Tom Peters EXCELLENCE ALWAYS Harvard Business Review America

Tom Peters’ EXCELLENCE. ALWAYS. Harvard Business Review America Latina Santiago/14 October 2008

NOTE: To appreciate this presentation [and ensure that it is not a mess], you need Microsoft fonts: “Showcard Gothic, ” “Ravie, ” “Chiller” and “Verdana”

Slides at … tompeters. com

“Tom let me tell you the definition of a good lending officer. After church on Sunday, on the way home with his family, he takes a little detour to drive by the factory he just lent money to. Doesn’t go in or any such thing, just drives by and takes a look. ”

1982

MBWA

Excellence 1982: The Bedrock “Eight Basics” 1. A Bias for Action 2. Close to the Customer 3. Autonomy and Entrepreneurship 4. Productivity Through People 5. Hands On, Value-Driven 6. Stick to the Knitting 7. Simple Form, Lean Staff 8. Simultaneous Loose-Tight Properties”

“Breakthrough” 82* People! Customers! Action! Values! *In Search of Excellence

Hard Is Soft Is Hard

Hard Is Soft (Plans, #s) Soft Is Hard (people, customers, values, relationships))

“We Have Met the Enemy … Thank you, Howard & Howard …

Internal organizational excellence = Deepest “Blue Ocean”

When The “Enemy” Really Wins “Obsessing about your competitors, trying to match or best their offerings, spending time each day wanting to know what they are doing, and/or measuring your company against them—these activities have no great or winning outcome. Instead you are simply “Lose Your Nemesis”: prohibiting your company from finding its own way to be truly meaningful to its clients, staff and prospects. You block your company from finding its own identity and engaging with the people who pay the bills. … Your competitors have never paid your bills and they never will. ” —Howard Mann, Your Business Brickyard: Getting Back to the Basics to Make Your Business More Fun to Run* *Mr Mann also quotes Mike Mc. Cue, former VP/Technology at Netscape: “At Netscape the competition with Microsoft was so severe, we’d wake up in the morning thinking about how we were going to deal with them instead of how we would build something great for our customers. What I realize now is that you can never, ever take your eye off the customer. Even in the face of massive competition, don’t think about the competition. Literally don’t think about them. ”

Thank you Horst …

“I [will] not accept the explanation of a recession negatively affecting the [new] business. There are still people traveling. We just have to get them to stay in our hotel. ” —Horst Schulze, on his new chain, Capella, from Prestige (06. 08) The Return of History and the End of Dreams

Thank you , Herb , Robert, Peter & Siberia …

“You have to treat your employees like customers. ” —Herb Kelleher, complete answer, upon being asked his “secrets to success” Source: Joe Nocera, NYT, “Parting Words of an Airline Pioneer, ” on the occasion of Herb Kelleher’s retirement after 37 years at Southwest Airlines (SWA’s pilots union took out a full-page ad in USA Today thanking HK for all he had done; across the way in Dallas American Airlines’ pilots were picketing the Annual Meeting)

“The role of the Director is to create a space where the actors and actresses can become more than they’ve ever been before, more than they’ve dreamed of being. ” —Robert Altman, Oscar acceptance speech

… no less than Cathedrals in which the full and awesome power of the Imagination and Spirit and native Entrepreneurial flair of diverse individuals is unleashed in passionate pursuit of … Excellence.

Why in the World did you go to Siberia?

An emotional, vital, innovative, joyful, creative, entrepreneurial endeavor that elicits maximum Enterprise* ** (*at its best): concerted human potential in the wholehearted service of others. ** others **Employees, Customers, Suppliers, Communities, Owners, Temporary partners

Thank you Ben & Norm, Ike , Gust, Walt, Mark & Muhammad, Nelson, Ben II and Delaware/ Woody …

Give good tea!

“Allied commands depend on mutual confidence [and this confidence] is gained, above all through the development of friendships. ” —General D. D. Eisenhower, Armchair General * (05. 08) *“Perhaps his most outstanding ability [at West Point] was the ease with which he made friends and earned the trust of fellow cadets who came from widely varied backgrounds; it was a quality that would pay great dividends during his future coalition command. ”

George Crile (Charlie Wilson’s War) on Gust “He had become something of a legend with these people who manned the underbelly of the Agency [CIA]. ” Avrakotos’ strategy:

? ? ? ? “Success doesn’t depend on the number of people you know; it depends on the number of people you know in high places!” or “Success doesn’t depend on the number of people you know; it depends on the number of people you know in low places!”

