excellence. always. tom peters/killercombo/22april2006

EXCELLENCE.

ALWAYS.Tom Peters/“KillerCombo”/22April2006

“Organizations are not machines. That has been the central message of all my books. They are living communities of

individuals. To describe them we need to use the language of communities and the language of

individuals. That means a mix of words we use in politics and in ordinary everyday life. The essential

task of leadership (a word from political theory, unlike the word ‘manager’) is to combine the aspirations and needs of individuals with the

purposes of the larger community to which they all belong.” —Charles Handy

P.P.E.E.R.E.

People.Product.

Execution.Enthusiasm.Relentless.Excellence.

EXCELLENCE.

ALWAYS.

Slides at …

tompeters.com

EXCELLENCE.

1982.

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”

What is In Search of Excellence all about:

People. Emotion. Engagement. Exuberance. Action-Execution. Empowerment. Independence. Initiative. Imagination. Great

Stories. Incredible Adventures. Trust. Caring. Fun. Joy.

Customer-centrism. Profit. Growth. “Brand You.” “Dramatic Differences.” Experiences that Make You “Gasp.” Excellence.

Always.

ExIn*: 1982-2002/Forbes.com

DJIA: $10,000 yields $85,500 EI: $10,000 yields $140,050

*Excellence Index /Basket of 32 publicly traded stocks

EXCELLENCE.

ALWAYS.

Synonyms

PurityTranscendence

VirtueEleganceMajesty

Antonyms

Mediocrity

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.

EXCELLENCE.

ALWAYS.

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

“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

Donnelly’s Weatherstrip

Service

Weymouth MA

EXCELLENCE.

ALWAYS.

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.)

EXCELLENCE.

ALWAYS.

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!!)

$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.

EXCELLENCE?

ALWAYS?

Franchise Lost!

TP: “How many of you [600] really

crave a new Chevy?”

NYC/IIR/061205

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




*“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.)



“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


*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.)


*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.)


*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!)

EXCELLENCE.

ALWAYS.


Service

Weymouth MA

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

EXCELLENCE.

ALWAYS.

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

“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

And …

MasterCard Advisors

Huge: Customer Satisfaction versus Customer

Success

EXCELLENCE?

ALWAYS?

“ ‘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

Chicago:

HRMAC

“support function” / “cost center” /

“bureaucratic drag”

or …

Are you … “Rock Stars of the

Age of 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; ie 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.

EXCELLENCE.

ALWAYS.



or …

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.

ALWAYS.

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

Point of

View!

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)

EXCELLENCE.

ALWAYS.

Answer:

PSF

EXCELLENCE.

ALWAYS.

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

EXCELLENCE.

ALWAYS.

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)

Answer:

PSF

EXCELLENCE.

ALWAYS.

Lead It:

New “C-

Levels”

CXO*

*Chief eXperience Officer

CFO*

*Chief Festivals Officer

CCO*

*Chief Conversations Officer

CSO*

*Chief Seduction Officer

CL O*

*Chief Lovemark Officer

CDM*

*Chief Dream Merchant

CPI**Chief Portal Impresario

CWO*

*Chief WOW Officer

CSTO*

*Chief Storytelling Officer

CRO*

*Chief Revenue Officer

EXCELLENCE.

ALWAYS.

Flower Power!

EXCELLENCE.

ALWAYS.

Better By Design: A National Strategy

NZ = Design

Excellence

EXCELLENCE.

ALWAYS.

“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

“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’?”

EXCELLENCE.

ALWAYS.

Charles Handy on the “Alchemists”:

“Passion was what drove

these people, passion for

their product, passion for 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.”

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!

EXCELLENCE.

ALWAYS.

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.”

Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

“free to do his or her absolute best” …

“allow its members to discover their

greatness.”

“We are a ‘Life

Success’ Company’

Dave Liniger, founder, RE/MAX

EXCELLENCE.

ALWAYS.

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)

“You are the storyteller of your own life, and you can create your own legend or

not.” —Isabel Allende

“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

“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

Will you actually remember it as worthwhile 10

years from now?” —S.H.

“Tell me, what is it you plan to do

with your one wild and

precious life?” —Mary

Oliver

A “position” is not an

“accomplishment.”

—TP

“One who does less

than he can is a thief.”

—Gandhi

EXCELLENCE.

ALWAYS.

“The First step in a ‘dramatic’

‘organizational change program’ is obvious—

dramatic personal change!” —RG

“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!!

EXCELLENCE.

ALWAYS.

4/40Tom Peters/Novosibirsk/14 April 2006

De-cent-ral-iz-a-tion!

Ex-e-cu-

tion!

Ac-count-a-bil-ity!

6:15A.M.

“‘Decentralization’ is not a piece of paper. It’s not me. It’s either in

your heart, or not.”

—Brian Joffe/BIDvest

“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)

“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”

“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

“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

“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

Ex-e-cu-

tion!

“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

“You only find oil if

you drill wells.”


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.

EXCELLENCE.

ALWAYS.

“Nothing is so contagious as enthusiasm.”

—Samuel Taylor Coleridge

EXCELLENCE.

ALWAYS.

Insanely Great Language!

“Insanely Great.”

—Steve Jobs

Radically Thrilling Language!

“Radically Thrilling.”

—BMW Z4 (ad)

“Astonish me!” /S.D.

“Build something great!” /H.Y.

“Make it immortal!” /D.O.

Gaspworthy!

EXCELLENCE.

ALWAYS.

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

Stay Hungry.

Stay Foolish.

Steve Jobs

EXCELLENCE.

ALWAYS.

“It’s always

showtime.”

—David D’Alessandro, Career Warfare

EXCELLENCE.

ALWAYS.

XCELLENC ALWAYS.

All You Need to Know*

*more or less

In The Beginnin

g

X82/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”



*Excellence Index/Basket of 32 publicly traded stocks

China!

