Long Tom Peters’ EXCELLENCE. ALWAYS. XAlways Master/18June 2006.

Long

Tom Peters’

EXCELLENCE. ALWAYS.

XAlways Master/18June 2006

Slides* at …

tompeters.com

*also “long”

2255

Google/U.N. Resolution 347(“inside his information loop”)

The Irreducible209+

A frustrated participant at a seminar for investment bankers in Mauritius listened impatiently to my explanation of differences of opinion among me, Mike Porter,

Gary Hamel, Jim Collins, etc. Finally, he’d had enough. “What, if anything,” he asked,

“do you believe ‘for sure’?” I mumbled something, but his query started rumbling

around in my mind. Three days later, wandering on a Sunday in London, the idea of “the irreducibles” occurred to

me—and I started jotting down notes on stuff I do indeed believe “for sure.” Before

I knew it, a few days later, the list had grown to 209 items. Hence “The Irreducible209” that follows.

Tom Peters

EXCELLENCE. THE

BASICS.

This is not about …

“customer centrism”“integrated marketing”

etcetcetc

It is about …

CRO*

*Chief Revenue Officer

It is about …

sellin’ a whole lotta stuff and having customers go bananas

with love to the point that they tell every damn friend they have and then start buttonholing strangers on trains and planes

and busses.

Gaspworthy!

Manhole Cover

Madness and More ….

Chicagoland’s

Mystery Disappearances …

THREE BILLION NEW CAPITALISTS

—Clyde Prestowitz

43,000

“Deutsche Bank Moves Half of Its Back-office Jobs to India”/

headline/FT/0327; 500 of 900 Research;

JPMorgan Chase—30% back-office by 12.31.07

“One Singaporean worker costs as much as …

3 … in Malaysia

8 … in Thailand 13 … in China 18 … in India.”

Source: The Straits Times/2003

“Thaksinomics” (after Thaksin Shinawatra, PM)/

“Bangkok Fashion City”:

“managed asset

reflation” (add to

brand value of Thai textiles by demonstrating flair and design excellence)

Source: The Straits Times/2004

Wal*Mart + Home Depot + Walt Disney +

Intel + Microsoft + Pfizer = Flat

Source: “Blue Chip Blues”, Cover, BW, 0417.06

New Economy?!

Genentech09, Amgen09

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

Good Morning and Good

News.

New Economy?!

Sergey + Larry >

Harvard/370

“Forget China, India and the

Internet: Economic Growth Is Driven

by Women.” —Headline, Economist,

April 15, 2006, Leader, page 14

Goodnight and Good

Luck.

Unparalled in “Our” Professional Lifetime*

TerrorismMiddle East instability

H5N1China screwups

Globalization backlashEnergy dependence

Environmental threatsLife sciences

“Cold War” with ChinaFraying American fabric

U.S. impotence in the face of Asia’s rise

*Current leaders were not Cold War leaders

“This is a dangerous world and it is going to become more

dangerous.”

“We may not be interested in chaos

but chaos is interested in us.”

Source: Robert Cooper, The Breaking of Nations: Order and Chaos in the Twenty-first Century

EXCELLENCE. THE

GENERAL’S STORY. (AND

THE ADMIRAL’S)

“If you don’t like change,

you’re going to like irrelevance even less.” —General Eric

Shinseki, Chief of Staff. U. S. Army

Nelson’s secret:

“[Other] admirals more frightened of losing than

anxious to win”

“The most successful

people are those who

are good at plan B.”

—James Yorke, mathematician, on chaos theory in The New Scientist

EXCELLENCE. THE

MANDATE.

“It is not the strongest of the

species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most

responsive to change.” —Charles Darwin

“We are in a brawl with

no rules.” —Paul Allaire

Sam’s Secret

#1!

“While many people big oil finds with big companies, over the years

about 80 percent of the oil found in the United States has been

brought in by wildcatters such as Mr Findley, says Larry Nation,

spokesman for the American Association of Petroleum

Geologists.” —WSJ, “Wildcat Producer Sparks Oil

Boom in Montana,” 0405.2006

“We made mistakes, of course. Most of them were omissions we didn’t think of when we

initially wrote the software. We fixed them by doing it over and over, again and again. We

do the same today. While our competitors are still sucking their thumbs trying to make the design perfect, we’re already on prototype

version No. 5. By the time our rivals are ready with wires and screws, we are on version

No. 10. It gets back to planning versus acting: We act from day one; others plan how to plan—

for months.” —Bloomberg by Bloomberg

"I think it is very important for you to do two things: act on your temporary conviction as if it was a

real conviction; and when you realize that you are

wrong, correct course very quickly.” —Andy Grove

“This is so simple it sounds stupid, but it is amazing how few oil people really

understand that you only find oil if you drill wells. You may

think you’re finding it when you’re drawing maps and

studying logs, but you have to drill.”

Source: The Hunters, by John Masters, Canadian O & G wildcatter

S.A.V.

Screw Around Vigorously

“Reward excellent failures.

Punish mediocre

successes.”Phil Daniels, Sydney exec

EXCELLENCE. STARTERS.

Radio City Music HallSeptember 2005

Franchise Lost!

TP: “How many of you [600] really

crave a new Chevy?”

NYC/IIR/061205

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

People.Product.

Execution.Enthusiasm.Relentless.Re-invent.Excellence.

People.Product.

Execution.Enthusiasm.

Relentless.Re-invent.Excellence.

EXCELLENCE. THE WORD.

Synonyms

PurityTranscendence

VirtueEleganceMajesty

Antonyms

Mediocrity

EXCELLENCE.

GAMECHANGER.

Excellence1982: The Bedrock “Eight Basics”

1. A Bias for Action2. Close to the Customer3. Autonomy and Entrepreneurship4. Productivity Through People5. Hands On, Value-Driven6. Stick to the Knitting7. Simple Form, Lean Staff8. Simultaneous Loose-Tight Properties”

ExIn*: 1982-2002/Forbes.com

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

*Forbes/Excellence Index /Basket of 32 publicly traded stocks

X06/Excellence2006: The Bedrock Baker’s Dozen

1. A Bias For Action/Culture of Execution = Job One! 2. DECENTRALIZATION! ACCOUNTABILITY! 3. Fail. Forward. Fast.4. Velocity! Tempo! “Metabolic Management” Matters! 5. INNOVATE … or Die.6. A Damn Good Product. A Damn Cool Product.7. Ride the Value Added Curve to the Sky: Insure “Gamechanging Solutions”; Provide “Spellbinding Experiences”; Become a “Dream Merchant”; Strive to Be a “Lovemark;” Seek “Tattoo Brand” status.8. Relentlessly Pursue the “Big Two” Markets: Women, Boomers & Geezers. 9. Best Talent Wins! Women Rule! HR at the Head Table!

10. Educate for Creativity, Entrepreneurship & “Brand You” Independence.11. Demanded: Radical Technology Strategies! 12. Passion! Enthusiasm! Energy! Excitement! Relentlessness! 13. No Less Than EXCELLENCE. Ever.

X06/Excellence2006: The Bedrock Baker’s Dozen

1. A Bias For Action/A “Culture of Execution” = Job One! (Must be a Systematic Discipline.)

2. DECENTRALIZATION! ACCOUNTABILITY! (Tom’s “Top Two,” 1965-2005.)

3. Fail. Forward. Fast. (“Reward Excellent Failures, Punish Mediocre Successes.” “Most tries wins.”)

4. Velocity! Tempo! “Metabolic Management” Matters! (Hustle! Adapt! Win the “O.O.D.A. Loop” War—Confuse Your Competitors!)

5. INNOVATE … or Die. (“Game-changers” or Bust! Lead the Customer! Shout “NO” to Imitation!)

6. A Damn Good Product. A Damn Cool Product. (Pursue “Dramatic Difference.”

Design Rules!)

7. Ride the Value Added Curve to the Sky: Insure “Gamechanging Solutions”; Provide “Spellbinding Experiences”; Become a “Dream Merchant”; Strive to Be a “Lovemark;” Seek “Tattoo Brand” status.8. Relentlessly Pursue the “Big Two” Markets: Women, Boomers & Geezers. (WOMEN Buy Everything. BOOMERS & GEEZERS Have All the Money!)

9. Best Talent Wins! Women Rule! HR at the Head Table! (“Weird” Matters Most! A Workplace to Brag About! Educate for Creativity!)

10. Educate for Creativity, Entrepreneurship & “Brand You” Independence. (The schools have it all wrong!)

11. Demanded: Radical Technology Strategies! (“Incrementalism” Is for Wimps!)

12. Passion! Enthusiasm! Energy! Relentlessness! (Hard Is Soft! Soft Is Hard!) 13. No Less Than EXCELLENCE. Ever. (Excellence … the #1 Thing That Vaults Us Out of Bed in the Morning, and Matters in the Long run.)

Re-imagine! Speech: Story Line in 100 Words

or Less

Tom Peters/2006

Re-imagine! Speech: Story Line in 100 Words or Less

1. Wildly altered context (technology, China-India, global terrorism, etc)2. Only answer: adaptive skills and bold-breathtaking

innovation (top-line focus rather than cost-cutting focus)3. Race way, way up the value-added curve (implemented

“game-altering solutions” rather than “services,” “experiences” rather than “transactions,” and much more)

4. As part of value-added exercise, pursue Ripe & Enormous “new” markets—Women, Boomers & Geezers

5. Radical (!!!) use of IS-IT6. A “Roster” of Weird & Wondrous & Entrepreneurial

“Talent” engaged in “Wow Projects”7. “Metabolic Leadership” (Passionate-Radical Leaders

who instill a Discipline of Execution, a Quick Tempo-Adaptive Culture and

an appetite to “Eat Radical Change for Breakfast”)

(96 words by my count)

Everything You Need to Know about “Strategy”: Tom’s Baker’s Dozen Axioms

1. Do you have Awesome Talent … Everywhere? Do you push that Talent to pursue … Gaspworthy Quests?2. Is your Talent Pool loaded with Wonderfully Peculiar People who others would

call “problems”? And what about your Extended Community of customers, vendors et al?3. Is your Board of Directors as Cool as your product offerings … and does it have

50 percent (or at least one-third) Women Members?4. Long-term, it’s a “Top-line World”: Is creating a “culture” that cherishes above all things

Innovation and Entrepreneurship your primary aim? Remember: Innovation … not Imitation!5. Are the Ultimate Rewards heaped upon those who exhibit an Unswerving “Bias for Action,” to

quote the co-authors of In Search of Excellence? 6. Do you routinely use hot, Aspirational Words-terms like “Excellence” and B.H.A.G. (Big Hairy

Audacious Goal, per Jim Collins) and “Let’s make a dent in the Universe” (the Word according to Steve Jobs)? Is “Reward excellent failures, punish mediocre successes” your de facto motto?

7. Do you subscribe to Jerry Garcia’s dictum: “We do not merely want to be the best of the best, we want to be the only ones who do what we do”?

8. Do you elaborate on and enhance Jerry G’s dictum by adding, “We subscribe to ‘Best Sourcing’—and only want to associate with the ‘best of the best’.”

9. Do you Embrace the New Technologies with child-like enthusiasm and a revolutionary’s zeal?10. Do you “serve” and “satisfy” customers … or “go berserk” attempting to provide every customer

with an “awesome experience” that does nothing less than transform the way she or he sees the world?

11. Do you understand … to your very marrow … that the two biggest under-served markets are Women and Boomers-Geezers? And that to “take advantage” of these two Monster “Trends” (FACTS OF LIFE) requires fundamental re-alignment of the enterprise?

12. Are your leaders Accessible? Do they wear their Passion on their sleeves? Does Integrity ooze out of every pore of the enterprise? Is “We care” your implicit motto?

13. Do you understand Business

Mantra #1 of the ’00s: DON’T TRY TO COMPETE

WITH WAL*MART ON PRICE OR CHINA

ON COST?

