous
… and amusing“Top teams” are “Dittoheads”
CEOs have little effect on performance“Expert” prediction is rarely better than rolling the dice
“A focus on cost-cutting and efficiency has helped many organizations weather the
downturn, but this approach will ultimately
render them obsolete. Only the constant pursuit of
innovation can ensure long-term
success.” —Daniel Muzyka, Dean, Sauder School of Business,
Univ of British Columbia (FT/09.17.04)
Pathetic!
“I am often asked by would-be entrepreneurs seeking escape from life within huge corporate structures, ‘How do I build a small firm for myself?’ The
answer seems obvious: Buy a very large one and just wait.”
—Paul Ormerod, Why Most Things Fail: Evolution, Extinction and Economics
“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
Sluggish + Obese + Unimaginative + More
Sluggish + More Obese + More Unimaginative + Even More Sluggish + Even More
Obese + Even More Unimaginative = Nissan + Renault + GM = Innovative Challenger for Toyota????
??????????????
Crappy Management (GM) + Arrogant-Overstretched
Management (Carlos G) = Great Management
GM25/50-75: “Built to
last”????
Rate of Leaving F500
1970-1990: 4XSource: The Company, John Micklethwait & Adrian Wooldridge
(1974-200: One-half biggest 100 disappear)
Exit, Stage Right …
CEO “departure” rate, 1995-2004:
+300%Source: Booz Allen Hamilton (per USA Today/06.13.05)
“I don’t believe in
economies of scale. You don’t get better by being bigger. You get worse.” —
Dick Kovacevich/Wells Fargo/Forbes/08.04 (ROA: Wells, 1.7%; Citi, 1.5%; BofA, 1.3%;
J.P. Morgan Chase, 0.9%)
Last week’s “Invincibles”:
DellMicrosoft
Big Pharma
Scale?
“Microsoft’s Struggle With
Scale” —Headline, FT, 09.2005
“Troubling Exits at Microsoft” —Cover Story, BW, 09.2005
“Too Big to Move Fast?” —Headline, BW, 09.2005
“TOO BIG TO GROW: Why Wall
Street has soured on many of corporate America’s
most admired and feared companies”
—headline, Newsweek, 0313.06
“When asked to name just one big merger that had lived up to expectations, Leon
Cooperman, former cochairman of Goldman Sachs’ Investment Policy
Committee, answered: I’m sure there are success
stories out there, but at this moment I
draw a blank.” —Mark
Sirower, The Synergy Trap
“Almost every personal friend I have in the world works on Wall Street. You can buy and sell the same company six times and everybody makes
money, but I’m not sure we’re actually
innovating. … Our challenge is
to take nanotechnology into the future, to do
personalized medicine …” —Jeff Immelt/2005
New Economy?!
Genentech09, Amgen09
> Merck09 (70K-3/394B-5)
Wal*Mart + Home Depot + Walt Disney +
Intel + Microsoft + Pfizer = Flat
Source: “Blue Chip Blues”, Cover, BW, 0417.06
More than $$$$
#1 R&D spending,
last 25 years?
GM
Line Extensions:
86 percent of new
products. 62 percent of revenues.
39 percent of profit.
Source: Blue Ocean Strategy, Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne
Bacteria. (“Left tail” limits.)
Productivity of small.Failure rate of Big Mergers.
Failure rate of Big Companies.Terrorists.
Galbraith vs Hayek.
Productivity Pandemic
IMAOA: Institute of Modest Advances in (Many, Many)
Ordinary Activities
“While many people big oil finds with big companies, over the years
about 80 percent of the oil found in the United States has been
brought in by wildcatters such as Mr Findley, says Larry Nation,
spokesman for the American Association of Petroleum
Geologists.” —WSJ, “Wildcat Producer Sparks Oil
Boom in Montana,” 0405.2006
Market Share, Anyone?
— 240 industries: Market- share leader is ROA leader 29% of the time
— Profit /ROA leaders: “aggressively weed out customers who generate low returns”
Source: Donald V. Potter, Wall Street Journal
I HEREBY PLEDGE …
When asked, “What are some examples of companies stepping up to today’s
challenges?” … I will … NEVER AGAIN … offer an example of a Giant Company; instead I’ll refer to
Cirque du Soleil, Donnelly’s Weatherstrip Service, 3K tanning salons, 10.6M women-owned businesses (or the
typically female recipients of micro-lending) …*
*There is more to Biz Life than Giant Cos … LOTS MORE … that “hidden 99%”
EXCELLENCE. INNOVATION.
THE REAL STORY.
World Innovation Forum
EVERYTHING YOU THOUGHT YOU KNEW
ABOUT INNOVATION IS WRONG
Tom Peters/New York/0524.2006/Inno.new.LIST.0527
What “We” Know “For Sure” About Innovation
Big mergers [by & large] don’t workScale is over-rated
Strategic planning is the last refuge of scoundrelsFocus groups are counter-productive“Built to last” is a chimera (stupid)
Success kills“Forgetting” is impossible
Re-imagine is a charming idea“Orderly innovation process” is an oxymoronic phrase
(= Believed only by morons with ox-like brains)“Tipping points” are easy to identify … long after they will do you any good
“Facts” aren’tAll information making it to the top is filtered
to the point of danger and hilarity“Success stories” are the illusions of egomaniacs (and “gurus”)
If you believe the memoirs of CEOs you should be institutionalized“Herd behavior” (XYZ is “hot”) is ubiquitous
… and amusing“Top teams” are “Dittoheads”
CEOs have little effect on performance“Expert” prediction is rarely better than rolling the dice
Blitzkrieg?
Case: Perceived
Rommel invents Blitzkrieg.Krauts kick the crap out of the
Frogs in two weeks.Q.E.D.
Case: Lesson Learned
Planned innovation is possible, is cool, is effective.
Write it up. Publish.
Case: Reality
Germans cross Meuse into France. Whoops: French intelligence completely drops
the ball. (Loses track of the Germans—no kidding.)
Germans keep advancing; outrun supply lines; no land-air co-ordination.
Hitler orders advance stopped.General never gets the word.
General marches to Paris, virtually unopposed.Germans shocked.
After the fact, Germans label it “Blitzkrieg.”
Case: Lessons Learned
Do something.Get lucky.
Attribute luck to superior planning.Get medals.
Smashing Conventional Wisdom
“Blitzkrieg in fact emerged in a rather haphazard way from the experience of the French campaign,
whose success surprised the Germans as much as the French. Why otherwise did the High Command try on various occasions, with Hitler’s backing, to slow the panzers down? The victory in France* came about
partly because the German High Command temporarily lost control of the battle. The decisive moment in this process was Guderian’s decision to move immediately westward on 14 May, the day
after the Meuse crossing, wrenching the whole of the rest of the army along behind him.”
*messed up traffic, little close air support, random heroics by some small bits of Guderian’s forces, Guderian not a disciple of
the WWI-derived “strategy of indirect approach”
Source: Julian Jackson, The Fall of France
Happy 50!
26April2006
Malcom McLean
Containerization
LessonsNeed-driven
A thousand “parents”Messy
Evolutionary“Trivial”
Experimentation
trial & ERRORLoooong time for systemic adaptation/s
(many innovations) (bill of lading, standard time)
Not …
“Plan-driven”The product of “Strategic Thinking/Planning”
The product of “focus groups”
“Consultants have drained a good deal of
the life from our democracy. Specialists in caution,
they fear anything they haven’t tested.” —Joe
Klein, Politics Lost
Get mad. Do something
about it. Now.
Ubiquitous “Politics”
“A man of great mediocrity.” —General George Patton about General Omar Bradley …… “A third-rate
general. He never did anything or won any battle that any other general could not have won as well or better.” —General Omar Bradley
about Sir Bernard Montgomery …… “If you want to end the war in any reasonable time, you will
have to remove Ike’s hand from the control of the land battle.” —Sir Bernard Montgomery about General Dwight Eisenhower …… “One thing that
might help win this war is to get someone to shoot King.” —General Dwight Eisenhower about Admiral Ernest King …… “Eisenhower, though
supposed to be running the land war, is on the golf links at Rhiems—entirely detached and
taking practically no part in running the war.” —Sir Alan Brooke …… “If the unhelpful British
attitude continues, then I shall go home.” —General Dwight Eisenhower
Source: David Irving, The War Between the Generals: Inside the Allied High Command
Utterback
“A pattern emphasized in the case studies in this book is the degree to which powerful competitors not only resist innovative threats, but actually resist all efforts to understand them, preferring to further their positions in older products. This results in a
surge of productivity and performance that may take the old technology to unheard of heights. But in most cases this is a sign of
impending death.” —Jim Utterback, Mastering the Dynamics of
Innovation
Forget>“Learn”
“The problem is never how to get new,
innovative thoughts into
your mind, but how to get the old ones
out.” —Dee Hock
“Good management was the most powerful reason [leading firms] failed to
stay atop their industries. Precisely because these firms listened to their customers, invested aggressively in
technologies that would provide their customers more and better products of the
sort they wanted, and because they carefully studied market trends and
systematically allocated investment capital to innovations that promised the best
returns, they lost their positions of leadership.”
—Clayton Christensen, The Innovator’s Dilemma
“Chivalry is dead. The new code of conduct is an active strategy of
disrupting the status quo to create an unsustainable series of competitive
advantages. This is not an age of defensive castles, moats and armor. It is
rather an age of cunning, speed and surprise. It may be hard for some to
hang up the chain mail of ‘sustainable advantage’ after so many battles. But
hypercompetition, a state in which sustainable advantages are no longer
possible, is now the only level of competition.” —Rich D’Aveni, Hypercompetition: Managing
the Dynamics of Strategic Maneuvering
“Acquisitions are about buying market share.
Our challenge is to create
markets. There is a big difference.” —Peter Job, CEO, Reuters
Wendell Phillips, abolitionist:
“Republics exist only on the tenure of being constantly
agitated. There is no republican road to safety but in constant distrust.”
Source: Louis Menand, The Metaphysical Club: A Story of Ideas in America
“Fail . Forward.
Fast.”High Tech CEO, Pennsylvania
First-level Scientific Success:
Beyond Brains
First-level Scientific Success
The smartest guy in the room wins”
Or …
First-level Scientific Success
FanaticismPersistence-Dogged Tenacity
Patience (long haul/decades)-Impatience (in a hurry/”do it yesterday”)
PassionEnergy
Relentlessness (Grant-ian)
EnthusiasmDriven (nuts!)
(Brutal?) CompetitivenessEntrepreneurialPragmatic (R.F!A.)
Scrounge (“gets” the logistics-infrastructure bit)
Master of Politics (internal-external)Tactical Genius
Pursuit of (Oceanic) Excellence!High EQ/Skillful in Attracting + Keeping Talent/Magnetic
Prolific (“ground up more pig brains”)
Egocentric
Sense of History-DestinyFuturistic-In the Moment
Mono-dimensional (“Work-life balance”? Ha!)
Exceptionally IntelligentExceptionally Clever (methodological shortcuts/methodological genius)
Luck
First-level Scientific Success/Short Form
Scientific Success (Nobel-level) = Genius +
Execution + Master of Soft Skills + Enthusiasm + Magnetism + Destiny
(sense of) + Energy
Biz Bonanza Success = DDMMSTERL/
"D-squared, M-squared, STERL” = DramaticDifference + “Business”
Acumen/Money + Good “Marketing” Instinct/“Ice-to-
Eskimos” Sales Skills + Stellar Talent + Aim for Excellence +
Resilience/Tenacity/Adaptability + Luck (The “Necessary Nine”: What Every Small Biz
Requires to Excel.) (Big, too.)
“A man of great mediocrity.” —General George Patton about General Omar Bradley …… “A third-rate
general. He never did anything or won any battle that any other general could not have won as well or better.” —General Omar Bradley
about Sir Bernard Montgomery …… “If you want to end the war in any reasonable time, you will
have to remove Ike’s hand from the control of the land battle.” —Sir Bernard Montgomery about General Dwight Eisenhower …… “One thing that
might help win this war is to get someone to shoot King.” —General Dwight Eisenhower about Admiral Ernest King …… “Eisenhower, though
supposed to be running the land war, is on the golf links at Rhiems—entirely detached and
taking practically no part in running the war.” —Sir Alan Brooke …… “If the unhelpful British
attitude continues, then I shall go home.” —General Dwight Eisenhower
Source: David Irving, The War Between the Generals: Inside the Allied High Command
Inno64: Innovation Strategies & Tactics
Parallel universe /Exec Ed v res MBAEnd run regnant powers/JKCFind done deals-practicing mavericks/Stone-ReGoBell curves2016 in 2006Non-industry benchmarkingEverything = PortfolioV.C.s all!Hot language/Wow-Astonish me-Insanely great-immortal-Make something greatLead customers/PW-EmbraerLead suppliers /Top decile R&DWeird alliancesMottos/Paul Arden (“Whatever You Think Think the Opposite”)Hire freaks/Enough weird people?Weird Boards!!!