THREE BILLION NEW CAPITALISTS

—Clyde Prestowitz

New Economy?!

Sergey + Larry > Harvard

“the metabolically

dominant soldier”

Source: Radical Evolution: The Promise and Peril of Enhancing Our Minds, Our Bodies—and What It Means to Be Human, Joel Garreau

“The corporation as we know it, which is now 120

years old, is not likely to survive

the next 25 years. Legally and financially, yes, but not

structurally and economically.” —Peter Drucker

“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

“Create a ‘cause,’ not a ‘business.’’

—Gary Hamel

“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

“I never, ever thought of myself as a businessman.

I was interested in creating things

I would be proud of.” —Richard Branson

“I don’t know.”

Source: Karl Weick

“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.”

Source: Organizing Genius/Warren Bennis & Patricia Ward Biederman

Leadership’s Mt Everest

“free to do his or her absolute

best” …

“allow its members to

discover their greatness.”

“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

“We are a ‘Life

Success’ Company”

—Dave Liniger, RE/MAX

“In the end, management doesn’t

change culture. Management invites the workforce itself

to change the culture.”

—Lou Gerstner

Artist

Leader Job 1

Paint Portraits of

Excellence!

Point of

View!

Best Story

“Storytelling

is the core of culture.”

—Branded Nation: The Marketing of Megachurch, College Inc., and Museumworld, James Twitchell

“It is necessary for the President to be

the nation’s No. 1 actor.”

FDR

People

“Leaders

‘do’ people.” —Anon.

Les Wexner: From sweaters to

people!

“Connoisseur of Talent”

Source: Colleague on PARC’s Bob Taylor

Did We Say “Talent Matters”?

“The top software developers are more productive than

average software developers not by a factor of 10X or 100X,

or even 1,000X,

but

10,000X.”

—Nathan Myhrvold, former Chief Scientist, Microsoft

“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

Brand =

Talent.

Our Mission

To develop and manage talent;to apply that talent,

throughout the world, for the benefit of clients;to do so in partnership;

to do so with profit.

WPP

DD$21M

People

Employees: “Are there enough weird people in the lab

these days?”V. Chmn., pharmaceutical house, to a lab director

Decency

“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

Amen!

“What creates trust, in the end,

is the leader’s manifest respect

for the followers.”

— Jim O’Toole, Leading Change

“I have always believed that the

purpose of the corporation is to be

a blessing to the employees.” —Boyd Clarke

Rodale’s on “Grace” …

elegance … charm … loveliness … poetry in motion … kindliness ..

benevolence … benefaction … compassion … beauty

“Thank you”

“The two most powerful things in existence: a kind

word and a thoughtful

gesture.” —Ken Langone

“The deepest human

need is the need to be

appreciated.”—William James

Intangibles

“Hard is soft. Soft is hard.”*

*In Search of Excellence

“Organizations are not machines. That has been the central message of

all my books. They are living communities of individuals. To describe them we need to use the language of

communities and the language of individuals. That means a mix of words we

use in politics and in ordinary everyday life. The essential task of leadership (a word

from political theory, unlike the word ‘manager’) is to combine the aspirations

and needs of individuals with the purposes of the larger community to which they all

belong.” —Charles Handy

Message: Leadership is all about love! [Passion, Enthusiasms, Appetite for Life,

Engagement, Commitment, Great Causes & Determination to Make a

Damn Difference, Shared Adventures, Bizarre Failures, Growth, Insatiable Appetite for Change.] [Otherwise, why bother?

Just read Dilbert. TP’s final words: CYNICISM STINKS.]

Self-management

“The First step in a ‘dramatic’

‘organizational change program’ is obvious—

dramatic personal change!” —RG

You = Your

Calendar

“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.”

—Gandhi

“To change minds effectively, leaders make particular use

of two tools: the stories they tell and

the lives they lead.” —Howard Gardner, Changing Minds

“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 can’t lead a cavalry charge if you think you look funny on a

horse.” —John Peers, President, Logical Machine

Corporation

Curiosity

“Why?”

“If you don’t listen, you don’t sell

anything.”

—Carolyn Marland/MD/Guardian Group

Conformity

“While everything may

be better, it is also

increasingly the same.”—Paul Goldberger on retail, “The Sameness

of Things,” The New York Times

“To grow, companies need to break out of

a vicious cycle of competitive

benchmarking and imitation.” —W. Chan Kim & Renée Mauborgne,

“Think for Yourself —Stop Copying a Rival,” Financial Times/08.11.03

“The short road to ruin is to emulate the

methods of your adversary.”

— Winston Churchill

Conformity

“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/“Strategy or Revolution”/Harvard Business Review

Dramatic Difference

Point of View!/Point of Dramatic Difference!

PSF!


Service

Weymouth MA




*“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.)



“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

“[Immelt] is now identifying technologies with which GE

will … systematically set out to build

entirely new industries” —Strategy+Business, Fall

2005

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

“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

Action


‘management’ consists of making

it difficult for people to get

things done.” – Peter Drucker

“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

“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

“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.”


“You only find oil if

you drill wells.”


“Never forget implementation

boys. In our work it’s what I call the ‘missing 98

percent’ of the client puzzle.” —Al

McDonald

Try ItTry ItTry It

“Fail faster. Succeed sooner.”

—David Kelley/IDEO

Sam’s Secret

#1!

Ex-e-cu-

tion!

Ac-count-a-bil-ity!

6:15A.M.

“Dennis, you need a ‘To-don’t ’

List !”

“I used to have a rule for myself that at any point in time I

wanted to have in mind — as it so happens, also in writing, on a little card I carried around with me — the three big things I was

trying to get done.

Three. Not two.

Not four. Not five. Not ten. Three.”

