Tom Peters Seminar 2001 THINK WEIRD The High

Tom Peters Seminar 2001 THINK “WEIRD”: The High Standard Deviation Enterprise Version 02. 06. 01

BASIC PREMISE: Nothing worries me more in century. XXI than RENEWAL. Personal. Organizational. Hence this presentation. To renew is to “GO WEIRD. ” That’s what I’ve come to believe. It’s almost this simple: Have lunch with the SAME PEOPLE you “always have lunch with” … and you won’t grow an iota. This annotated presentation is basically an expansion of the powerful [it turns out] “LUNCH WEIRD” idea!

Renewal = The Weird 10 = The “High S. D. ” Enterprise/Individual Pioneer [Weird] Acquisitions Pioneer [Weird] Customers & Alliance Partners [Measure the Customer-Partner Portfolios’ S. D. /Weirdness Index] Divide & Conquer/“Sell-by” [Lessons from the Bees, Sir Richard, Gary H. ] Pioneer Assignments/Pioneer Projects/Pioneer Partners [F 2 F: Freak-to-Freak/ 4 F: Find a Fellow Freak Faraway] Hire Weird [Diversity]/Train Weird/Promote Weird/Pay Gobs & Promote Fast & Cherish “Six Sigma” Talent/Appoint a Weird Board Weed Un-weird [“One Sigma” “Talent, ” etc. ] Hang out with Weird [Univ. of Weird]/Lunch with Weird/ Read & Surf Weird/Vacate Weird R. A. F. to R. F. A. to F. F. F. [O. O. D. A. Loops/Prototyping Mania] Sense of Humor [Rhapsodize Over Thine Cool Failures!] Re-enforce a “Culture of Disrespect”/Passionate. Piracy

Forget>“Learn” “The problem is never how to get new, innovative thoughts into your mind, but how to get the old ones out. ” Dee Hock

The Memoryless Enterprise

Saviors-in-Waiting Disgruntled Customers Fringe Competitors Rogue Employees Edge Suppliers Wayne Burkan, Wide Angle Vision: Beat the Competition by Focusing on Fringe Competitors, Lost Customers, and Rogue Employees

“Enormous sums of money are invested to reduce cycle time, improve quality, reengineer … Much of this money is simply wasted. The waste is due to companies’ inability to develop wide-angle vision and tap into the … power of the edge. ” Wayne Burkan, Wide Angle Vision: Beat the Competition by Focusing on Fringe Competitors, Lost Customers, and Rogue Employees

“Corporate consciousness is predictably centered around the mainstream. The best customers, biggest competitors, and model employees are almost invariably the focus of attention. ” Wayne Burkan, Wide Angle Vision: Beat the Competition by Focusing on Fringe Competitors, Lost Customers, and Rogue Employees

Fighter Pilots … Snipers … Secret Service Agents: “Splatter Vision” [don’t become too focused] Wayne Burkan, Wide Angle Vision: Beat the Competition by Focusing on Fringe Competitors, Lost Customers, and Rogue Employees

Benchmarking, Perils of … “The best swordsman in the world doesn’t need to fear the second best swordsman in the world; no, the person for him to be afraid of is some ignorant antagonist who has never had a sword in his hand before; he doesn’t do the thing he ought to do, and so the expert isn’t prepared for him; he does the thing he ought not to do and often it catches the expert out and ends him on the spot. ” Mark Twain

1. Pioneer [Weird] Acquisitions

“When asked to name just one big merger that had lived up to expectations, Leon Cooperman, former co-chairman of Goldman Sachs’ Investment Policy I’m sure there are success stories out there, but at this moment I draw a blank. ” Committee, answered: Mark Sirower, The Synergy Trap

“Acquisitions are about buying market share. Our challenge is to create markets. There is a big difference. ” Peter Job, CEO, Reuters

“Our ideal acquisition is a small startup that has a great technology product on the drawing board that is going to come out in six to twelve months. We buy the engineers and the next generation product. …” John Chambers, Cisco

2. Pioneer [Weird] Customers & Alliance Partners [MEASURE the Customer-Partner Portfolio’s S. D. /Weirdness Index]

“If you worship at the throne of the voice of the customer, you’ll get only incremental advances. ” Joseph Morone, President, Bentley College

“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 Nordstrom and Jonas Ridderstrale, Funky Business

“These days, you can’t succeed as a company if you’re consumer-led – because in a world so full of so much constant change, consumers can’t anticipate the next big thing. Companies should be idealed and consumerinformed. ” Doug Atkin, partner, Merkley Newman Harty

“Our strategies must be tied to leading edge customers on the attack. If we focus on the defensive customers, we will also become defensive. ” John Roth, CEO, Nortel