CEO track record of Innovation (nobody starts at 45!)System/GE-Immelt“Strategic thrust overlay”CalendarBig Delta easier than SmallMBWA with freaks-weirdos/JKCMBWA/Boonies’ labsV.C.-formal/IntelAcquire weirdChildren’s crusadeOld farts crusadeGo Global at any sizeStop listening to customers Talent!/Unusual sources-Hire innovators-V.C.sEschew giant mergers
Remember: scale economies max out earlyAssisted suicide! (“Built to last” = Chimera-snare-delusion)Burn your press clippings“Forgetting” “strategy”Fire all strategic plannersTempo!Final product bears little relation to starting notionDesign! Design! Design! (“culture,” not program)All innovation: Pissed-off peopleGut feel rules!Focus groups suckWeird focus groups okayBe-Do philosophy
CelebrationsCulture-little as well as big Inno (“everyone-an-innovator”)Life = Wow ProjectsAcknowledge messiness-pursue serendipity (Blitzkrieg-Containers-Science-Jim Utterback)R.F.A.Culture of execution4/40: decentralization, execution, accountability, 615AMEVP (S.O.U.B.)/Systems-process “un-design”Diversity for diversity’s sakeWomen-Women-Women/customers (they “are the market,” not a “segment”)-leadersBoomers-Geezers (“all the money”)
CRO (Chief Revenue Officer) “culture”/top-line obsessedCIO (Chief INNOVATION Officer)LaughterFacility-space configurationExperiments-prototypes“Reward excellent failures. Punish mediocre successes.”Bizarrely high incentives (& penalties)We are what we eat/We are who we hang out with (E.g.: 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)
What “We” Know “For Sure” About Innovation
Big mergers [by & large] don’t workScale is over-rated
Strategic planning is the last refuge of scoundrelsFocus groups are counter-productive“Built to last” is a chimera (stupid)
Success kills“Forgetting” is impossible
Re-imagine is a charming idea“Orderly innovation process” is an oxymoronic phrase
(= Believed only by morons with ox-like brains)“Tipping points” are easy to identify … long after they will do you any good
“Facts” aren’tAll information making it to the top is filtered
to the point of danger and hilarity“Success stories” are the illusions of egomaniacs (and “gurus”)
If you believe the memoirs of CEOs you should be institutionalized“Herd behavior” (XYZ is “hot”) is ubiquitous
… and amusing“Top teams” are “Dittoheads”
CEOs have little effect on performance“Expert” prediction is rarely better than rolling the dice
InnoTacs
We become who we hang
out with!
Measure “Strangeness”/Portfolio Quality
StaffConsultants
VendorsOut-sourcing Partners (#, Quality)
Innovation Alliance PartnersCustomers
Competitors (who we “benchmark” against)
Strategic Initiatives Product Portfolio (LineEx v. Leap)
IS/IT ProjectsHQ Location
Lunch MatesLanguage
Board
Kodak …. FujiGM …. FordFord …. GM
IBM …. Siemens, FujitsuSears … Kmart
Xerox …. Kodak, IBM
futuremark
“Don’t benchmark, futuremark!
” Impetus: “The future is already here; it’s just
not evenly distributed” —William Gibson
Find ’em!
“Somewhere in your organization, groups of
people are already doing things differently and
better. To create lasting change, find these areas of positive deviance and
fan the flames.”
—Richard Pascale & Jerry Sternin, “Your Company’s Secret Change Agents,” HBR
“Some people look for things that went wrong and try to fix
them. I look for things that went right, and try to
build off them.” —Bob Stone
(Mr ReGo)
Parallel universe!
“Venture” fund: Gerstner/Amex, Dow/Marriott, Grove/Intel,
Bedbury/Starbucks
“SkunkWorks”/ “ParallelUniverse”
“the 1%
solution”Source: Scott Bedbury (Others: 3M, Google, Shell, NAVFAC)
“End Run”: E.g. JKC @ Smith; Continuing Ed in
B.Schools
HEART OF STRATEGY
“Under his former boss, Jack Welch, the skills GE prized above all others were cost-cutting, efficiency and deal-making. What mattered was the continual improvement of operations, and that mindset helped the $152 billion industrial and finance behemoth become a marvel of
earnings consistency. Immelt hasn’t turned his back on
the old ways. But in his GE, the new imperatives are
risk-taking, sophisticated
marketing and, above all, innovation.” —BW/2005
Immelt on “Innovation breakthroughs”: Pull out and fund ideas in each
business that will generate >$100M in revenue; find best
people to lead (80 throughout GE)
Source: Fast Company/07.05
Conscious measurement
Innovation Index: How many of your Top 5 Strategic
Initiatives/Key Projects score 8 or higher [out of 10] on a
“Weird”/ “Profound”/ “Wow”/“Game- changer”
Scale?
“Please re-present your plan from last
year—exact same PowerPoint.” (LG)
Clarity
JackWorld/1@T: (1) Neutron
Jack. (Banish bureaucracy.) (2) “1, 2 or out” Jack. (Lead or leave.) (3) “Workout”
Jack. (Empowerment, GE style.) (4) 6-Sigma Jack. (5) Internet Jack.
(1-5/Throughout) TALENT JACK!
ACTION “culture”
Excellence1982: The Bedrock “Eight Basics”
1. A Bias for Action2. Close to the Customer3. Autonomy and Entrepreneurship4. Productivity Through People5. Hands On, Value-Driven6. Stick to the Knitting7. Simple Form, Lean Staff8. Simultaneous Loose-Tight Properties”
“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
No. 10. It gets back to planning versus acting: We act from day one; others plan how to plan—
for months.” —Bloomberg by Bloomberg
“[Immelt] is now identifying technologies with which GE
will … systematically set out to build
entirely new industries” —Strategy+Business, Fall
2005
“You miss 100 percent of the
shots you never take.” —Wayne Gretzky
“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
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
tolerate [encourage?]
failure
“FAIL, FAIL AGAIN. FAIL BETTER.”
—Samuel Beckett
“Reward excellent failures.
Punish mediocre
successes.”Phil Daniels, Sydney exec
Read This!
Richard Farson & Ralph Keyes:
Whoever Makes the Most Mistakes Wins: The Paradox
of Innovation
VALUE ADDED
#6
EXCELLENCE. INNOVATION. REVOLUTION.
ORGANIZATION.
“ORGANIZATION” = STRATEGY: THE
GUERRILLA ADVANTAGETom Peters/04August2006
“New Era of War, and U.S. Isn’t Ready Conflicts of Future:
Nations vs. Networks” —Headline/p1/
International Herald Tribune /31.07.2006
Opening: “Pound for pound and pounding, the Israeli military is one of the world’s finest. But Hezbollah, with the discipline and ferocity of its fighters and its ability
to field advanced weaponry, has taken Israel by surprise. Now that surprise has rocketed back to
Washington and across the U.S. military.”
“We are into the first great war between nations and networks. This proves the growing strength of networks as a threat to American national security.” —John Arguilla,
USNPGS, from “Net Warfare 101”
Small units … agile … lethal … invisible … guerrilla …
network warfare … distributed … dispersed … mobile .. Flat [hierarchy] …
improvisational … etc.
“ORGANIZATION” = STRATEGY: THE GUERILLA ADVANTAGE: Agile. (Sluggish.) Wily. (Big footprint.) Always
moving. (Seldom moving.) Brownian motion per se bewilders the enemy. (Blind despite NewTech.) Momentum comes from small
wins. (Small wins invisible, too small scale to execute.) Goal is converts, not territory. (Protect territory.) Offense. (Defense.) Travel light; very high “tooth to tail” ratio. (Travel heavy, low
“tooth to tail.) Live off the land. (Tortuous supply chain.) UNPREDICTABLE; BEHAVIOR NEARLY RANDOM. (VERY PREDICTABLE; LONG PLANNING CYCLE; OBSERVABLE
FOOTPRINT.) Dug in but not dug in. (Dug in but vulnerable.) No HQ; floating HQ. (Big HQ at home and away.) Few fixed assets.
(Mostly fixed assets.) Scroungers mentality. (Methodical & complex.) Mobile communications. (Fixed communications.) Everything,
including people, disposable. (Tight “asset management,” materials & humans.) No fortress to guard. (Big fortresses which must be
guarded.) Replaceable leaders. (Formal, rule-based hierarchy.) Self-healing network, like Internet. (Network far more fixed.) Hackers
mentality. (Planner’s mentality.) DECENTRALIZED. (CENTRALIZED.) KIAs are celebrated. (KIAs are the ultimate loss.)
Natural reorganizations following cell division model. (Methodical, high-friction change.) Few formal layers. (Lotsa formal
layers.) Few rules. (Lotsa rules.)
“ORGANIZATION” = STRATEGY: THE GUERILLA ADVANTAGE: Management By Vision. (Management by law-rule
books.) Miniaturized but deadly weapons. (Fixed weapons.) Invent your own arsenal. (Gazillion-year weapons acquisition cycle.) Multiplier impact by spreading confusion. (Need set-piece victories to satisfy constituents.) Passion. (Supportive at the level of car decals.)
Little value on current rules. (Value of life paramount.) Ad hoc; RFA or FFF. (R.A.F. / Ready. Aim. Aim. Aim. Fire.) SIMPLE
PHILOSOPHY THAT BINDS, FLEXIBLE ORG, FLEXIBLE OPS. (COMPLEX PHILOSOPHY, INFLEXIBLE ORG, INFLEXIBLE OPS.)
Different time frame; a 1,000 year conflict. (Need to show progress daily.) Attract youth with more energy and zeal than good
sense. (Mature and inflexible and cautious and methodical.) Minimum need to spin; as easy to spin a loss as a win. (Battle plans designed
& distorted & diluted to produce spin per se.) Ad hoc. (Due process.) “Media” looks for wins; media values small wins. (Media fixated by SNAFUs; small wins beneath the radar.) Win when enemy over-
reacts. (Lose if over-react.) Ubiquitous webs. (Ubiquitous bureaucracy.) Recruit, support, impact follows Virus Model; recruit via Buzz. (All is formal.) Value of conventional scale
declining exponentially. (Still citizens of a “big is beautiful” age.) Virtually no way to lose; a loss is a win as much or more than a win is a win. (Virtually no way to win; a win is often a loss as much as a
loss is a loss.)
“It is not the strongest of the
species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most
responsive to change.” —Charles Darwin
“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
“The most successful
people are those who
are good at plan B.”
—James Yorke, mathematician, on chaos theory in The New Scientist
“If things seem under control, you’re just not
going fast enough.” —Mario Andretti
Ready.Fire.Aim.
Ross Perot
“Crazy Times Call for Crazy
Organizations” —Subtitle, The Tom Peters Seminar (1993)
Inflexibility and mass are favored in
static times. Flexible and
ephemeral are favored in chaotic
times.
Stephen Jay Gould:
Bacteria rule! Sizeable cases
[e.g. humans] are virtually irrelevant anomalies.
“I am often asked by would-be entrepreneurs seeking escape from life within huge corporate structures, ‘How do I build a small firm for myself?’ The
answer seems obvious: Buy a very large one and just wait.”
—Paul Ormerod, Why Most Things Fail: Evolution, Extinction and Economics
“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 between 1917 and 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
Sluggish + Obese + Unimaginative + More
Sluggish + More Obese + More Unimaginative + Even More Sluggish + Even More
Obese + Even More Unimaginative = Nissan + Renault + GM = Innovative Challenger for Toyota????
??????????????
Crappy Management (GM) + Arrogant-Overstretched
Management (Carlos G) = Great Management
What “We” Know “For Sure” About Innovation
Big mergers [by & large] don’t workScale is over-rated
Strategic planning is the last refuge of scoundrelsFocus groups are counter-productive“Built to last” is a chimera (stupid)
Success kills“Forgetting” is impossible
Re-imagine is a charming idea“Orderly innovation process” is an oxymoronic phrase
(= Believed only by morons with ox-like brains)“Tipping points” are easy to identify … long after they will do you any good
“Facts” aren’tAll information making it to the top is filtered
to the point of danger and hilarity“Success stories” are the illusions of egomaniacs (and “gurus”)
If you believe the memoirs of CEOs you should be institutionalized“Herd behavior” (XYZ is “hot”) is ubiquitous
… and amusing“Top teams” are “Dittoheads”
CEOs have little effect on performance“Expert” prediction is rarely better than rolling the dice
Excellence: The SE22:
“Origins of Sustainable
Entrepreneurship”
SE22/Origins of Sustainable Entrepreneurship1. Genetically disposed to Innovations that upset apple carts (3M, Apple,
FedEx, Virgin, BMW, Sony, Nike, Schwab, Starbucks, Oracle, Sun, Fox, Stanford University, MIT)
2. Perpetually determined to outdo oneself, even to the detriment of today’s $$$ winners (Apple, Cirque du Soleil, Nokia, FedEx)
3. Treat History as the Enemy (GE)
4. Love the Great Leap/Enjoy the Hunt (Apple, Oracle, Intel, Nokia, Sony)
5. Use “Strategic Thrust Overlays” to Attack Monster Problems (Sysco, GSK, GE, Microsoft)
6. Establish a “Be on the COOL Team” Ethos. (Most PSFs, Microsoft)
7. Encourage Vigorous Dissent/Genetically “Noisy” (Intel, Apple, Microsoft, CitiGroup, PepsiCo)
8. “Culturally” as well as organizationally Decentralized
(GE, J&J, Omnicom)
9. Multi-entrepreneurship/Many Independent-minded Stars (GE, PepsiCo)
HP’s Big “Duh”!
Decentralize ($90B)
Undo “Matrix”Accountability
Source: “HP Says Goodbye To Drama”/BW/09.05/re Mark Hurd’s first 5 months
DePuySpine/J&J*
70/3game-changers!
*Still decentralized after all these years!
“No Need for Economies of Scale: Illinois Tool Revs Up Innovation by Keeping
Its 655 Units Separate and Focused”
Source: Headline, BW, 1031.05 (“commodity” producer; R&D = 1%; Top 100 patent recipient—66th in ’04) ($12B rev in ’04; CEO David Speer: focus, lean, customer intimacy,
entrepreneurial, employee participation)
“‘Decentralization’ is not a piece of paper. It’s not me. It’s either in
your heart, or not.”