— Richard Haass, The Power to Persuade

“We will not, I repeat not,

pretend to be ‘all things to all people.’” —CEO, Investec (03.06)

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.’ I assume that it is just saying that it is there to help its customers wherever they are.” —Charles

Handy

Danger: S.I.O.

(Strategic Initiative Overload)

“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

Change

“If you don’t like change, you’re going to like

irrelevance even less.” —General Eric Shinseki, Chief of Staff. U. S. Army

“We eat change for breakfast!

—Harry Quadracci, QuadGraphics

“I’m not comfortable

unless I’m uncomfortable.

”—Jay Chiat

“The most successful people are those who are good at

‘plan B.’” —James Yorke,

mathematician, on chaos theory in The New Scientist

Change

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 LocationLunch Mates

LanguageBoard

“Don’t benchmark, futuremark!

” Impetus: “The future is already here; it’s just

not evenly distributed” —William Gibson

“[Immelt] is now identifying technologies with which GE

will … systematically set out to build

entirely new industries” —Strategy+Business, Fall

2005

Forget

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

BigChange

No Wiggle Room!

“Incrementalism

is innovation’s worst enemy.”

Nicholas Negroponte

“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

“Wealth in this new regime flows directly from innovation, not optimization. That is,

wealth is not gained by perfecting the known,

but by imperfectly seizing the unknown.” —

Kevin Kelly, New Rules for the New Economy

“Reward excellent failures.

Punish mediocre

successes.”Phil Daniels, Sydney exec

BigBiggerBiggest??????

“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%)

“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

Exit, Stage Right …

CEO “departure” rate, 1995-2004:

+300%Source: Booz Allen Hamilton (per USA Today/06.13.05)

New Economy?!

Genentech09, Amgen09

> Merck09 (70K-3/394B-5)

Relentless

“This [adolescent] incident [of getting from point A to point B] is notable not only because it underlines Grant’s fearless

horsemanship and his determination, but also it is the first known

example of a very important peculiarity of his character:

Grant had an extreme, almost phobic dislike of

turning back and retracing his steps. If he set out for somewhere, he would get

there somehow, whatever the difficulties that lay in his way. This idiosyncrasy would turn out to be one the factors that made him

such a formidable general. Grant would always, always press on—

turning back was not an option for him.” —Michael Korda, Ulysses Grant

“It is no use saying ‘We are doing our best.’ You have got to succeed in doing

what is necessary.” —WSC

Agressive

Nelson’s secret: “[Other] admirals more frightened of losing than

anxious to win”

“We don’t sell

insurance anymore.

We sell speed.”

Peter Lewis, Progressive

He who has the quickest

O.O.D.A. Loops* wins!

*Observe. Orient. Decide. Act. / Col. John Boyd

Richard & Kevin

Sir Richard’s Rules:

Follow your passions.Keep it simple.

Get the best people to help you.

Re-create yourself.Play.

Passion & Enthusiasm

I am a dispenser of enthusiasm.

” —Ben Zander

“Nothing is so contagious

as enthusiasm.”


“A man without a smiling face

must not open a shop.” —Chinese Proverb*

*Courtesy Tom Morris, The Art of Achievement

Hustle

“Most important,

he upped the energy level at Motorola.” —Fortune on Ed Zander/08.05

Half-full Cups: “Ronald Reagan radiated

an almost transcendent

happiness.” —Lou Cannon

“A leader is a dealer in hope.” —Napoleon

Aim High





Michelangelo

Get “better” vs

Get “different”

“You do not merely want to

be the best of the best. You want to be considered the

only ones who do what

you do.” —Jerry Garcia

Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

Steve Jobs

“the wildest chimera of a moonstruck mind” —The Federalist on Jefferson’s

Louisiana Purchase

“Tell me, what is it you plan to

do with your one wild and

precious life?” —Mary Oliver

Create

“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)

“Acquisitions are about buying market share.

Our challenge is to create markets. There is a big difference.” —Peter

Job, CEO, Reuters

Revenue

Top Line, Anyone?

Point (Advertising Age), to Phil Kotler: “Who should the CMO [Chief Marketing Officer] report to?”

Kotler: “Maybe a Chief Revenue Officer—the cost side has been squeezed, now companies have to focus

on top-line growth—or maybe a Chief Customer Officer. (TP: Or maybe both!)

CRO*

*Chief Revenue Officer

Women BuyWomen Lead

“Women are the

majority market”

—Fara Warner/The Power of the Purse

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.

10. Women’s Market =

Opportunity No. 1.

“AS LEADERS, WOMEN

RULE: New Studies find that

female managers outshine their male counterparts in almost every measure”

Title, Special Report/BusinessWeek

“To be a leader in consumer

products, it’s critical to have

leaders who represent the population we

serve.” —Steve Reinemund/PepsiCo

Boomers Buy

Geezers Buy

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

SellSellSelll

. “Everyone lives by selling

something.”

– Robert Louis Stevenson

Value-added

And the “M” Stands for … ?

Gerstner’s IBM: “Systems Integrator of

choice.”

IBM Global Services: $55B

And …

MasterCard Advisors

Value-added

“ ‘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

Answer: Professional Service Firm/PSF!

Department Head

to …

Managing

Partner, IS [HR, R&D, etc.] Inc.

Answer:

PSF

Best is not good

enough!

“Game-changing Solutions”: Core Mechanism

PSF (Professional Service Firm “model”)

+

Wow Projects (“Different” vs “Better”)

+

Brand You(“Distinct” or “Extinct”)

PSF!


Service

Weymouth MA

Value-added

$415/SqFt$798/SqFt

Experience

Experience: “Rebel Lifestyle!”

“What we sell is the ability for a 43-year-old accountant to dress in

black leather, ride through small towns and have people be

afraid of him.” —Harley exec, quoted in Results-Based

Leadership

Q: “Why did you buy Jordan’s Furniture?”