C(I) > C(E)

3 K/5 M

5, 000 miles for a 5 -minute face-to -face meeting

MBWA, Grameen Style! “Conventional banks ask their clients to come to their office. It’s a terrifying place for the poor and illiterate. … The entire Grameen Bank system runs on the principle that people should not come to the bank, the bank should go to the people. … If any staff member is seen in the office, it should be taken as a violation of the rules of the Grameen Bank. … It is essential that [those setting up a new village Branch] have no office and no place to stay. The reason is to make us as different as possible from government officials. ” Source: Muhammad Yunus, Banker to the Poor

“I am a dispenser of enthusiasm. ” —Ben Zander

“eighty percent of success is showing up. ” —Woody Allen

L(+21) = L(-21)

Leadership(21 A. D. ) = Leadership(21 B. C. )

Thank you , 7 -11…

“How to flush $500, 000 down the toilet in one easy lesson!!” TP:

< CAPEX > People!

“The leaders of Great Groups love talent and know where to find it. They revel in the talent of others. ” —Warren Bennis & Patricia Ward Biederman, Organizing Genius

Brand = Talent.

Our Mission To develop and manage talent; to apply that talent, throughout the world, for the benefit of clients; to do so in partnership; to do so with profit. WPP

#1/100 “Best Companies to Work for”/2005

Wegmans

#1 cause of Dis-satisfaction?

2/year = legacy.

53 = 53

‘do’ “Leaders people. Period. ” —Anon.

‘SERVE’ “Leaders people. Period. ” —inspired by Robert Greenleaf

The Dream Manager —Matthew Kelly “An organization can only become the-best-version-ofitself to the extent that the people who drive that organization are striving to become better-versions-ofthemselves. ” “A company’s purpose is to become thebest-version-of-itself. The question is: What is an employee’s purpose? Most would say, ‘to help the company achieve its purpose’—but they would be wrong. That is certainly part of the employee’s role, but an employee’s primary purpose is to become the-bestversion-of-himself or –herself. … When a company forgets that it exists to serve customers, it quickly goes out of business. Our employees are our first customers, and our most important customers. ”

Thank you , Rich …

“Mapping your competitive position”* or … *Rich D’Aveni/HBR

The “Have you …” 50* *See Appendix One

1. Have you in the last 10 days … visited a customer? 2. Have you called a customer … TODAY? * * *

The “XF-50”: 50 Ways to Enhance Cross. Functional Effectiveness and Deliver Speed, “Service Excellence” and “Value-added Customer ‘Solutions’”* *Entire “XF-50” List is an Appendix to the LONG version of this presentation, posted at tompeters. com

X =XFX* *Excellence = Cross-functional Excellence

Never waste a lunch!

? ? % XF lunches* *Measure!

Thank you , Richard & Marcus …

“I used to have a rule for myself that at any point in time I wanted to have in mind — as it so happens, also in writing, on a little card I carried around with me — the three big things I was trying to get done. Three. Not two. Not four. Not five. Not ten. Three. ” — Richard Haass, The Power to Persuade

“Dennis, you need a … don’t ’ ‘To- List !”

“The one thing you need to know about sustained individual success: Discover what you don’t like doing and stop doing it. ” —Marcus Buckingham, The One Thing You Need to Know

You = Your calendar* *Calendars never lie

Thank you , Dr. Groopman …

18”

Thank you , Marshall & Edie …

“To develop others, start with yourself. ” —Marshall Goldsmith

“Being aware of yourself and how you affect everyone around you is what distinguishes a superior leader. ” —Edie Seashore (Strategy + Business #45)

“How can a high-level leader like _____ be so out of touch with the truth about himself? It’s more common than you would imagine. In fact, the higher up the ladder a leader climbs, the less accurate his self-assessment is likely to be. The problem is an acute lack of feedback [especially on people issues]. ” —Daniel Goleman (et al. ), The New Leaders

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

Thank you , Dave …

“The four most important words in any organization are … ‘What do you think? ’ ” Source: courtesy Dave Wheeler, posted at tompeters. com, source of original unknown (0609. 08)

TP: People are always ready to tell their story! See also: “The story leaner’s edge” (Steve Farber) “The dream manager” (Matthew Kelly)

“Buy in”- “Ownership”-Authorial bragging rights-“Born again” Champion = One Line of Code!

