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Parts 6 and 7Tom Peters EXCELLENCE.
ALWAYS.New Master/21 August 2008
3
Slides at tompeters.com
4
Ten PartsP1.1, P1.2, P1.3,
P1.4/GenericP2/LeadershipP3/TalentP4/Value-add
ed LadderP5/New Markets P6/The
EquationsP7/ImplementationP8/13 Guru
GaffesP9/HealthcareP10/The Lists
5
Ten PartsP1.1, P1.2, P1.3,
P1.4/GenericP2/LeadershipP3/TalentP4/Value-add
ed LadderP5/New Markets P6/The
EquationsP7/ImplementationP8/13 Guru
GaffesP9/HealthcareP10/The Lists
6
part six
7
Attending to the Last 98 The New Management
Science, or Hard Is Soft, Soft Is
Hard
8
Alternate title
9
Attending to the Last 98 flower power! Tom
Peters/09 April 2008
10
FLOWERPOWER
11
Hold in your mind the idea of flower
powermore to come!
12
S ƒ ( ___ ) Success Is a Function of
13
SF50 Success Is a Function of ... What
follows are not in fact true mathematical
formulaeobviously. Nonetheless, in tribute to my
own scientific background, and, more important,
that of many seminar participants, I have chosen
this formatwhich seems to work for those of my
ilk to whom it has been exposed
14
SF50 50 Equations on achieving success at
pretty much anything
15
S ƒ(DR -2L, -3L, 4L, IE) Success is a
function of Number and depth of relationships 2,
3, and 4 levels down inside and outside the
organization S ƒ(SDgtSU) Sucking down is more
important than sucking upthe idea is to have the
your entire organization working for you. S
ƒ(non-FF, non-FL) Number of friends not in my
function S ƒ(XFL/m) Number of lunches with
colleagues in other functions per month S
ƒ(FF) Number of friends in the finance
organization
16
Loser Hes such a suck-up!Winner
Hes such a suck-down.
17
Never waste a lunch! More or less
18
S ƒ(PKWP)S ƒ(PKLP) of people you
know in the wrong places people you know in
low places
19
???????Success doesnt depend on the number of
people you know it depends on the number of
people you know in high places!or Success
doesnt depend on the number of people you know
it depends on the number of people you know in
low places!
20
It helps to know people in high places!
21
It helps more to know people in low places!
22
Gust Avarkotos boiler room CIA palsWalters
enabler P.M. Thank You notesFlexirents XSecs
Customer PA lunchesAnybodys XSecAnybodys
PAAll customer Purchasing Dept
receptionistsSecy Chaffees letter
writerMcKinsey report prep staffMcKinsey
research staffAdmirals AideCongressional
Committee staff drafterCongressmans appropriate
LAAnybody in Finance
23
The previous entries are shorthand for stories
about low level relationships determining high
level decisionsor at least having surprising
impact. Flexirent is an Australian consumer
financial services company. Its offerings are
mostly made through retailersand following the
80-20 rule, a small of retailers control a
large share of Flexirents business. The
Executive Secretary-PA (Personal Assistant) to
Flexirents CEO is a bright, energetic, outgoing
person. Along the way, and not accidentally, she
has developed very close relationships to the Pas
of most of the CEOs of Flexirents major
customers. Among other things, she more or less
regularly (quarterly, roughly) takes her PA pals
out for lunch. The goal on both sides is clear,
understood and shamelessto enhance unvarnished
communications among these true power players.
One can only imagine the number of times, over,
say, five years, that this back channel (front
Channel, in reality) has paved the way for
success and staved off disasters. The rest of the
entries on the slide are of the same ilk.
24
S ƒ(OF) Number of oddball friends S
ƒ(PDL) Purposeful, deep listeningthis is very
hard S ƒ(DSTM, EH, TTAGFG) Dont shoot the
messengerembrace him! Truth-tellers are gifts
from God! S ƒ(EODD3MC) Number of
end-of-the-day difficult (youd rather avoid)
3-minutecalls that sooth raw feelings, mend
fences, etc. S ƒ(UFP, UFK, OAPS) Unsolicited
favors performed, UFs involving co-workers kids,
overt acts politeness-solicitude toward
co-workers spouses, parents, etc.
25
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.