A: “Jordan’s is spectacular. It’s all

showmanship.Source: Warren Buffet interview/Boston Sunday Globe

One company’s answer:

CXO**Chief eXperience Officer

“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

Kevin Roberts:

Lovemarks!

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

No Limits

“You can’t behave in a calm, rational manner. You’ve got to be out there on the lunatic fringe.”

— Jack Welch

Leadership23

Tom Peters/Novosibirsk/14April2006

Leadership23

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

13. Legacy.14. Best story wins.15. On the edge. (“Wildest fantasy of a dreamy 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.”)





Source: Fortune on Branson

Leadership23L**Long Version

Leadership23

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.”)



better place’?”

Les Wexner: From sweaters to …

people!

“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


‘management’ consists of making it difficult for people to get things done.” – Peter

Drucker






greatness.”




acceptance

“We are a ‘life

Success Company”’

Dave Liniger, RE/MAX


Punish mediocre



called ‘doing things.’ ” — Herb Kelleher

“You only find oil if you drill wells.” —John Masters

“A man without a smiling face must

not open a shop.” —Chinese Proverb*


“Never apologize for showing

feeling. When you so, you apologize

for the truth.” —Disraeli

Stay Hungry.

Stay Foolish.

Steve Jobs

People Power!

People Power: “Brand You”

Days

People Power: The

Talent50

People Power: “Brand You”

Days

“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

“You are the storyteller of your own life, and you can create your own legend or

not.” —Isabel Allende

“Imagine you are sitting next to a stranger at dinner

and you have to describe

your job in one sentence that they can understand. If you fail this

test, you are either a nuclear physicist or your job

shouldn’t exist.”

—Lucy Kellaway/personal relevance test/FT/0206.06

Personal “Brand Equity” Evaluation

– I am known for [2 to 3 things]; next year at this time I’ll also be known for [1 more thing].

– My current Project is challenging me …– New things I’ve learned in the last 90 days include

…– My public “recognition program”

consists of …– Additions to my Rolodex in the last 90 days

include …

– My resume is discernibly different from last year’s at this time …

R.D.A.

Rate: 15%?, 25%?

Therefore: Formal “Investment

Strategy”/R.I.P.**Renewal Investment Plan

“Knowledge becomes obsolete incredibly fast.

The continuing professional education of

adults is the No. 1 industry in the next 30

years … mostly on line.” —Peter Drucker

Distinct … or

… Extinct

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!)

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

Getting to WOW Through Mastery of …

The Sales25.

Getting Things Done: The

Power &

Implementation34.

Presentation Excellence: The

PresX56

The Interviewing Excellence: The IntX31

People Power: The

Talent50

1. People First!

“The Creative Age

is a wide-open

game.” —Richard Florida,

The Rise of the Creative Class

Whoops: Jack didn’t have a

vision!*

*GE = “Talent Machine” (Ed Michaels)

“When land was the scarce resource, nations

battled

over it. The same is happening now for talented people.”

Stan Davis & Christopher Meyer, futureWEALTH

2. Soft Is Hard.

Message: Leading “Talent” is all about

Love: Passion, Enthusiasms, Appetite for Life, Engagement, Commitment, Great Causes & Determination to Make a Damn Difference, Shared Adventures,

Bizarre Failures, Growth, Insatiable Appetite for Change.

3. FUNDAMENTAL PREMISE: We Are in an Age

of Talent/Creativity/ Intellectual-capital Added.

“Human creativity

is the ultimate economic

resource.” —Richard Florida,

The Rise of the Creative Class

Agriculture Age (farmers)

Industrial Age (factory workers)

Information Age (knowledge workers)

Conceptual Age (creators and empathizers)

Source: Dan Pink, A Whole New Mind

4. Talent “Excellence” in Every Part of

Every Organization.

Wegman’s:

#1/100

“Best Companies to

Work for”/2005

5. P.O.T./ Pursuit Of Talent =

OBSESSION.

“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

Les Wexner: From sweaters to … people!

6. Talent Masters Understand

Talent’s Intangibles.

Q: “If it were your $50K [life’s savings] and my $50K, what sort of Waiters would we look for?”A:

“Enthusiasts!”

Visibly energetic /Passionate/Enthusiastic … about everything.Engaging/Inspires others. (Inspires the interviewer!)

Loves messes & pressure. Impatient/ Action fanatic.

A finisher.Exhibits: Fat “WOW Project” Portfolio. (Loves to talk about her work.)

Smart.Curious/ Eclectic interests/ A little (or more) weird.Well-developed sense of humor/ Fun to be around.

******

No. 1 re bosses: Exceptional talent selection & development record. (Former co-workers: “Did you visibly grow while working with X?” /“How has the department/team grown

on a ‘world-class’ scale during X’s tenure?”)

7. HR Is “Cool.”

Chicago:HRMAC



or …

Are you …

“Rock Stars of the Age of Talent”?

“HR doesn’t tend to hire a lot of

independent thinkers or people who stand

up as moral compasses.” —Garold Markle,

Shell Offshore HR Exec (FC/08.05)

8. HR Sits at The Head

Table.

DD$21M

9. Re-name “HR.”

Talent Departm

ent

People Department

Center for Talent Excellence

Seriously Cool People Who Recruit & Develop

Seriously Cool People

Etc.

10. There Is an “HR Strategy”/

“HR Vision”

“Omnicom very simply is about talent.

It’s about the acquisition of talent,

providing the atmosphere so talent

is attracted to it.” —John Wren

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

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 challenges, rapid professional

growth, wholesale respect, deep satisfaction, fun,

stunning opportunities, exceptional rewards, amazing peer group, full membership in

Club Adventure, maximized future employability

11. Acquire for Talent!

Omnicom's acquisitions: “not for

size per se”; “buying talent;” “deepen a

relationship with a client.”

Source: Advertising Age

12. There Is a FORMAL

Recruitment Strategy.

