Tom Peters’

The

Talent50 ERC/2003 WorkPlace

Forum/02.20.2003

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

to like irrelevance even less.” —General Eric

Shinseki, Chief of Staff, U. S. Army

“IT MAY SOMEDAY BE SAID THAT THE 21ST CENTURY BEGAN ON SEPTEMBER 11, 2001. …

“Al-Qaeda represents a new and profoundly dangerous kind of

organization—one that might be called a ‘virtual state.’ On September 11 a virtual

state proved that modern societies are vulnerable as never before.”—Time/09.09.2002

“The deadliest strength of America’s new adversaries is their very fluidity, Defense Secretary Donald

Rumsfeld believes. Terrorist networks, unburdened by fixed borders, headquarters or conventional forces, are

free to study the way this nation responds to threats and adapt themselves to prepare for what Mr. Rumsfeld is certain will be another attack. …

“ ‘Business as usual won’t do it,’ he said. His answer is to develop swifter, more lethal ways

to fight. ‘Big institutions aren’t swift on their feet in adapting but rather ponderous and clumsy

and slow.’ ”—The New York Times/09.04.2002

From: Weapon v. Weapon

To: Org structure v. Org structure

“Our military structure today is essentially one

developed and designed by Napoleon.”

Admiral Bill Owens, former Vice Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff

Eric’s Army

Flat.Fast.Agile.Adaptable.Light … But Lethal.Talent/ “I Am An Army Of One.”Info-intense.Network-centric.

1. People First!

“When land was the scarce resource, nations battled

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

Stan Davis & Christopher Meyer, futureWEALTH

Talent!

Tina Brown: “The first thing to do is to hire enough

talent that a critical mass of excitement starts to

grow.”Source: Business2.0/12.2002-01.2003

Whoops: Jack didn’t have a vision!*

*GE = “Talent Machine” (Ed Michaels)

2. Soft Is Hard.

“Soft” Is “Hard”

- ISOE

3. FUNDAMENTAL PREMISE: We Are in an

Age of Talent/ Creativity/

Intellectual-capital Added.

Age of AgricultureIndustrial Age

Age of Information IntensificationAge of Creation Intensification

Source: Murikami Teruyasu, Nomura Research Institute

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

WHAT CAN BROWN DO FOR YOU?

4. Talent “Excellence” in

Every Part of the Organization.

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

OBSESSION.

Model 25/8/53

Sports Franchise GM*

*48 = $500M

“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”

Les Wexner: From sweaters to people!

6. Talent Masters Understand Talent’s

Intangibles.

Visibly energetic/ Passionate/ Enthusiastic … about everything.

Engaging/ Inspires others. (Inspires the interviewer!)

Loves messes & pressure. Impatient/ Action fanatic.

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

her work.)Smart.

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

******

No. 1 re bosses: Exceptional talent selection & development record. (Former co-workers: “Did you visibly grow while

working with X?” / “How has the department/team grown on a ‘world-class’ scale during X’s tenure?”)

7. HR Is “Cool.”

ChicagoNovember 1999:

HRMAC

“support function” / “cost center” / “bureaucratic

drag”

or …

Are you “Rock Stars of the

Age of Talent”

Have you changed

civilization today?Source: HP banner ad

8. HR Sits at The Head

Table.

DD$21M

9. Re-name “HR.”

Talent Department

People Department

Center for Talent Excellence

Seriously Cool People Who Recruit & Develop Seriously Cool People

Etc.

10. There Is an “HR

Strategy.”

11. There Is a FORMAL

Recruitment Strategy.

The NFL Standard!

12. There Is a FORMAL Leadership

Development Strategy.

13. There is a “World Class”

Leadership Development

CENTER.

DD: 0 to 60 in a flash (months)

14. There Is a FORMAL

STRATEGIC HR Review Process.

15. The “Top100,” and Every Unit’s

Top10, Are Consciously

Managed.

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

for a day. They review the top 20 to 50 people by name. They talk about Talent Pool strengthening issues. The Talent

Review Process is a contact sport at GE; it has the intensity and the importance of the budget process at most companies.”—Ed

Michaels

16. “People”/ Talent” Reviews

Are the FIRST Reviews.