This I Believe: Tom’s Super-TIB25

1. TECHNICOLOR Times.2. Passion! Enthusiasm! Energy!3. Action/R.F.A./O.O.D.A. Speed.4. Screw-ups. BIG SCREW-Ups!5. Mess! Improv!6. Revolution! Re-imagine!7. INNOVATE OR DIE! 8. Decentralize!9. Bulk is BULL! (Mergers don’t work. FOCUS Does!)10 “Different” > “Better”11. eALL/Power Tools for Power Strategies!12. Forgetting/Destruction.13. Hot Language Matters!14. WOW!/WOW Projects.15. VA Bedrock: The “PSF.” (Professional Service Firm.)16. Daring.17. Talent Time! Leaders “Do” People!18. Talent+/Diversity.19. Talent++/Women Rule!20. “Brand You” Universe.21. Design!22. Gasp-worthy Experiences/Lovemarks.23. New Market Demographics/Women/Boomers & Geezers/Green/Wellness.24. Grace.25. EXCELLENCE!

“My only goal is to have no goals. The goal, every time, is that film, that very moment.” —Bernardo Bertolucci

EXCELLENCE.

CAUSES.ADVERSARIES.

Causes/1966-2006

Implementation/Small Wins (Stanford GSB/PhD thesis; 1st on implementation per se)

EXCELLENCE (as a worthy business pursuit)

Management Style/Corporate CultureSoft “Ss”/7-S (Waterman-Peters complete “business model”; waaaaay beyond Strategy & Structure)

Structure > Strategy (“We shape our structures, then they shape us …”—Churchillian paraphrase)

Soft Change Levers (> structure; symbols, patterns & settings)

Close to the Customer (novel idea, circa 1982)

MBWA (Managing By Wandering Around—courtesy a much more intimate than today HP)

Productivity through People (novel idea, circa 1982)

Chaos/Crazy Times Call for Crazy OrganizationsMiddle-sized companies are cool Re-imagine!/Innovate or Die!Small-ish/Scale & Synergy limits-delusions/anti-Big Mergers

Causes/1966-2006

Women/Market opportunityWomen/Leaders (right for the times)

Design/Design-as-soulWow! (Hot language)

Weird!Passion!/Enthusiasm!/Exuberance! (as Leader Lever #1)

Brand You (or else)

PSF = Bedrock (add value or bust—every group must demonstrate economic viability)

PSF + Brand You + WOW Projects = New Biz LogicSales/+R > -C (increasing revenue more important than cutting cost)

HealthCare/Wellness-Safety-H5N1Brand = Talent (best roster wins)

New VA Ladder/Products-Services-SOLUTIONS-EXPERIENCES-DREAMKETING (Dream Marketing)-LOVEMARKDifferent > > BetterBoomers & Geezers/marketing to new “mega-segment”

Progress?Excellence1982: The Bedrock “Eight Basics”

1. A Bias for Action 2. Close to the Customer 3. Autonomy and Entrepreneurship 4. Productivity Through People 5. Hands On, Value-Driven 6. Stick to the Knitting 7. Simple Form, Lean Staff 8. Simultaneous Loose-Tight Properties”

Hardball: Are You Playing to Play or Playing to Win? by George Stalk & Rob Lachenauer/HBS Press

“The winners in business have always played hardball.” “Unleash massive and overwhelming force.” “Exploit

anomalies.” “Threaten your competitor’s profit sanctuaries.” “Entice your competitor into retreat.”

Approximately 640 Index entries: Customer/s

(service, retention, loyalty), 4. People (employees, motivation, morale,

worker/s), 0. Innovation (product development, research &

development, new products), 0.

M.I.A.*: Talk. (Present.) Listen. (Interview.) Sell. (Life = Sales.) Do. (Execution-

Implementation.) Talent. (Recruit-Develop-Retain.) Project Management. (Create. Solicit

support. Execution. Adoption-Client “Culture Change.”) Product. (“It.”) Innovation. (Design.

Creativity. “Buzz-building.” Politics.) Leadership. (USMA, etc.) E.Q. (Connect.) “Culture”

Change. (Lasting impact.) Diversity. (Cross-

cultural Effectiveness.) Career Creation. (Brand You life-lifestyle.) Wellness. (Life.)

*B.Schools (“M.I.A.” or at most “B.I.A.”—barely in action)

Progress?Excellence1982: The Bedrock “Eight Basics”

1. A Bias for Action 2. Close to the Customer 3. Autonomy and Entrepreneurship 4. Productivity Through People 5. Hands On, Value-Driven 6. Stick to the Knitting 7. Simple Form, Lean Staff 8. Simultaneous Loose-Tight Properties”

Noble Bill

“This is not to denigrate emphasis on

leadership, entrepreneurship, management and

global business” —WFS

Source: “Brave New World, Bold New B-School”/Tim Westerbeck/BizEd/08.04

Adversaries

B-schools (crappy at soft skills, implementation, leadership)

Strategy-is-allBy-the-numbers managementDis-passionate managementFocus groupsIntuition discountedLeading as an intellectual taskLeading without passionCool language in Hot timesDilbert (accepting cubicle slavery)

Bigness per se (severe scale limitations—even at Microsoft)

White guys! (not really, but enough already)

18-44 emphasis in marketing (geezers > youth for foreseeable future)

-Cost > +Revenue (cost cutting more important than organic revenue growth)

CI (continuous improvement in an age of discontinuous world)

LESS THAN THE NO-HOLDS-BARRED PURSUIT OF EXCELLENCE

My (Les’s) Dinner with Henri

JUSTWHATIZZITUMAKE?

My (Les’s) Dinner with Henri

JUST WHAT IS IT YOU MAKE?

Did one of ’em ever turn to the other and say: “Wow,

I wonder what unimaginable new

tools, otherwise not possible, will be

brought forth for my daughter Alice, age

17, because of this deal?”

Did one of ’em ever turn to the other and say: “Wow I

wonder what unimaginable new

tools, otherwise not possible, will be

quickly brought forth for our customers

because of this deal?”

EXCELLENCE.

ALWAYS.

“Why in the world did you go to Siberia?”

The Peters Principles: Enthusiasm.

Emotion. Excellence. Energy. Excitement. Service. Growth.

Creativity. Imagination. Vitality. Joy. Surprise. Independence. Spirit. Community. Limitless human potential. Diversity. Profit. Innovation. Design.

Quality. Entrepreneurialism. Wow.

Business* ** (*at its best): An emotional, vital, innovative, joyful,

creative, entrepreneurial endeavor that elicits

maximum concerted human potential in the

wholehearted service of others.***

**Excellence. Always.***Employees, Customers, Suppliers, Communities, Owners, Temporary partners

Business: The Ultimate Creative

Endeavor.

Business: The Ultimate Personal

Development-Growth

Experience.

Business: The Ultimate

Transcendent Service

Opportunity.

EXCELLENCE.

YOU & ME.

“In Tom’s world, it’s always better to try

a swan dive and deliver a colossal belly flop than to

step timidly off the board while holding

your nose.” —Fast Company

/October2003

“This is the true joy of Life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one … the being a

force of Nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of

ailments and grievances complaining

that the world will not devote itself

to making you happy.” —GB Shaw/Man and Superman

“Life is not a journey to the grave with the

intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body—but

rather a skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and

loudly proclaiming, ‘Wow, what

a ride!’ ” —anon.

Be-Do

EXCELLENCE.

INNOVATE. OR. DIE.

“A focus on cost-cutting and efficiency has helped many organizations weather the

downturn, but this approach will ultimately

render them obsolete. Only the constant pursuit of

innovation can ensure long-term

success.” —Daniel Muzyka, Dean, Sauder School of Business,

Univ of British Columbia (FT/09.17.04)

Pathetic!

“Forbes100” from 1917 to 1987: 39 members of the Class of ’17 were

alive in ’87; 18 in ’87 F100; 18 F100 “survivors” underperformed the

market by 20%; just 2 (2%), GE &

Kodak, outperformed the market 1917 to 1987.

S&P 500 from 1957 to 1997: 74 members of the Class of ’57 were alive in ’97; 12 (2.4%) of 500 outperformed the market from

1957 to 1997.

Source: Dick Foster & Sarah Kaplan, Creative Destruction: Why Companies That Are Built to Last Underperform the Market

“I am often asked by would-be entrepreneurs seeking escape from life within huge corporate structures, ‘How do I build a small firm for myself?’ The

answer seems obvious: Buy a very large one and just wait.”

—Paul Ormerod, Why Most Things Fail: Evolution, Extinction and Economics

Rate of Leaving F500

1970-1990: 4XSource: The Company, John Micklethwait & Adrian Wooldridge

(1974-200: One-half biggest 100 disappear)

Exit, Stage Right …

CEO “departure” rate, 1995-2004:

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

“I don’t believe in

economies of scale. You don’t get better by being bigger. You get worse.” —

Dick Kovacevich/Wells Fargo/Forbes/08.04 (ROA: Wells, 1.7%; Citi, 1.5%; BofA, 1.3%;

J.P. Morgan Chase, 0.9%)

Scale?

“Microsoft’s Struggle With

Scale” —Headline, FT, 09.2005

“Troubling Exits at Microsoft” —Cover Story, BW, 09.2005

“Too Big to Move Fast?” —Headline, BW, 09.2005

“When asked to name just one big merger that had lived up to expectations, Leon

Cooperman, former cochairman of Goldman Sachs’ Investment Policy

Committee, answered: I’m sure there are success

stories out there, but at this moment I

draw a blank.” —Mark

Sirower, The Synergy Trap

“Almost every personal friend I have in the world works on Wall Street. You can buy and sell the same company six times and everybody makes

money, but I’m not sure we’re actually

innovating. … Our challenge is

to take nanotechnology into the future, to do

personalized medicine …” —Jeff Immelt/2005

More than $$$$

#1 R&D spending,

last 25 years?

GM

Bacteria. (“Left tail” limits.)

Productivity of small.Failure rate of Big Mergers.

Failure rate of Big Companies.Terrorists.

Galbraith vs Hayek.

What “We” Know “For Sure” About Innovation

Big mergers [by & large] don’t workScale is over-rated

Strategic planning is the last refuge of scoundrelsFocus groups are counter-productive“Built to last” is a chimera (stupid)

Success kills“Forgetting” is impossible

Re-imagine is a charming idea“Orderly innovation process” is an oxymoronic phrase

(= Believed only by morons with ox-like brains)“Tipping points” are easy to identify … long after they will do you any good

“Facts” aren’tAll information making it to the top is filtered

to the point of danger and hilarity“Success stories” are the illusions of egomaniacs (and “gurus”)

If you believe the memoirs of CEOs you should be institutionalized“Herd behavior” (XYZ is “hot”) is ubiquitous

… and amusing“Top teams” are “Dittoheads”

CEOs have little effect on performance“Expert” prediction is rarely better than rolling the dice

Blitzkrieg?

False Attributions

German citizenry low morale, no appetite for war

3rd Republic government rather well regarded

French Army in good shape, surprisingly well armed, decent strategy (in dozens of simulations, French usually win)

Blitzkrieg not used

Germans very vulnerable

Lousy French intelligence* and luck perhaps determinant (*“intelligence information tends to be sifted to reinforce

received ideas rather than to overturn them”)

Many plausible competing hypotheses

Source: Julian Jackson, The Fall of France (cf Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets.)

Smashing Conventional Wisdom

“Blitzkrieg in fact emerged in a rather haphazard way from the experience of the French campaign,

whose success surprised the Germans as much as the French. Why otherwise did the High Command try on various occasions, with Hitler’s backing, to slow the panzers down? The victory in France* came about

partly because the German High Command temporarily lost control of the battle. The decisive moment in this process was Guderian’s decision to move immediately westward on 14 May, the day

after the Meuse crossing, wrenching the whole of the rest of the army along behind him.”