“Busy Executives Fail To Give Recruiting

Attention It Deserves”

—Headline, WSJ, 1121.05

Cirque du

Soleil!

Cirque du Soleil: Talent (12 full-time scouts,

database of 20,000). R&D (40%

of profits; 2X avg corp). Controls (shows are profit centers;

partners like Disney offset costs; $100M on $500M). Scarcity builds buzz/brand (1 new show per year. “People tell me

we’re leaving money on the table by not duplicating our shows. They’re right.” —Daniel Lamarre, president).

Source: “The Phantasmagoria Factory”/Business 2.0/1-2.2004

13. There Is a FORMAL Leadership Development

Strategy.

DD: 0 to 60mph in a flash (months)

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

14. There is a “World Class”

Leadership Development

CENTER.

Crotonville!

15. There Is a FORMAL

STRATEGIC HR Review Process.

“In most companies, the Talent Review Process is a farce. At GE, Jack Welch and his two top HR people visit

each division for a day. They review the top 20 to 50 people by name. They talk about Talent Pool

strengthening issues. The Talent Review Process is a

contact sport at GE; it has the intensity and the

importance of the budget process at most

companies.” —Ed Michaels

16. “People”/ Talent” Reviews Are the FIRST

Reviews.

17. HR Strategy = BUSINESS Strategy.

Wegman’s: #1/100 Best Companies to Work for

84%: Grocery stores “are all alike”46%: additional spend if customers have an “emotional connection” to

a grocery store rather than “are satisfied” (Gallup)

“Going to Wegman’s is not just shopping, it’s an event.” —Christopher Hoyt, grocery consultant

“You cannot separate their strategy as a retailer from their

strategy as an employer.” —Darrell Rigby, Bain & Co.

Cirque du

Soleil!

18. Make it a “Cause Worth

Signing Up For.”

19. Unleash “Their” Full Potential!

“Firms will not ‘manage the careers’

of their employees. They will provide opportunities to enable the employee to

develop identity and adaptability and thus be in charge of his or her

own career.” —Tim Hall et al., “The New Protean

Career Contract”

RE/MAX: A “Life Success

Company”Source: Everybody Wins, Phil Harkins & Keith Hollihan

“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

20. Set Sky High

Standards.

Did We Say “Talent Matters”?

“The top software developers are more productive than average software

developers not by a factor of 10X or 100X,

or even 1,000X, but

10,000X.”

—Nathan Myhrvold, former Chief Scientist, Microsoft

21. Enlist Everyone in Challenge Century21.

Distinct …

or … Extinct

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!)

22. Pursue the Best!

“best person in

the world” —

Arthur Blank

From “1, 2 or you’re out” [JW] to …

“Best Talent in each industry segment to

build best proprietary intangibles” [EM]

Source: Ed Michaels, War for Talent

23. Up or Out.

“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

24. Ensure that the Review

Process Has INTEGRITY.

25 = 100*

* “But what do I do that’s more important than developing people? I don’t do the damn work. They do.”—GS

25. Pay Up!

“Top performing companies are two to four times more likely

than the rest to pay what it takes to

prevent losing top performers.” —Ed Michaels,

War for Talent

Costco

*$17/hour (42% above Sam’s); very good health

plan; low t/o, low shrinkage*Low margins (“When I started, Sears, Roebuck was th Costco of the country, but they allowed

someone to come in under them”—Jim Sinegal)

Source: “How Costco Became the Anti-Wal*Mart/NYT/07.17.05

26. Training I: Train! Train!

Train!

3 Weeks in May

“Training” & Prep: 187“Work”: 41

(“Other”: 17)

1%

vs.

367%

Divas do it. Violinists do it. Sprinters do it. Golfers do it.

Pilots do it. Soldiers do it. Surgeons do it. Cops do it.

Astronauts do it. Why don’t businesspeople do it?

“Knowledge becomes obsolete incredibly fast.

The continuing professional education of adults is the No. 1

industry in the next 30 years … mostly on line.”

Peter Drucker, Business 2.0

27. Training II: 100% “Business

People.”

28. Training III: 100%

LEADERS.

“I start with the premise that the

function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers.” —Ralph Nader

29. Training IV: Boss as Trainer-

in-Chief.

“Workout” = 24 DPY in the Classroom

30. Training V: The REAL

Bedrock of the “Talent Thing.”

“My wife and I went to a [kindergarten] parent-teacher conference and were informed that our budding refrigerator

artist, Christopher, would be receiving a grade of Unsatisfactory in art. We were shocked. How could any child

—let alone our child—receive a poor grade in art at such a

young age? His teacher informed us that he had refused to color within the lines, which was a state requirement for demonstrating ‘grade-

level motor skills.’ ” —Jordan

Ayan, AHA!

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

15 “Leading” Biz Schools

Design/Core: 0Design/Elective: 1

Creativity/Core: 0Creativity/Elective: 4

Innovation/Core: 0Innovation/Elective: 6

Source: DMI/Summer 2002/Research by Thomas Lockwood

31. Wide-open Communication: NO BARRIERS.

“The organizations we created have become tyrants. They have

taken control, holding us fettered, creating barriers that

hinder rather than help our businesses. The lines that we

drew on our neat organizational diagrams

have turned into walls that no one can scale or

penetrate or even peer over.” —Frank Lekanne Deprez & René Tissen, Zero Space: Moving

Beyond Organizational Limits

32. Respect!

“What creates trust, in the end,

is the leader’s manifest respect

for the followers.” — Jim O’Toole,

Leading Change

“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

“Empowerment” =

TrustSource: Barry Gibbons

33. Embrace the Whole Individual.

34. Build Places of “Grace.”

Rodale’s on “Grace” …

elegance … charm … loveliness … poetry

in motion … kindliness ...

benevolence … benefaction … compassion …

beauty

35. MBWA*: Visible

Leadership!*Managing By Wandering Around

“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

36. Thank You!

“The deepest human

need is the need to be

appreciated.” —William James

37. Promote for “people skills.” (THE REST IS

DETAILS.)

