Tom Peters’ PM21

21 Ideas for Century21 Project

Management

Primavera/21 October 2002/San Diego

1. We Are in a Brawl with No

Rules!

“We are in a

brawl with no rules.”

Paul Allaire

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

not likely to survive the next 25 years. Legally and

financially, yes, but not structurally and economically.”

Peter Drucker, Business 2.0 (08.00)

2. Kaizen Is Not Enough.

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.

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

“Good management was the most powerful reason [leading firms] failed to

stay atop their industries. Precisely because these firms listened to their customers, invested aggressively in technologies that would

provide their customers more and better products of the sort they wanted, and because

they carefully studied market trends and systematically allocated investment capital to

innovations that promised the best returns, they lost their positions of leadership.”

Clayton Christensen, The Innovator’s Dilemma

“Incrementalism is innovation’s worst enemy.”

Nicholas Negroponte

Just Say No …

“I don’t intend to be known as the ‘King of

the Tinkerers.’ ”CEO, large financial services company

(New York, 5-99)

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

irrelevance even less.” —General Eric Shinseki, Chief

of Staff, U. S. Army

“Reward excellent

failures. Punish mediocre successes.”

Phil Daniels, Sydney exec (and, de facto, Jack)

3. Welcome to “Project

Management World”!

E.g. …

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

3 years.

Source: BW (01.28.02)

“Unless mankind redesigns itself by changing our DNA through altering our genetic

makeup, computer-generated robots will take

over the world.” – Stephen

Hawking, in the German magazine Focus

“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

Answer: PSF![Professional Service Firm]

Department Head

to …

Managing Partner, HR [IS, etc.] Inc.

TP to NAPM: You are the …

Rock Stars of the

B2B Age!

4. We Aim to Change the

World.

“There’s no use trying,” said Alice. “One can’t believe impossible things.”

“I daresay you haven’t had much practice,” said the Queen. “When I was

your age, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I’ve

believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”

Lewis Carroll

“Don’t rebuild. Reimagine.”

The New York Times Magazine on the future of the WTC space in Lower Manhattan/09.08.2002

“Let’s make a dent in the universe.”

Steve Jobs

Your Current Project?

1. Another day’s work/Pays the rent.4. Of value.7. Pretty Damn Cool/Definitely subversive.10. WE AIM TO CHANGE THE WORLD. (Insane!/Insanely Great!/WOW!)

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

If you are not prepared to be fired over your

beliefs … you are working on the

wrong project - TP

Joe J. Jones Joe J. Jones 1942 – 20021942 – 2002

HE WOULDA DONE SOME HE WOULDA DONE SOME

REALLY COOL STUFF REALLY COOL STUFF

BUT …BUT …

HIS BOSS WOULDN’T HIS BOSS WOULDN’T

LET HIM! LET HIM!

5. Is the eVision Ambitious Enough?

100 square feet

“Ebusiness is about rebuilding the organization from the

ground up. Most companies today are not built to exploit the Internet.

Their business processes, their approvals, their hierarchies, the

number of people they employ … all of that is wrong for running an

ebusiness.”

Ray Lane, Kleiner Perkins

6. Take the “Value Added”

Opportunity Fully into Account.

09.11.2000: HP bids

$18,000,000,000for

PricewaterhouseCoopersconsulting business!

“These days, building the best server isn’t enough. That’s the

price of entry.”Ann Livermore, Hewlett-Packard

Gerstner’s IBM: Systems Integrator of

choice. Global Services:

$35B. Pledge/’99: Business Partner Charter. 72 strategic partners,

aim for 200. Drop many in-house

programs/products. (BW/12.01).

“No longer are we only an insurance provider. Today,

we also offer our customers the products and services that help them

achieve their dreams, whether it’s financial security, buying a car, paying

for home repairs, or even taking a dream vacation.”—Martin Feinstein, CEO,

Farmers Group

7. Communication = All!

“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.