17. HR Strategy = Business Strategy.

18. Make it a “Cause Worth

Signing Up For.”

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

Leaders don’t just make products and make decisions.

Leaders make meaning. – John Seeley Brown

19. Set Sky High

Standards.

From “1, 2 or you’re out” [JW] to …

“Best Talent in each industry segment to build

best proprietary intangibles” [EM]

Source: Ed Michaels, War for Talent

20. Enlist Everyone in Challenge Century21.

“If there is nothing very special about

your work, no matter how hard you apply yourself, you won’t get noticed, and that

increasingly means you won’t get paid much either.”

Michael Goldhaber, Wired

108 X 5vs.

8 X 1= 540 vs. 8 (-98.5%)

IBM’s Project

eLiza!** “Self-bootstrapping”/ “Artilects”

E.g. …

Jeff Immelt: 75% of “admin, back room, finance” “digitalized” in

3 years.

Source: BW (01.28.02)

BW Cover/02.2003

“IS YOUR JOB NEXT? A New Round of GLOBALIZATION Is Sending Upscale Jobs Offshore. They Include Chip Design, Basic

Research—even Financial Analysis. Can America Lose These

Jobs and Still Prosper?”

21. Pursue the Best!

“Differentiation is all about being extreme, rewarding the best and

weeding out the ineffective. … You build strong teams by treating

individuals differently. Just look at the way baseball teams pay 20-

game winning pitchers and 40-plus homerun hitters.”—Jack Welch

“best person in the world” —Arthur

Blank

22. Up or Out.

“We believe companies can increase their market cap 50 percent in 3 years. Steve

Macadam at Georgia-Pacific changed 20 of his 40 box plant managers to put

more talented, higher paid managers in charge. He increased profitability from $25 million to $80 million

in 2 years.”

Ed Michaels, War for Talent

Message: Some people are better than other

people. Some people are a helluva lot better than other

people.

23. Ensure that the Review

Process Has INTEGRITY.

25 = 100** “But what do I do that’s more important than developing

people? I don’t do the damn work. They do.”

24. Fork Over!

“Top performing companies are two to four times more likely

than the rest to pay what it takes to prevent losing

top performers.”

Ed Michaels, War for Talent (05.17.00)

25. Training I: Train! Train!

Train!

26.3

3 Weeks in May

“Training” & Prep: 187“Work”: 41

(“Other”: 17)

1% vs.

367%

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

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

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

“Knowledge becomes obsolete incredibly fast. The

continuing professional education of adults is the

No. 1 industry in the next 30 years … mostly on line.”

Peter Drucker,Business 2.0 (22August2000)

Edward Jones’ Training Machine*

146 hours/employee/yearNew hires: 4X avg.

3.8% of payroll

* #1, “The 100 Best Companies To Work For”/Fortune/01.2003

26. Training II: 100% “Business

People.”

27. Training III: 100%

LEADERS.

“I start with the premise that the

function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more

followers.”—Ralph Nader

Brand You, Big Time!

I AM AN ARMY OF

ONE

28. Training IV: Boss as Trainer-

in-Chief.

Workout = 24 DPY in the Classroom

29. Open Communication I:

NO BARRIERS.

“The organizations we created have become tyrants. They have taken

control, holding us fettered, creating barriers that hinder rather than help our businesses. The lines that we drew on our neat organizational diagrams have turned into walls

that no one can scale or penetrate or even peer over.” —Frank Lekanne Deprez &

René Tissen, Zero Space: Moving Beyond Organizational Limits.

“Dawn Meyerreicks, CTO of the Defense Intelligence Systems Agency, made one of the most fateful military calls of the 21st century. After 9/11 … her office

quickly leased all the available transponders covering Central Asia. The implications should change everything about U.S. military thinking in the

years ahead.

“The U.S. Air Force had kicked off its fight against the Taliban with an ineffective bombing campaign, and Washington was anguishing over whether to send in a few Army divisions. Donald Rumsfeld told Gen. Tommy Franks to

give the initiative to 250 Special Forces already on the ground. They used satellite phones, Predator surveillance drones, and GPS- and laser-based

targeting systems to make the air strikes brutally effective.