“When assessing candidates, the first thing I looked for was energy

and enthusiasm for execution. Does she talk about the thrill of getting things done, the

obstacles overcome, the role her people played —or does she keep wandering back to strategy or philosophy?” —Larry Bossidy, Honeywell/AlliedSignal, in

Execution

38. Honor Youth.

“Why focus on these late teens and twenty-

somethings? Because they are the first young who are both in a

position to change the world, and are actually doing so. … For the first

time in history, children are more comfortable, knowledgeable and literate than their parents about an innovation central to society. … The

Internet has triggered the first industrial revolution in history to be led by the young.”

The Economist

39. Provide Early Leadership

Assignments.

The

WOW!

Project

40. Create a FORMAL System of Mentoring.

W. L. GoreQuad/Graphics

41. Diversity!

“To be a leader in consumer

products, it’s critical to have

leaders who represent the population we

serve.” —Steve Reinemund/PepsiCo

“We want our associate population to mirror our customer population at

every level, from the executive suite all the

way to the retail floor.” —Larry Johnston, CEO, Albertsons

42. WOMEN RULE.

“AS LEADERS, WOMEN RULE: New

Studies find that female managers outshine their

male counterparts in almost every measure”


“On average, women and men possess a number of different innate skills. And current trends suggest that many sectors of the twenty-

first-century economic community are going to need the

natural talents of women.”Helen Fisher, The First Sex: The Natural Talents of Women

and How They Are Changing the World

Women’s Strengths Match New Economy Imperatives: Link [rather than rank] workers;

favor interactive-collaborative leadership style [empowerment beats top-down decision making]; sustain fruitful collaborations;

comfortable with sharing information; see redistribution of power as victory, not

surrender; favor multi-dimensional feedback; value technical & interpersonal skills,

individual & group contributions equally; readily accept ambiguity; honor intuition as well as pure “rationality”; inherently flexible;

appreciate cultural diversity. —Judy B. Rosener, America’s Competitive Secret

“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

Hazel Blears, England’s first female police minister (per The Times, 7 March): “Blears believes the new

[neighborhood policing, “broken windows”] approach requires skills other than the police’s traditional ‘control

and command’ style, and she clearly thinks women officers are right for the task. ‘Many of the women in

the service are very good at getting other people to join the police in fighting crime. The police need new skills around influence. When

we talk about neighborhood policing and antisocial behavior you have to be able to draw

in other people to help you resolve these problems.’ Blears leaves an impression in everything she says that her belief is that women officers may be

much better at this than their male colleagues, but, of course, she is much too politic to say so.”

U.S. G.B. E.U. Ja.

M.Mgt. 41% 29% 18% 6%

T.Mgt. 4% 3% 2% <1%

Peak Partic. Age 45 22 27 19

% Coll. Stud. 52% 50% 48% 26%

Source: Judy Rosener, America’s Competitive Secret

????????

8/500

The Core Argument

1. We are in a War for Talent.2. The war will intensify.3. Women are under-represented in our leadership ranks.4. Women and men are different.5. Women’s strengths match the New Economy’s leadership needs—to a striking degree.6. Women are also the principal purchasers of goods and services—retail and commercial.7. Ergo, women are a large part of “the answer” to the War for Talent issue/opportunity.

43. Hire (& Protect!) Weird!

The Cracked Ones Let in the Light

“Our business needs a massive transfusion of

talent, and talent, I believe, is most likely to be found

among non-conformists,

dissenters and rebels.” —David Ogilvy

“Are there enough weird

people in the lab these days?” —V.

Chmn., pharmaceutical house, to a lab director

Saviors-in-Waiting

Disgruntled CustomersOff-the-Scope Competitors

Rogue EmployeesFringe Suppliers

Wayne Burkan, Wide Angle Vision: Beat the Competition by Focusing on Fringe Competitors, Lost Customers, and Rogue Employees

Why Do I love Freaks?

(1) Because when Anything Interesting happens … it was a freak who did it. (Period.) (2) Freaks are fun. (Freaks are also a pain.) (Freaks are never boring.) (3) We need freaks. Especially in freaky times. (Hint: These are freaky times, for you & me & the CIA & the Army & Avon.) (4) A critical mass of freaks-in-our-midst automatically make us-who-are-not-so-freaky at least somewhat more freaky. (Which is a Good Thing in freaky times—see immediately above.) (5) Freaks are the only (ONLY) ones who succeed—as in, make it into the history books. (6) Freaks keep us from falling into ruts. (If we listen to them.) (We seldom listen to them.) (Which is why most of us—and our organizations—are in ruts. Make that chasms.)

44. We Are All Unique.

Beware Standardized Evals: One size NEVER fits all. One size fits

one. Period.

53 Players = 53 Projects = 53 different

success measures.

45. Capitalize on Strengths.

“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

46. Bosses “Win People

Over.”

PJ: “Coaching is winning

players over.”

47. GOAL: Voyages of

Mutual Discovery.

Quests!






greatness.”

Leadership’s Mt Everest!

“free to do his or her absolute best”

…

“allow its members to

discover their greatness.”

48. Foster Independence.

“You must realize that how you invest your human capital matters as much as how you invest your

financial capital. Its rate of return determines your

future options. Take a job for what it teaches you, not for what it pays. Instead of a potential employer

asking, ‘Where do you see yourself in 5 years?’ you’ll ask,

‘If I invest my mental assets with you for 5 years, how much will

they appreciate? How much will my portfolio of career options

grow?’ ”Source: Stan Davis & Christopher Meyer, futureWEALTH

49. Enthusiasm!

“It’s simple, really, Tom. Hire for s,

and, above all, promote for s.”