—Brian Joffe/BIDvest
SE22/Origins of Sustainable Entrepreneurship
10. Keep decentralizing—tireless in pursuit of wiping out Centralizing Tendencies (J&J, Virgin)
11. Scour the world for Ingenious Alliance Partners— especially exciting start-ups (Pfizer)
12. Acquire for Innovation, not Market Share (Cisco, GE)
13. Don’t overdo “pursuit of synergy” (GE, J&J, Time Warner)
14. Execution/Action Bias: Just do it … don’t obsess on how it “fits the business model.” (3M, J & J)
15. Find and Encourage and Promote Strong-willed/ Hyper-smart/Independent people (GE, PepsiCo, Microsoft)
16. Support Internal Entrepreneurs (3M, Microsoft)
17. Ferret out Talent anywhere/“No limits” approach to retaining top talent (Virgin, GE, PepsiCo)
SE22/Origins of Sustainable Entrepreneurship
18. Unmistakable Results & Accountability focus from the get-go to the grave (GE, New York Yankees, PepsiCo)
19. Up or Out (GE, McKinsey, big consultancies and law firms
and ad agencies and movie studios in general)
20. Competitive to a fault! (GE, New York Yankees, News Corp/Fox, PepsiCo)
21. “Bi-polar” Top Team, with “Unglued” Innovator #1, powerful Control Freak #2 (Oracle, Virgin) (Watch out when #2 is missing: Enron)
22. Masters of Loose-Tight/Hard-nosed about a very few Core Values, Open-minded about everything else (Virgin)
“HOW THE COAST GUARD GETS IT RIGHT” —Headline, Time, 10.31.2005
*Autonomy*Flexibility*“Perhaps the most important distinction of the Coast Guard is that it trusts itself”
VALUE ADDED
#7
BEDROCK.EXCELLENCE.
ACTION.
EXCELLENCE.ACTION.
Excellence1982: The Bedrock “Eight Basics”
1. A Bias for Action2. Close to the Customer3. Autonomy and Entrepreneurship4. Productivity Through People5. Hands On, Value-Driven6. Stick to the Knitting7. Simple Form, Lean Staff8. Simultaneous Loose-Tight Properties”
“Ninety percent of what we call
‘management’ consists of making it difficult for people to get things done.” – Peter
Drucker
TP/BW on BigCo Sin #1: “too much talk, too little
do”
“Never forget implementation boys. In our work it’s what I
call the ‘missing 98 percent’ of the client puzzle.” —Al McDonald, former Managing
Director, McKinsey & Co, to a project team that included TP
“METABOLIC MANAGEMENT”
The Leadership11
1. Talent Management2. Metabolic Management3. Technology Management4. Barrier Management5. Forgetful Management6. Metaphysical Management7. Opportunity Management8. Portfolio Management9. Failure Management10. Cause Management11. 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
“The most successful
people are those who
are good at plan B.”
—James Yorke, mathematician, on chaos theory in The New Scientist
“I’m not comfortable unless I’m
uncomfortable.”—Jay Chiat
“If it works, it’s
obsolete.”
—Marshall McLuhan
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.
Lawrence)/ “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
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, Nixon-
Kissinger, Gerstner, Rice, Jordan, Armstrong
VALUE ADDED
#7A
EXCELLENCE.
4/40.
4/40
De-cent-ral-iz-a-tion!
“‘Decentralization’ is not a piece of paper. It’s not me. It’s either in
your heart, or not.”
—Brian Joffe/BIDvest
“HOW THE COAST GUARD GETS IT RIGHT” —Headline, Time, 10.31.2005
*Autonomy*Flexibility*“Perhaps the most important distinction of the Coast Guard is that it trusts itself”
Ex-e-cu-
tion!
“Ninety percent of what we call
‘management’ consists of making
it difficult for people to get
things done.” – Peter Drucker
TP/BW on BigCo Sin #1:
“too much talk, too little do”
“We have a ‘strategic plan.’ It’s
called doing things.” — Herb Kelleher
“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
“You only find oil if
you drill wells.”
Source: The Hunters, by John Masters, Canadian O & G wildcatter
“While many people big oil finds with big companies, over the years
about 80 percent of the oil found in the United States has been
brought in by wildcatters such as Mr Findley, says Larry Nation,
spokesman for the American Association of Petroleum
Geologists.” —WSJ, “Wildcat Producer Sparks Oil
Boom in Montana,” 0405.2006
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
“Never forget implementation
boys. In our work it’s what I call the ‘missing 98
percent’ of the client puzzle.” —Al
McDonald
“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
“I saw that leaders placed too much emphasis on what some call ‘high-level 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
“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
dumb people. 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/Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done
"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
No. 10. It gets back to planning versus acting: We act from day one; others plan how to plan—
for months.” —Bloomberg by Bloomberg
Ac-count-a-bil-ity!
“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)
6:15A.M.
????????
Work Hard > Work Smart
“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
DECENTRALIZATION.EXECUTION.
ACCOUTABILITY.6:15A.M.
VALUE ADDED
#7B
EXCELLENCE.
ACTION.ROOTS.
GRANTNELSON
BOYDBOSSIDY
GRANT
Grantfrom the “seminal” biography by:
Jean Edward Smith
“The only way to whip an army is to go out and fight it.” —Grant
Source: John Mosier, Grant
“A generation of American officers had been schooled to believe the art of generalship required rigid adherence to certain textbook
theorems.”/151 “The nature of Grant’s greatness has been a riddle to many observers. … did not hedge his bets … disregarded explicit instructions … nothing to fall back on … violating every maxim held
dear by the military profession … new dimension: ability to learn from the battlefield … finished near the bottom of his [West Point]
class in tactics … carried the fight to the enemy … maintain the momentum of the attack … military greatness is the ability to
recognize and respond to opportunities presented.”/152-3 “Grant had an aversion to digging in.”/153 “Grant had an intangible
advantage. He knew what he wanted.”/153 “Grant’s seven-mile dash changed the course of the war.”/157 “The one who attacks first will be victorious.”/158 “dogged”/159 “unconditional surrender”/162
“simplicity and determination”/166 “quickness of mind that allowed him to make on the spot adjustments … [his] battles were not
elegant set-piece operations”/166 “[other Union general] preferred preparation to execution … became a friend of detail … suffered
from ‘the slows’ …”/170 Message to Halleck from McClellan: “Do not hesitate to arrest him” [following great victory]/172 … “learned how
to withstand attacks from the rear” [Army politics]/179
“He never credited the enemy with the capacity to take the offensive.”/185 “tenacity [like Wellington]”/187 “I haven’t despaired of whipping them yet” [at a very low point]/195 “Both sides seemed defeated and whoever assumed the offensive was sure to win.”/200 … “inchoate bond [between Grant and soldiers]”/201 … “The genius of Grant’s command style lay in its simplicity. Grant never burdened his division commanders with excessive detail. … no elaborate staff
conferences, no written orders prescribing deployment. … Grant recognized the battlefield was in flux. By not specifying movements
in detail, he left his subordinate commanders free to exploit whatever opportunities developed.”/202 “If anyone other than
Grant had been in command, the Union army certainly would have retreated.”/204 Lincoln (urged to fire Grant): “I can’t spare this
man; he fights.”/205 “Grant turned defeat into Union victory.”/206 “moved on intuition, which he often could not explain or
justify.”/208 “instinctive recognition that victory lay in relentlessly hounding a defeated army into surrender.”/213 Nathan Bedford Forrest, successful Confederate commander: “amenable to no
known rules of procedure, was a law unto himself for all military acts, and was constantly doing the unexpected at all times
and places.”/213
“The genius of Grant’s command style lay in its simplicity. Grant never
burdened his division commanders with excessive detail. … no elaborate staff conferences, no written orders
prescribing deployment. … Grant recognized the battlefield was in flux.
By not specifying movements in detail, he left his subordinate
commanders free to exploit whatever opportunities developed.”
—Jean Edward Smith/GRANT
“The commanding general would be in the field”/228 Lincoln: “What I want, and what the people want, is generals who will fight
battles and win victories. Grant has done this and I propose to stand by him.”/231 “retains his hold upon the affections of his men”/232
“Grant’s moral courage—his willingness to choose a path from which there could be no return—set him apart from most
commanders … were [Grant and Lee] were uniquely willing to take full responsibility for their actions.”/233 “ … modest … honest …
nothing could perturb … never faltered …”/233 “plan was breathtakingly simple but fraught with peril”/235 “demonstrating
the flexibility that had become his hallmark”/238 “But like any West Point trained general, he had difficulty comprehending what Grant
was up to …”/240 “recognized the value of momentum … throw off balance … blitzkrieg … traveling light … headquarters in the
saddle”/243 “acted as quartermaster”/243 [rushed away so that he couldn’t receive Halleck’s order] … “like Lord Nelson … telescope
to his blind eye” … “pressing ahead on his own”/245 “focus on the enemy’s weakness rather than his own”/250
“recognized the value of momentum … throw
[opponent] off balance … blitzkrieg … traveling light
… headquarters in the saddle” —Jean Edward Smith/GRANT
"The art of war is simple enough. Find out where
your enemy is. Get at him as soon as you can. Strike at him as hard as you can and as often as you can,
and keep moving on." —Grant, courtesy Richard Cauley at tompeters.com
(original source unknown)
“The art of war does not require complicated
maneuvers; the simplest are the best, and common sense is fundamental. From which one might wonder how it is
generals make blunders; it is because they try to be
clever.” —Napoleon on Simplicity, from Napoleon on Project Management by Jerry Manas.
“Above all the troops appreciated Grant’s unassuming manner. Most generals went about attended by a retinue of immaculately tailored staff officers. Grant usually rode alone, except for an orderly or two
to carry messages if the need arose. Another soldier said the soldiers looked on Grant ‘as a friendly partner, not an arbitrary
commander.’ Instead of cheering as he rode by, they would ‘greet him as they would address one of their neighbors at home. ‘Good
morning, General,’ ‘Pleasant day, General’ … There was no nonsense, no sentiment; only a plain businessman of the republic, there for the one single purpose of getting that command over the river in the shortest time possible.’” [Grant: 5-feet 8-inches with a slouch]/232 After the victory at Chattanooga: “The [Union senior] officers rode past the Confederates smugly without any sign of
recognition except by one. ‘When General Grant reached the line of ragged, filthy, bloody, despairing prisoners strung out on each side
of the bridge, he lifted his hat and held it over his head until he passed the last man of that living funeral cortege. He was the only
officer in that whole train who recognized us as being on the face of the earth.’”/ 281 “Grant was unhappy about going into winter
quarters. He saw no reason to keep the army idle, and the pause would give the rebels time to reorganize.”/282
“The [Union senior] officers rode past the Confederates smugly without any sign of recognition except by one. ‘When
General Grant reached the line of ragged, filthy, bloody, despairing
prisoners strung out on each side of the bridge, he lifted his hat and held it over his head until he passed the last man of that living funeral cortege. He was the only officer in that whole train
who recognized us as being on the face of the earth.’*”
*quote within a quote from diary of a Confederate soldier
From LEE KENNETT’s SHERMAN: “Grant tended to be a simple listener when these two strategies [for taking Vicksburg] were
being discussed. His own preference may have been impelled as much by natural inclination as by any arguments he heard. He
wrote afterward: ‘One of my superstitions had always been when I started to go anywhere or to do anything, not to turn back, or stop,
until the thing intended was accomplished.’”/ 202
“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
“One of my superstitions had always been when I
started to go anywhere or to do anything, not to turn
back, or stop, until the thing intended was accomplished.” —Grant
CWVA to MBWA: “In these days of telegraph and steam I can command
while traveling and visiting about.” —U.S. Grant
Managing by wandering around” —HP circa 1980
Source: Ulysses S. Grant, by Geoffrey Perret
TP’s take: Intuition takes precedence (listen attentively but act on intuition) … Move today > perfect plan tomorrow [subsequent Patton line] … Great advantage: When moving, you know what you’re up to and you’re moving [the one sitting still is, thence,
always reactive] [Boyd: quickest O.O.D.A. loops/Observe. Orient.
Decide. Act. Disorient enemy] … Action! ... Keep moving! … Engage! … Offense! [weakness-strength: can’t even imagine enemy
counter-attacking; little conception of defense] … Momentum! …. Keep ’em off balance … … Adjust … Adapt … … Opportunism! …
Constantly revise in accordance with conditions and opportunities in the field [life = excellence at “Plan B”] … Doggedness …
Relentless!! [trait shaped in early childhood] … Never retreat … Simplicity! … Wide latitude for division commanders … minimum written orders, conferences, etc … keep his own council … HQ is Grant & his horse … no retinue! … commune with soldiers/exude
quiet confidence/Approachable … decent … Self-accountability! … Evade orders (or ignore) … Share harm & hardship … total victory/
demand “unconditional surrender”—G’s first claim to fame [Nelson: other Admirals avoid loss, friend and foe as in Grant’s case vs
Nelson’s seek victory] … [Life 101: politics between the Generals: E.g., Grant & Halleck]
Insubordinate (when it comes to delays)/N
Action-oriented/Offense/Total victory/N
Relentless
Troop Commander par Excellence/N
Leeway to Commanders/N
NELSON
The Nelson Baker’s Dozen
1. Simple-clear scheme (“Plan”) (Not wildly imaginative) (Patton: “A good plan executed with vigor right now tops a ‘perfect’ plan executed next week.”)2. SOARING/BOLD/CLEAR/UNEQUIVOCAL/WORTHY/NOBLE/INSPIRING “GOAL”/“MISSION”/“PURPOSE”/“QUEST”3. “Conversation”: Engagement of All Leaders4. Leeway for Leaders: Select the Best/Dip Deep/Initiative demanded/Accountability swift/Micromanagement absent5. LED BY “LOVE” (Lambert), NOT “AUTHORITY” (Identify with sailors!)6. Instinct/Seize the Moment/“Impetuosity” (Boyd’s “OODA Loops”: React more quickly than opponent, destroy his “world view”)7. VIGOR! (Zander: leader as “Dispenser of Enthusiasm”)8. Peerless Basic Skills/Mastery of Craft (Seamanship)9. Workaholic! (“Duty” first, second, and third)10. LEAD BY CONFIDENT & DETERMINED & CONTINUOUS & VISIBLE EXAMPLE (In Harm’s Way) (Gandhi: “You must be the change you wish to see in the world”/ Giuliani: Show up!)11. Genius (“Transform the world to conform to their ideas,” “Triumph over rules”) (Gandhi, Lee-Singapore) , not Greatness (“Make the most of their world”) 12. Luck! (Right time, right place; survivor) (“Lucky Eagle” vs “Bold Eagle”)13. Others principal shortcoming: “ADMIRALS MORE FRIGHTENED OF LOSING THAN ANXIOUS TO WIN”
Source: Andrew Lambert, Nelson: Britannia’s God of War
Nelson’s Way: A Baker’s Dozen/Short
1. Simple scheme.2. Noble purpose!3. Engage others.4. Find great talent, let it soar!5. Lead by Love!6. Trust your gut, not the focus group: Seize the Moment!7. Vigor! 8. Master your craft.9. Work harder than the next person.10. Show the way, walk the talk, exude confidence! Start a Passion Epidemic!11. Change the rules: Create your own game!12. Shake of the pain, get back up off the ground, the timing may well be right tomorrow! (E.g., Get lucky!)13. By hook or by crook, quash your fear of failure, savor your quirkiness and participate fully in the fray!