*messed up traffic, little close air support, random heroics by some small bits of Guderian’s forces, Guderian not a disciple of

the WWI-derived “strategy of indirect approach”

Source: Julian Jackson, The Fall of France

Happy 50!

26April2006

Malcom McLean

Containerization

LessonsNeed-driven

A thousand “parents”Messy

Evolutionary“Trivial”

Experimentation

trial & ERRORLoooong time for systemic adaptation/s

(many innovations) (bill of lading, standard time)

Not …

“Plan-driven”The product of “Strategic Thinking/Planning”

The product of “focus groups”

“Consultants have drained a good deal of

the life from our democracy. Specialists in caution,

they fear anything they haven’t tested.” —Joe

Klein, Politics Lost

Get mad. Do something

about it. Now.

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.

DEFINED.

Great Companies … SET THE

AGENDA.*

(Period.)

* “disturb the sleep of …

AGENDA SETTERS: “Set the Table”/ Pioneers/ Questors/ Adventurers

US Steel … Ford … Toyota … Sears … GM … ITT … The Gap … Limited …

Wal*Mart … Tesco … P&G … 3M … Intel … IBM … Apple … Nokia …

Cisco … Dell … MCI … Sun … Microsoft … Google … Enron …

Schwab … GE … Laker … Southwest … People Express … Ogilvy … Virgin

… eBay … Amazon … Sony … Amgen … BMW … CNN … Nike

Built to Last vs Built for Impact

“But what if [former head of strategic planning at Royal Dutch Shell] Arie De Geus is wrong in suggesting, in The

Living Company, that firms should aspire to live forever? Greatness is fleeting and, for corporations, it

will become ever more fleeting. The ultimate aim of a business organization, an artist, an athlete or a stockbroker may be to explode in a dramatic frenzy of value creation during a

short space of time, rather than to live forever.” —Kjell Nordström and Jonas Ridderstråle, Funky Business

Innovation: The Secret

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

“Venture” fund a la Gerstner, Dow/Marriott

You only find oil if you drill

wells. —T he Hunters, by John Masters,

Canadian O & G wildcatter

Inno64: Innovation Strategies & Tactics

Parallel universe /Exec Ed v res MBAEnd run regnant powers/JKCFind done deals-practicing mavericks/Stone-ReGoBell curves2016 in 2006Non-industry benchmarkingEverything = PortfolioV.C.s all!Hot language/Wow-Astonish me-Insanely great-immortal-Make something greatLead customers/PW-EmbraerLead suppliers /Top decile R&DWeird alliancesMottos/Paul Arden (“Whatever You Think Think the Opposite”)Hire freaks/Enough weird people?Weird Boards!!!

CEO track record of Innovation (nobody starts at 45!)System/GE-Immelt“Strategic thrust overlay”CalendarBig Delta easier than SmallMBWA with freaks-weirdos/JKCMBWA/Boonies’ labsV.C.-formal/IntelAcquire weirdChildren’s crusadeOld farts crusadeGo Global at any sizeStop listening to customers Talent!/Unusual sources-Hire innovators-V.C.sEschew giant mergers

Remember: scale economies max out earlyAssisted suicide! (“Built to last” = Chimera-snare-delusion)Burn your press clippings“Forgetting” “strategy”Fire all strategic plannersTempo!Final product bears little relation to starting notionDesign! Design! Design! (“culture,” not program)All innovation: Pissed-off peopleGut feel rules!Focus groups suckWeird focus groups okayBe-Do philosophy

CelebrationsCulture-little as well as big Inno (“everyone-an-innovator”)Life = Wow ProjectsAcknowledge messiness-pursue serendipity (Blitzkrieg-Containers-Science-Jim Utterback)R.F.A.Culture of execution4/40: decentralization, execution, accountability, 615AMEVP (S.O.U.B.)/Systems-process “un-design”Diversity for diversity’s sakeWomen-Women-Women/customers (they “are the market,” not a “segment”)-leadersBoomers-Geezers (“all the money”)

CRO (Chief Revenue Officer) “culture”/top-line obsessedCIO (Chief INNOVATION Officer)LaughterFacility-space configurationExperiments-prototypes“Reward excellent failures. Punish mediocre successes.”Bizarrely high incentives (& penalties)We are what we eat/We are who we hang out with (E.g.: Staff-Consultants-Vendors-Out-sourcing Partners/#, Quality-Innovation Alliance Partners-Customers-Competitors/who we “benchmark” against -Strategic Initiatives -Product Portfolio/LineEx v. Leap-IS/IT Projects-HQ Location-Lunch Mates-Language-Board)

What “We” Know “For Sure” About Innovation

Big mergers [by & large] don’t workScale is over-rated

Strategic planning is the last refuge of scoundrelsFocus groups are counter-productive“Built to last” is a chimera (stupid)

Success kills“Forgetting” is impossible

Re-imagine is a charming idea“Orderly innovation process” is an oxymoronic phrase

(= Believed only by morons with ox-like brains)“Tipping points” are easy to identify … long after they will do you any good

“Facts” aren’tAll information making it to the top is filtered

to the point of danger and hilarity“Success stories” are the illusions of egomaniacs (and “gurus”)

If you believe the memoirs of CEOs you should be institutionalized“Herd behavior” (XYZ is “hot”) is ubiquitous

… and amusing“Top teams” are “Dittoheads”

CEOs have little effect on performance“Expert” prediction is rarely better than rolling the dice

EXCELLENCE.

4/40.

4/40

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

Ex-e-cu-

tion!

“We have a ‘strategic plan.’ It’s

called doing things.” — Herb Kelleher

“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










Ac-count-a-bil-ity!

“GE has set a standard of candor.

… There is no puffery. … There isn’t an ounce of

denial in the place.” —

Kevin Sharer, CEO Amgen, on the “GE mystique” (Fortune)

6:15A.M.

????????

Work Hard > Work Smart

Freddy Delgado on Leadership

“I can’t say that I don’t know what my teachers

were doing in the classroom. I am still

responsible if a child gets lost.” —Enron juror Freddy Delgado,

elementary school principal

EXCELLENCE.

WANTING.

This is not a “mature

category.”

This is an “undistinguishe

d category.”

“The ‘surplus society’ has a surplus of

similar companies, employing

similar people, with

similar educational backgrounds,

coming up with similar ideas,

producing similar things, with

similar prices and similar quality.”

Kjell Nordström and Jonas Ridderstråle, Funky Business

Line Extensions:

86 percent of new

products. 62 percent of revenues.

39 percent of profit.

Source: Blue Ocean Strategy, Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne

“The Bottleneck

Is at the Top of the

Bottle”“Where are you likely to find people with the least diversity of

experience, the largest investment in the past, and the greatest reverence for industry dogma:

At the top!”

— Gary Hamel/Harvard Business Review

EXCELLENCE. NO EXCUSES.

Summary:

WallopWal*Mart16*

*Or: Why it’s so absurdly easy to beat a GIANT Company

The “Small Guys” Guide: Wallop Wal*Mart16

*Niche-aimed. (Never, ever “all things for all people,” a “mini-Wal*Mart.)

*Never attack the monsters head on! (Instead steal niche business and lukewarm customers.)

*“Dramatically Different” (La Difference ... within our

community, our industry regionally, etc … is as obvious as the end of one’s nose!) (THIS IS WHERE MOST MIDGETS COME UP SHORT.)

*Compete on value/experience/intimacy, not price. (You ain’t gonna beat the behemoths on cost-price in 9.99 out of 10 cases.)

*Emotional bond with Clients, Vendors. (BEAT THE BIGGIES ON EMOTION/CONNECTION!!)

“This is an essay about what it takes to create and sell something remarkable. It is a plea for originality, passion, guts and daring. You can’t be remarkable by following someone else who’s remarkable. One way to

figure out a theory is to look at what’s working in the real world and determine what the successes have in common. But what could the Four Seasons and Motel 6 possibly have in common? Or Neiman-Marcus and Wal*Mart? Or Nokia (bringing out new hardware every 30 days or so) and

Nintendo (marketing the same Game Boy 14 years in a row)? It’s like trying

to drive looking in the rearview mirror. The thing that all these companies

have in common is that they have nothing in common. They

are outliers. They’re on the fringes. Superfast or superslow. Very exclusive or very cheap. Extremely big or extremely small. The reason it’s so hard to follow the leader is this: The leader is the leader precisely because he did something remarkable. And that remarkable thing is now taken—so it’s no

longer remarkable when you decide to do it.” —Seth Godin, Fast Company/02.2003


*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. DRAMATIC.

DIFFERENCE.DOABLE.

$798

$415/SqFt/Wal*Mart$798/SqFt/Whole

Foods

7X. 730A-800P.

F12A.**’93-’03/10 yr annual return: CB: 29%; WM: 17%;

HD: 16%. Mkt Cap: 48% p.a.

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

and, above all, promote for s.”

—Starbucks middle manager/field

“Gambling our entire

net worth!”

#1/100

“Best Companies to

Work for”/2005

Wegmans

EXCELLENCE.

#1T.

Donnelly’s Weatherstrip

Service

Weymouth MA

EXCELLENCE.

#1T.

Cirque du Soleil!

And the Winner is …

1. Audacity of Vision2. Innovation/R&D/Design3. Talent Acquisition & Development4. Resultant “Experience”5. Strategic Alliances6. Operations7. Financial Management8. Overall/Sustaining Excellence9. “Wow!”10. Lovemark!

Tattoo Brand: What % of users would tattoo the brand name on their

body?

Top 10 “Tattoo Brands”*

Harley .… 18.9%Disney .... 14.8

Coke …. 7.7Google .... 6.6Pepsi .... 6.1Rolex …. 5.6Nike …. 4.6

Adidas …. 3.1Absolut …. 2.6

Nintendo …. 1.5

*BRANDsense: Build Powerful Brands through Touch, Taste, Smell, Sight, and Sound, Martin Lindstrom

Synonyms

PurityTranscendence


Antonyms

Mediocrity

“A man without a smiling face must

not open a shop.” —Chinese Proverb

EXCELLENCE.

PITIFUL.

????????

Weenie of the year,

2006 …

????????

6/44

P&G

EXCELLENCE.

FOUND.

“To be a leader in consumer

products, it’s critical to have

leaders who represent the population we

serve.” —Steve Reinemund/PepsiCo

EXCELLENCE.

AARGH.

2005

Good Thinking, Guys!

“Kodak Sharpens Digital Focus

On Its Best Customers:

Women”

—Page 1 Headline/WSJ/0705

EXCELLENCE.

OPPORTUNITY.

“Women are the

majority market”

—Fara Warner/The Power of the Purse

The Perfect Answer

Jill and Jack buy slacks in black…

1. Men and women are different.2. Very different.3. VERY, VERY DIFFERENT.4. Women & Men have a-b-s-o-l-u-t-e-l-y nothing in common.5. Women buy lotsa stuff.

6. WOMEN BUY A-L-L THE STUFF.7. Women’s Market = Opportunity No. 1.8. Men are (STILL) in charge.9. MEN ARE … TOTALLY, HOPELESSLY CLUELESS ABOUT WOMEN.10. Women’s Market = Opportunity No. 1.

“Women don’t buy

brands. They join them.”

EVEolution

2.6 vs. 21

10. Women’s Market =

Opportunity No. 1.

Cases!McDonald’s (“mom-centered” to “majority consumer”;

not via kids)

Home Depot (“Do it [everything!] Herself”)

P&G (more than “house cleaner”)

DeBeers (“right-hand rings”/$4B)

AXA FinancialKodak (women = “emotional centers of the household”)

Nike (> jock endorsements; new def sports; majority consumer)

AvonBratz (young girls want “friends,” not a blond stereotype)

Source: Fara Warner/The Power of the Purse

“To help revive the company’s sales and profits, McDonald’s

shifted its strategy toward women from one of ‘minority’ consumers who served as a

conduit to the important children’s market to one in

which women are the majority consumers and the main drivers

behind menu and promotion innovation.” —Fara Warner, The Power of the Purse

“The left hand rocks the cradle, The right hand rules the world.” —DeBeers*

(*created new $4B segment in 5 years)

“In those two simple sentences I saw a view of women I had not seen before in advertising. Here

was a company that had the guts to talk openly about what women were still struggling to understand and embrace.” —Fara

Warner, The Power of the Purse

Faith, Lys, Marti, Fara …

Targeting the New Professional Woman:

How to Market and Sell to Today’s 57 Million

Working Women.