26
S ƒ(TSHRO) Time spent ... Hurdle Removing for
Others
27
Peter Drucker once famously said, Ninety-percent
of what we call management consists of making
it difficult for people to get things done.
There is more than a grain of truth to that. On
the other side, and there can be an other side,
I see the managers principal role as identifying
things that get in peoples way (by asking them!)
and meticulously getting those things out of
their way. Thence, you could cal the boss the
CIRO, or Chief Impedance Reduction Officer, or my
choice, CHR, Chief Hurdle Remover. In any event
the idea is that this is a/the primary task the
boss performsand that it is a systematic,
pro-active affair (e.g., on the daily agenda).
28
S ƒ(AC, PTS/OLC, SAPA) Absolute of
consultations, perception of being taken
seriously (Responsible for one line of code),
small acts of public appreciation S
ƒ(1D) Seeking the assignment of writing first
drafts, minutes, etc. (1787) S ƒ(SEAs) Number
of solid relationships with Executive
Assistants S ƒ(UL/w-m) useful lunches per
week, month S ƒ(FG, FOC-BOF, CMO) Favors
given, favors owed collectively, balance of
favors, conscious management thereof
29
Buy in- Ownership-Authorial bragging
rights-Born again Champion One Line of Code!
30
It works this way, Tom. Youre talking to a guy
whos important to implementation down where the
rubber meets the road. Hes skepticalhe either
really is, or its the act he chooses to play.
You go over the thing with him and he has a
thousand objections. You nod your head a lot, and
take copious notes. Then you go back to your
guys, and you find a few places where you can
very specifically accommodate him. You make the
changes, even if they are pretty ugly. Then you
go back to him, and show him exactly what youve
done. You have a born again supporter. You
took him seriouslyand through the changes, hes
now your co-inventor, your savior. Now hes doing
the selling for you. Hey, the whole damn thing
wouldnt have worked were it not for his
interjectionsthats the way he frames it to his
folks. I tell you, it never fails.Source
Australian IS-IT chief, mid-sized company in
financial services
31
S ƒ(SU) Showing up (Woody Allen, Delawares
ridiculous influence on the Constitution of the
USA) S ƒ(KSU, R) Keep showing up
relentlessness (U.S. Grant!!) S ƒ(DW,
TMSTTOG) Drill wells, try more stuff than the
other guy (John Masters, Mike Bloomberg)
32
Ninety percent of success is showing up.
Woody Allen
33
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 youre finding it when youre drawing
maps and studying logs, but you have to drill.
Source The Hunters, by John Masters, Canadian
O G wildcatter
34
We made mistakes, of course. Most of them were
omissions we didnt 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,
were 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 planfor months. Bloomberg
by Bloomberg
35
S ƒ(CM) Conscious calendar management (the
calendar never lies)
36
You Your calendarCalendars never lie!
37
You must be the change you wish to see in the
world.Gandhi
38
S ƒ(CPRM, TS) Conscious-planned Relationship
management, time spent thereon
39
R.O.I.R.
40
Far more important than ROI!
41
Return On Investment In Relationships
42
FYI Relationship power Monopoly power
43
The goal is clearan unfair share of attention
from an internal staffer, a vendor, a customer.
We unabashedly pursue through good-better-best
relationshiops de facto monopolythe
monopolization of other important folks love and
affection, as it were.
44
FYI Sustainable competitive advantage
Relationship-based advantage (period.)
45
Some Resources
Relationships The Managers Book of Decencies
How Small Gestures Build Great CompaniesSteve
Harrison RespectSara Lawrence-Lightfoot Hostmansh
ip The Art of Making People Feel Welcome Jan
Gunnarsson Olle Blohm (leader as host to his-
her employees) The SPEED of Trust The One Thing
that Changes EverythingStephen M.R.
Covey The Dream Manager Matthew Kelly The
Customer Comes Second Put Your People First and
Watch Em Kick ButtHal Rosenbluth and Diane
McFerrin Peters (no relationbe delighted if she
was) Crucial ConversationsKerry Patterson,
Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, Al Switzler
Crucial Confrontations Kerry Patterson, Joseph
Grenny, Ron McMillan, Al Switzler Influence
Science and PracticeRobert Cialdini Emotional
Intelligence Why It Can Matter More Than
IQDaniel Goleman
46
A few of my favorite reads on this
topicespecially 1. The idea of
competitive-advantage-through-decency is
extraordinary. Of course, we know thisbut to
see it spelled out this way may change the course
of your professional life.