Source: Andrew Lambert, Nelson: Britannia’s God of War
On NELSON: “[other] admirals more frightened of losing than
anxious to win”
“He above all encouraged (and prepared) his
subordinates to seize the initiative whenever
necessary, particularly in the fog of war —and the
men who served under him knew what he expected.” —Jay Tolson, on “The Nelson Touch,” The Battle That
Changed The World
… tireless self-promoter, sought hero status, sought patronage [suck up] … guts, courage, master of his craft … passion for pleasures of the flesh, driven by duty, obsessed
(no “work-life balance”) … autocratic, dictatorial … team player, practitioner of participative management 200 years
before it was popularized, loved hanging out with the lads … man’s man, lady’s man … diligent manager (e.g., logistics), powerfully inspirational, spiritual, passionate … ambitious,
aggressive, confident, impulsive, rarely cautious or circumspect, risk-taker … emotional, spiritual, expressed
feelings openly, classless, fair, self-sacrificing, encouraging, optimistic … unconventional, did not get along well with
superiors … xenophobic, immodest, impatient, intolerant, imprudent in public and in private … led from the front, zeal for action, despair over bureaucrats (“I hate the pen and ink men”), … lucky … —Stephanie Jones & Jonathan Gosling, Nelson’s Way:
Leadership Lessons from the Great Commander
Fisherisms
Do right and damn the odds.Stagnation is the curse of life.
The best is the cheapest.Emotion can sway the world.
Mad things come off.Haste in all things.
Any fool can obey orders.History is a record of exploded ideas.
Life is phrases.Source: Jan Morris, Fisher’s Face, Or, Getting to Know the Admiral
“We must have no tinkering! No pandering to sentiment! No regard for susceptibilities! We
must be ruthless, relentless, and
remorseless.” —Jan Morris, Fisher’s Face,
Or, Getting to Know the Admiral
“extraordinary arrogance,
superciliousness, humor, kindness,
effrontery” —Jan Morris on Lord
Admiral Jack Fisher, Fisher’s Face, Or, Getting to Know the Admiral
BOYD
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)
“Fast Transients”
“Buttonhook turn” (YF16: “could flick from one maneuver to another faster
than any aircraft”)
BOYD: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War (Robert Coram)
“Blitzkrieg is far more than lightning thrusts that most people think of when
they hear the term; rather it was all about high operational tempo and the rapid exploitation of opportunity.” —Robert Coram,
Boyd
“Re-arrange the mind of the enemy” —T.E. Lawrence
“Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee” —Ali
BOYD: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed
the Art of War (Robert Coram)
F86 vs. MiG/Korea/10:1
Bubble canopy (360 degree view)
Full hydraulic controls (“The F86 driver could go from one maneuver to another faster than the MiG driver”)
MiG: “faster in raw acceleration and turning ability”; F86: “quicker in
changing maneuvers”BOYD: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War (Robert Coram)
USMC COL Mike Wyly: “kept the enemy off-balance;
they knew Delta Company [RVN] could
show up anywhere, anytime”
BOYD: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed
the Art of War (Robert Coram)
“Maneuverists”
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.”BOYD: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed
the Art of War (Robert Coram)
Eglin Flag: “100% AGAINST ZERO DEFECTS”
“General, if you’re not having accidents, your training program is not what it should be. … You need to kill some pilots.” —John Boyd
BOYD: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War (Robert Coram)
John Boyd: “To Be somebody or
to Do something”
BOYD: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War (Robert Coram)
“If your boss demands loyalty,
give him integrity. But if he demands integrity, give him
loyalty.” —John Boyd
BOYD: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War (Robert Coram)
BOSSIDY
“I saw that leaders placed too much emphasis on what some
call high-level 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 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
“Execution is the job of the
business leader.” —Larry Bossidy & Ram
Charan/ Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done
(“Leaders ‘do’
people. Period.” —TP)
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*Knowledge/External Focus (Competitors/Customers)
*Realism/Truth-telling*Vision *Projects (Must add up to Vision) *Milestones*Commitment/Energy*RapidReview*Consequences (+/-)
“Realism is the heart of execution.”
—Larry Bossidy & Ram Charan/Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done
"A business unit strategy should be less than fifty pages
long and should be easy to understand. Its essence should be describable in one page ... If
you can't describe your strategy in twenty minutes,
simply and in plain language, you haven't got a plan.” —Larry
Bossidy
“robust dialogue”
—Larry Bossidy & Ram Charan/ Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done
Relentless!*
*Churchill, Grant, Patton, Welch, Bossidy, Nardelli (GE execs), UPS, FedEx, Microsoft/Gates-Ballmer, Eisner, Weill, eBay, Nixon-Kissinger, 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 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
“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 dumb people. 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 (Larry Bossidy & Ram Charan/ 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
Ye gads: “Thomas Stanley has not only found no correlation
between success in school and an ability to accumulate wealth, he’s actually found a negative correlation. ‘It seems that school-related evaluations are poor predictors of economic success,’ Stanley concluded. What did predict success was a willingness to take risks. Yet the success-
failure standards of most schools penalized risk takers. Most educational systems reward those who play it safe. As a result, those
who do well in school find it hard to take risks later on.”
Richard Farson & Ralph Keyes, Whoever Makes the Most Mistakes Wins
“We have a ‘strategic plan.’ It’s
called doing things.” — Herb Kelleher
“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
You only find oil if
you drill wells.
Source: The Hunters, by John Masters, Canadian O & G wildcatter
Napoleon’ “six winning principles”: Exactitude (sweat the details). Speed. Flexibility. Simplicity. Character. Moral Force.
Simplicity: “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.”
Character: “A military leader must possess as much character as intellect. Men who have a great deal of intelligence and little character are the least suited. … It is preferable to have much character and little intellect.”
Source: Jerry Manas, Napoleon on Project Management
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
“Never forget implementation
boys. In our work it’s what I call the ‘missing 98
percent’ of the client puzzle.” —Al
McDonald
1 of 2,400
6:15A.M.
????????
Work Hard > Work Smart
VALUE ADDED
#8
EXCELLENCE.
BEDROCK.PURPOSE.
“People want to be part of something larger
than themselves. They want to be part of
something they’re really proud of, that they’ll
fight for, sacrifice for , trust.” —Howard Schultz, Starbucks (IBD/09.05)
“Management has a lot to do with answers. Leadership is a function of questions. And the
first question for a leader always
is: ‘Who do we intend to be?’ Not ‘What are we going to do?’
but ‘Who do we intend to be?’” —Max De Pree, Herman Miller
G.H.: “Create a ‘cause,’ not a ‘business.’ ”
“In 1933, Thomas J. Watson Sr. gave a speech at the World’s
Fair, ‘World Peace through
World Trade.’ We stood for
something, right?” —Sam Palmisano
Ah, kids: “What is your vision for the future?” “What have you accomplished since your first book?” “Close your eyes and imagine me immediately doing something about what
you’ve just said. What would it be?” “Do you feel you have an obligation to ‘Make the world a
better place’?”
“People want to be part of something larger
than themselves. They want to be part of
something they’re really proud of, that they’ll
fight for, sacrifice for , trust.” —Howard Schultz, Starbucks (IBD/09.05)
EXCELLENCE.ENTHUSIASM.
ENERGY. PASSION.
“Nothing is so contagious as enthusiasm.”
—Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Q: “If it were your $50K [life’s savings] and my $50K, what sort of Waiters would we look for?”
A:
“Enthusiasts!”
“Most important,
he upped the energy level at Motorola.” —Fortune on Ed Zander/08.05
EXCELLENCE.
DETERMINATION.
DE-TERM-IN-A-TION
BLOOD-Y-MIND-ED-
NESS
Bloodyminded: Unreasonably
stubborn
Source: The Random House Dictionary of the English Language
“It is no use saying ‘We are doing our best.’ You have got to succeed in doing
what is necessary.” —WSC
First-level Scientific Success
The smartest guy in the room wins”
Or …
First-level Scientific Success
FanaticismPersistence-Dogged Tenacity
Patience (long haul/decades)-Impatience (in a hurry/”do it yesterday”)
PassionEnergy
Relentlessness (Grant-ian)
EnthusiasmDriven (nuts!)
(Brutal?) CompetitivenessEntrepreneurialPragmatic (R.F!A.)
Scrounge (“gets” the logistics-infrastructure bit)
Master of Politics (internal-external)Tactical Genius
Pursuit of (Oceanic) Excellence!High EQ/Skillful in Attracting + Keeping Talent/Magnetic
Prolific (“ground up more pig brains”)
Egocentric
Sense of History-DestinyFuturistic-In the Moment
Mono-dimensional (“Work-life balance”? Ha!)
Exceptionally IntelligentExceptionally Clever (methodological shortcuts/methodological genius)
Luck
“Whenever anything is being accomplished, I
have learned, it is being done by a monomaniac
with a mission.” —Peter Drucker
"The reasonable man adapts himself to the world. The
unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to
himself. Therefore, all progress depends upon the unreasonable man.” —GB Shaw,
Man and Superman: The Revolutionists' Handbook.
????????
Work Hard > Work Smart
“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
“One of my superstitions had always been when I started to go anywhere or to do anything, not to turn back, or stop, until the thing intended was
accomplished.” —Grant
Source LEE KENNETT’s SHERMAN
Relentless!*
*Churchill, Grant, Patton, Welch, Bossidy, Nardelli (GE execs), UPS, FedEx, Microsoft/Gates-Ballmer, Eisner, Weill, eBay, Nixon-
Kissinger, Gerstner, Rice, Jordan, Armstrong
“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
“It’s always
showtime.”
—David D’Alessandro, Career Warfare
Charles Handy on the “Alchemists”
“Passion was what drove these people,
passion for their product or their cause. If you care enough, you
will find out what you need to know. Or you will experiment and not worry if the experiment goes
wrong. Passion as the secret to learning is
an odd secret to propose, but I believe that it works at
all levels and at all ages. Sadly, passion is
not a word often heard in the elephant organizations, nor in schools, where it can seem disruptive.”
????????
Work Hard > Work Smart
“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
“One of my superstitions had always been when I started to go anywhere or to do anything, not to turn back, or stop, until the thing intended was
accomplished.” —Grant
Source LEE KENNETT’s SHERMAN
“Nothing is so
contagious asenthusiasm.”
—Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Nelson.Grant.
Churchill.
Geronimo!
“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.
"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)
"The object of life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well
preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting, 'Holy Shit, What a Ride!!!’ ”
—Mavis Leyrer (feisty OCTOGENARIAN, living in Seattle)
The Cup Challenge
Tom Peters/0214.2006
For a forthcoming event, I was asked to provide some
possible “sayings” on leadership, six words or less, designed go on coffee mugs
distributed as gifts. The results, a hasty draft, follow
…
“Passion!”“Energy!”
“Enthusiasm!”
“Passion! Energy! Enthusiasm!”"Enthusiasm! Enthusiasm! Enthusiasm!"
"Enthusiasm Moves Mountains!" "Nothing Matches Enthusiasm as a 'Motivator'!"
“Technicolor Times Demand Technicolor Actions”“Technicolor Times Demand Technicolor People”
“Wow. Now.”
“Re-imagine!”“Re-imagine! Re-do! Re-vise! Re-vo-lu-tion!”
“Enthusiasm, the Ultimate
Virus!”
"Respect!"“Leaders ‘Do’ People. Period.”
“Credibility. Asset No. 1.”“Tell the Truth.”
“Truth Wins.”“Challenge. Challenge. Challenge.”
“Two Big Goals. Tops.”“Focus. Your Calendar Never Lies”
“Good Story. Good Leader.”“Best Story Wins.”“Live the Story.”
“Change the World. Accept Nothing Less.” "Dream!"
“Dream. The Only Worthwhile Reality.”“Beware Those Who Agree With You”
“Seek Dissidents. Nurture Dissidents. Cherish Dissidents”
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do. Do.
Do. Do. Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
“Excellence!”“Demand Excellence!”
“Demand Excellence. The Greatest Gift.”“Excellence, Life’s Gold Standard”
“Stop Talking! Start Doing!”“Execute. Execute. Execute.”