—Gerry Myers

EXCELLENCE.

OPPORTUNITY.

10.6

EXCELLENCE.

OPPORTUNITY.

Add It Up!

Doing it right (“Men buy things that other men will buy for women. I buy things that women want.”—successful jeweler/F)

Greater workforce/global participation rate (“bigger contributor to GDP growth than technology, China, India”)

Higher wages (more seniority, promotions—even if not to CEO)

Women-owned businesses (answer to the Glass Ceiling)

EXCELLENCE.

OPPORTUNITY.

Just Say No. 18-44

Stupid Fr*&^ing Idiot-Marketers!

“Critics describe evening news in unflattering

terms— They’re old! They’re set in their

ways! They won’t buy iPods!””

Source: Advertising Age, 05.08.06

2000-2010 Stats

18-44: -1%

55+: +21%(55-64: +47% )

44-65: “New Customer Majority” *

*45% larger than 18-43; 60% larger by 2010Source: Ageless Marketing, David Wolfe & Robert Snyder

“The New Customer Majority is the only adult

market with realistic prospects for significant

sales growth in dozens of product lines for thousands of companies.” —David Wolfe & Robert Snyder,

Ageless Marketing

“Baby-boomer Women: The Sweetest of

Sweet Spots for Marketers” —David Wolfe and

Robert Snyder, Ageless Marketing

“WOMAN of the Year: She’s the most powerful

consumer in America. And as she starts to turn sixty

this month, the affluent baby boomer is doing what she’s always done—redefining

herself.” —Joan Hamilton, Town & Country, JAN06

“Sixty Is the New Thirty”

—Cover/AARP/11.03

EXCELLENCE.

OPPORTUNITY.

Women.Women business owners.

Boomers-Geezers.Single-adults (Urban)

Fastest growing demographic:

Single-person Households (>50% in

London, Stockholm, etc)

Source: Richard Scase

% of homes purchased by single women: 1981, 10%;

2005, 20%

% of homes purchased by single men: 1981, 10%;

2005, 9%

Source: USA Today/02.15.06

EXCELLENCE.

OPPORTUNITY.

Women.Women business owners.

Boomers-Geezers.Single-adults (Urban)

The Irreducible20

9

73. Exercise.74. Paint. (Leader. Portraits of Excellence.)75. Best story wins.76. “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.”77. Two “big ones.” Max. (Priorities.)78. No “I” in Team. (“I” in Win.)79. “I” in Win. (No “I” in Team.)

80. Different 1, Better 0. (Better = 0.1)

81. Imitation = Mistake. (Learn, from who?)82. Choose/battle the “right” competitor.83. Schools. Creativity. Entrepreneurship. (Not.)84. MBAs. Creativity. Entrepreneurship. Leadership. (Not.)85. Design. Under-rated. Wildly. (Still.) (Everything.)

EXCELLENCE.

VALUE ADDED.

$55B

And the “M” Stands for … ?

Gerstner’s IBM: “Systems Integrator of choice.”/BW

(“Lou, help us turn ‘all this’ into that long-promised ‘revolution.’ ” )

IBM Global Services* (*Integrated Systems

Services Corp.): $55B

“By making the Global Delivery Model both legitimate and mainstream, we have brought the battle to our territory. That is, after all, the purpose of strategy. We have become the leaders, and incumbents [IBM, Accenture]

are followers, forever playing catch-up. … However, creating a new business innovation is not enough for rules to be changed. The

innovation must impact clients, competitors, investors, and society. We have seen all this in spades. Clients have embraced the model and are

demanding it in even greater measure. The acuteness of their circumstance, coupled with the capability and value of our solution, has made the choice not a choice. Competitors have been dragged kicking

and screaming to replicate what we do. They face trauma and disruption,

but the game has changed forever. Investors have grasped that this is not a passing

fancy, but a potential restructuring of the way the world

operates and how value will be created in the future.” —Narayana Murthy,

chairman’s letter, Infosys Annual Report

The [Only?] Answer

PSF (Professional Service Firm “model”/The Organizing Principle)

+

Brand You(“Distinct” or “Extinct”/The Talent)

+

Wow! Projects (“Different” vs “Better”/The Work)

“Big Brown’s New Bag: UPS

Aims to Be the Traffic Manager for Corporate

America” —Headline/BW/2004

“SCS”/Supply Chain Solutions: 750 locations;

$2.5B; fastest growing division; 19 acquisitions,

including a bank

Source: Fast Company

MasterCard Advisors

I. LAN Installation Co. (3%)

II. Geek Squad. (30%.)

III. Acquired by BestBuy.

IV. Flagship of BestBuy Wholesale “Solutions” Strategy Makeover.

Huge: Customer Satisfaction versus

Customer

Success

EXCELLENCE.NECESSITY.

OPPORTUNITY.

“There is no job that

is America’s God-given

right anymore.”

—Carly Fiorina/HP/January2004

“ ‘Disintermediation’ is overrated. Those who fear disintermediation should in fact be afraid of

irrelevance—disintermediation is just another way

of saying that … you’ve become

irrelevant to your

customers.”

—John Battelle/Point/Advertising Age/07.05

43,000

Chicago:

HRMAC

“support function” / “cost

center”/ “overhead”

or …

Are you … “Rock Stars of the

Age of Talent”

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.

Are you the …

“Principal Engine of

Value Added”*Eg: Your R&D budget as robust as the New Products team?

The Irreducible20

9

117. Negotiation. Make all winners. (Save face.)118. Grace makes enemies friends.119. Network.

120. Invest in relationships. (Think ROIR. Return On Investment in Relationships.)118. Relationship investment. Forethought. Calendar item. Intensity.119. Innovation. Easy. (Hang out with weird.)120. Weird = Win. (Weird times.)121. “The bottleneck is at the top of the bottle.”122. Good Board = Weird Board. (At least, surprising.)123. No contention, no progress.

EXCELLENCE. NO OPTION.

“ ‘Disintermediation’ is overrated. Those who fear disintermediation should in fact be afraid of

irrelevance—disintermediation is just another way

of saying that … you’ve become

irrelevant to your

customers.”

—John Battelle/Point/Advertising Age/07.05

Department Head

to …

Managing

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

Answer:

PSF

Core Mechanism:“Game-changing Solutions”


+


+


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!

R.POV8**Remarkable Point Of View/8 Words or less/“If you can’t state your

position in eight words or less you don’t have a position.”—SG

The PSF35: The People & The Leadership

18. TALENT FANATICS (“Best-Coolest place to work”) (PERIOD)19. EYE FOR THE PECULIAR (Hiring: Go beyond “same old, same old”) 20. Early Opportunities (vs. “Wait your turn”) 21. Up or Out (Based on “Legacy”/Mentoring as much as “Billings”/“Rainmaking”)22. Slide the Old Aside/Make Room for Youth (Find oldsters new roles?)23. TALENT IS OBSESSED WITH RENEWAL FROM DAY #1 TO DAY #“R” [R = Retirement]24. Office/Practice Leaders Evaluated Primarily on Mentoring-Team Building Skills25. A “PROPRIETARY” TALENT DEVELOPMENT PROCESS (GE)26. Team Leadership Skills Valued Early27. Partner with B.I.W. [Best In World] Outsiders as Needed and to Infuse Different Views

The PSF35: The Firm & The Brand

28. EAT-SLEEP-BREATHE-OOZE INTEGRITY (“My life is my message”—Gandhi)29. Excellence+ in EXECUTION … 100.00% of the Time (No such thing as a “small sins”/World Series Ring to the Batboy!) 30. “Drop everything”/“Swarm” to Support a Harried-On The Verge Team31. SPEND AS AGGRESSIVELY ON R&D AS A TECH FIRM OR CIRQUE DU SOLEIL32. A PROPRIETARY METHODOLOGY (FBR, McKinsey, Chiat Day, IDEO, old EDS)33. Web (Technology) Obsession34. BRAND/“LOVEMARK” MANIACS (Organize Around a Point of View Worth BROADCASTING: “You must be the change you wish to see in the world”—Gandhi)35. PASSION! ENTHUSIASM! (Passion & Enthusiasm have as much a place at the Head Table in a “PSF” as in a widgets factory: “You can’t behave in a calm, rational manner. You’ve got to be out there on the lunatic fringe”—Jack Welch)

The PSF35: The Firm & The Brand

28. EAT-SLEEP-BREATHE-OOZE INTEGRITY (“My life is my message”—Gandhi)

29. Excellence+ in EXECUTION … 100.00% of the Time30. “Drop everything”/“Swarm” to Support a Harried-On The Verge Team

31. SPEND ON R&D LIKE A TECH FIRM.32. A PROPRIETARY METHODOLOGY (FBR, McKinsey, Chiat Day, IDEO, old EDS)

33. BRAND MANIACS (Organize Around a Point of View Worth BROADCASTING)

34. PASSION! ENTHUSIASM!

35. EXCELLENCE. ALWAYS.

“PSF” Nirvana

Counselor

Trusted Advisor

PSF + BY + WP +

DD + E = UVA

PSF (Professional Service Firm) + BY (Brand You) + WP (WOW Projects) +

DD (Dramatic Difference)

+ E (Excellence) = UVA (Unassailable

Value-Added)

Static/Imitative

Integrity.Quality.

Excellence.Continuous Improvement.

Superior Service (Exceeds Expectations.)

Completely Satisfactory Transaction.Smooth Evolution.

Market Share.

Dynamic/Different

Dramatic Difference!Disruptive!

Insanely Great! (Quality++++)

Life-(Industry-)changing Experience!Game-changing!

WOW!Surprise!Delight!

Breathtaking!Punctuated Equilibrium!

Market Creation!

Synonyms

PurityTranscendence


Antonyms

Mediocrity

EXCELLENCE. UBIQUITOUS.

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.

ATTITUDE.TRANSFORMATION.

Fleet Manager

Rolling Stock Cost Minimization Officer

vs/or

Chief of Fleet Lifetime Value Maximization

Strategic Supply-chain Executive

Customer Experience Director (via drivers)

“Big Brown’s New Bag: UPS

Aims to Be the Traffic Manager for Corporate

America” —Headline/BW/2004

“Purchasing Officer” Thrust #1: Cost (at All Costs*) Minimization

Professional? Or/to: Full Partner-Leader in Lifetime

Value-added Maximization?

(*Lopez: “Arguably ‘Villain #1’ in GM tragedy”/Anon VSE-Spain)

HCare CIO: “Technology Executive” (workin’ in a hospital)

Or/to: Full-scale, Accountable (life or death)

Member-Partner of XYZ Hospital’s Senior Healing-Services Team (who happens to be a techie)

PSF Transformation: Credit Department/Trek

Was Is

Credit Dept Financial Services

Hammer on dealers until Make dealers successful so theythey pay CAN pay

AR sold to 3rd party Trek is the commercial financialcommercial co. Company

23 employees 12 employees

Oversee peak AR of $70M Oversee peak AR of $160M

Identify risky dealers Identify opportunities

Cost Center Profit Center

No products Products: Consulting, MC/Visa, Stored value of gift cards, Gift card peripherals, Online payments

Source: John Burke/0330.06

“Typically in a mortgage company or financial services company, ‘risk

management’ is an overhead, not a revenue center. We’ve become more

than that. We pay for ourselves, and we

actually make money for the company.” —Frank

Eichorn, Director of Credit Risk Data Management Group, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage (Source: sas.com)

Mantra:

“Eichorn it!”