“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 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

“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

8. Extreme Sanctions!

The …

Solutions25.**NO MORE “SILOS.” NO MORE

“STOVEPIPES.” (DAMN IT.)

1. It’s the (OUR!) organization, stupid!2. Friction free! 3. No STOVEPIPES!4. “Stovepiping” is a F.O.—Firing Offense.5. ALL on the web! (ALL = ALL.)6. Open access!6. Project Managers rule! (E.g.: Control the purse strings and evals.)7. VALUE-ADDED RULES! (Services Rule.) (Experiences Rule.) (Brand Rules.)8. SOLUTIONS RULE! (We sell SOLUTIONS. Period. We sell PRODUCTIVITY & PROFITABILITY. Period.)9. Solutions = “Our ‘culture.’ ”10. Partner with B.I.C. (Best-In-Class). Period.

12. All functions contribute equally—IS, HR, Finance, Purchasing, Engineering, Logistics, Sales, Etc.13. Project Management can come from any function.14. WE ARE ALL IN SALES. PERIOD.15. We all invest in “wiring” the customer organization.16. WE ALL “LIVE THE BRAND.” (Brand = Solutions. That MAKE MONEY FOR OUR CUSTOMER- PARTNER.)17. We use the word “PARTNER” until we all want to barf!18. We NEVER BLAME other parts of our organization for screw-ups.19. WE AIM TO REINVENT THIS INDUSTRY!20. We hate the word-idea “COMMODITY.”

21. We believe in “High tech, High touch.”22. We are DREAMERS.23. We deliver . (PROFITS.) (CUSTOMER SUCCESS.)24. If we play the “SOLUTIONS GAME” brilliantly, no one can touch us!25. Our TEAM needs 100% I.C.s (Imaginative Contributors). This is the ULTIMATE “All Hands” affair!

9. It’s Sales, Stupid!

The Sales25: Great Salespeople …

1. Know the product. (Find cool mentors, and use them.)

2. Know the company.3. Know the customer. (Including the customer’s consultants.) (And especially the “corporate culture.”)4. Love internal politics at home and abroad.5. Religiously respect competitors. (No badmouthing, no matter how provoked.)6. Wire the customer’s org. (Relationships at all levels & functions.)7. Wire the home team’s org. and vendors’ orgs. (INVEST Big Time time in relationships at all levels & functions.) (Take junior people in all functions to client meetings.)

Great Salespeople …

8. Never overpromise. (Even if it costs you your job.) 9. Sell only by solving problems-creating profitable opportunities. (“Our product solves these problems, creates these unimagined INCREDIBLE opportunities, and will make you a ton of money—here’s exactly how.”) (IS THIS A “PRODUCT SALE” OR A WOW-ORIGINAL SOLUTION YOU’LL BE DINING OFF 5 YEARS FROM NOW? THAT WILL BE WRITTEN UP IN THE TRADE PRESS?)10. Will involve anybody—including mortal enemies—if it enhances the scope of the problem we can solve and increases the scope of the opportunity we can encompass.11. Know the Brand Story cold; live the Brand Story. (If not, leave.)

Great Salespeople …

12. Think “Turnkey.” (It’s always your problem!)

13. Act as “orchestra conductor”: You are responsible for making the whole-damn-network respond. (PERIOD.)

14. Help the customer get to know the vendor’s organization & build up their Rolodex.15. Walk away from bad business. (Even if it gets you fired.)

16. Understand the idea of a “good loss.” (A bold effort that’s sometimes better than a lousy win.)17. Think those who regularly say “It’s all a price issue” suffer from rampant immaturity & shrunken imagination.18. Will not give away the store to get a foot in the door. 19. Are wary & respectful of upstarts—the real enemy.20. Seek several “cool customers”—who’ll drag you into Tomorrowland.