“In effect, they ‘Napsterized’ the battlefield by cutting out the middlemen (much of the military’s command and control) and working directly with the

real players. … The data came in so fast that HQ revised operating procedures to allow intelligence analysts and attack planners to work directly

together. Their favorite tool, incidentally, was instant messaging over a secure network.”—Ned Desmond/“Broadband’s New Killer App”/Business

2.0/ OCT2002

30. Open Communication II:

Share (ALL) Information.

m-“On” or Out of the Loop

“Managers in Finland always keep their phones on. Customers expect

fast reactions. And if you can’t reach a superior, you make many decisions

yourself—managers who want to influence decisions of subordinates must keep their phones open.” —Risto Linturi, Finnish m-guru, in Howard Rheingold’s Smart

Mobs

31. Respect!

“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

“Leaders are living individuals whom employees smell, feel, touch their

presence.”#49

32. Embrace the Whole Individual.

33. Build Places of “Grace.”

“My favorite word is grace –

whether it’s amazing grace,

saving grace, grace under

fire, Grace Kelly. How we live contributes to beauty – whether it’s how we treat other people or

the environment.”

Celeste Cooper, designer

Rodale’s on “Grace” …

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

benevolence … benefaction … compassion … beauty

34. MBWA: The “Rudy

Rule.”

Rudy!

“The first and greatest imperative of command

is to be present in person. Those who

impose risk must be seen to share it.” —John

Keegan, The Masks of Command

35. Thank You!

“The deepest human

need is the need to be appreciated.”

William James

“The two most powerful things

in existence: a kind word and a thoughtful gesture.”

Ken Langone, CEO, Invemed Associates [from Ronna Lichtenberg, It’s Not Business, It’s Personal]

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

DETAILS.)

33 Division Titles. 26 League Pennants. 14

World Series: Earl Weaver—0. Tom Kelly—0. Jim Leyland—0.

Walter Alston—1AB. Tony LaRussa—132 games, 6 seasons. Tommy Lasorda—P, 26 games. Sparky

Anderson—1 season.

37. Honor Youth.

“Why focus on these late teens and twenty-

somethings? Because they are the first young who are both in a position to change the world, and are actually doing so. … For the first time in history,

children are more comfortable, knowledgeable and literate than their parents about an

innovation central to society. … The Internet has triggered the first industrial revolution in history

to be led by the young.”

The Economist [12/2000]

8 Minutes*

—Dr. Sugata Mira, NIIT/ New Delhi/ 1999**

*Ignorance to Surfing**And then there’s oya yubi sedai, the “thumb generation”

38. Provide Early Leadership

Assignments.

39. Create a FORMAL System

of Mentoring.

W. L. GoreQuad/Graphics

40. Diversity!

“Diversity defines the health and wealth of nations in a new

century. Mighty is the mongrel. The hybrid is hip. The impure, the mélange, the adulterated, the

blemished, the rough, the black-and-blue, the mix-and-match – these people are inheriting the earth.

Mixing is the new norm. Mixing trumps isolation. It spawns creativity, nourishes the human spirit, spurs

economic growth and empowers nations.”

G. Pascal Zachary, The Global Me: New Cosmopolitans and the Competitive Edge

CM Prof Richard Florida on

“Creative Capital”: “You cannot get a technologically

innovative place unless it’s open to weirdness,

eccentricity and difference.”

Source: New York Times/06.01.2002

“Where do good new ideas come from? That’s simple! From

differences. Creativity comes from unlikely juxtapositions.

The best way to maximize differences is to mix ages, cultures and

disciplines.”

Nicholas Negroponte

Duh!“We want our associate population to mirror our

customer population at every level, from the executive suite all the way to the retail floor. In the marketplace, basically what I want to do is draw a concentric circle around every one of our 2,300 stores, and I want the assortment in that store to match the ethnicity of the

neighborhood it’s in. Some neighborhoods are all Hispanic, so we can put in a full Hispanic format. That’s

what Super Saver is. All the signage is in both languages. There’s a 100 percent Spanish-speaking

staff in the store.”—Larry Johnston, CEO, Albertson’s

41. WOMEN RULE.*

*Duh.