EXCELLENCE.

UP THE LADDER.

The Value-added Ladder/Stuff ‘n’ Things

Goods Raw Materials

The Value-added Ladder/Stuff & Transactions

ServicesGoods

Raw Materials

The Value-added Ladder/Opportunity-seeking

Gamechanging Solutions

ServicesGoods

Raw Materials

Answer:

PSF

The [Only?] Answer


+


+


Wildlife Damage-control

Professional

Are you the …

“Principal Engine of

Value Added”*Eg: Your R&D budget as robust as the New Products team?

I. LAN Installation Co. (3%)

II. Geek Squad. (30%.)

III. Acquired by BestBuy.

IV. Flagship of BestBuy Wholesale “Solutions” Strategy Makeover.

EXCELLENCE.

EXPERIENCE IT.

“Experiences are as distinct

from services as services are from

goods.” —Joe Pine & Jim Gilmore, The Experience Economy:

Work Is Theatre & Every Business a Stage

“Club Med is more than just a ‘resort’; it’s a means of rediscovering oneself, of inventing an

entirely new ‘me.’ ”

Source: Jean-Marie Dru, Disruption

“The [Starbucks] Fix” Is on …

“We have identified a

‘third place.’ And I

really believe that sets us apart. The third place is that place that’s not work or home. It’s the place our customers

come for refuge.”

Nancy Orsolini, District Manager

Experience: “Rebel Lifestyle!”

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

black leather, ride through small towns and have people be

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

EXCELLENCE.

UP THE LADDER.

The Value-added Ladder/Memorable Connection

Spellbinding Experiences

Gamechanging SolutionsServicesGoods

Raw Materials

Warren Goes Shopping …

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

A: “Jordan’s is spectacular. It’s all

showmanship.”

Source: Warren Buffet interview/Boston Sunday Globe/12.05.2004

CXO**Chief eXperience Officer

Extraction & Goods: Male dominance

Services & Experiences: Female

dominance

EXCELLENCE.

DREAM IT.

DREAM: “A dream is a complete moment in the life

of a client. Important experiences that tempt the client to commit substantial resources. The essence of

the desires of the consumer. The opportunity to help

clients become what they want to be.”

—Gian Luigi Longinotti-Buitoni

The Marketing of Dreams (Dreamketing)

Dreamketing: Touching the clients’ dreams.Dreamketing: The art of telling stories and entertaining.Dreamketing: Promote the dream, not the product.Dreamketing: Build the brand around the main dream.Dreamketing: Build the “buzz,” the “hype,” the “cult.”

Source: Gian Luigi Longinotti-Buitoni

EXCELLENCE.

UP THE LADDER.

The Value-added Ladder/Emotion

Dreams Come True

Spellbinding Experiences Gamechanging Solutions

ServicesGoods

Raw Materials

Furniture vs. Dreams

“We do not sell ‘furniture’ at

Domain. We sell dreams. This is

accomplished by addressing the half-formed needs in our

customers’ heads. By uncovering these needs, we, in essence, fill in the blanks. We

convert ‘needs’ into ‘dreams.’ Sales are the

inevitable result.” — Judy George,

Domain Home Fashions

“The sun is setting on the Information Society—even before we have fully adjusted to its demands as

individuals and as companies. We have lived as hunters and as farmers, we have worked in factories and now we

live in an information-based society whose icon is the

computer. We stand facing the fifth kind of society: the Dream Society. … Future

products will have to appeal to our hearts, not to our heads. Now is the time to add emotional value to

products and services.”

—Rolf Jensen/The Dream Society:How the Coming Shift from Information to Imagination Will Transform Your Business

CDM*

*Chief Dream Merchant

EXCELLENCE.

ALWAYS.

“What Isn’t Matter Is

What Matters” —section title, Branded Nation: The Marketing of

Megachurch, College Inc., and Museumworld, James Twitchell

Gas ………….….. $1.75 per gallonLipton Iced Tea .. $9.52 per gallonOcean Spray …... $10.00Gatorade ……….. $10.17Diet Snapple …... $10.32STP brake fluid .. $33.60Pepto-Bismol ….. $123.20Vicks NyQuil …... $178.13Evian water ……. $21.19 ($50B-$200B)

Source: Branded Nation: The Marketing of Megachurch, College Inc., and Museumworld, James Twitchell (2004)

VA “Teaching Moment”

“Andy pointed to a molding, about halfway up the

wall …”

EXCELLENCE.

LOVE IT.

“Brands have run out

of juice. They’re

dead.” —Kevin Roberts/Saatchi &

Saatchi

Kevin Roberts:

Lovemarks!

Tattoo Brand: What % of users would tattoo the brand name on their

body?

Top 10 “Tattoo Brands”*

Harley .… 18.9%Disney .... 14.8

Coke …. 7.7Google .... 6.6Pepsi .... 6.1Rolex …. 5.6Nike …. 4.6

Adidas …. 3.1Absolut …. 2.6

Nintendo …. 1.5

*BRANDsense: Build Powerful Brands through Touch, Taste, Smell, Sight, and Sound, Martin Lindstrom

CL O*

*Chief Lovemark Officer

EXCELLENCE. THE STORY.

“Storytelling

is the core of culture.”

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

“Leaders don’t just make products and make

decisions. Leaders make

meaning.” – John Seely Brown

Best Story Wins!

“A key – perhaps the key – to leadership is

the effective communication

of a story.”—Howard Gardner/Leading Minds:

An Anatomy of Leadership

Market Power = Story Power

Exercise: Take a complex financial-market-

strategic analysis you are preparing to present

—and convert it into a high-impact, mountain-

moving number-less story.*

*Shell’s (et al.) “scenario planning”

CSTO*

*Chief Storytelling Officer

EXCELLENCE.

LEADING.

CXO**Chief eXperience Officer

CDM*

*Chief Dream Merchant

CFO*

*Chief Festivals Officer

CCO*

*Chief Conversations Officer

CSO*

*Chief Seduction Officer

CL O*

*Chief Lovemark Officer

CPI**Chief Portal Impresario

CWO**Chief WOW Officer

CSTO*

*Chief Storytelling Officer

CRO*


EXCELLENCE.

BONUS.

Flower Power!

EXCELLENCE.

SOUL.

All Equal Except …

“At Sony we assume that all products of our competitors have basically the same technology, price, performance

and features. Design is the only thing that

differentiates one product from another in the marketplace.” —

Norio Ohga

“Design is

treated like a religion at

BMW.”Fortune

“We don’t have a good language to talk about this kind of thing. In

most people’s vocabularies, design means veneer. … But to me, nothing could be further from the meaning

of design. Design is the fundamental soul

of a man-made creation.” —Steve Jobs

“With its carefully conceived mix of colors and textures,

aromas and music, Starbucks is more indicative of our era than the iMac. It is to the Age of

Aesthetics what McDonald’s was to the Age of Convenience or Ford was to the Age of Mass Production—the touchstone success story, the exemplar of all that

is good and bad about the aesthetic imperative. …

‘Every Starbucks store is carefully designed to enhance the quality of everything the customers see, touch, hear,

smell or taste,’ writes CEO Howard Schultz.”

-—Virginia Postrel, The Substance of Style: How the Rise of AestheticValue Is Remaking Commerce, Culture and Consciousness

Westin’s …

Heavenly Bed

Hypothesis: “Design” is the principle

“metaphor” for the encompassing Value-

added Imperative!

“If you can’t win on ‘cost,’ then you’re left with

‘cool.’ ” —Anon./NZ

EXCELLENCE.

K.I.S.S.

“One bank is currently claiming to …

‘leverage its global footprint to provide effective financial solutions for its customers by providing a

gateway to diverse markets.”

—Charles Handy

“I assume that it is just saying that it is

there to ‘help its customers

wherever they are’.”

—Charles Handy

450/8

EXCELLENCE. EVERYWHERE.

Better By Design: A National Strategy

NZ = Design

Excellence

New ZealandThailand

SpainPortugalIreland

Singapore Taiwan

PhilippinesUAEChile

(Romania)

“ ‘MADE IN TAIWAN’: From

Cheap Manufacturing to Chic Branding”

—Headline/Advertising Age/06.05

Taiwan, Your Partner in InnoValue

Poster/Bucharest/03.06

London circa 1976: “You can’t build a ‘real

economy’ on services, finance, advertising,

etc.”

London circa 2006:

deliberately aims to be the “capital of the 21st

century”

The Irreducible20

9

163. Own up. Quick. ( Denial. Cancer.)

164. Celebrate. Often.165. 78 people = 78 approaches. (Each. Unique.)166. Weed. Ceaselessly. (Prune. Stupid. Rules. Non-stop.)

167. Get out of the way. (You = The problem.)168. Smile. Sunny. Optimism. (If it kills you.)169. Flowers. (Cheery workplace.)170. Enjoy. (Or get the hell.)

171. Be intolerant of “sour.” (1 = Major pollution)172. No “quick trigger” on promotion. (Too important.)173. Evaluation = Lots of study-time.174. Evaluation = “Life or death” to evaluee.175. “360” evaluation. No fad.

176. Exit when you’re done. (Done. Sooner than you think.)

EXCELLENCE.

BEDROCK.

“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’?”

“People want to be part of something larger

than themselves. They want to be part of

something they’re really proud of, that they’ll

fight for, sacrifice for , trust.” —Howard Schultz, Starbucks (IBD/09.05)

EXCELLENCE.

PASSION.

“Nothing is so contagious as enthusiasm.”

—Samuel Taylor Coleridge

“Most important,

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

EXCELLENCE.

ALWAYS.

“In classical times when Cicero had finished

speaking, the people said, ‘How well he spoke,’ but when Demosthenes had finished speaking,

they said, ‘Let us march.’” —Adlai Stevenson

Let us march

.

EXCELLENCE.

BEDROCK.

Brand =

Talent.

Organizing Genius / Warren Bennis and Patricia Ward Biederman

“Groups become great only when everyone in them, leaders and

members alike, is free to do his or her absolute best.”

“The best thing a leader can do for a

Great Group is to allow its members to discover their

greatness.”

Leadership’s Mt Everest/Mt Excellence

“free to do his or her absolute best” …

“allow its members to discover their

greatness.”

“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

A Few Lessons from the Arts

Each hired and developed and evaluated in unique ways (23 contributors; 23 unique contributions; 23 pathways; 23 personalities; 23 sets of

motivators)

Attitude/Enthusiasm/Energy paramountRe-lent-less!

“Practice is cool” (G Leonard/Mastery)

Team and individual Aspire to EXCELLENCE = Obvious

Ex-e-cu-tionTalent = Brand = Duh“The Project” rulesEmotional language

Bit players. No.B.I.W. (everything)

Delta events = Delta rosters (incl leader/s)

“My only goal is to have no goals. The goal, every time, is that film, that very moment.” —Bernardo Bertolucci

“We are a ‘life

Success Company”’

founder, RE/MAX

Our Mission

To develop and manage talent;

to apply that talent,throughout the world,

for the benefit of clients;to do so in partnership;

to do so with profit.

WPP

“Leaders

‘do’ people.

Period.” —Anon.

Les Wexner: From sweaters to …

people!

“The leaders of Great Groups love talent and

know where to find it. They revel in

the talent of others.” —Warren

Bennis & Patricia Ward Biederman, Organizing Genius

PARC’s Bob Taylor:

“Connoisseur

of Talent”

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.

HTSH: Engage!*

Commit! Engage! Try! Fail! Get up! Try again! Fail again! Try again! But never,

ever stop moving on! Progress for humanity is engendered by those who join and savor the fray by giving one

hundred percent of themselves to their dreams! Not by those timid souls who

remain glued to the sidelines, stifled by tradition, and fearful of losing face or

giving offense to the reigning authorities.

Key words: Commit! Engage! Try! Fail! Persist!