—Starbucks follower/WS analyst

50. Talent = Brand.

The Top 5 “Revelations”

Better talent wins.

Talent management is my job as leader.

Talented leaders are looking for the moon and stars.

Over-deliver on people’s dreams – they are volunteers.

Pump talent in at all levels, from all conceivable sources, all the time.

Source: Ed Michaels et al., The War for Talent

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.”

Brand =

Talent.

“I have always believed that the

purpose of the corporation is to be a

blessing to the employees.” —Boyd Clarke

Message: Leading “Talent” is all about

Love: Passion, Enthusiasms, Appetite for

Life, Engagement, Commitment, Great Causes & Determination to Make a Damn Difference, Shared

Adventures, Bizarre Failures, Growth, Insatiable Appetite

for Change.

Re-imagine Leadership.2006:

The Passion Imperative.

Lead It … Loud!

“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/“Strategy or Revolution”/Harvard Business Review

Create a Cause!

G.H.: “Create a ‘cause,’ not a ‘business.’

”

Think

Legacy!

“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

CEO Assignment2002 (Bermuda):

“Please leap forward to 2007, 2012, or 2022, and write a business history of

Bermuda. What will have been said about your company

during your tenure?”



better place’?”

Find ’em!

“The” Secret: Jack didn’t have a

“vision”!

Les Wexner: From sweaters to …

people!

Respect ’em!

Amen!

“What creates trust, in the end, is the leader’s manifest

respect for the followers.”

— Jim O’Toole, Leading Change

“Don’t belittle!

” —OD Consultant

“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

“We behaved as if we were guests in their

house. We treated them not as a defeated people, but as allies. Our success became their success.”

—“How One Soldier Brought Democracy to Iraq: The Mayor of Ar Rutbah” (MAJ James Gavrilis/USA Special Forces)

Make It a Grand

Adventure!


‘management’ consists of making it difficult for people to get things done.” – Peter

Drucker

Quests!






greatness.”

Leadership’s Mt Everest

“free to do his or her absolute best” …

“allow its members to discover their

greatness.”




acceptance

“We are a ‘life

Success Company”’

founder, RE/MAX

“ If your actions inspire others to

dream more, learn more, do more and

become more, you are a leader." —John Quincy Adams

“Never doubt that a small group of

committed people can change the

world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has.” —Margaret Mead

“In the end, management doesn’t

change culture. Management invites the workforce itself

to change the culture.”

—Lou Gerstner

Trumpet an Exhilarating

Story!

“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

Language Power!

“… the language we speak determines

how we react to the world around us …” —

Diane Ackerman/ An Alchemy of Mind

Live Your

Story!

MBWA**HS/25+

“I’m always stopping by our

stores— at least 25

a week. I’m also in other places: Home Depot,

Whole Foods, Crate & Barrel. … I try to be

a sponge to pick up as much as I can. …” —Howard Schultz

Source: Fortune, “Secrets of Greatness,” 0320.2006

“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

“It is necessary for the President to be the

nation’s …

No. 1 actor.”FDR

“You must

be the

change you wish to see in the

world.”Gandhi

“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

“Works 100% of the time!” (Heads for the

front-line folks, asks them for input—and is comfortable with

them*)

*Didn’t hurt that he spoke Spanish

Source: CEO, security services company, Spain

Try It!

Sam’s Secret #1!

“Fail faster. Succeed sooner.”

David Kelley/IDEO


Punish mediocre


Insist on

Speed!

“We don’t sell

insurance anymore.

We sell speed.”

Peter Lewis, Progressive

“Strategy meetings held once or twice a year” to

“Strategy meetings needed several times

a week”

Source: New York Times on Meg Whitman/eBay

“If things seem under control, you’re just not

going fast enough.” —Mario Andretti

Demand Action!


called ‘doing

things.’” — Herb

Kelleher

“The most successful people

are those who are good at

plan B.” —James Yorke, mathematician,

on chaos theory in The New Scientist

The Kotler Doctrine:

1965-1980: R.A.F.(Ready.Aim.Fire.)

1980-1995: R.F.A.(Ready.Fire!Aim.)

1995-????: F.F.F.(Fire!Fire!Fire!)

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

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

1 of 2,400

6:15A.M.

Cut the Crap!

“robust dialogue”

—Larry Bossidy & Ram Charan/ Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done

Eat Change!

“We eat change for breakfast!

—Harry Quadracci, QuadGraphics

Put Women

in Charge!

“AS LEADERS, WOMEN

RULE: New Studies find that

female managers outshine their male counterparts in almost every measure”


Women’s Strengths Match New Economy Imperatives: Link [rather than rank]

workers; favor interactive-collaborative leadership style [empowerment beats top-down decision

making]; sustain fruitful collaborations; comfortable with sharing information; see redistribution of power

as victory, not surrender; favor multi-dimensional feedback; value technical & interpersonal skills, individual & group contributions equally; readily

accept ambiguity; honor intuition as well as pure “rationality”; inherently flexible; appreciate

cultural diversity. —Judy B. Rosener, America’s Competitive Secret: Women Managers

Dispense Enthusiasm!

BZ: “I am a … Dispenser of Enthusiasm!”

“Most important,

he upped the energy level at Motorola.” —Fortune on Ed Zander/08.05

“A man without a smiling face must

not open a shop.” —Chinese Proverb*


James Woolsey, former CIA director: “If you’re enthusiastic

about the things you’re working on, people will

come ask you to do interesting things.”

“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

Excellence. Always.

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!

Cirque du Soleil!



*Excellence Index/Basket of 32 publicly traded stocks

Excellence =

1*Tom Watson sr/1 minute

Leader Job No.1

Paint Portraits of

Excellence!

Engaged.

What is In Search of

Excellence all about?

What is In Search of Excellence all about:

People. Emotion.

Engagement. Empowerment.

Caring.