“There is an ominous downside to strategic supplier relationships. An SSR supplier is not likely to function as any more than a mirror to your organization. Fringe suppliers that offer innovative business practices need not apply. ” Wayne Burkan, Wide Angle Vision: Beat the Competition by Focusing on Fringe Competitors, Lost Customers, and Rogue Employees

“Companies have defined so much ‘best practice’ that they are now more or less identical. ” Jesper Kunde, A Unique Moment

Elliott Masie, on desirable e-Learning vendors: “I want a ‘sandbox partner, ’ someone who will openly say, ‘This is not the last word; we don’t know exactly where we’re going. ’ ”

Funky Business: “To succeed we must stop being so goddamn normal. In a winner-takes-all world, normal = nothing. ”

“We make over three new product announcements a day. Can you remember them? Our customers can’t!” Carly Fiorina

“Future-defining customers may account for only 2% to 3% of your total, but they represent a crucial window on the future. ” Adrian Slywotzky, Mercer Consultants

“The future has already happened. It’s just not evenly distributed. ” Adrian Slywotzky

3. Divide & Conquer/ “Sell By” [Lessons from the Bees/ Sir Richard/ Gary H. ]

Lessons from the Bees! “Since merger mania is now the rage, what lessons can the bees teach us? A simple one: Merging is not in nature. [Nature’s] process is the exact opposite: one of growth, fragmentation and dispersal. There is no megalomania, no merging for merging’s sake. The point is that unlike corporations, which just get bigger, bee colonies know when the time has come to split up into smaller colonies which can grow value faster. What the bees are telling us is that the corporate world has got it all wrong. ” David Lascelles, Co-director of The Centre for the Study of Financial Innovation [UK]

The Gales of Creative Destruction +29 M = -44 M + 73 M +4 M = +4 M - 0 M

“The Futility of Size … “[Regarding this issue] the new process of virtualization fully asserts itself. Virtualization is the recognition that territorial size does not solve economic problems. … Economic access must become the substitute for increasing domain. ” Richard Rosecrance, The Rise of the Virtual State

“The Word(s)” on Vitality: Gary Hamel “Sell By” [jettison old crap] Spin Out [support entrepreneurs] Spin In [buy young firms]

The Cortez Strategy!

“The secret of fast progress is inefficiency, fast and furious and numerous failures. ” Kevin Kelly

RM: “A lot of companies in the Valley fail. ” RN: “Maybe not enough fail. ” RM: “What do you mean by that? ” RN: “Whenever you fail, it means you’re trying new things. ” Source: Fast Company

Jane Jacobs: Exuberant Variety vs. the Great Blight of Dullness. F. A. Hayek: Spontaneous Discovery. Joseph Schumpeter: the Gales of Creative Destruction.

Built to Last v. Built to Flip “The problem with Built to Last is that it’s a romantic notion. Large companies are incapable of ongoing innovation, of ongoing flexibility. ” “Increasingly, successful businesses will be ephemeral. They will be built to yield something of value – and once that value has been exhausted, they will vanish. ” Fast Company (03 -00)

“But what if [former head of strategic planning at Royal Dutch Shell] Arie de Geus is wrong in suggesting, in The Living Company, that firms should aspire to live forever? Greatness is fleeting and, for corporations, it will become ever more fleeting. The ultimate aim of a business organization, an artist, an athlete or a stockbroker may be to explode in a dramatic frenzy of value creation during a short space of time, rather than to live forever. ” Kjell Nordstrom and Jonas Ridderstrale, Funky Business

4. Pioneer Assignments/ Pioneer Projects/ Pioneer Partners [F 2 F: Freak-2 -Freak/ 4 F: Find a Fellow Freak Faraway]

Topic: Boss-free Implementation of STM /Stuff That MATTERS! Version 07. 20. 00

“This is all I ‘know’ in the world!” Tom Peters

THE IDEA Find a Fellow Freak Faraway “ 4 Fs”:

World’s Biggest Waste … Selling “Up”

Recruit [a/a = 1] Friend [in the Boondocks] Skip [Flip off] the Hierarchy! Recruit [A]nother Friend! Do Some Cool Shit! Fast! Surround the Bastards [with WOW WINS/ results]!

Heart of the Matter K 2 K!* *Kook to Kook [Or: F 2 F/Freak to Freak]

And for the 6 -Person Group? ? Send one “Cool Dude/Dudette” out to Find Something Cool, work with a Cool Customer, etc. [The “Micro-Skunkworks Strategy”]

THE NUGGET Do Something. Do Anything. Get Going. Now.

Opportunity ALWAYS Knocks VFCJ* “Strategy” *Volunteer For Crappy Jobs

Is It … “The Oh-Shit-I-Wish-It-Were. Over Memorial Day picnic” or “The First Annual Seriously Kewl Celebration of Our Incredible Staff”

Is It … Wrestle the damn Safety Manual into line with the ridiculous new OSHA Regs? Or … A stealth opportunity to address the War for Talent via … a thoroughgoing review of how safety and environmental issues contribute to making this a Great Place to Work?