*HTST/Hands That Shape Humanity, Tom Peters’ contribution to a Bishop Tutu exhibit

Only connect

!

—E.M. Forster, Howards End

EXCELLENCE. WOMEN.

RULE.

“AS LEADERS, WOMEN

RULE: New Studies find that

female managers outshine their male counterparts in almost every measure”

Title, Special Report/BusinessWeek

????????

6/44

“Forget China, India and the

Internet: Economic Growth Is Driven

by Women.” —Headline, Economist,

April 15, 2006, Leader, page 14

“Well-behaved women

rarely make history.”

—Anita Borg, Institute for Women and Technology

EXCELLENCE. INDIVIDUAL.BRAND YOU.

Core Mechanism:“Game-changing Solutions”


+


+


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

not.” —Isabel Allende

12January2006

Happy 300 th, Brand You!

“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

Will you actually remember it as worthwhile 10

years from now?” —S.H.

“This is the true joy of Life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one … the being a

force of Nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of

ailments and grievances complaining that the world

will not devote itself to making you happy.” —GB Shaw/

Man and Superman

“Tell me, what is it you plan to do

with your one wild and

precious life?” —Mary

Oliver

“When was the last time you

asked, ‘What do I want to

be?’ ” —Sara Ann Friedman, Work Matters

“Life is not a journey to the grave with the

intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body—but

rather a skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and

loudly proclaiming, ‘Wow, what

a ride!’ ” —anon.

“In Italy for 30 years under the Borgias they

had warfare, terror, murder, bloodshed—and produced Michelangelo,

da Vinci and the Renaissance. In

Switzerland they had brotherly love,

500 years of democracy and peace, and what did they

produce—Source: Orson Welles, as Harry Lime, in The Third Man

—the cuckoo clock.”

“The key question isn’t ‘What fosters creativity?’ But it is why

in God’s name isn’t everyone creative? Where was the human

potential lost? How was it crippled? I think therefore a good

question might be not why do people create? But why

do people not create or innovate? We have got to abandon that

sense of amazement in the face of creativity,

as if it were a miracle if anybody created anything.” —Abe Maslow

“Well-behaved women

rarely make history.”

—Anita Borg, Institute for Women and Technology

Bonus

Health:Century21.Job # 1

Quality!Prevention!Wellness!

Chronic care!Childhood obesity!

H5N1!

Quality!Prevention!Wellness!

Chronic care!Childhood obesity!

H5N1!

22mm3838ss

Welcome to the Homer Simpson Hospital

a/k/a

The Killing Fields

“When I climb Mount Rainier I face less

risk of death than I’ll face on the

operating table.” —Don Berwick, “Six Keys to Safer Hospitals: A Set of Simple Precautions Could Prevent 100,000 Needless Deaths Every Year,” Newsweek (1212.2005)

The Ultimate “Culture Change”

“Healthcare” vs.

“Health”

Quality (100K+ deaths)

“Evidence/Outcomes-based” medicineIS/IT-in-health(care) revolution

Wellness/PreventionHealth“care” to Health “culture” transformation

Wash your hands!Home-care (as the population rapidly ages)

Med-school re-orientation “Public health” emphasisChildhood Obesity

Mind-boggling (15 years?) social-moral-technological impact of life sciences (“the Singularity”?)

H5N1/WMDs/Environmental degradationRisk assessment (private, public)

Market opportunityPublic vs/+ Private responsibilities & partnerships

Africa! (Unconscionable failure to attend to/staggering Health consequences for all)

Re-imagine Healthcare: Reportcard2006

Evidence-based/Outcomes-based ……………….………...... DPay-for-performance ………………………………………….… DIS/IT (general) ………………………………..………………..…. C-Use of information (for decisionmaking-measurement) .… C-EMR (Electronic Medical Records) ……………………..….... C-/DCPOE (Computerized Physician Order Entry) ……….……. C-/DQuality/100K+ unnecessary deaths …………..……… D-(kind)Acute care to chronic care-home care shift ………….….... D/D-Acute-care to Prevention/Wellness Obsession…..… D/D-Patient-centric/Client-centric………………………………….. DDocs’ acceptance of “evidence-based” …………............… D/D-“Revolutionary”-intensity Incentives re evidence …..……. D-Childhood obesity epidemic …………………………….. D-H5N1 preparedness ………………………………….…….. D

Corporate focus on Prevention/Wellness…………..…..…..... C-/DIndividual focus on Prevention/Wellness…………………..… DIndividuals’ health education/self-management …….…...…. C-

Workforce acceptance of self-responsibility ….…….…...….. C-Workforce transition to “Brand You” attitude……..……..….. C-/D

3 March 2006/Tom Peters

“If God spoke to me by saying, ‘Mark, you’re down to your last three words: What would you want to say to

your fellow humans that would make the most positive impact?’ It would be a close call between Love Thy

Neighbor and Wash Your Hands . A close third would be Move,

Move, Move.” —Mark Pettus, M.D., The Savvy Patient

“The most important thing you can do to keep

from getting sick is to wash your hands. ” —CDC/National Center for Infectious Diseases

Tommy Thompson: take your meds; chronic illness 75% to 80%; “curative healthcare

system” to “prevention system”

Source: Advertising Age, 05.08.06

Childhood Obesity > Terrorism

Source: Mike Levitt

Wash your hands.Apply #50 sunscreen.

Banish trans fatBanish high fructose corn syrup.

Exercise “30-7.”Breathe.

Stockpile for H5N1.* (*not Tamiflu!)

EXCELLENCE.

BEDROCK.

X.Step #1:Buy a Mirror!

“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+

25

You = Your calendar*

*Calendars NEVER lie!!

EXCELLENCE.

REVENUE.MATTERS.

MOST.

“Analysts … preferred cost cutting, as long as they could see two or three years of EPS growth. I

preached revenue and the analysts’ eyes would glaze over. Now revenue is ‘in’ because so many got caught, and

earnings went to hell. They said, ‘Oh my gosh, you need revenues to

grow earnings over time.’

Well, Duh!” —Dick Kovacevich, Wells

Fargo

. “Everyone lives by selling

something.”

– Robert Louis Stevenson

SellSellSell

“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

CRO*


TP.27 … on Selling

(Short) (Personal)

Out-prepare!! (huge time commitment!)Learn the “culture”Practice!Care-EmpathyListen-Empathetic listening (SC)“Listen”-Body languageK.I.S.S. (1-page summary. 1 = 1.)Enthusiasm-ENERGY-“Authenticity”!!OBVIOUS belief in productSelling: Solution-Success-Experience-Dream come true-Love-Dramatic DifferenceSelling: Better STORY! (“Best story wins”)Selling: Yourself! (Brand you)“Obvious” Wow!No exaggeration!Spell out commitments!SIMPLE timelineSell “inside”-First! Thorough!Relationships-“Way down”!!Time!!!! (Eg, build trust)Ooze integrityIntroduce to rest of team, esp “mechanics”SBWA (5K for 5M)Remember: Close!Gotta-make-a-profit (be ready to walk away!)“Good loss”Don’t dis competitors!!Make her-him-target SUCCESSFUL (in a personal way)

“It’s always showtime.”

—David D’Alessandro, Career Warfare

The Irreducible20

9

188. Handshake. (Quantity. Quality.)189. Don’t fold your hands in front of your chest. Ever. (Never.)190. Simplicity. Redundancy. Resilience. Bloody-mindedness. Visible optimism. (Success.) (Repeat.)

191. Employee Entrance = Guest Entrance.192. Put the customer SECOND. (Thanks, Hal.)193. Flowers. (Or did I say that before? No matter if I did.)194. Big Mergers don’t work. Small acquisitions can/do work—if you don’t screw with their energy.

EXCELLENCE.

4/40.

4/40

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

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

your heart, or not.”

—Brian Joffe/BIDvest

“HOW THE COAST GUARD GETS IT RIGHT” —Headline, Time, 10.31.2005

*Autonomy*Flexibility*“Perhaps the most important distinction of the Coast Guard is that it trusts itself”

Ex-e-cu-

tion!

“Ninety percent of what we call

‘management’ consists of making

it difficult for people to get

things done.” – Peter Drucker

TP/BW on BigCo Sin #1:

“too much talk, too little do”



“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












“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.”


“While many people big oil finds with big companies, over the years

about 80 percent of the oil found in the United States has been

brought in by wildcatters such as Mr Findley, says Larry Nation,

spokesman for the American Association of Petroleum

Geologists.” —WSJ, “Wildcat Producer Sparks Oil

Boom in Montana,” 0405.2006

A man approached JP Morgan, held up an envelope, and said, “Sir, in my hand I hold a guaranteed formula for success, which I will

gladly sell you for $25,000.”

“Sir,” JP Morgan replied, “I do not know what is in the envelope, however if you show me, and I like it, I give you my word as a

gentleman that I will pay you what you ask.”

The man agreed to the terms, and handed over the envelope.JP Morgan opened it, and extracted a single sheet of paper.

He gave it one look, a mere glance, then handed the piece of paper back to the gent.

And paid him the agreed-upon $25,000 …

1. Every morning, write a list of the things that need to be done that day.

2. Do them. Source: Hugh MacLeod/tompeters.com/NPR

“Never forget implementation

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

percent’ of the client puzzle.” —Al

McDonald

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.

????????

Work Hard > Work Smart

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

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

example of a very important peculiarity of his character:

Grant had an extreme, almost phobic dislike of

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

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

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

turning back was not an option for him.”

—Michael Korda, Ulysses Grant

EXCELLENCE.

4/40.

DECENTRALIZATION.EXECUTION.

ACCOUTABILITY.6:15A.M.

EXCELLENCE.

LEADING.

Leadership23

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.”)

Kevin Roberts’ Credo

1. Ready. Fire! Aim.2. If it ain’t broke ... Break it!3. Hire crazies.4. Ask dumb questions.5. Pursue failure.6. Lead, follow ... or get out of the way!7. Spread confusion.8. Ditch your office.9. Read odd stuff.

10. Avoid moderation!

Sir Richard’s Rules:

Follow your passions.Keep it simple.

Get the best people to help you.

Re-create yourself.Play.

Source: Fortune on Branson

EXCELLENCE.

STRETCH.

The greatest dangerfor most of us

is not that our aim istoo high

and we miss it,but that it is

too lowand we reach it.

Michelangelo

“Beware of the tyranny of making

Small Changes to Small

Things. Rather,

make Big Changes

to Big Things.”

—Roger Enrico, former Chairman, PepsiCo

“Reward excellent failures.

Punish mediocre

successes.”Phil Daniels, Sydney exec

Kevin Roberts’ Credo

1. Ready. Fire! Aim.2. If it ain’t broke ... Break it!3. Hire crazies.4. Ask dumb questions.5. Pursue failure.6. Lead, follow ... or get out of the way!7. Spread confusion.8. Ditch your office.9. Read odd stuff.

10. Avoid moderation!

Stay Hungry.

Stay Foolish.

Steve Jobs

EXCELLENCE.

OFFENSE.

Nelson’s secret:

“[Other] admirals more frightened of losing than

anxious to win”

EXCELLENCE.

TRANSCENDENCE.THRILLS.

Radically Thrilling Language!

“Radically Thrilling.”

—BMW Z4 (ad)

CTO**Chief Thrills Officer

Synonyms

PurityTranscendence


Antonyms

Mediocrity

CTO**Chief Transcendence Officer

EXCELLENCE. WOW. NOW.

“It’s always

showtime.”


CWO**Chief WOW Officer

!

C!O*Chief ! Officer

EXCELLE ALWAYS.

EXCELLENCE.LET.US.

MARCH.

“In classical times when Cicero had finished

speaking, the people said, ‘How well he spoke,’ but when Demosthenes had finished speaking,

they said, ‘Let us march.’” —Adlai Stevenson

Let us march.

“Never doubt that a small group of

committed people can change the

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

EXCELLE ALWAYS.