"Trust the development experts—all seven billion of them. ” —headline, Financial Times, 0529. 08, to an article by development guru William Easterly, commenting negatively on the World Bank Growth Commission’s recent report that concludes, in effect, “trust the World Bank experts”

Thank you, Henry , Marshall & Steve …

“Courtesies of a small and trivial character are the ones which strike deepest in the grateful and appreciating heart. ” —Henry Clay

Relationships : THERE ONCE WAS A TIME WHEN A THREEMINUTE PHONE CALL WOULD HAVE AVOIDED SETTING OFF THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL THAT RESULTED IN A COMPLETE RUPTURE. (of all varieties)

THE PROBLEM IS RARELY/NEVER THE PROBLEM. THE RESPONSE TO THE PROBLEM INVARIABLY ENDS UP BEING THE REAL PROBLEM. * PROBLEM ** *Watergate, M Stewart, BR **And: PERCEPTION IS ALL THERE IS!

“I regard apologizing as the most magical, healing, restorative gesture human beings can make. It is the centerpiece of my work with executives who want to get better. ” —Marshall Goldsmith, What Got You Here Won’t Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful

“We are thoughtful in all we do. ”

Thoughtfulness is key to customer retention. Thoughtfulness is key to employee recruitment and satisfaction. Thoughtfulness is key to brand perception. Thoughtfulness is key to your ability to look in the mirror—and tell your kids about your job. “Thoughtfulness is free. ” Thoughtfulness is key to speeding things up— it reduces friction. Thoughtfulness is key to transparency and even cost containment—it abets rather than stifles truth-telling.

“Kindness is free. ”

139, 380 former patients from 225 hospitals: Press Ganey Assoc: none of THE top 15 factors determining Patient Satisfaction referred to patient’s health outcome P. S. directly related to Staff Interaction P. P. S. directly correlated with Employee Satisfaction Source: Putting Patients First, Susan Frampton, Laura Gilpin, Patrick Charmel

“There is a misconception that supportive interactions require more staff or more time and are therefore more costly. Although labor costs are a substantial part of any hospital budget, the interactions themselves add nothing to the budget. Kindness is free. Listening to patients or answering their questions costs nothing. It can be argued that negative interactions—alienating patients, being nonresponsive to their needs or limiting their sense of control—can be very costly. … Angry, frustrated or frightened patients may be combative, withdrawn and less cooperative—requiring far more time than it would have taken to interact with them initially in a positive way. ” —Putting Patients First, Susan Frampton, Laura Gilpin, Patrick Charmel

Griffin: Music in the parking lot; professional musicians in the lobby (7/week, 3 -4 hrs/day) ; 5 pianos ; volunteers (120 -140 hrs arts & entertainment per month). Source: Putting Patients First , Susan Frampton, Laura Gilpin, Patrick Charmel

The 9 Planetree Practices 1. The Importance of Human Interaction 2. Informing and Empowering Diverse Populations: Consumer Health Libraries and Patient Information 3. Healing Partnerships: The importance of Including Friends and Family 4. Nutrition: The Nurturing Aspect of Food 5. Spirituality: Inner Resources for Healing 6. Human Touch: The Essentials of Communicating Caring Through Massage 7. Healing Arts: Nutrition for the Soul 8. Integrating Complementary and Alternative Practices into Conventional Care 9. Healing Environments: Architecture and Design Conducive to Health Source: Putting Patients First, Susan Frampton, Laura Gilpin, Patrick Charmel

Access to nurses station: “Happen to” vs “Happen with” Source: Putting Patients First , Susan Frampton, Laura Gilpin, Patrick Charmel

Thank you , Singapore …

2 -cent candy

<TGW vs. >TGR

“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

Thank you, Heather …

“Forget China, India and the Internet: Economic Growth Is Driven by Women. ” —Headline, Economist, April 15, 2006, Leader, page 14

“AS LEADERS, WOMEN RULE: New Studies find that female managers outshine their male counterparts in almost every measure” TITLE/ Special Report/ Business. Week

10 UNASSAILABLE REASONS WOMEN RULE Women make [all] the financial decisions. Women control [all] the wealth. Women [substantially] outlive men. Women start most of the new businesses. Women’s work force participation rates have soared worldwide. Women are closing in on “same pay for same job. ” Women are penetrating senior ranks rapidly [even if the pace is slow for the corner office per se]. Women’s leadership strengths are exceptionally well aligned with new organizational effectiveness imperatives. Women are better salespersons than men. Women buy [almost] everything—commercial as well as consumer goods. So what exactly is the point of men?