47
S ƒ(TN/d, FG/m, AA/d) Thank you notes per Day,
flowers given per Month, Acts of Appreciation per
Day S ƒ(WLHAO) Willingness to laugh heartily
at oneself S ƒ(PTA100ATS, ENMF,
TTT) Proactive, timely, 100 apologies for tiny
screw-ups, even if not my fault (it always takes
two to tango) S ƒ(AMR, NBS-SG) Acceptance of
mutual responsibilities for all affairs, no
blame-shifting, scape-goating S ƒ(RP,
PRPgtgtP) Never forget, and act accordingly
Response to the screwup- problem and perception
thereof is (far, far) more important than the
problem itself! S ƒ(APLSLFCT) Awareness,
perception of little snubsand lightening fast
correction thereof
48
S ƒ(TN/d, FG/m, AA/d) Thank you notes per Day,
flowers given per Month, Acts of Appreciation per
Day S ƒ(WLHAO) Willingness to laugh heartily
at oneself S ƒ(RP, PRPgtgtP) Never forget, and
act accordingly Response to the screwup- problem
and perception thereof is (far, far) more
important than the problem itself! S
ƒ(APLSLFCT) Awareness, perception of little
snubsand lightening fast correction thereof
49
THE PROBLEM IS RARELY/ NEVER THE PROBLEM. THE
RESPONSE TO THE PROBLEM INVARIABLY ENDS UP BEING
THE REAL PROBLEM.

50
S ƒ(Thank you notes per Day,
flowers given per Month,
Acts of Appreciation per Week)
51
The deepest human need is the need to be
appreciated.William James
52
Courtesies of a small and trivial character are
the ones which strike deepest in the grateful and
appreciating heart. Henry Clay
53
S ƒ(PTA100ATS, ENMF, TTT) Proactive,
timely, 100 apologies for tiny screw-ups, even
if not my fault (it always takes two to tango) S
ƒ(AMR, NBS-SG) Acceptance of mutual
responsibilities for all affairs, no
blame-shifting, scape-goating
54
Power phrase Im really sorry.
55
Amazing how rare this iswhich of course is why
its so powerful.
56
Power phrase I screwed up.
57
S ƒ(G) Grace S ƒ(GA) Grace toward
adversary S ƒ(GW) Grace toward the wounded in
bureaucratic firefights S ƒ(PD) Purposeful
decency S ƒ(MBTSSMR) Purposeful management
of this Soft Stuff by people reporting to me S
ƒ(EC, MMO) Emotional connection, mgt
maintenance of S ƒ(IMDOP) Investment in
Mastery of detailed organizational processes
58
What I learned from my years as a hostage
negotiator is that we do not have to feel
powerlessand that bonding is the antidote to
the hostage situation. George Kohlrieser,
Hostage at the Table (GKs negotiation success
rate is gt95)
59
S ƒ(H-TS) Time spent on Hiring S ƒ(TSPD,
TSP-L1) Time spent on promotion decisions,
especially for 1st level managers S ƒ(SS,
H-PD) soft stuff involved in Hiring, Promotion
decisions S ƒ(WLP) women in leadership
positions S ƒ(TWA, P, NP) Time wandering
around, purposeful, non-planned S ƒ(SBS) Slack
built into Schedule
60
AS LEADERS, WOMEN RULE New Studies find that
female managers outshine their male counterparts
in almost every measure TITLE/ Special
Report/ BusinessWeek
61
Womens Negotiating
StrengthsAbility to put themselves in their
counterparties shoesComprehensive, attentive
and detailed communication styleEmpathy that
facilitates trust-buildingCurious and attentive
listeningLess competitive attitudeStrong
sense of fairness and ability to
persuadeProactive risk managerCollaborative
decision-makingSource Horacio Falcao, Cover
story/May 2006, World Business, Say It Like a
Woman Why the 21st-century negotiator will need
the female touch
62
This relationship stuff comes naturally to
women (for starters, from the genes) and is
painfully difficult for many-most men.