“It’s always

showtime.”


Bonus

The Irreducible209+/Sales122/60TIBs

Tom Peters/0607.2006

The Irreducible20

9

A frustrated participant at a seminar for investment bankers in Mauritius listened impatiently to my explanation of differences of opinion among me, Mike Porter,

Gary Hamel, Jim Collins, etc. Finally, he’d had enough. “What, if anything,” he asked,

“do you believe ‘for sure’?” I mumbled something, but his query started rumbling

around in my mind. Three days later, wandering on a Sunday in London, the idea of “the irreducibles” occurred to

me—and I started jotting down notes on stuff I do indeed believe “for sure.” Before

I knew it, a few days later, the list had grown to 209 items. Hence “The Irreducible209” that follows.

Tom Peters

1. Hare 1, Tortoise 0. (Hare-y times.)2. Tempo. (O.O.D.A.)3. MBWA.4. Appreciation. (“Motivator” #1.) (Can’t be faked. Good.)5. Decency.6. Hurry.7. Time out.8. One matters. 9. Big change. Short time. (Alt not work.)10. Excellence. Always.11. Passion. Energy. Hustle. Enthusiasm. Exuberance. (Move mountains. No alt.)12. You must care.13. Emotion.14. Hard is soft. (Soft is hard.)

15. Men. Women. Different. Contend. Connect.16. Women. Buy. All. (RU listening?)17. Quality. (“Mind-blowing.” Beyond 6-Sigma.)18. Re-invent. Re-pot. (Required.)19. Jaywalk.20. Big change. Small # of people. (Always.)21. Experiment. Now.22. Failure. Normal. 23. Most failures, most success. (Fail. Forward. Fast.) 24. “Reward excellent failures. Punish mediocre successes.”25. Women leaders. (Altered times.) 26. Extremism. (Good business. Bad politics.)27. Innovation source. Only. Extreme irritation.28. Smile.

29. You must care.30. Mentor. (Highest ROI.)31. Best “roster” wins.32. Wow. (Okay in biz.)33. We all have customers. (Biz. Personal.)34. All contacts = Experiences.35. Cirque du Soleil. (Peerless.)36. Leaders create space for growth.37. Quests. (Only.)38. High aspirations, “high” results. (Self-fulfilling prophecy.)39. Attitude 1, Skills 0. (Mostly.) (Attitude 1, Skill 0.3?)40. Sometimes: Skill 1, Attitude 0.1.41. Must “love,” not “like.”42. 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.

Work In Progress

XXX. One size fits. One. Only. (Evaluations. Period.)XXX. Teaching. Individualized. Only. (6 billion people = 6 billion learning trajectories.) (Montessori.)XXX. First impression. Matters. Shapes all that comes. Hard to overcome. (Understatement.)XXX. Jerks. Don’t work with. (Life = Too short.)XXX. Manage [the hell out of] first impressions.XXX. Last impression. Matters. Dominates memory. Hard to overcome. (Understatement.)XXX. Manage [the hell out of] last impressions.XXX. Plain English.XXX. K.I.S.S. (450/8.)XXX. $798. $55,000,000,000. 3,000,000,000. 7AM-7PM. 6:15AM.XXX. Donnelly Weatherstrip rules.XXX. Managers do things right. Leaders do the right thing. NOT.

Work In Progress

XXX. One size fits. One. Only. (Evaluations. Period.)XXX. Teaching. Individualized. Only. (6 billion people = 6 billion learning trajectories.) (Montessori.)XXX. First impression. Matters. Shapes all that comes. Hard to overcome. (Understatement.)XXX. Jerks. Don’t work with. (Life = Too short.)XXX. Manage [the hell out of] first impressions.XXX. Last impression. Matters. Dominates memory. Hard to overcome. (Understatement.)XXX. Manage [the hell out of] last impressions.XXX. Plain English.XXX. K.I.S.S. (450/8.)XXX. $798. $55,000,000,000. 3,000,000,000. 7AM-7PM. 6:15AM.XXX. Donnelly Weatherstrip rules.XXX. Managers do things right. Leaders do the right thing. NOT.

GE (more or less):

The Sales122: 122 Ridiculously Obvious Thoughts About Selling Stuff

Tom Peters/0402.2006

This list was first prepared for GE Energy sales & marketing people in January. It

started with a half-dozen items, and grew like Topsy. Possibly, given its origins, it’s a little tilted toward complex, engineering-

based sales. In any event, it makes a perfect companion to “The Irreducibles209.” This, too, is effectively a list of “irreducibles.”

Tom Peters

1. “Strategy” overrated, simply “doin’ stuff” underrated. See Kelleher and Bossidy: “We have a ‘strategic plan,’ it’s called doing things.”—Herb Kelleher. “Execution is a systematic process of rigorously discussing hows and whats, tenaciously following through, and ensuring accountability.” —Larry Bossidy & Ram Charan/ Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done. Action has its own logic—ask Genghis Khan, Rommel, COL John Boyd, U.S. Grant, Patton, W.T. Sherman.2. What are you personally great at? (Key word: “great.”) Play to strengths! “Distinct or Extinct.” You should aim to be “outrageously good”/B.I.W. at a niche area (or more).3. Are you a “personality,” a de facto “brand” in the industry? The Dr Phil of ...4. Opportunism (with a little forethought) mostly wins. (“Successful people are the ones who are good at Plan B.”)5. Little starts can lead to big wins. Most true winners—think search & Google—start as something small. Many big deals—Disney & Pixar—could have been done as little-er deals if you’d had the guts to jump before the value became obvious.

6. Non-obvious targets have great potential. Among many other things, everybody goes after the obvious ones. Also, the “non-obvious” are often good Partners for technology experiments.7. The best relationships are often (usually?) not “top to top”! (Often the best: hungry division GMs eager to make a mark.)8. IT’S RELATIONSHIPS, STUPID—DEEP AND FROM MULTIPLE FUNCTIONS.9. In any public-sector business, you must become an avid student of “the politics,” the incentives and constraints, mostly non-economic, facing all of the players. Politicians are usually incredibly logical—if you (deeply!) understand the matrix in which they exist.10. Relationships from within our firm are as important—often more important—as those from outside—again broad is as important as deep. Allies—avid supporters!—within and from non-obvious places may be more important than relationships at the Client organization. Goal: an “insanely unfair ‘market share’” of insiders’ time devoted to your projects!

“Everyone lives by

selling something.”

—Robert Louis Stevenson

11. Interesting outsiders are essential to innovative proposal and sales teams. An “exciting” sales-proposal team is as important as a prestigious one.12. Is the proposal-sales team weird enough—weirdos come up with the most interesting, game-changer ideas. Period.13. Lunch with at least one weirdo per month. (Goal: always on the prowl for interesting new stuff.)14. Gratuitous comment: Lunches with good friends are typically a waste of (professional) time. 15. Don’t short-change (time, money, depth) the proposal process. Miss one tiny nuance, one potential incentive that “makes my day” for a key Client player—and watch the whole gig be torpedoed. 16. “Sticking with it” sometimes pays, sometimes not—it takes a lot of tries to forge the best path in. Sometimes you never do, after a literal lifetime. (Ah, life.)17. WOMEN ARE SIMPLY BETTER AT RELATIONSHIPS—don’t get hung up—particularly in tech firms—on what industries-countries “women can’t do.” (Or some such bullshit.)

18. Work incessantly on your “story”—most economic value springs from a good story (think Perrier)! In sensitive public or quasi-public negotiations, a compelling story is of immense value—politics is about the tension among competing stories. (If you don’t believe me, ask Karl Rove or James Carville.) (“Storytelling is the core of culture.” —Branded Nation: The Marketing of Megachurch, College Inc., and Museumworld, James Twitchell)19. Call this 18A, or 18 repeat: Become a first-rate Storyteller! (“A key – perhaps the key – to leadership is the effective communication of a story.”—Howard Gardner, Leading Minds: An Anatomy of Leadership)20. Risk Assessment & Risk Management is more about stories than advanced math—i.e., brilliant scenario construction.21. Good listeners are good sales people. Period.22. Lousy listeners are lousy sales people. Period. 23. GREAT LISTENERS ARE GREAT SALES PEOPLE. (Listening “skills” are hard to learn and subject to immense effort in pursuit of Mastery. A virtuoso “listener” is as rare as a virtuoso cello player.) (“If you don’t listen, you don’t sell anything.”—Carolyn Marland/MD/Guardian Group)

24. Things that are funny to me (American) are often-mostly not funny to those in other cultures. (Humor is as fine-edged as it gets, and rarely travels.)25. You don’t know Jack Squat about other peoples’ cultures—especially if you are a typically myopic American. (Like me.)26. Are you a great interviewer? It’s a make or break skill. (Think Barbara Walters’ skill at extracting unwanted truths from pros in persona-protection ... in front of 10s of millions of people.27. Are you a great (not merely “good”) presenter? Mastering presentation skills is a life’s work—with stupendous payoff.28. Work like hell on the Big 2: LISTENING/INTERVIEWING, PRESENTING. These are “the essence of [sales] life”—and usually picked-up in an amateurish fashion. Mistake! (Become a “professional student” of these two areas, achieve Mastery.)29. Are you good at flowers? Think: FLOWER POWER! (see Harvey Mackay’s “Mackay 66”—what you should know about a Client; e.g., birthdays & anniversaries.) (My “flowers budget” is out of control. Hooray for me.)30. You can’t do it all—be clear at what you are good at, bad at, indifferent at. Hubris sucks.

“If you don’t listen,

you don’t sellanything.”

—Carolyn Marland/Managing Director/

Guardian Group

31. The point is not to “prove yourself.” (That’s ego-talk.) Let the best person present to the Client—perhaps a “lower level” geek. (“Control freaks” get their just desserts in the long haul—or sooner.)32. The numbers will more or less take care of themselves over the long haul—if the relationship/s is/are solid gold.33. The Gold Standard in selling: INDISPENSABLE to the Client. No other goal is worthy.34. Never stop growing-broadening-deepening the relationship. The key to “indispensability” is to get the Client more and more … and more … and then more … imbedded in “our” web. Hence the so-called “selling process” is only the first step!35. USE THE WORD “WE” … CONSTANTLY & RELIGIOUSLY! (E.g.: “We”—the Client & me—“are going to change the world with this service.”)36. Don’t waste your time on jerks—it’ll rarely work out in the mid- to long-term.37. Genius is walking away from lousy “scores” (deals)—and accepting the attendant heat. Big Business is the premier home to Big Egos overpaying by a factor of 2 to 22 with billion$$$$ at stake. (Think Jerry Levin and AOL Time Warner.)

38. You haven’t a clue as to how this situation will actually play out—be prepared to move fast in a different direction.39. Keep your word.40. KEEP YOUR WORD.41. Underpromise (i.e., don’t over-promise; i.e., cut yourself a little slack) even if it costs you business—winning is a long-term affair. Over-promising is Sign #1 of a lack of integrity. You will pay the piper. 42. There is such a thing as a “good loss”—if you’ve tested something new and developed good relationships. A half-dozen honorable, ingenious losses over a two-year period can pave the way for a Big Victory in a New Space in year 3.43. It’s a competitive world out there. New, innovative products are harder to sell than old stand-bys. Nonetheless, you will be a long-term star to the extent that you are willing to push the harder-to-sell-at-the-moment Innovative Products that cement long-term Client success (Indispensability!) —even if it means a #s hit this quarter. PART OF YOUR JOB: TAKE CLIENTS ON AN ADVENTURE THAT PUTS THEM AHEAD OF THE GAME CALLED (GAMECHANGING—hopefully) COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE!