Thank you, Sheik Mohammad (& Jerry) …

24%

dubai

Single greatest act of pure imagination

Does your project portfolio “have a dubai”?

“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

Thank you , Anthelme Brillat-Savarin and Ludwig Feuerbach …* *”You are what you eat”

We are the company we keep

Measure “Strangeness”/Portfolio Quality Staff Consultants Vendors Out-sourcing Partners (#, Quality) Innovation Alliance Partners Customers Competitors (who we “benchmark” against) Strategic Initiatives Product Portfolio (Line. Ex v. Leap) IS/IT Projects HQ Location Lunch Mates Language Board

The “Hang Out Axiom”: At its core, every (!!!) relationship-partnership decision (employee, vendor, customer, etc) is a strategic decision about: “Innovate, ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ ”

“Normal” = “o for 800”

“Diverse groups of problem solvers— groups of people with diverse tools— consistently outperformed groups of the best and the brightest. If I formed two groups, one random (and therefore diverse) and one consisting of the best individual performers, the first group almost always did better. … trumped ability. ” Diversity —Scott Page, The Difference: How the Power of Diversity Creates Better Groups, Firms, Schools, and Societies Diversity

Thank you, Lou …

IB : $55 B* M *Also HP-EDS

“THE GIANT STALKING BIG OIL: How Schlumberger Is Rewriting the Rules of the Energy Game. ”: “IPM [Integrated Project Management] strays from [Schlumberger’s] traditional role as a service provider and moves deeper into areas once dominated by the majors. ” Source: Business. Week cover story, January 2008

“Big Brown’s New Bag: UPS Aims to Be the Traffic Manager for Corporate America” —Headline/BW “UPS wants to take over the sweet spot in the endless loop of goods, information and capital that all the packages [it moves] represent. ” —ecompany. com (E. g. , UPS Logistics manages the logistics of 4. 5 M Ford vehicles, from 21 mfg. sites to 6, 000 NA dealers)

GE Enterprise Solutions* GE Enterprise Solutions delivers high-impact, integrated solutions that improve customers’ productivity and profitability. Enterprise Solutions helps customers compete and win in a changing global environment by combining the power of GE’s intelligent technologies with its multi-industry experience and expertise. Enterprise Solutions comprises high-tech, high-growth businesses including Sensing & Inspection Technologies, Security, GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms, and Digital Energy. The business has 17, 000 customer-focused associates in more than 60 countries around the world. *from GE. com

The Value-added Ladder/TRANSFORMATION Customer Success/ Gamechanging Solutions Services Goods Raw Materials

“support function” / “cost center”/ “overhead” or …

Department Head to … Managing Partner, IS Inc. [HR, R&D, etc. ]

Answer: PSF

Ideal “finance staffer”: **Full-scale “business partner” [CFO? ] to the/each department she serves. **Not cop—obsessed instead with value-added **Integration first, “stovepipe” secondary **MBWA/bigtime **Networker to the rest of Finance

Thank you Jim (and Germany )…

Jim’s Group

Jim’s Mowing Canada Jim’s Mowing UK Jim’s Antennas Jim’s Bookkeeping Jim’s Building Maintenance Jim’s Carpet Cleaning Jim’s Car Cleaning Jim’s Computer Services Jim’s Dog Wash Jim’s Driving School Jim’s Fencing Jim’s Floors Jim’s Painting Jim’s Paving Jim’s Pergolas [gazebos] Jim’s Pool Care Jim’s Pressure Cleaning Jim’s Roofing Jim’s Security Doors Jim’s Trees Jim’s Window Cleaning Jim’s Windscreens Note: Download, free, Jim Penman’s book: What Will They Franchise Next? The Story of Jim’s Group

#4 Japan #3 USA #2 China #1 Germany

Reason!!! Mittelstand

“I am often asked by would-be entrepreneurs seeking escape from life within huge corporate structures, ‘How do I build a small firm for Buy a very large one and just wait. ” myself? ’ The answer seems obvious: —Paul Ormerod, Why Most Things Fail: Evolution, Extinction and Economics