“AS LEADERS, WOMEN RULE: New Studies find that female managers

outshine their male counterparts in almost

every measure”Title, Special Report, Business Week, 11.20.00

“American women possess leadership abilities that are particularly effective in today’s organizations, yet their abilities remain undervalued and underutilized. In the future, what will distinguish one

organization and one country from another will be its use of human

resources. Today human resource utilization is not only a matter of social

justice but a bottom-line issue.”

Judy Rosener, America’s Competitive Secret

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

favor interactive-collaborative leadership style [empowerment beats top-down decision making]; sustain fruitful collaborations; comfortable with sharing information; see redistribution of power

as victory, not surrender; favor multi-dimensional feedback; value technical & interpersonal skills, individual & group contributions equally; readily accept ambiguity; honor intuition as well as pure

“rationality”; inherently flexible; appreciate cultural diversity.

Source: Judy B. Rosener, America’s Competitive Secret

“TAKE THIS QUICK QUIZ: Who manages more things at once? Who puts more effort into their appearance? Who usually takes care of the details? Who finds it

easier to meet new people? Who asks more questions in a conversation? Who is a better

listener? Who has more interest in communication skills? Who is more inclined to get involved?

Who encourages harmony and agreement? Who has better intuition? Who works with a longer ‘to do’ list? Who enjoys a recap to the day’s events? Who is

better at keeping in touch with others?”

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

“Investors are looking more and more for a relationship with their financial

advisers. They want someone they can trust, someone who listens. In my experience, in general,

women may be better at these relationship-building skills than are

men.”

Hardwick Simmons, CEO, Prudential Securities

“Thank you”

17 Men: 84 Women: 19

“Women speak and hear a language of connection and intimacy, and men

speak and hear a language of status and independence. Men communicate to obtain information, establish their

status, and show independence. Women communicate to create

relationships, encourage interaction, and exchange feelings.”

Judy Rosener, America’s Competitive Secret

63 of 2,500 top earners in F500

8% Big 5 partners

14% partners at top 250 law firms

43% new med students; 26% med

faculty; 7% deans

Source: Susan Estrich, Sex and Power

Opportunity!

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

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

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

Peak Partic. Age 45 22 27 19

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

Source: Judy Rosener, America’s Competitive Secret

Ass Of The Year2002 (?): Maurice Greenberg, A.I.G., on the Company’s New (All Male) Leadership Team

“In a lot of countries of the world, it would be very difficult for a woman to

be a good CEO. … I have a responsibility to do the best we can for

shareholders.” * **

*Source: New York Times/05.05.02**Wouldn’t you love to watch him tell that … face-to-face

… to Margaret Thatcher or Carly Fiorina? (I would.)

“Deloitte was doing a great job of hiring high-performing women; in fact, women often earned

higher performance ratings than men in their first years with the firm. Yet the percentage of women

decreased with step up the career ladder. … Most women weren’t leaving to raise families; they had weighed their options in Deloitte’s male-dominated culture and found them wanting.

Many, dissatisfied with a culture they perceived as endemic to professional service firms, switched

professions.”

Douglas McCracken, “Winning the Talent War for Women” [HBR]

“The process of assigning plum accounts was largely unexamined. …

Male partners made assumptions: ‘I wouldn’t put her on that kind of

company because it’s a tough manufacturing environment.’ ‘That

client is difficult to deal with.’ ‘Travel puts too much pressure on women.’ ”

Douglas McCracken, “Winning the Talent War for Women” [HBR]

Goldsmith College research (UK): Gender stereotypes re-enforced. Men who extoll successes rewarded, women not. Men

who face interviewer head on upgraded; women who look at floor or use sidelong

glances do better. Women who nod repeatedly do better, not men. Men who

give long answers score well, women who give short answers do well. (College grads

seeking jobs; HR interviewers—2 M, 2F.)

Source: The Observer/ London/ 01.12.2003

The Core Argument

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

42. Diversity Starts on the Board of Directors.

“Would Congress [the Boardroom] be a different place if half the members

were women?”

From Sex and Power, Susan Estrich

Norwegian Law: Boards must have

at least 40%

women.

43. Hire (& Protect) Weird.

“Are there enough weird people in

the lab these days?”V. Chmn., pharmaceutical house, to a lab director (06.01)

The Cracked Ones Let in the Light

“Our business needs a massive transfusion of talent, and talent, I believe, is most likely to be found

among non-conformists, dissenters and rebels.”