“‘Good Execution’ Beats ‘Good Strategy’”
“Agility Trumps Size” "Women make the best bosses!"
“Women Rule. Believe It.” "You must care!"
“Listen.”“Ask. ‘Why?’”
“‘Different’ beats ‘Better.’”“‘Distinct’ or ‘Extinct.’”
“Innovate or Die”“‘Me Too’ = ‘Me Dead’”
“Talent Time!”“Best Talent Wins.”
“Moderation Fails in Immoderate Times”
“No Less Than
Excellence.
Ever.”
EXCELLENCE.
ALWAYS.
“In classical times when Cicero had finished
speaking, the people said, ‘How well he spoke,’ but when Demosthenes had finished speaking,
they said, ‘Let us march.’” —Adlai Stevenson
Let us march.
VALUE ADDED
#9
motivational stuff
“Do one thing every day that scares you.”
—Eleanor Roosevelt
“ARE YOU BEING REASONABLE? Most
people are reasonable; that’s why they only do
reasonably well.”
Source: Paul Arden, Whatever You Think Think the Opposite
"The reasonable man adapts himself to the world. The
unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to
himself. Therefore, all progress depends upon the unreasonable man.” —GB Shaw,
Man and Superman: The Revolutionists' Handbook.
“If it’s not fun you’re not doing
it right.”—Fran Tarkenton
Only connect
!
—E.M. Forster, Howards End
Only connect! That was the whole of her
sermon. Only connect the prose and
the passion, and both will be exalted,
And human love will be seen at its height.
Live in fragments no longer. Only connect ...
—E.M. Forster, Howards End
Stop Doing
It!
“The one thing you need to know about sustained individual
success: Discover what you don’t like
doing and stop doing it.” —Marcus Buckingham, The One Thing You Need to Know
Start Doing
It!
“A year from now you may wish
You had started today.”
—Karen Lamb
Paul Arden, Whatever You Think Think the Opposite
“ARE YOU BEING REASONABLE? Most
people are reasonable; that’s why they only do
reasonably well.”
Source: Paul Arden, Whatever You Think Think the Opposite
“The best piece of advice ever given was by the art director of Harper’s Bazaar, Alexey Brodovitch, to the
young Richard Avedon, destined to become one of the world’s great photographers. The advice was
simple: ‘ASTONISH ME.’ Bear these words in mind, and whatever you do
will be creative.”
Source: Paul Arden, Whatever You Think Think the Opposite
“TRAPPED. It’s not because you are making the wrong decisions. It’s because you are making the right
ones. We try to make sensible decisions based on the facts in front
of us. The problem with making sensible decisions is that so is
everybody else.”
Source: Paul Arden, Whatever You Think Think the Opposite
“I WANT. Making the safe decision is dull, predictable and leads nowhere new. The unsafe decision causes you to think and respond in a way you hadn’t thought of.
And that thought will lead to other thoughts which will help you achieve
what you want. Start taking bad decisions and it will take you to a place where
others only dream of being.”
Source: Paul Arden, Whatever You Think Think the Opposite
“ARE YOU BEING REASONABLE? Most people
are reasonable; that’s why they only do reasonably well.”
Source: Paul Arden, Whatever You Think Think the Opposite
“THE AGE OF UNREASON. Old golfers don’t win (it’s not an absolute, it’s a general rule). Why? The older golfer can hit the ball as far
as the younger one. He chips and putts equally well. … So why does he take the extra stroke that denies him victory? Experience. He knows the downside, what happens if it
goes wrong, which makes him more cautious. The younger player is either ignorant or
reckless to caution. That is his edge. It is the same with all of us. Knowledge makes us play
safe. The secret is to stay childish.”
Source: Paul Arden, Whatever You Think Think the Opposite
[If you are a brilliant listener who rarely interjects the
speaker will think you are brilliant—because he will have
been listening to himself.]
Source: Paul Arden, Whatever You Think Think the Opposite
“WHAT IS A GOOD IDEA? One that happens is. If it
doesn’t, it isn’t.”**Even a bad idea that happens is better
than a “good idea” that doesn’tSource: Paul Arden, Whatever You Think Think the Opposite
“DON’T STAY TOO LONG IN A JOB. … FIRED? IT’S THE BEST THING THAT CAN HAPPEN TO YOU.* (*You hated your situation anyway.) …
DON’T GO TO UNIVERSITY. GO TO WORK.* (*Going to university usually means, ‘I don’t know what to do with my
life, so I’ll go to university.’)”
Source: Paul Arden, Whatever You Think Think the Opposite
“DON’T BE NEGATIVE ABOUT REJECTION. When I was Creative
Director at Saatchi’s I gave a young man a grilling for producing an
underwhelming piece of work. Later in the day, somebody told me he was in
his office crying. I went along to console him. I said, ‘Don’t worry, I was
useless at your age too.’”
Source: Paul Arden, Whatever You Think Think the Opposite
“SIMPLY CHANGE YOUR LIFE. The world is what
you think of it. So think of it differently and your life
will change.”
Source: Paul Arden, Whatever You Think Think the Opposite
“Which slogan would you choose for the V&A?
THE MUSEUM OF THE ARTS
THE ART OF THE MUSEUM
THE NEW V&A
IT’S NOT FOR BORING OLD ARTS
AN ACE CAFF WITH QUITE A NICE MUSEUM ATTACHED
“In a museum, the first question is ‘Where’s the loo?’ the second is ‘Where is the café?’ A visit to a museum is an outing it should be entertaining as well as
elevating. Curators have to conserve art, and directors are there to serve the public, the curators and themselves. So put yourself in their position. Which line are you going to choose? One which will be effective with the public, or one that
preserves the dignity of the V&A? To her everlasting credit, Elizabeth Esteve-Coll, then Director of the V&A, chose the last line.”
Source: Paul Arden, Whatever You Think Think the Opposite
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, BR**And: PERCEPTION IS ALL THERE IS!
OFTEN AS NOT/MORE OFTEN
THAN NOT THE UNDERLYING
PROBLEM IS NOT MUCH OF A PROBLEM.
PERCEPTION IS ALL THERE IS.
PERIOD.*
*From Whole Foods to IBM to the corner deli
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.
POWER WORDS!
“I’m sorry.”
Sorting Out a Problem/ Misunderstanding with an e-mail:
Don’t delay! It’s the effort that counts (Long>Short)Get personal (“authentic”—yuck)FLAT OUT APOLOGIZE (no equivocality)Take more blame than you “deserve”
Stating the Obvious: MORE POWER WORDS/IDEAS
Thank You!
MBWA**5,000 miles for a 5-minute face-to
-face meeting (courtesy super-agent Mark McCormick)
Say it with …
FLOWERS
POWER IDEAS!
You must care.—General Melvin Zais
The Irreducible20
9
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.
VALUE ADDED
#10
EXCELLENCE.
BEDROCK.TALENT.
Brand =
Talent.
Organizing Genius / Warren Bennis and Patricia Ward Biederman
“Groups become great only when everyone in them, leaders and
members alike, is free to do his or her absolute best.”
“The best thing a leader can do for a
Great Group is to allow its members to discover their
greatness.”
Leadership’s Mt Everest/Mt Excellence
“free to do his or her absolute best” …
“allow its members to discover their
greatness.”
“Ninety percent of what we call
‘management’ consists of making it difficult for people to get things done.” – Peter
Drucker
“The role of the Director is to create a
space where the actor or actress can become more than they’ve ever been before, more than
they’ve dreamed of being.” —Robert Altman, Oscar
acceptance
CRO*
*Chief Recruitment Officer
CRO/Chief Recruiting Officer: #1 strategic issue in
“commoditized” world, enormous financial services
company. Agent turnover. 15% retention after 4 years. (Industry average is 11% …
“because that’s the way it is” )
CQO*
*Chief quest-meister
A Few Lessons from the Arts
Each hired and developed and evaluated in unique ways (23 contributors; 23 unique contributions; 23 pathways; 23 personalities; 23 sets of
motivators)
Attitude/Enthusiasm/Energy paramountRe-lent-less!
“Practice is cool” (G Leonard/Mastery)
Team and individual Aspire to EXCELLENCE = Obvious
Ex-e-cu-tionTalent = Brand = Duh“The Project” rulesEmotional language
Bit players. No.B.I.W. (everything)
Delta events = Delta rosters (incl leader/s)
“My only goal is to have no goals. The goal, every time, is that film, that very moment.” —Bernardo Bertolucci
“We are a ‘life
Success Company”’
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
“Leaders
‘do’ people.
Period.” —Anon.
Les Wexner: From sweaters to …
people!
“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
PARC’s Bob Taylor:
“Connoisseur
of Talent”
Hire very good
people!
“We believe companies can increase their market cap 50 percent in 3 years. Steve Macadam at Georgia-
Pacific changed 20 of his 40 box plant managers to put more talented, higher paid
managers in charge. He
increased profitability from $25 million to $80
million in 2 years.” —Ed Michaels, War for Talent
DD$21M
A review of Jack and Suzy Welch’s Winning claims there are but two key differentiators that set GE “culture” apart from the herd:
First: Separating financial forecasting and performance measurement. Performance measurement based, as it usually is, on budgeting leads to an epidemic of gaming the system. GE’s performance measurement is divorced from budgeting—and instead reflects how you do relative to your past performance and relative to competitors’ performance; i.e., it’s about how you actually do in the context of what happened in the real world, not as compared to a gamed-abstract plan developed last year.
Second: Putting HR on a par with finance and marketing.
What’s your company’s … EVP/IBP?*
*Employee Value Proposition, per Ed Michaels et al., The War for Talent;
IBP/Internal Brand Promise per TP
EVP/IBP = Remarkable challenge, rapid professional growth, respect, satisfaction,
fun, stunning opportunity, exceptional reward, amazing
peer group, full membership in Club Adventure, maximized
future employability
Source: Ed Michaels, The War for Talent; TP
A Few Lessons from the Arts
Each hired and developed and evaluated in unique ways (23 contributors; 23 unique contributions; 23 pathways; 23 personalities; 23 sets of
motivators)
Attitude/Enthusiasm/Energy paramountRe-lent-less!
“Practice is cool” (G Leonard/Mastery)
Team and individual Aspire to EXCELLENCE = Obvious
Ex-e-cu-tionTalent = Brand = Duh“The Project” rulesEmotional language
Bit players. No.B.I.W. (everything)
Delta events = Delta rosters (incl leader/s)
Re-imaginePeople Power:
The Talent50
The Talent50
1. People first!2. Soft is Hard. 3. FUNDAMENTAL PREMISE: We are in an Age of Talent/ Creativity/Intellectual- capital Added.4. Talent “excellence” in every part of the organization.5. P.O.T./Pursuit Of Talent = Obsession.6. HR sits at The Head Table.7. HR is “cool.”
The Talent50
8. Re-name “HR.” (Talent Department, Center of Talent Excellence)9. There’s an HR Strategy10. There is a FORMAL Recruitment Strategy.11. There is a FORMAL Leadership Development Strategy.12. There is a “world class” Leadership Development Center.13. There is a FORMAL-STRATEGIC HR Review Process.14. The “Top100,” and every unit’s Top10, are consciously managed.
The Talent50
15. “People/Talent Reviews” are the FIRST reviews.16. HR Strategy = Business Strategy.17. Make it a Cause Worth Signing Up For..
18. Set Sky High Standards.19. Enlist everyone in Challenge Century21.20. Pursue the Best!21. Up or Out.22. Ensure that the Review Process has INTEGRITY.23. Pay!
The Talent50
24. Training I: Train! Train! Train!25. TII: 100% “business people.”26. TIII: 100% Leaders.27. TIV: Boss as Trainer-in-Chief.28. Open Communication I: NO BARRIERS.29. Open Communication II: Share Information. (ALL!)30. Respect!31. INTEGRITY!32. Treat the Whole Individual.
The Talent50
33. Places of “grace.”34. MBWA: The “Rudy Rule.”35. Thank You!36. Promote for “people skills.” (ALL ELSE IS SECONDARY.)37. Honor youth.38. Early leadership assignments.39. Fast Tracking is the norm.40. Create a System of Mentoring.
The Talent50
41. Diversity!42. Diversity starts on the Board of Directors.43. WOMEN RULE.44. Weird Wins.45. We are all unique. 46. Bosses “win people over.”47. GOAL: Adventures of Mutual Discovery.48. Foster Independence.49. Enthusiasm!
50. Talent = Brand.
Marcus Buckingham:
The One Thing You Need to Know
“No matter what the situation, [the great manager’s]
first response is always to think about the individual concerned and how things can be arranged to help
that individual experience success.” —Marcus Buckingham,
The One Thing You Need to Know
“The key difference between checkers and
chess is that in checkers the pieces all move the same way, whereas in
chess all the pieces move differently. … Discover
what is unique about each person and capitalize on
it.” —Marcus Buckingham,
The One Thing You Need to Know
“The mediocre manager believes that most things are learnable and
therefore that the essence of management is to identify ach
person’s weaker areas and eradicate them. The great manager believes the opposite. He believes that the
most influential qualities of a person are innate and therefore that the
essence of management is to deploy these innate qualities as effectively
as possible and so drive performance.” —Marcus Buckingham, The One
Thing You Need to Know
“The one thing you need to know about sustained individual
success: Discover what you don’t like
doing and stop doing it.” —Marcus Buckingham, The One Thing You Need to Know
EXCELLENCE. BY
INVITATION.
“In the end, management doesn’t
change culture. Management
invites
the workforce itself to change the culture.”