“Tell me, what is it you plan

to do with your one wild and precious

life?” —Mary Oliver

RadiatePassion!

Charles Handy on the “Alchemists”:

“Passion was what drove

these people, passion for

their product, passion for 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.”

“Never apologize for showing

feeling. When you so, you apologize

for the truth.” —Disraeli

Stay Hungry.

Stay Foolish.

Steve Jobs

“The eloquent man is he who is no

beautiful speaker, but who is inwardly

and desperately drunk with a certain

belief.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson

Keep It Simple!

JW’s “4Es”

EnergyEnthusiasm

Edge*Execution

*Speed, RFA, Competitive

Avoid … Moderation!





Michelangelo

Free the Lunatic Within!

“You can’t behave in a calm, rational manner. You’ve got to be out there on

the lunatic fringe.” — Jack Welch

TP/Chile: “I don’t know

if it’s ‘possible.’ I do know it’s ‘necessary.’”

No Less Than Excellence.

Ever.

Gaspworthy!

Remember Lord

Nelson!

Nelson’s secret:

“[Other] admirals more frightened of losing than

anxious to win”

“the wildest chimera of a moonstruck

mind” —The Federalist on TJ’s Louisiana

Purchase

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. Wegman’s.” (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.

Tom’s

60TIBs**TIB = This I Believe

EXCELLENCE.

ALWAYS.

1. TECHNICOLOR RULES! (Passion Moves

Mountains!)

2. Audacity Matters!

3. Revolution Now!

4. Question Authority! (& Hire

Disrespectful People.)

5. Disorganization Wins! (LOVE THE

MESS!)

6. Think 3M: Markets Matter Most. ONLY EXTREME

COMPETITION STAVES OFF STALENESS. (You can take the

boy out of Silicon Valley, but you can’t take Silicon Valley

out of the boy!)

7. Three Hearty Cheers for Weirdos. (Bill Gates,

Steve Jobs, Larry Ellison, Scott McNealy, Craig

Venter et al.)

8. Message 2006: Technology Change (Info-sciences, Biosciences) Is in Its Infancy! (WE AIN’T

SEE NOTHIN’ YET!)

9. Everything Is Up For Grabs! Volatility Is Thy Name! (Forever & Ever. Amen.) RE-INVENT …

OR DIE!

10. Big Stinks. (Mostly.) (VERY

Mostly.)

11. “Permanence” Is a Snare & a Delusion.

(Forget “Built to Last.” It’s Yesterday’s

Idea.) (Try “Built for Impact.”)

12. “Kaizen” (Continuous

Improvement) Is VDS/ Very … Dangerous

… Stuff.

13. DESTRUCTION RULES!

14. Forget It! (“Learning” = Easy. “Forgetting” = Nigh

on Impossible.)

15. Innovation Is Easy: Hang Out with Freaks.

(Employees, Board Members, Customers, Suppliers, Alliance

Partners, Consultants.)

16. Boring Begets Boring. (Cool Begets Cool.)

17. Think “Portfolio.” (We’re All V.C.s.)

18. Perception Is All There Is. (“Insiders” … ALWAYS … overestimate the Radicalism

of What They’re Up To.)

19. Action … ALWAYS … Takes Precedence. Think:

R.F!A./Ready. Fire! Aim. (REWARD SUCCESS. REWARD

FAILURE. PUNISH … INACTION.)

20. He Who Makes & Tests the Quickest & Coolest Prototypes

Reigns!

21. Haste Makes Waste.

(SO GO WASTE!)

22. Screwups are … the … Mark of Excellence. (“Do It

Right the First Time” Is a Very Stupi Idea.)

23. Play Hard! Play Now! (Cherish Play!)

24. TALENT TIME! (He/She Who Has the Best “Roster”

Rules!)

25. Re-do Education. Totally. (FOSTER CREATIVITY … NOT

UNIFORMITY.) (THE NOISIEST CLASSROOM

WINS.)

26. Diversity’s Hour Is Now!

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 XXX Times.)

38. THINK MIKE! (Michelangelo: “The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too

low and we reach it.”)

39. There Is Only … ONE BIG ISSUE: (Crappy) Cross-

functional Communication.

40. Stop Doing Dumb Stuff. (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. DeGaulle.

45. Pursue Adventure … in

Every Task.

46. EXCELLENCE … Is a State of Mind.

(Excellence Takes a Minute.) (No Bull.)

47. SHOW UP! (If You Care, You’re

There.)

48. YOUR CALENDAR KNOWS ALL.

(You = Calendar.) (Mind Your “TO DON’T” List.)

49. LIFE IS SALES. (The Rest Is

Details.)

50. Boss Mantra #1: “I DON’T KNOW.” (“I

Don’t Know” = Permission to

Explore.)

51. Management Role 1: GET OUT OF THE WAY.

(Clear the Way.) (“Manager” = Hurdle Removal

Professional.)

52. Epitaph from Hell: “He Woulda Done Some

Truly Cool Stuff … But His Boss Wouldn’t

Let Him.”

53. Change Takes However Long You

Think It Takes. (Eschew …

“Incrementalism.”)

54. Respect! (Rule 1: Don’t Belittle!)

55. “Thank You” Trumps All!

56. Integrity Matters! Integrity = Credibility.

(Dennis K. Is a Jerk.)

57. SOFT IS HARD. HARD IS SOFT. (Numbers Are

Soft. People Are Not.)

58. Try Sunny! (Sunny Begets

Sunny. Gloomy Begets

Gloomy.)

59. DISPENSE

ENTHUSIASM!

60. FUN …Is Not a 4-Letter Word. So, too … JOY. (And GRACE.)

The End.

EXCELLENCE.

ALWAYS.

excellence. always. tom peters/killercombo/22april2006

Documents

energy slide

sleep of slide

funky business slide

charles handy slide

search of excellence

excellence index basket

niche business

business acumenmoney