David Ogilvy

Deviants, Inc. “Deviance tells the story of every mass

market ever created. What starts out weird and dangerous

becomes America’s next big corporate payday. So are you looking for the next mass market idea? It’s out there … way

out there.”

Source: Ryan Matthews & Watts Wacker, Fast Company (03.02)

Saviors-in-Waiting

Disgruntled CustomersOff-the-Scope Competitors

Rogue EmployeesFringe Suppliers

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

“Rumsfeld values mavericks and tries

to protect and promote them.” —

Newsweek/ 09.16.02

44. Cherish Boldness!

No Wiggle Room!

“Incrementalism is innovation’s worst enemy.”

Nicholas Negroponte

“In the modern military, risk is anathema to rising stars, who cannot afford any slip-ups on

their records. ‘Zero defects’ and ‘zero tolerance’ are common

bywords.”—Newsweek/09.16.02

“Reward excellent failures. Punish

mediocre successes.”

Phil Daniels, Sydney exec

45. We Are All Unique.

Beware Lurking HR Types … One size

NEVER fits all. One size fits one. Period.

48 Players = 48 Projects =

48 different success measures.

46. Bosses “Win People

Over.”

WHAT AN IDIOT: “Instead of employees being in the driver’s

seat, now we’re in the driver’s seat.”

PJ: “Coaching is winning

players over.”

47. GOAL: Voyages of

Mutual Discovery.

I am inalterably opposed to “organization change,”

“empowerment,” “motivation.” The goal: to awaken the latent talent

already within, by providing opportunities worthy of the

individual’s investment of her or his most precious resources …

time and emotional commitment.

Leaders-Teachers Do Not “Transform People”!

Instead leaders-mentors-teachers (1) provide a context which is marked by (2) access to a luxuriant portfolio of meaningful opportunities (projects) which

(3) allow people to fully (and safely, mostly—caveat: “they”

don’t engage unless they’re “mad about something”) express their innate curiosity and (4) engage in a vigorous

discovery voyage (alone and in small teams, assisted by an

extensive self-constructed network) by which those people (5) go to-create places they (and their mentors-teachers-

leaders) had never dreamed existed—and then the leaders-mentors-teachers (6) applaud like hell, stage

“photo-ops,” and ring the church bells 100 times to commemorate the bravery of their

“followers’ ” explorations!

“Firms will not ‘manage the careers’ of their employees. They

will provide opportunities to enable the employee to develop

identity and adaptability and

thus be in charge of his or her own career.”

Tim Hall et al., “The New Protean Career Contract”

“H.R.” to “H.E.D.” ???

Human

Enablement

Department

48. Foster Independence.

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

invest your financial capital. Its rate of return determines your future options. Take a job for what it teaches you, not for what it pays. Instead of a potential employer asking, ‘Where do you see yourself in 5 years?’

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

appreciate? How much will my portfolio of career options grow?’ ”

Stan Davis & Christopher Meyer, futureWEALTH

THE rise up and flee your cubicle STREET JOURNAL

Adventures in Capitalism

THE I work for a company called

Me STREET JOURNAL

Adventures in Capitalism

Thriving in 24/7 (Sally Helgesen)

START AT THE CORE. Nimbleness only possible if we “locate our inner voice,” take regular inventory of

where we are.

LEARN TO ZIGZAG. Think “gigs.” Think lifelong learning. Forget “old loyalty.” Work on optimism.

CREATE OUR OWN WORK. Articulate your value. Integrate your passions. I.D. your market. Run your

own business.

WEAVE A STRONG WEB OF INCLUSION. Build your own support network. Master the art of “looking

people up.”

49. Enthusiasm!

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

“A leader is a dealer in hope.”

Napoleon

(+TP’s writing room pics)

50. Talent = Brand.

What’s your company’s …

EVP?Employee Value Proposition, per Ed

Michaels et al., The War for Talent

EVP = Challenge, professional growth, respect, satisfaction, opportunity, reward

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

The Top 5 “Revelations”

Better talent wins.

Talent management is my job as leader.

Talented leaders are looking for the moon and stars.

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

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

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

MantraM3

Talent = Brand