—Lou Gerstner
“If I could have chosen not to tackle the IBM culture head-on, I probably wouldn’t
have. My bias coming in was toward strategy, analysis and measurement. In comparison, changing the attitude and behaviors of hundreds of thousands of
people is very, very hard. [Yet] I came to see in my time at IBM that
culture isn’t just one aspect of the game—it is the game.” —Lou Gerstner, Who
Says Elephants Can’t Dance
“Most important, leaders can conceive and articulate goals that lift people out of their petty preoccupations … and
unite them in pursuit of objectives worthy of their best efforts.” —John Gardner, No Easy Victories (from Warren Bennis, On Becoming a Leader)
EXCELLENCE. WOMEN.
RULE.
LEADERSHIP
SKILLS.
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”
“AS LEADERS, WOMEN
RULE: New Studies find that
female managers outshine their male counterparts in almost every measure”
Title, Special Report/BusinessWeek
“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
????????
6/44
Women
Dominate Economic Growth.
“Forget China, India and the
Internet: Economic Growth Is Driven
by Women.” —Headline, Economist,
April 15, 2006, Leader, page 14
“Forget China, India and the Internet: Economic Growth Is Driven
by Women.” [Headline.] “Even today in the modern, developed world, surveys show that parents still prefer to have
a boy rather than a girl. One longstanding reason boys have been seen as a greater blessing has been that they are expected to become better economic providers for their
parents’ old age. Yet it is time for parents to think again. Girls may now be a better investment.” “Girls get better grades in
school than boys, and in most developed countries more women than men go to university. Women will thus be better equipped for the new jobs of the 21st century, in which brains count a lot
more than brawn. … And women are more likely to provide sound advice on investing their parents’ nest—e.g.: surveys
show that women consistently achieve higher financial returns than men do. Furthermore, the increase in female employment in the rich world has been the main driving force of growth in
the last couple of decades. Those women have contributed more to global GDP growth than have either new technology or the
new giants, India and China.” Source: Economist, April 15, Leader, page 14
Continuing on page 73: “A Guide to Womenomics: The Future of the World Economy Lies
Increasingly in Female Hands.” (Headline.) More stats: Around the globe since 1980, women have filled “two
new jobs for everyone taken by a man.” “Women are becoming more important in the global marketplace not just as workers, but also as consumers, entrepreneurs, managers and investors.” Re consumption, Goldman Sachs in Tokyo has developed an index of 115 companies poised to benefit from women’s increased purchasing power; over the past decade the value of shares in “Goldman’s basket has risen by 96%, against the Tokyo stockmarket’s rise of 13%.” A couple of final assertions: (1) It is now agreed that “the single best investment that can be made in the developing world” is
educating girls. (2) Also, surprisingly, nations with the highest female laborforce participation rates, such as Sweden and the
U.S., have the highest fertility rates; and those with the lowest participation rates, such as Italy and Germany, have
the lowest fertility rates.
Source: Economist, April 15, page 73
“Goldman Sachs in Tokyo has developed an index of 115
companies poised to benefit from women’s increased purchasing
power; over the past decade the value of shares in Goldman’s
basket has risen by 96%, against the Tokyo stockmarket’s rise of
13%.” —Economist, April 15
“Well-behaved women
rarely make history.”
—Anita Borg, Institute for Women and Technology
“Nobody gives you power.
You just take it.” —Roseanne
EXCELLENCE. WOMEN.
SELL.
“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
Only connect
!
—E.M. Forster, Howards End
Women
Dominate Economic Growth.
Impact! Add It Up!
Primary markets/Everything (“Men
buy things that other men will buy for women. I buy things that women want.”—successful jeweler/F. “Women are the majority market” —Fara Warner/The Power of the Purse. Women as Purchasing Officers, CIOs, etc.)
Greater global workforce participation rate (“bigger contributor to GDP
growth than technology, China, India”—Economist)
Higher wages (more seniority, promotions—even if not
to CEO; greater pay equity—even if not equal)
Business “decision makers” (more
seniority, promotions—even if not to CEO)
Women-owned businesses (answer to
the Glass Ceiling—10.6M in USA; recipients of “micro-lending”—developing world)
“Goldman Sachs in Tokyo has developed an index of 115
companies poised to benefit from women’s increased purchasing
power; over the past decade the value of shares in Goldman’s
basket has risen by 96%, against the Tokyo stockmarket’s rise of
13%.” —Economist, April 15
"Women have been making educational progress, and the men are stuck. They haven't just fallen behind women. They have fallen behind
changes in the job market.” —Tom Mortenson, The Pell Institute for the Study of Opportunity in Higher Education (AOL-AP, 060206)
“The Importance of Sex: Forget China, India, and the Internet—Economic Growth Is Driven By Women”
*Better grades*More go to university (“21st century, brains count”)
*“Far more” training to be docs (UK)
*Better investment decisions (greatest wealth transfer ever)
*Growing female employment rate #1 driver of growth (women>high tech, China, India)
*More women in gov’t increase econ growth emphasis (Invest health, ed, infrastructure, poverty)
Source: Economist/0415
EXCELLENCE. INDIVIDUAL.BRAND YOU.
Core Mechanism:“Game-changing Solutions”
PSF (Professional Service Firm “model”/The Organizing Principle)
+
Brand You(“Distinct” or “Extinct”/The Talent)
+
Wow! Projects (“Different” vs “Better”/The Work)
“One of the defining characteristics [of the change] is
that it will be less driven by countries or corporations and
more driven by real people. It will unleash unprecedented creativity,
advancement of knowledge, and economic development. But at the same time, it will tend to undermine safety net systems and
penalize the unskilled.” —Clyde Prestowitz, Three Billion
New Capitalists
“If there is nothing very special about
your work, no matter how hard
you apply yourself you won’t get noticed, and that
increasingly means you won’t get paid much either.” —Michael Goldhaber, Wired
New Work SurvivalKit.2006
1. Mastery! (Best/Absurdly Good at Something!)2. “Manage” to Legacy (All Work = “Memorable”/“Braggable” WOW Projects!)3. A “USP”/Unique Selling Proposition (R.POV8: Remarkable Point of View … captured in 8 or less words) 4. Rolodex Obsession (From vertical/hierarchy/“suck up” loyalty to horizontal/“colleague”/“mate” loyalty)5. Entrepreneurial Instinct (A sleepless … Eye for Opportunity! E.g.: Small Opp for Independent Action beats faceless part of Monster Project)6. CEO/Leader/Businessperson/Closer (CEO, Me Inc. Period! 24/7!)7. Master of Improv (Play a dozen parts simultaneously, from Chief Strategist to Chief Toilet Scrubber)8. Sense of Humor (A willingness to Screw Up & Move On)9. Comfortable with Your Skin (Bring “interesting you” to work!)10. Intense Appetite for Technology (E.g.: How Cool-Active is your Web site? Do you Blog?)11. Embrace “Marketing” (Your own CSO/Chief Storytelling Officer)12. Passion for Renewal (Your own CLO/Chief Learning Officer) 13. Execution Excellence! (Show up on time! Leave last!)
Distinct … or
… Extinct
“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
“You are the storyteller of your own life, and you can create your own legend or
not.” —Isabel Allende
12January2006
Happy 300 th, Brand You!
ACTING: Think of a person as
a “troupe of actors.” (“Many
truths about oneself” which must all be understood if one is to know oneself.)
Source: A..C. Grayling, The Meaning of Things: Applying Philosophy to Life
“Nobody can prevent you from choosing to be exceptional.” —Mark
Sanborn, The Fred Factor
“To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist,
that is all.” –Oscar Wilde
“Make your life itself a creative work of art.” —Mike Ray, The Highest Goal
“Nobody can prevent you from choosing to be exceptional.” —Mark Sanborn, The Fred
Factor
“To live is the rarest thing in
the world. Most people exist,
that is all.” —Oscar Wilde
Will you actually remember it as worthwhile 10
years from now?” —S.H.
“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
“Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and
precious life?” —Mary
Oliver
“If I can reduce my work to just a job I have to do, then I keep myself safely away from the losses to
be endured in putting my heart’s desires at stake.”
—David Whyte, Crossing the Unknown Sea: Work as a Pilgrimage of Identity
“Make each day a Masterpiece!”
—JW
“Make your life itself a creative work of art.” —Mike Ray,
The Highest Goal
“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
“To have a firm persuasion in our work—to
feel that what we do is right for ourselves and good for the world at
exactly the same time—is one of the great triumphs of human existence.” —David
Whyte, Crossing the Unknown Sea: Work as a Pilgrimage of Identity
“The antidote to exhaustion is not
rest, it is wholeheartedness.”
—David Whyte, Crossing the Unknown Sea: Work as a Pilgrimage of Identity
“All of our artistic and religious traditions take equally great pains to inform us that we must never mistake a good career for good
work. Life is a creative, intimate, unpredictable conversation if it is nothing else—and our life and our
work are both the result of the way we hold that passionate conversation.” —David Whyte,
Crossing the Unknown Sea: Work as a Pilgrimage of Identity
“When was the last time you
asked, ‘What do I want to
be?’ ” —Sara Ann Friedman, Work Matters
“To Be somebody or
to Do something”
BOYD: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War (Robert Coram)
Radically Thrilling Language!
“Radically Thrilling.”
—BMW Z4 (ad)
HTSH: Engage!*
Commit! Engage! Try! Fail! Get up! Try again! Fail again! Try again! But never,
ever stop moving on! Progress for humanity is engendered by those who join and savor the fray by giving one
hundred percent of themselves to their dreams! Not by those timid souls who
remain glued to the sidelines, stifled by tradition, and fearful of losing face or
giving offense to the reigning authorities.
Key words: Commit! Engage! Try! Fail! Persist!
*HTST/Hands That Shape Humanity, Tom Peters’ contribution to a Bishop Tutu exhibit
“Worthy” Ambition vs. “Mere” Ambition per MILTON
“The difference is well illustrated by the contrast between the person who says he ‘wishes to be a writer’ and the person who says he ‘wishes to write.’
The former desires to be pointed out at cocktail parties, the latter is prepared for the long, solitary hours at as desk;
the former desires a status, the latter a process; the former desires to be, the latter to do.” —A..C. Grayling, The Meaning of Things:
Applying Philosophy to Life [C.f. JOHN BOYD on “be-do.”]
“Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and
precious life?” —Mary Oliver
Joe J. Jones Joe J. Jones 1942 – 2006 1942 – 2006
HE WOULDA DONE SOME HE WOULDA DONE SOME
REALLY COOL STUFF REALLY COOL STUFF
BUT …BUT …
HIS BOSS WOULDN’T LET HIM! HIS BOSS WOULDN’T LET HIM!
T. J. Peters T. J. Peters 1942 – 2---1942 – 2---
HE WAS A PLAYER!HE WAS A PLAYER!
“It’s always
showtime.”
—David D’Alessandro, Career Warfare
“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
“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.
EXCELLENCE.
BEDROCK.SELF-
MANAGEMENT.
X.Step #1:Buy a Mirror!
“The First step in a ‘dramatic’
‘organizational change program’ is obvious—
dramatic personal change!” —RG
“Work on me
first.” —Kerry Patterson,
Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan and Al Switzler/Crucial Conversations
“You must
be the
change you wish to see in the
world.”Gandhi
“To change minds effectively, leaders make
particular use of two tools: the stories
that they tell and the lives that they lead.” —
Howard Gardner, Changing Minds
MBWA**HS/25+
You = Your calendar*
*Calendars NEVER lie!!
25
Mark McCormack: 5,000 miles for a 5
min. meeting!
“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
Getting to WOW Through Mastery of …
The Sales25.
Getting Things Done: The
Power &
Implementation34.
Presentation Excellence: The
PresX56
The Interviewing Excellence: The IntX31
The Work Matters: On Self-reliance,
Becoming a “Change Insurgent” and the
Power of Peculiarities
“Self-reliance never comes ‘naturally’ to adults because
they have been so conditioned to think non-authentically that
it feels wrenching to do otherwise. … Self Reliance is a last resort to which a person is
driven in desperation only when he or she realizes ‘that imitation is suicide, that he must take himself for better, for worse, as his portion.’ ” —
Lawrence Buell, Emerson
“For Marx, the path to social betterment was through collective resistance of the proletariat to the
economic injustices of the capitalist system that
produced such misshapenness and fragmentation. For Emerson, the key was to jolt
individuals into realizing the untapped power of energy,
knowledge and creativity of which all people, at least in principle, are
capable. He too hated all systems of human oppression; but his central
project, and the basis of his legacy, was to unchain individual minds.”
—Lawrence Buell, Emerson
The Work Matters!
“What we do matters to us. Work may not be the most
important thing in our lives or the only thing. We may work because we must, but we still want to love, to feel pride in, to respect ourselves for what
we do and to make a difference.” —Sara Ann Friedman, Work Matters:
Women Talk About Their Jobs and Their Lives
“When was the last time you
asked, ‘What do I want to
be?’ ” —Sara Ann Friedman, Work Matters
“Happiness” & “Leisure” per ARISTOTLE
HAPPINESS: Eudaimonia … well-doing, living flourishingly. Megalopsychos … “great-souled,” “magnanimous.” More: respect and concern for
others; duty to improve oneself; using one’s gifts to the fullest extent possible; fully aware; making
one’s own choices.
LEISURE: pursue excellence; reflect; deepen understanding; opportunity to work for higher
ends. [“Rest” vs. “leisure.”]
Source: A.C. Grayling, The Meaning of Things: Applying Philosophy to Life
“Worthy” Ambition vs. “Mere” Ambition per MILTON
“The difference is well illustrated by the contrast between the person who says he ‘wishes to be a writer’ and the person who says he ‘wishes to write.’
The former desires to be pointed out at cocktail parties, the latter is prepared for the long, solitary hours at as desk;
the former desires a status, the latter a process; the former desires to be, the latter to do.” —A..C. Grayling, The Meaning of Things:
Applying Philosophy to Life [C.f. JOHN BOYD on “be-do.”]