Great Salespeople …

21. Use the word “partnership” obsessively, even though it is way overused. (“Partnership” includes folks at all levels throughout the supply chain.)22. Send thank you notes by the truckload. (NOT E-NOTES.) (Most are for “little things.”) (50% of those notes are sent to those in our company!) Remember birthdays. Use the word “we.” 23. When you look across the table at the customer, think religiously to yourself: “HOW CAN I MAKE THIS DUDE RICH & FAMOUS & GET HIM-HER PROMOTED?” 24. Great salespeople can affirmatively respond to the query in an HP banner ad: HAVE YOU CHANGED CIVILIZATION TODAY?25. Keep your bloody PowerPoint slides simple!

TP: If you don’t LOVE SALES … find another life.

10. It’s Politics, Stupid! (I.E. IT’S

ALL ABOUT POWER.)

TP: If you don’t LOVE POLITICS … find

another life.

11. Best Talent Wins.

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 (05.17.00)

25/8/53*(*Damn it!)

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?”)

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.

“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

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:Women Managers

12. What’s the “Freak

Quotient”?

Saviors-in-Waiting

Disgruntled CustomersUpstart CompetitorsRogue EmployeesFringe Suppliers

Wayne Burkan, Wide Angle Vision

Employees: “Are there enough weird

people in the lab these days?”

V. Chmn., pharmaceutical house, to a lab director (06.01)

13. Improv!

The Kotler Doctrine:

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

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

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

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

going fast enough.”

Mario Andretti

Duct Tape Rules!

“Andrew Higgins, who built landing craft in WWII, refused to hire graduates of

engineering schools. He believed that they only teach you what you can’t do in engineering

school. He started off with 20 employees, and by the middle of the war had 30,000 working for him. He turned out 20,000 landing craft. D.D.

Eisenhower told me, ‘Andrew Higgins won the war for us. He did it without engineers.’ ”

Stephen Ambrose/Fast Company

14. “Soft Is Hard.”

“Soft” Is “Hard”

- ISOE

“The references were there; the

portfolio was dazzling. But there was no fire, no foot halfway over the starting line eager to sprint down the track to success.”—James Cramer, The Greenway

Group & former CEO of the AIA (on the rejection of a “famous firm”)

14A. “Soft Is Hard” II.

“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]

15. Show Up!

Rudy!

Mark McCormack: 5,000 miles for a 5

min. meeting!

16. Focus!

“To Don’t ” List

17. Do We Know the Customer?

?????????

Home Furnishings … 94%Vacations … 92% (Adventure Travel … 70%/ $55B travel

equipment)

Houses … 91%D.I.Y. (“home projects”) … 80%

Consumer Electronics … 51% Cars … 60% (90%)

All consumer purchases … 83% Bank Account … 89%

Health Care … 80%

Read This Book …

EVEolution: The Eight Truths of Marketing to Women

Faith Popcorn & Lys Marigold

18. Design Is King.

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

“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

18. Design Is King II. (K.I.S.S.)

Fred S.’s “mediocre” thesis. Herb K.’s

napkin.

K.I.S.S.: Gordon Bell (VAX

daddy): 500/50. Chas.

Wang (CA): Behind schedule?

Cut least productive 25%.

“Ninety percent of what we call ‘management’ consists of making it difficult for people to

get things done.” – P.D.

19. Create “Cool Experiences.”

“Experiences are as distinct from services as services are from

goods.”Joseph Pine & James Gilmore, The Experience Economy:

Work Is Theatre & Every Business a Stage

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?

It’s All About EXPERIENCES: “Trapper” to “Wildlife Damage-control Professional”

Trapper: <$20 per beaver pelt.

WDCP: $150/“problem beaver”; $750-$1,000 for flood-control

piping … so that beavers can stay.

Source: WSJ/05.21.2002

LAN Installation Co.

to

Geek Squad (2% to 30%/Minn.)

20. A Project Is a (Temporary)

Brand.

“WHAT’S OUR

STORY?”

“You do not merely want to be the best of the best. You

want to be considered the only ones who do

what you do.”

Jerry Garcia

21. Project Management =

Inspired Leadership.

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

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