Long Tom Peters’ EXCELLENCE. ALWAYS. SPL/enRICHMENT’06 Client Executive Symposium...

Long

Tom Peters’

EXCELLENCE. ALWAYS.

SPL/enRICHMENT’06Client Executive Symposium

Rutherford/Napa Valley/16June 2006

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

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

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)

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”

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!

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

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

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

studying logs, but you have to drill.”

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

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

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

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

spokesman for the American Association of Petroleum

Geologists.” —WSJ, “Wildcat Producer Sparks Oil

Boom in Montana,” 0405.2006

“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

“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

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”

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)

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

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

“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.

“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

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

“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

“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

More than $$$$

#1 R&D spending,

last 25 years?

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

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

Innovation: Strategies & Tactics

Parallel universe/Exec Ed v res MBAEnd run regnant powers/JKCFind done deals-practicing mavericks/Stone-ReGoBell curves/2016 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.

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

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!!)

EXCELLENCE. DRAMATIC.

DIFFERENCE.

“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)

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

EXCELLENCE!

ALWAYS!

$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!

“A man without a smiling face must

not open a shop.” —Chinese Proverb

EXCELLENCE.

PITIFUL.

????????

6/44

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.

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.

10. Women’s Market =

Opportunity No. 1.

EXCELLENCE.

OPPORTUNITY.

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

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.

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.

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

EXCELLENCE.NECESSITY.

OPPORTUNITY.

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

irrelevance—disintermediation is just another way

of saying that … you’ve become

irrelevant to your

customers.”

—John Battelle/Point/Advertising Age/07.05

43,000

Chicago:

HRMAC

“support function” / “cost

center”/ “overhead”

or …

Are you … “Rock Stars of the

Age of Talent”

Are you the …

“Principal Engine of

Value Added”*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.

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”

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

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

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

EXCELLENCE.

UP THE LADDER.

The Value-added Ladder/Memorable Connection

Spellbinding Experiences

Gamechanging SolutionsServicesGoods

Raw Materials

CXO**Chief eXperience Officer

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

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

CDM*

*Chief Dream Merchant

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

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

CSTO*

*Chief Storytelling Officer

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

“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.

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

“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!

DD$21M

A review of Jack and Suzy Welch’s Winning claims there are but two key differentiators that set GE “culture” apart from the herd:

First: Separating financial forecasting and performance measurement. Performance measurement based, as it usually is, on budgeting leads to an epidemic of gaming the system. GE’s performance measurement is divorced from budgeting—and instead reflects how you do relative to your past performance and relative to competitors’ performance; ie it’s about how you actually do in the context of what happened in the real world, not as compared to a gamed-abstract plan developed last year.

Second: Putting HR on a par with finance and marketing.

EXCELLENCE. 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

EXCELLENCE. INDIVIDUAL.BRAND YOU.

Core Mechanism:“Game-changing Solutions”

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

+

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

+

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

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

not.” —Isabel Allende

“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

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

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*

*Chief Revenue Officer

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.

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

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!

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!

EXCELLENCE.

TRANSCENDENCE.THRILLS.

Radically Thrilling Language!

“Radically Thrilling.”

—BMW Z4 (ad)

CTO**Chief Thrills Officer

Synonyms

PurityTranscendence

VirtueEleganceMajesty

Antonyms

Mediocrity

CTO**Chief Transcendence Officer

EXCELLENCE. WOW. NOW.

“It’s always

showtime.”

—David D’Alessandro, Career Warfare

CWO**Chief WOW Officer

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.

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.

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.

Long Tom Peters’ EXCELLENCE. ALWAYS. SPL/enRICHMENT’06 Client Executive Symposium...

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