“If you ask me what I have come
to do in this world, I who am an artist,
I will reply: I am here to live my life
out loud.” — Émile Zola
“How Would You Play Today If You Knew You Could
Not Play Tomorrow”
Source: Slogan for Loyola’s lacrosse season, from coach Diane Geppi-Aikens (Lucky Every Day: The Wisdom of Diane Geppi-Aikens, by Chip Silverman)
“She made us close our eyes and hear the singers she was passionate about: Roberta Flack and Aretha Franklin. ‘Listen to the joy
in their voices,’ urged Diane. ‘It’s not the words or the music.
They sing with such great passion, such heart and
soul. You can feel how the singers love what they’re doing. It’s not just a job to
them. If you want to excel at anything, you must be passionate. Otherwise, why waste
your time?’ ”
Source: Lucky Every Day: The Wisdom of Diane Geppi-Aikens, by Chip Silverman
“It’s no longer enough to be a ‘change agent.’ You must be a change insurgent—provoking,
prodding, warning everyone in sight that
complacency is death.”
—Bob Reich
“Nobody gives you power.
You just take it.” —Roseanne
Characteristics of the “Also rans”*
“Minimize risk”“Respect the chain of
command”“Support the boss”
“Make budget”*Fortune, on “Most Admired Global Corporations”
“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.
“In Italy for 30 years under the Borgias they
had warfare, terror, murder, bloodshed—and produced Michelangelo,
da Vinci and the Renaissance. In
Switzerland they had brotherly love,
500 years of democracy and peace, and what did they
produce—Source: Orson Welles, as Harry Lime, in The Third Man
—the cuckoo clock.”
“To Hell With Well Behaved … Recently a
young mother asked for advice. What, she wanted to know, was she
to do with a 7-year-old who was obstreperous,
outspoken, and inconveniently willful? ‘Keep her,’ I replied. … The suffragettes refused to be polite in
demanding what they wanted or grateful for getting what they
deserved. Works for me.” —Anna Quindlen/Newsweek
Back to the Future: The “PSF”/ “Brand You” Idea Circa 1900*
William James (“What Makes a Life
Significant”/1899): “men with no trade” “must sell to the
highest bidder their mere muscular strength for so many hours per
day”
* “Brand You”/2005 = “Tradesman”/1899
“Well-behaved women
rarely make history.”
—Anita Borg, Institute for Women and Technology
“The key question isn’t ‘What fosters creativity?’ But it is why
in God’s name isn’t everyone creative? Where was the human
potential lost? How was it crippled? I think therefore a good
question might be not why do people create? But why
do people not create or innovate? We have got to abandon that
sense of amazement in the face of creativity,
as if it were a miracle if anybody created anything.” —Abe Maslow
“Every child is born an artist.The trick is to remain an artist.”
—Picasso
VALUE ADDED
#11
EXCELLENCE. HEALTHCARE.
HEALTH.
HEALTH
MHHA
YOU DO: Patient Safety. “Healthcare” to “Health.”
I DO: Transfat, High Fructose Corn Syrup, #50 Sunscreen,
“Wash your hands”
Griffin Hospital (Planetree) results: Financially
successful. Expanding programs-physically.
Growing market share. Only hospital in “100 Best Cos to
Work for—7 consecutive years, currently #6. —“Five-Star
Hospitals,” Joe Flower, strategy+business (#42)
“Sanitary revolution”: mortality in major
cities down
55% between
1850 and 1915Source: Tom Farley & Deborah Cohen, Prescription for a Healthy Nation
“Curve Shifting”
Source: Tom Farley & Deborah Cohen, Prescription for a Healthy Nation
“Bump into factor”: Extra-size portions, eat more.
Higher % shelf space snacks, more obesity. More
liquor stores, more crime. High vs low fat: Japanese
who emigrate to U.S. suffer 3X increase in heart
disease.
Source: Tom Farley & Deborah Cohen, Prescription for a Healthy Nation
Sprint/Overland Park KS: Slow elevators, distant
parking lots with infrequent buses, “food
court” as “poorly” placed as possible, etc.
Source: New York Times
Wellness
Obesity/-79(-36); BP (140-85 to 90-60); Blood sugar (180-87); Blood chemistry (normal+);
Cholesterol (140-58); Metabolic rate/RMR (+250);
Mental state (dramatic improvement*)
Off …
Univasc (<1/2)BextraLipitorToprol
Propranolol
Aging reversal!!!!**Why wasn’t I “informed”
until age 59?
“Fixes”
DietExtreme exercise
MeditationSupplements
Eliminate all alcohol(Meds)
TP Recce #1:
Dubai Healthcare City
to
Dubai Health City*
*Cleveland Clinic and Canyon Ranch
T.T.D./Healthcare27
Healthcare27
1. Fully utilize Physician’s Assistants to do routine work in a timely fashion. (“Doc in a Kiosk” at Wal*Mart is great!)
2. Maximize Outpatient services!3. Short hospital stays work! 4. Support home care to the max. (E.g., “Declaration of Independents”—Beacon Hill/Boston)
5. STOP THE 100K+ NEEDLESS DEATHS —much/most of the “quality stuff” is eminently fixable. (Don Berwick for President! AHA for Hall of Shame!) (Strong, vicious insurer incentives!!!)
6. FLIP HC 177 DEGREES TO EMPHASIZE PREVENTION & WELLNESS. (“Steps” are being taken but not enough. Med schools: Awful! Insurers: Little better. Support for appropriate-proven alternative therapies is an important part.) (HUGE INCENTIVES FOR EFFECTIVE WELLNESS-PREVENTION PROGRAMS-MEASURABLE SUCCESSES.)
T.T.D./ACTION.
NOW.
Visible Signs/Measures (Creech)TRAIN. TRAIN. TRAIN. (P.S.)
Med school, Nursing school curriculum (P.S.)BOLD!/Big change EASIER than
modest change (P.S., etc.)EXCELLENCE. ONLY. ALWAYS. DAMN IT.
EVP/Patient SafetyP.S.O.s
Fund the living hell out of it (P.S.)CEO (etc): REFLECT IT IN CALENDAR
EMERGENCY STATUSH.M.O.s: Big/ENORMOUS (+/-) incentives
for docs, hospitals, etc, etcBOARD: Patient Safety Committee
BOARD: WPCC CommitteePatient Safety BALDRIDGE (POTUS?)
CERTIFICATION/RE-CERTIFICATION for One & All (P.S., etc)
WPOCC Rules!!!!!!! (Wellness/ Prevention/Obesity/ChronicCare)
WPOCC: N.G.A. (AK)INSURANCE COMPANY VISIBILITY/SPONSORSHIP/MEGA-INCENTIVES
Awards Galore P.S./WPOCC)BOARD Committee: H5N1
HHS: Split HC & PWO (Ontario)Write off ½ of med school loan if “pay” with 3-5
years service in Public HealthGlamorize Family Practice, Public Health, etcFAT legislation?? (Almost certainly) (Density, HFCS, Transfats, etc., etc.) (A FIRST FOR TP)
SUE the hell out of One & All re Obesity (Cigarettes II)
Research LEAP @ N.I.H. (Etc, Etc, ETC)INCENTIVES @ SCHOOLS (BIG!!)
EMR: Intensify!!!!!!!!!!!!!No leadership position in AHA (AMA?) (DEANs?) (Etc?) without “Safety tour”
No Medical Chief (>150 beds?) without “Safety tour”
FORGET ABOUT ME!!! (Except Wellness, ChroniCare)
VIGOROUSLYSUPPORT Home CareAmerican OBESITY = African AIDs (??)
ELIMINATE/OBLITERATE HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP!
ELIMINATE/OBLITERATE TRANSFATS!(HFTC/TF = The Real “WMDs”)
FDA: Kill! Kill! Kill! (Please)
CEO Bonus: 50+%: P.S./WPOCCOBNOXIOUS labels
Incentives for BILLBOARDSNatl Advertising Council
PARENTING education, etc.
THIS IS NOT A “PROGRAM” (P.S./WPOCC)
STATE OFEMERGENCY
March-June 2006: Sample of
Healthcare “PR”
Docs & Hospitals
Doctors/Hospitals
53 autopsy studies … 24% misdiagnosis rate (The Independent, 06.27)
“Medical Guesswork: From heart surgery to prostate care, the health industry knows little about which common treatments really work”
(Cover, BusinessWeek, 0529) Dr David Eddy/Kaiser Permanente Care Management Institute: “The problem is we do not know what we are doing.” Eddy: 15% of what doctors do is “backed by hard
evidence” (BW); in general, 20% to 25%.
“What Doctors Hate About Hospitals” (Cover, Time, 05.01) “It remains almost a stroke of luck to enter a U.S. hospital and receive precisely the right treatment.” (Time) “No day passed—not one—without a medication error. The errors were not rare; they
were the norm” (Don Berwick, on his wife’s treatment) “One medication was discontinued by a physician’s order on the first day of admission [Berwick’s wife] and yet was brought by a nurse every single evening for 14 days straight.” (Time) Harvard Public Health,
2002 study: “More than 1 in 3 doctors reported errors in their own or a family member’s medical care.” (Time)
Big Pharma
Digger the
Dermatophyte*
*Lamisil/Novartis/#4/$110M/3X in 10 to 100,000
Big Pharma
“Pushing Pills: How Big Pharma Got Addicted To Marketing” (Cover, Forbes, 05.08) Novartis: #4 best seller, Lamisil, toe fungus, $850 for 3-month treatment, “Digger Dermatophyte” (Forbes) $42 billion on
R&D, $46 billion on marketing and admin. Salespeople: up 100,000 in last 10 years, 1 per 9 docs vs 1 per 18 docs. (Forbes) Clinical trials
favor sponsor’s drug 90% of the time. “The comparative studies are a joke.” —Dr Jack Rosenblatt (Forbes)
“Psychiatric Drugs Fare Favorably When Companies Pay for Studies” (headline, USA Today. 05.25) 57% of studies paid by drug companies, up from 25% in 1992. Favorable outcome for sponsor: 78%. Sponsored by neutral: 48%. Sponsored by competitor: 28%.
USA Today /American Psychiatric Association)
“Hey, You Don’t Look So Good: As diagnoses of once-rare illnesses soar, doctors say drugmakers are ‘disease-mongering’ to boost
sales” (feature, BusinessWeek, 05.08)
Intractable Problems
Other
“Hazardous To Your Health” (New York Times Op-ed on High Fructose Corn Syrup, 04.11); 112,000
deaths/year, $75 billion/per year associated with too much fat; 2/3rd of Americans over-weight, 1/3rd children
“Call for Switch to Preventive Measures as 29 billion [pound] Cost of Heart Disease is Revealed” (headline,
The Independent, 05.15)
“The Fat Police” “Obesity Tests: Every four-year-old in the country to be officially screened”
(headline, The Independent, 05.21)
“The Politics of Fat” (headline, Time, 03.27); childhood
obesity up 3X in 25 years
MI Healthca
re
STATE OFEMERGENCY
Funding …………………........... N.A.Access …………………………… N.A.Execution of chosen task … DPriorities ……………………...... FBig Pharma …………………..... D-
Funding …………………........... N.A.Access …………………………… N.A.Execution of chosen task … DPriorities ……………………...... FBig Pharma …………………..... D-
Quality: FScientific basis for action: C-/D
Funding …………………........... N.A.Access …………………………… N.A.Execution of chosen task … DPriorities ……………………...... FBig Pharma …………………..... D-
Emphasis on Acute care: CDe-emphasis of WPC/Wellness-Prevention-Chronic care: F (F-??)
Funding …………………........... N.A.Access …………………………… N.A.Execution of chosen task … DPriorities ……………………...... FBig Pharma …………………..... D-
“Me too”: D-Overcomplexity/Drug discovery: D-Disease creation: D-Hiring pretty girls: AHiring lotsa pretty girls: A
Funding …………………........... N.A.Access …………………………… N.A.Execution of chosen task … DPriorities ……………………...... FBig Pharma …………………..... D-
Bust fat
docs!
Report Card.
Re-imagine Healthcare: Reportcard2006
Evidence-based/Outcomes-based ……………….………...... DPay-for-performance ………………………………………….… DIS/IT (general) ………………………………..………………..…. C-Use of information (for decisionmaking-measurement) .… C-EMR (Electronic Medical Records) ……………………..….... DCPOE (Computerized Physician Order Entry) ……….……. C-/DQuality/100K+ unnecessary deaths …………..……… D-(kind)Acute care to chronic care-home care shift ………….….... D/D-Acute-care to Prevention/Wellness Obsession…..… F-Patient-centric/Client-centric………………………………….. DDocs’ acceptance of “evidence-based” …………............… D/D-“Revolutionary”-intensity Incentives re evidence …..……. D-Childhood obesity epidemic …………………………….. D-H5N1 preparedness ………………………………….…….. D
Corporate focus on Prevention/Wellness…………..…..…..... C-/DIndividual focus on Prevention/Wellness…………………..… DIndividuals’ health education/self-management …….…...…. C-
Workforce acceptance of self-responsibility ….…….…...….. C-Workforce transition to “Brand You” attitude……..……..….. C-/D
3 March 2006/Tom Peters
Wash your hands.Apply #50 sunscreen.
Banish trans fatBanish high fructose corn syrup.
Exercise “30-7.”Breathe.
Stockpile for H5N1.* (*not Tamiflu!)
Avoid hospitalization.Take charge of your health.
Health:Century21.Job # 1
Quality!Prevention!Wellness!
Chronic care!Childhood obesity!
H5N1!
Quality!Prevention!Wellness!
Chronic care!Childhood obesity!
H5N1!