“Mr. Foster and his Mc. Kinsey colleagues collected detailed performance data stretching back 40 years for 1, 000 U. S. companies. They found that none of the long-term survivors managed to outperform the market. Worse, the longer companies had been in the database, the worse they did. ” —Financial Times

“Data drawn from the real world attest to a fact that is beyond Everything in existence tends to deteriorate. ” our control: —Norberto Odebrecht, Education Through Work

The last word: There is no “last word. ”

Thank you, John …

“This is so simple it sounds stupid, but it is amazing you only find oil if you drill wells. how few oil people really understand that 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

1/40

“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 # 5. By the time our rivals are ready with wires and screws, we are on version #10. It gets back to planning versus acting: We act from day one; others plan how to plan—for months. ” — Bloomberg by Bloomberg

Culture of Prototyping “Effective prototyping may be the most valuable core competence an innovative organization can hope to have. ” —Michael Schrage

“Experiment fearlessly” Source: BW 0821. 06, Type A Organization Strategies/ “How to Hit a Moving Target”— Tactic #1

“Reward excellent failures. Punish mediocre successes. ” Phil Daniels, Sydney exec

Thank you , Conrad & Fred …

Conrad Hilton, at a gala celebrating his life, was asked, “What was the most important lesson you’ve learned in you long and distinguished career? ” His immediate answer …

Conrad Hilton, at a gala celebrating his life, was asked, “What was the most important lesson you’ve learned in you long and distinguished career? ” His immediate answer: “remember to tuck the shower curtain inside the bathtub”

“Execution is strategy. ” —Fred Malek

“almost inhuman disinterestedness in … strategy” U. S. —Josiah Bunting on Grant (from Ulysses S. Grant)

DECENTRALIZATION. EXECUTION. ACCOUTABILITY. 6: 15 A. M.

4/40

Thank you , Nassim Nicholas Taleb …

The Black Swan 44: Tactical Rules for Survival (and success) in Looney times

Black Swan Tactical Rules 1. K. I. S. S. 2. Hammer on the basics. 3. Focus on us, not the competition. 4. Puzzle-solving: How to turn this into an opportunity. 5. MBWA/X. 6. MBWA/I. 7. MBWA/Vendors. 8. Waaaaay over-communicate!!!!!! (With everyone—start with your banker. )

Black Swan Tactical Rules 9. All work is team work. 10. Transparency. 11. Work the phones. 12. Perception of fairness. 13. Share the pain. 14. Decency!!!!!!! 15. Grace!! 16. “Thank you. ” 17. Control your impatience— no temper tantrums. 18. Constant attitude checks—you.

Black Swan Tactical Rules 19. Dress for success. 20. Avoid burnout/you, the team, the entire organization. 21. Re-emphasize the company values-philosophy. (Now, more than ever. ) 22. Quality!!!!!! (Now, more than ever. ) 23. No corner cutting. (Now, more than ever. ) 24. Constant reviews/War room. 25. Celebration of small wins.

Black Swan Tactical Rules 26. People First/HR is King. 27. Help people with personal financial management. 28. Be generous to those who are let go—e. g. healthcare benefits. 29. Don’t over-analyze. 30. Don’t under-analyze. 31. Cuts all at once—if possible. 32. Cuts explained in great detail. 33. Quantitative calendar management—focus on “to don’ts. ”

Black Swan Tactical Rules 34. Increase customer-service training. 35. In general, minimize training cuts. 36. Be(very)ware R&D cuts; R&D quick pay SWAT teams. 37. Beware such things as sales travel cuts, ad cuts. 38. “Across the board” = Dumb. 39. Is this a time to over-invest if cash is at hand? (E. g. , distressed innovative start-ups?

Black Swan Tactical Rules 40. Stealth work on the likes of XF communication. 41. This could last a long time— LT prep is necessary now. 42. Prepare/Be prepared for more Black Swans. 43. Excellence. (Now, more than ever. ) (44. Remember all this in peacetime—Chuck Knight’s legacy. )

Thank you, Eleanor, Jay, Kevin & Mike …

“Do one thing every day that scares you. ” Roosevelt —Eleanor

“I’m not comfortable unless I’m uncomfortable. ” —Jay Chiat

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!