Is It … Fix these bloody customer problems that have cropped up with the new 2783 B? Or … A chance to work with a hotshot, young division GM on … using the Internet/Internet Speed to revisit the entire process of how we get customer input – before and during the fact – into the heart of the Product Design Process?

Reframers’ Rules: Rule 1: Never accept an assignment as given! (Please. ) Rule 2: You’re never so powerful as when you are “powerless”! Rule 3: Every “small” project contains the entire enterprise DNA!

THE SOFT STUFF Show Up! Connect!

Message: It’s Community Organizing, stupid! See: Saul Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals

Are You a … Viral Enthusiast?

Message 2000 “The point is the passion!” Charles Handy

The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it. Michelangelo

Epitaph from Hell … Thomas J. Peters 1942 - 2001 HE WOULDA DONE SOME REALLY COOL STUFF BUT … HIS BOSS WOULDN’T LET HIM!

Characteristics of the “Also Rans” “Minimize Risk” “Support the Boss” “Respect the Chain of Command” “Make Budget” Source: Fortune on “Most Admired Global Corporations” [10. 26. 98]

Ann Richards’ Dogma Show up! Know your story! Put yourself at risk every day!

2010 “Demographics”: By 2010, full-time workers will be in the minority Source: MIT study (28 August 2000)

“The fundamental unit of the new economy is not the corporation, but the individual. Tasks aren’t assigned and controlled through a stable chain of command but are carried out autonomously by e-lancers independent contractors - who join together in fluid and temporary networks to sell goods and services. When the job is done, the network dissolves and its members become independent again, circulating through the economy, seeking the next assignment. ” Thomas Malone and Robert Laubacher

“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

“You are the storyteller of your own life, and you can create your own legend or not. ” Isabel Allende

5. Hire Weird [Diversity]/ Train Weird/ Promote Weird/ Pay Gobs & Promote Fast & Cherish “Six Sigma” Talent/ Appoint a Weird Board

“When land was the productive asset, nations battled over it. The same is happening now for talented people. ” Stan Davis & Christopher Meyer, future. WEALTH

From “ 1, 2 or 3” [JW] to … “Best talent in each industry segment to build best proprietary intangibles” [EM] Source: Ed Michaels, War for Talent (05. 17. 00)

Home Depot: 7 new growth initiatives ($20 B to $100 B in 5 -7 years) Arthur Blank: BEST PERSON IN THE WORLD TO HEAD EACH INITIATIVE E. g. : COO of IKEA to head international expansion Ed Michaels, War for Talent (05. 17. 00)

So-so plant manager, $1 M per year. Pay: $110, 000 plus $60, 000. Top plant manager, $3 -4 M per year. Pay: $135, 000 plus $90, 000. Net: $2 -3 M for $50 K. Source: Ed Michaels et al. , The War for Talent, re Georgia Pacific

“Top performing companies are two to four times more likely than the rest to pay what it takes to prevent losing top performers. ” Ed Michaels, War for Talent (05. 17. 00)

“We value engineers like professional athletes. We value great people at 10 times an average person in their function. ” Jerry Yang, Yahoo

“The Rise of the Teen Guru” “They’re brilliant, ambitious, and almost intuitively gifted at technology. A new generation of whiz kids are gaining unprecedented power and authority. ” Source: Cover story, Brill’s Content, 7 -8/00

“Why focus on these late teens and twentysomethings? Because they are the first young who are both in a position to change the world, and are actually doing so. … For the first time in history, children are more comfortable, knowledgeable and literate than their parents about an innovation central to society. … The Internet has triggered the first industrial revolution in history to be led by the young. ” The Economist [12/00]

“Where do good new ideas come from? That’s simple! From differences. Creativity comes from unlikely juxtapositions. The best way to maximize differences is to mix ages, cultures and disciplines. ” Nicholas Negroponte

“Diversity defines the health and wealth of nations in a new century. Mighty is the mongrel. … The hybrid is hip. The impure, the mélange, the adulterated, the blemished, the rough, the black-and-blue, the mix-and-match – these people are inheriting the earth. Mixing is the new norm. Mixing trumps isolation. It spawns creativity, nourishes the human spirit, spurs economic growth and empowers nations. ” G. Pascal Zachary, The Global Me: New Cosmopolitans and the Competitive Edge

“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

“On average, women and men possess a number of different innate skills. And current trends suggest that many sectors of the twentyfirst-century economic community are going to need the natural talents of women. ” Helen Fisher, The First Sex: The Natural Talents of Women and How They Are Changing the World

The Cracked Ones Let in the Light “Our business needs a massive transfusion of talent, and talent, I believe, is most likely to be found among non-conformists, dissenters and rebels. ” David Ogilvy

Axiom: Never hire anyone without an aberration in their background!