22mm3838ss
Welcome to the Homer Simpson Hospital
a/k/a
The Killing Fields
“When I climb Mount Rainier I face less
risk of death than I’ll face on the
operating table.” —Don Berwick, “Six Keys to Safer Hospitals: A Set of Simple Precautions Could Prevent 100,000 Needless Deaths Every Year,” Newsweek (1212.2005)
The Ultimate “Culture Change”
“Healthcare” vs.
“Health”
Quality (100K+ deaths)
“Evidence/Outcomes-based” medicineIS/IT-in-health(care) revolution
Wellness/PreventionHealth“care” to Health “culture” transformation
Wash your hands!Home-care (as the population rapidly ages)
Med-school re-orientation “Public health” emphasisChildhood Obesity
Mind-boggling (15 years?) social-moral-technological impact of life sciences (“the Singularity”?)
H5N1/WMDs/Environmental degradationRisk assessment (private, public)
Market opportunityPublic vs/+ Private responsibilities & partnerships
Africa! (Unconscionable failure to attend to/staggering Health consequences for all)
Re-imagine Healthcare: Reportcard2006
Evidence-based/Outcomes-based ……………….………...... DPay-for-performance ………………………………………….… DIS/IT (general) ………………………………..………………..…. C-Use of information (for decisionmaking-measurement) .… C-EMR (Electronic Medical Records) ……………………..….... C-/DCPOE (Computerized Physician Order Entry) ……….……. C-/DQuality/100K+ unnecessary deaths …………..……… D-(kind)Acute care to chronic care-home care shift ………….….... D/D-Acute-care to Prevention/Wellness Obsession…..… D/D-Patient-centric/Client-centric………………………………….. DDocs’ acceptance of “evidence-based” …………............… D/D-“Revolutionary”-intensity Incentives re evidence …..……. D-Childhood obesity epidemic …………………………….. D-H5N1 preparedness ………………………………….…….. D
Corporate focus on Prevention/Wellness…………..…..…..... C-/DIndividual focus on Prevention/Wellness…………………..… DIndividuals’ health education/self-management …….…...…. C-
Workforce acceptance of self-responsibility ….…….…...….. C-Workforce transition to “Brand You” attitude……..……..….. C-/D
3 March 2006/Tom Peters
Tommy Thompson: take your meds; chronic illness 75% to 80%; “curative healthcare
system” to “prevention system”
Source: Advertising Age, 05.08.06
Quality!Prevention!Wellness!
Chronic care!
Childhood obesity!H5N1!
Childhood Obesity > Terrorism
Source: Mike Levitt
Bust fat
docs!
Wash your hands.Apply #50 sunscreen.
Banish trans fatBanish high fructose corn syrup.
Exercise “30-7.”Breathe.
Stockpile for H5N1.* (*not Tamiflu!)
Avoid hospitalization.Take charge of your health.
“Sanitary revolution”: mortality in major
cities down
55% between
1850 and 1915Source: Tom Farley & Deborah Cohen, Prescription for a Healthy Nation
“If God spoke to me by saying, ‘Mark, you’re down to your last three words: What would you want to say to
your fellow humans that would make the most positive impact?’ It would be a close call between Love Thy
Neighbor and Wash Your Hands . A close third would be Move,
Move, Move.” —Mark Pettus, M.D., The Savvy Patient
“The most important thing you can do to keep
from getting sick is to wash your hands. ” —CDC/National Center for Infectious Diseases
Tommy Thompson: take your meds; chronic illness 75% to 80%; “curative healthcare
system” to “prevention system”
Source: Advertising Age, 05.08.06
The Irreducible20
9
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.
VALUE ADDED
#12
EXCELLENCE.
LEADING.
Leadership23
Leadership23/ML
1. Enthusiasm. Energy. Exuberance.2. Action. Execution.3. Tempo. Metabolism.4. Relentless.5. Master of Plan B.6. Accountability.7. Meritocracy.8. Leaders “do” people. Mentor. (“Success creation business.”)9. Women. Diversity.10. Integrity. Credibility. Humanity. Grace.11. Realism.12. Cause. Adventures. Quests.
Leadership23/ML
13. Legacy.14. Best story wins.15. On the edge. (“Wildest chimera of a moonstruck mind.”)16. “Reward excellent failures. Punish mediocre successes.”17. Different > Better. (“Only ones who do what we do.”)18. MBWA. Customer MBWA.19. Laughs.20. Repot. Curiosity. Why?21. You = Calendar. “To Don’t.” Two.22. Excellence. Always.23. Nelsonian! (“Other admirals more afraid of losing than anxious to win.”)
Leadership23/ML
1. Enthusiasm. Energy. Exuberance.2. Action. Execution.3. Tempo. Metabolism.4. Relentless.5. Master of Plan B.6. Accountability.7. Meritocracy.8. Leaders “do” people. Mentor. (“Success creation business.”)9. Women. Diversity.10. Integrity. Credibility. Humanity. Grace.11. Realism.12. Cause. Adventures. Quests.13. Legacy.14. Best story wins.15. On the edge. (“Wildest chimera of a moonstruck mind.”)16. “Reward excellent failures. Punish mediocre successes.”17. Different > Better. (“Only ones who do what we do.”)18. MBWA. Customer MBWA.19. Laughs.20. Repot. Curiosity. Why?21. You = Calendar. “To Don’t.” Two.22. Excellence. Always.23. Nelsonian! (“Other admirals more afraid of losing than anxious to win.”)
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!
Sir Richard’s Rules:
Follow your passions.Keep it simple.
Get the best people to help you.
Re-create yourself.Play.
Source: Fortune on Branson
Message clarity = CALENDAR + MBWA + Language + Perceived
INTENSITY/ENTHUSIASM/ ENERGY + Concrete-Visible
support + Prototypes + Tolerance for Failure/“Good
losses” + Promotions + Tempo + Resilience + Celebration +
Perceived RELENTLESSNESS + Training
“No leader sets out to be a leader per se, but rather to
express him- or herself freely and fully. That is leaders have
no interest in proving themselves, but an abiding
interest in expressing themselves.” —Warren Bennis, On Becoming a
Leader
Let Us March
Tom Peters/0523.06
“The pen is mightier than the
sword, but nothing compares
with the vocal cord.”
—DAW/Vineyard Gazette
“The problem with communication ...is the ILLUSION that it
has been accomplished.”
—George Bernard Shaw
“Speech is power: speech is to persuade, to convert, to compel.” —Ralph Waldo
Emerson
“Everyone lives by
selling something.”
—Robert Louis Stevenson
“If you don’t listen, you don’t sell
anything.”
—Carolyn Marland/Managing Director/Guardian Group
“If all my possessions were
taken from me with one exception, I would choose to
keep the power of speech, for
by it I would regain all the rest.” —Daniel Webster
“The only reason to give a speech is to
change the world.” —JFK
“In classical times when Cicero had finished
speaking, the people said, ‘How well he spoke,’ but when Demosthenes had finished speaking,
they said, ‘Let us march.’” —Adlai Stevenson
Let us march.
“Nothing is so
contagious asenthusiasm.”
—Samuel Taylor Coleridge
“It’s always
showtime.”
—David D’Alessandro, Career Warfare
Message clarity = CALENDAR + MBWA + Language + Perceived
INTENSITY/ENTHUSIASM/ ENERGY + Concrete-Visible
support + Prototypes + Tolerance for Failure/“Good
losses” + Promotions + Tempo + Resilience + Celebration +
Perceived RELENTLESSNESS + Training
“No leader sets out to be a leader per se, but rather to
express him- or herself freely and fully. That is leaders have
no interest in proving themselves, but an abiding
interest in expressing themselves.” —Warren Bennis,
On Becoming a Leader
EXCELLENCE.
STRETCH.
The greatest dangerfor most of us
is not that our aim istoo high
and we miss it,but that it is
too lowand we reach it.
Michelangelo
EXCELLENCE.
KABOOM.
“Beware of the tyranny of making
Small Changes to Small
Things. Rather,
make Big Changes
to Big Things.”
—Roger Enrico, former Chairman, PepsiCo
Five MYTHS About Changing Behavior
*Crisis is a powerful impetus for change*Change is motivated by fear*The facts will set us free
*Small, gradual changes are always easier to make and sustain*We can’t change because our brains become “hardwired” early in life
Source: Fast Company/05.2005
“Reward excellent failures.
Punish mediocre
successes.”Phil Daniels, Sydney exec
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!
Stay Hungry.
Stay Foolish.
Steve Jobs
EXCELLENCE.
OFFENSE.
Nelson’s secret:
“[Other] admirals more frightened of losing than
anxious to win”
EXCELLENCE.
TRANSCENDENCE.THRILLS.
Radically Thrilling Language!
“Radically Thrilling.”
—BMW Z4 (ad)
CTO**Chief Thrills Officer
Synonyms
PurityTranscendence
VirtueEleganceMajesty
Antonyms
Mediocrity
CTO**Chief Transcendence Officer
EXCELLENCE. WOW. NOW.
CWO**Chief WOW Officer
!
C!O*Chief ! Officer
“It’s always
showtime.”
—David D’Alessandro, Career Warfare
EXCELLE ALWAYS.
EXCELLENCE.LET.US.
MARCH.
“In classical times when Cicero had finished
speaking, the people said, ‘How well he spoke,’ but when Demosthenes had finished speaking,
they said, ‘Let us march.’” —Adlai Stevenson
Let us march.
“Never doubt that a small group of
committed people can change the
world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has.” —Margaret Mead
“A year from now you may wish
You had started today.”
—Karen Lamb
EXCELLE ALWAYS.
“It’s always
showtime.”
—David D’Alessandro, Career Warfare
You only find oil if you drill
wells. —T he Hunters, by John Masters,
Canadian O & G wildcatter
TP/Chile: “I don’t know
if ‘it’ is possible.’ I do know it’s ‘necessary.’”
VALUE ADDED
#13
The Irreducible209+/Sales122/60TIBs
Tom Peters/0607.2006
The Irreducible20
9
A frustrated participant at a seminar for investment bankers in Mauritius listened impatiently to my explanation of differences of opinion among me, Mike Porter,
Gary Hamel, Jim Collins, etc. Finally, he’d had enough. “What, if anything,” he asked,
“do you believe ‘for sure’?” 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. Hare 1, Tortoise 0. (Hare-y times.)2. Tempo. (O.O.D.A.)3. MBWA.4. 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. Men. Women. Different. Contend. Connect.16. Women. Buy. All. (RU listening?)17. Quality. (“Mind-blowing.” Beyond 6-Sigma.)18. Re-invent. Re-pot. (Required.)19. Jaywalk.20. Big change. Small # of people. (Always.)21. Experiment. Now.22. Failure. Normal. 23. 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. You must care.30. Mentor. (Highest ROI.)31. Best “roster” wins.32. Wow. (Okay in biz.)33. We all have customers. (Biz. Personal.)34. All contacts = Experiences.35. Cirque du Soleil. (Peerless.)36. Leaders create space for growth.37. Quests. (Only.)38. 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. Wegmans.” (No excuses. “Mere” groceries.)43. Less than your best. Cheating.
44. Brand You. (No alt.)45. Self-sufficiency. (Biggest LT turn-on.)46. In the moment.47. The moment wins.48. Tomorrow = Never. 49. Action 1, Plan 0.1.50. “Execution” can be a “system.”51. Realism.52. Own up. Move on.53. Accountability.54. Work hard > Work smart. (Mostly.)55. Feedback. Necessary. Fast. (R.F.A. in “RFA times.”)56. Customers. Listen. Lead. (Paradox.)57. “On stage.” Always. (GW, FDR, RG = Supreme actors.)
58. Master statistical analysis.59. Excellence = Set the table.60. Legacy. (Will it have mattered?)61. “Great.” (Why not?)62. Radicals rule. (Think … Olympics.)63. !!! = Good.64. Red 1, Brown 0. (Red times.)65. Talk. Listen. (“Big 2.” Master.)66. 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. Exercise.74. Paint. (Leader. Portraits of Excellence.)75. Best story wins.76. “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. You = Calendar. (Calendar. Never. Lies.)87. Laugh.88. Handshake. (Quantity. Quality.)89. 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. Bloody- mindedness. 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. Own up. Quick. ( Denial. Cancer.)164. Celebrate. Often.165. 78 people = 78 approaches. (Each. Unique.)166. 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.
208. NO LESS THAN EXCELLENCE. EVER.209. EXCELLENCE. ALWAYS.
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.
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, engineering-
based 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 industries-countries “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 sellanything.”
—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 14-year-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 long-term 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 deeper-wider networks win. 62. If the deal is wired from below, truly wired, than the so-called “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 asenthusiasm.”
—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 behavein a calm, rationalmanner. 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
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 2003: Technology Change (Info-sciences, Biosciences) Is in Its Infancy! (WE AIN’T SEEN NOTHIN’ YET!)9. Everything Is Up For Grabs! Volatility Is Thy Name! (Forever & Ever. Amen.) RE-INVENT … OR DIE! 10. Big Sucks. (Mostly.) (VERY Mostly.)
11. “Permanence” Is a Snare & a Delusion. (Forget “Built to Last.” It’s Yesterday’s Idea.)12. Kaizen” (Continuous Improvement) Is … Dangerous.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. Screw-ups are … the … Mark of Excellence. (“Do It Right the First Time” Is a Very Stupid 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!27. SHE … 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 XXXL 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. Cross- functional Communication.40. Stop Doing Dumb Shit. (SYSTEMATIZE THE PROCESS OF “UN-DUMBING.”)
41. Beautiful Systems Are … BEAUTIFUL.42. The … WHITE-COLLAR 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. De Gaulle.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 4-Letter Word. So, too … JOY. (And … GRACE.)
The End.
EXCELLE ALWAYS.