44. Think “legacy”—what the hell is all this really about for you and the world? (“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” —Mary Oliver)45. THERE ARE NO “MODERATES” IN THE HISTORY BOOKS! 46. Keep it simple! (Damn it!) No matter how “sophisticated” the product. If you can’t explain it in a phrase, a page, or to your 14-year-old ... you haven’t got it right yet.47. Know more than the next guy. Homework pays. (of course it’s obvious—but in my work it is too often honored in the breach.)48. Regardless of project size, winning or losing invariably hinges on a raft of “little stuff.” Little stuff is and always has been everything!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!—or, “one man’s little stuff is another man’s 7.6 Richter deal-breaker.”49. In public settings in particular, face saving is all. When something changes, allow the other guy to come out looking like a winner, especially if he has lost. (Even if you must accept the egg on your face—he will always remember you!)50. Don’t hold grudges. (It is the ultimate in small mindedness—and incredibly wasteful and ineffective. There’s always tomorrow.)

51. IT’S ALWAYS “THE POLITICS”—wee private-sector deal or giant public sector deal. (Every player, small or large, is angling for something. Master the calculus of advantage.)52. To beat the “turnover problem” in key Client posts amidst long negotiations, invest outrageous amounts of time building a wide & deep set of relationships with mid-level (& lower!!) “plodding” “careerists.” The invisible careerists are the bedrock upon which repeated success is built! (My “Capitol Hill Axiom”: It’s the 24-year-old LA who in the end briefs the Senator right before she goes to the Floor to vote.)53. Speaking of “she”: Gender differences are Enormous—dealing with a woman and dealing with a man are different kettles of fish—you must become an A+ student of gender differences. (E.g.: Men are typically more interested in the short-term “score.” Women are more interested in the long-term consequences.) 54. “LITTLE PEOPLE” OFTEN HAVE BIG FRIENDS.55. This is not war, damn it. All parties can win (or not lose, anyway). And losing bidders can walk away from a deal with increased respect for you and your team.

56. Never, ever dump on a competitor—the Tom Watson IBM glory-days mantra.57. Never forget the “Law of Cousins!” In developing nations in particular, power brokers at all levels are at least cousins! Consideration for a second cousin can pay off big time.58. Speaking of “favors,” jail sucks.59. Work hard beats work smart. (Mostly.)60. REPEAT: HE/SHE WHO HAS THE MOST-BEST RELATIONSHIPS WINS. RELATIONSHIPS ARE THE ESSENCE OF THE WORK OF THE SALESPERSON. THE HARD ... AND LONG ... WORK OF THE SALESPERSON. 61. Mano v mano “hardball” is seldom the answer—end runs based and patient multi-level relationship building via deeper-wider networks win. 62. If the deal is wired from below, truly wired, than the so-called “big negotiations” are essentially irrelevant.63. If every quarter is a “little better” than the prior quarter—then you are not taking any serious risks. 64. Phones beat email.

“Nothing is so

contagious asenthusiasm.”

—Samuel Taylor Coleridge

65. A THREE-MINUTE CALL TODAY CAN AVOID A GAME-LOSER OF A FIASCO NEXT MONTH. There was always a time when a little thing could have been addressed that headed off a subsequent big thing. As to avoiding that call, didn’t someone say, “Pride goeth before the fall”?66. Be hyper-organized about relationship management—you are in the anthropology business. Study the great pols! Brilliant NRM (network relationship management) is not accidental! It is not catch-as-catch can. (Football analogies are cute—but deep political understanding pays the private-school tuition.)67. Obsess on ROIR (Return On Investment In Relationships).68. “THANK YOU” NOTES: World’s highest-return investment!!69. The way to anyone’s heart: Doing a nice thing for their kid. (But, gawd, does this take a gentle touch.)70. Scoring off other people is stupid. Winners are always in the business of creating the maximum # of winners—among adversaries at least as much as among “partners.”71. Your colleagues’ successes are your successes. Period. (Trust me, my greatest personal success—financially as well as artistically—has been creating a bigger pond in which everyone wins, even if my “market share” is down.)

72. Lend a helping hand, especially when you don’t have the time. E.g. share relationships—the more you give away the more you get in return (just like they say in church). 73. Listen up: “It was much later that I realized Dad’s secret. He gained respect by giving it. He talked and listened to the fourth-grade kids in Spring Valley who shined shoes the same way he talked and listened to a bishop or a college president. He was seriously interested in who you were and what you had to say.” —Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot, Respect. (I.e., Respect is Cool.)74. Mentoring is a thrill—and the practical payoff is enormous. The best mentors have the whole world working its buns off for them!75. Hire for enthusiasm. Promote for enthusiasm. Cherish enthusiasm. REMOVE NON-ENTHUSIASTS—THEY ARE CANCERS. (“Nothing is so contagious as enthusiasm.”—Samuel Taylor Coleridge. “A man without a smiling face must not open a shop.”—Chinese Proverb.)76. IT’S ALWAYS YOUR PROBLEM—you sold it to them.

77. It’s never over: While there may be an excellent service activity in your company, the “relationship” belongs to You! Hence the “aftersales” “moments of truth” are at least as—if not more than*--important to the Continuing Relationship as the sale “transaction” itself. (*I vote for “more than.”) You’ll get your biggest “points” with the Client for being an effective after-the-fact go-between with your company.78. Don’t get too hung up on “systems integration”—first & foremost, the individual bits have got to work.79. For God’s sake don’t over promise on “systems integration”—it’s nigh on impossible to deliver.80. On the other hand … winners clamber Up the Value-added Ladder, and offer ever so much more than “mere” product. ALL SUCCESSFUL SALES PEOPLE ARE IN THE “SOLUTIONS BUSINESS”—no matter how jargony that may sound.

81. “Systems” / “Solutions” selling means grappling directly with “culture change” in Client organizations. (“The business of selling is not just about matching viable solutions to the customers that require them. It’s equally about managing the change process the customer will need to go through to implement the solution and achieve the value promised by the solution”—Jeff Thull, The Prime Solution: Close the Value Gap, Increase Margins, and Win the Complex Sale) 82. Shit happens. That’s what they pay you for.83. This is not a “GE” or “Ben & Jerry’s” sale—it is a Joe Jones/Jane Jones sale. YOU ARE THE “BRAND” THE CLIENT BUYS—especially over the long haul.84. Duh: You make money, the company makes money—on repeat business.85. Master—yes, you—the “PR” Game. “Word of Mouth” is not accidental! You want Word of Mouth? Make it happen! 86. GOAL #1: MAKE YOUR CLIENT A HERO—YOU ARE NOT THERE TO GET CREDIT. (“Taking credit” is for egomaniacs. And losers.)87. “Decent margins,” over the mid- to long-term, are a product of better relationships, not better “negotiating skill.” (Mostly.)

“You can’t behavein a calm, rationalmanner. You’ve

got to be out there on

the lunatic fringe.”

—Jack Welch

88. In the immortal words of ex-GE Vice Chairman Larry Bossidy, more or less, “Realism rocks.” (“Bullshit artist” and “great salesperson,” contrary to conventional wisdom, are Diametric Opposites. “Truthteller” and Great Salesperson is more like it.)89. Be the first to tell the Client bad news (e.g., slipped delivery); his intelligence sources will tell him fast—you want to be there first with your story and to enhance your rep as Truthteller!90. Work like hell to get a reputation as a valued industry expert, to become an industry resource.91. Work the Trade Association angle for all its worth—it may take a decade to pay off—e.g., when you become an officer or are on an important panel or testify Before Congress.92. PAY YOUR DUES IN THE CLIENT ORG AND IN YOUR OWN ORG!93. It’s all bloody tactics.94. You must ... LOVE .... the product! (Period.)95. YOU MUST LOVE THE PRODUCT!96. Don’t over-schedule. “Running late” is inexcusable at any level of seniority; it is the ultimate mark of self-importance mixed with contempt.

97. Women are better salespeople. (See Addendum.)98. Women alone understand Women.99. Actually, Women by and large understand Men better than Men understand Men.100.Women purchasers buy Stories and recommendations.101. Women take longer to become Loyal purchasers, but then stay Loyal.102. Men buy Stats.103. Men decide fast, but are fickle.104. Men & Women are … VERY, VERY … Different.105. Women buy most things. Consumer. Increasingly, professional goods and services.106. Women’s Market is Opportunity #1.107. Boomers. Many, many. Lots & lots & lots of … $$$.108. Boomers-Geezers are very different purchasers than those in other categories.

109. It takes time to get to know people. (DUH.)110. The very idea of “efficiency” in relationship development is ... STUPID.111. MBWA (still) rules.112. “Preparing the soil” is the “first 98 percent.” (Or more.)113. WORK THE PHONES!114. Rule 5K-5M: 5K miles for a 5-Minute meeting often makes sense. (Yes, often.) (Even with constrained travel budgets.) (Thanks, super-agent Mark McCormack.)115. Become a student! Study great salespeople! (Including Presidents.) (“Natural” is a little bit true—but then Naturals are always the ones who study hardest—e.g., Jerry Rice.)116. Become a student! Yes, you can study Relationship Building. So, study … 117. Beware complexifiers and complicators. (Truly “smart people” ... Simplify things.)

118. The smartest guy in the room rarely wins—alas, he usually is aware he’s the smartest guy. (And needn’t waste his time on that “soft relationship crap.”)119. Be kind. It works.120. Be especially kind when there are screw-ups. (There’s plenty of time later to Play the Great Accountability Game.)121. Presidents never tire of being treated like Presidents.

122. Luck matters. So: Good luck!

ADDENDUM: Women Rock … as Salespersons (From Item #98.)

And the answers are?

“TAKE THIS QUICK QUIZ: Who manages more things at once? Who puts more effort into their appearance? Who usually takes care of the details? Who finds it easier to meet new people? Who asks more questions in a conversation? Who is a better listener? Who has more interest in communication skills? Who is more inclined to get involved? Who encourages harmony and agreement? Who has better intuition? Who works with a longer ‘to do’ list? Who enjoys a recap to the day’s events? Who is better at keeping in touch with others?”

Source: Selling Is a Woman’s Game: 15 Powerful Reasons Why Women Can Outsell Men, Nicki Joy & Susan Kane-Benson

Tom’s

60TIBs**TIB = This I Believe

EXCELLENCE.

ALWAYS.

1. TECHNICOLOR RULES! (Passion Moves

Mountains!)

2. Audacity Matters!

3. Revolution Now!

4. Question Authority! (& Hire

Disrespectful People.)

5. Disorganization Wins! (LOVE THE

MESS!)

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

COMPETITION STAVES OFF STALENESS. (You can take the

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

out of the boy!)

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

Steve Jobs, Larry Ellison, Scott McNealy, Craig

Venter et al.)

8. Message 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.

BONUS.

BONUS

Stating the Obvious: THE PROBLEM IS

RARELY THE PROBLEM.

THE PROBLEM IS RARELY/NEVER THE

PROBLEM. THE RESPONSE TO THE

PROBLEM INVARIABLY ENDS UP BEING THE REAL PROBLEM.* **

*Watergate, M Stewart, BR**And: PERCEPTION IS ALL THERE IS!

OFTEN AS NOT/MORE OFTEN

THAN NOT THE UNDERLYING

PROBLEM IS NOT MUCH OF A PROBLEM.

PERCEPTION IS ALL THERE IS.

PERIOD.*

*From Whole Foods to IBM to the corner deli

Relationships (of all varieties): THERE ONCE WAS A TIME WHEN A THREE-MINUTE PHONE

CALL WOULD HAVE AVOIDED SETTING OFF

THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL THAT RESULTED IN A COMPLETE RUPTURE.

POWER WORDS!

“I’m sorry.”

Stating the Obvious: MORE POWER WORDS/IDEAS

Thank You!

MBWA**5,000 miles for a 5-minute face-to

-face meeting (courtesy super-agent Mark McCormick)

Say it with …

FLOWERS

POWER IDEAS!

You must care.—General Melvin Zais

EXCELLENCE.

ALWAYS.

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Long Tom Peters’ EXCELLENCE. ALWAYS. XAlways Master/18June 2006.

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