The NAESP …

Attributes of Those Who “Made” the 10 th Grade History Book – Committed! – Determined to make a difference! – Focused! – Passionate! – Irrational about their life’s project! – Ahead of their time / Paradigm busters! – Impatient! / Action Obsessed

Attributes of Those Who “Made” the 10 th Grade History Book – Made lots of people mad! – Flouted the chain of command! – Creative / Quirky / Peculiar! / Rebels! / Irreverent! – Masters of improv / Thrive on chaos / Exploit chaos!

Attributes of Those Who “Made” the 10 th Grade History Book – Forgiveness > Permission – Bone honest! – Flawed as the dickens! – “In touch” with their followers’ aspirations – Damn good at what they do!

“Whoever is the most impertinent has the best chance. ” W. A. Mozart

6. Weed Un-weird [“Onesigma” “Talent, ” etc. ]

“We believe companies can increase their market cap 50 percent in 3 years. Steve changed 20 of his 40 box plant managers to put more talented, higher paid managers in charge. He increased Macadam at Georgia Pacific profitability from $25 million to $80 million in 2 years. ” Ed Michaels, War for Talent (05. 17. 00)

7. Hang Out with Weird [University of Weird]/ Lunch with Weird/ Read & Surf Weird/ Vacate Weird

See pp 157 -162, The Brand You 50 A 50 List within a 50 List: The Renewal 50

8. R. A. F. to R. F. A. to F. F. F. [O. O. D. A. Loops/ Prototyping Mania]

“Strategy meetings held once or twice a year” to “Strategy meetings needed several times a week” Source: New York Times on Meg Whitman/e. Bay

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

“You can’t be a serious innovator unless and until you are ready, willing and able to seriously play. ‘Serious play’ is not an oxymoron; it is the essence of innovation. ” Michael Schrage, Serious Play

Think about It!? Innovation = Reaction to the Prototype Michael Schrage

He who has the quickest O. O. D. A. Loops* wins! *Observe. Orient. Decide. Act. / Col. John Boyd

Secret: Creating the … Rhythm of Prototyping

9. Sense of Humor [Rhapsodize Over Thine Cool Failures!]

“Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm. ” Winston Churchill (as quoted by John Peterman)

Fail. Forward. Fast. High-tech exec, PA

10. Re-enforce a “Culture of Disrespect”/ Passionate Piracy

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

“I’d rather regret the things I have done than the things I have not. ” Lucille Ball

“Learn not to be careful” - Photographer Diane Arbus to her students “Follow Your Fear” – Poet Rainer Maria Rilke (Careful = The sidelines, per Harriet Rubin in The Princessa)

“If you ask me what I have come to do in this world, I who am an artist, I will reply, I am here to live my life out loud. ” Emile Zola

Have you changed civilization today? Source: HP banner ad

Insouciance and Innovation as Brand Position Virgin/Branson Cisco Systems Nokia 3 M Apple (MCI) (HP) (Snapple)

Renewal = The Weird 10 = The “High S. D. ” Enterprise/Individual Pioneer [Weird] Acquisitions Pioneer [Weird] Customers & Alliance Partners [Measure the Customer-Partner Portfolios’ S. D. /Weirdness Index] Divide & Conquer/“Sell-by” [Lessons from the Bees, Sir Richard, Gary H. ] Pioneer Assignments/Pioneer Projects/Pioneer Partners [F 2 F: Freak-to-Freak/ 4 F: Find a Fellow Freak Faraway] Hire Weird [Diversity]/Train Weird/Promote Weird/Pay Gobs & Promote Fast & Cherish “Six Sigma” Talent/Appoint a Weird Board Weed Un-weird [“One Sigma” “Talent, ” etc. ] Hang out with Weird [Univ. of Weird]/Lunch with Weird/ Read & Surf Weird/Vacate Weird R. A. F. to R. F. A. to F. F. F. [O. O. D. A. Loops/Prototyping Mania] Sense of Humor [Rhapsodize Over Thine Cool Failures!] Re-enforce a “Culture of Disrespect”/Passionate. Piracy

Button-down Org • • H. S. D. E. Acquire for market share Suck up to biggest customers Pursue “strategic vendors” Bigger is better Accept assignments as given Hire 4. 0 s from “top schools” Promote when they’ve “paid their dues” • Appoint a “prestigious” board • • Hang out with my pals • R. A. F. • Be “professional” at all times/Honor thine elders • • . Acquire for innovation Partner with cool customers Seek out pioneering vendors Break it up … to refresh Reframe all tasks to innovate Hire “intriguing, ” wherever Promote tomorrow if the work product is weird and WOW Appoint an interesting, headstrong board Take a freak to lunch today F. F. F. Stay loose, stay cool/The hell with thine elders