63
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 days
events? Who is better at keeping in touch
with others?Source Selling Is a Womans Game
15 Powerful Reasons Why Women Can Outsell Men,
Nicki Joy Susan Kane-Benson
64
S ƒ (TMTSS, PMTSS, DTDTSS) of time,
measured, on This Soft Stuff, purposeful
management of this Soft Stuff, daily to do
concerning this Soft Stuff
65
Q But wheres the beef? A This is
the beef!
66
The terms hard facts, and the soft stuff
used in business imply that data are somehow real
and strong while emotions are weak and less
important. George Kohlrieser, Hostage at the
Table
67
O(B) ƒ(XX) O(B), the blueness of ones
ocean think Blue Ocean Strategy, the popular
book, is directly proportional to ones
eXcellence in eXecution/XX, per me. If one finds
a strategic blue ocean, one will, especially
in todays world, copied immediately the only
defensepossibility of sustaining successis
XX/eXcellence in eXecution. Think EXXON MOBIL
they and their rivals know where the hydrocarbons
arebut EXXON MOBIL handily out-executes the
competition.
68
Equations 48, 49 and 50 are more about
organizational effectiveness than individual
effectivenessand thus round out this brief
presentation.
69
S(O) ƒ(XXFX) The single most important cause
of failure to execute effectively is the lack of
effective cross-functional communication-execution
. Hence, Organizational Success is a function of
eXcellence (X) in cross-functional (XF) eXecution
(X). Attached as Appendix II is my The XF-50
50 Ways to Enhance Cross-Functional Effectiveness
and Deliver Speed, Service Excellence and
Value-added Customer Solutions.
70
S(O) ƒ(XSIT) In 1982 in In Search of
Excellence, Bob Waterman and I wrote about the
idea of MBWA, or Managing By Wandering Around
we came across MBWA at Hewlett-Packard, then a
much smaller company, and it was love at first
sight! For reasons described in Appendix III, I
recently returned to the centrality of that
notionand created a list of 50 Have Yous. That
is, instead of worrying ceaselessly about
strategy and blue oceans, how good a job have
you done at Staying In Touch with your extended
internal and external organizational family?
That is S(O), Organizational Success, is a
function of X SIT, eXcellence at Staying In
Touch.
71
Hard Is SoftSoft Is Hard
72
Hard Is Soft (Plans, s)Soft Is Hard (people,
customers, values, relationships))
73
If I could have chosen not to tackle the IBM
culture head-on, I probably wouldnt have. My
bias coming in was toward strategy, analysis and
measurement. In comparison, changing the attitude
and behaviors of hundreds of thousands of people
is very, very hard. Yet I came to see in my
time at IBM that culture isnt just one aspect of
the game it is the game. Lou Gerstner, Who
Says Elephants Cant Dance
74
The tough-minded Mr Gerstner became a reluctant
convert to the power of this soft stuff.
75
FLOWERPOWER
76
EndPart 6
77
Ten PartsP1.1, P1.2, P1.3,
P1.4/GenericP2/LeadershipP3/TalentP4/Value-add
ed LadderP5/New Markets P6/The
EquationsP7/ImplementationP8/13 Guru
GaffesP9/HealthcareP10/The Lists
78
Part seven
79
Tom peters on implementation
80
Never forget implementation , boys. In our work,
its what I call the last 98 percent of the
client puzzle. Al McDonald, former Managing
Director, McKinsey Co, to a project team,
reported by subsequent McKinsey MD, Ron Daniel
81
In this presentation you will find no less than
23 mini-presentations on the topic of
Implementationthat all-important last 98
percent. One is a study of nothing less grand
than the creation of the U.S. Constitution.
Thats a long way from your world or mine. Or is
it? Heres what I wrote at the beginning of the
case study, Slide 325 What does the U.S.
Constitutional Convention of 1787 have to teach
you and me, in the Age of the Internet, about
implementing our wee pet project? A lot, Ill
argue. Whether the topic is mundane or grand, and
whether the date is 1787 or 2008, the essential
human basics of implementation are exactly the
sameand overlooking them is the universal cause
of failure. So lets look at the little human
lessons that underpinned the creation of this
monumental document
82
Tom Peters On Implementation The Have You
50 MBWA/Calendars Never Lie Hard Is Soft. Soft Is
Hard. Respect! The Last 98 50 Equations
Concerning Success Organizations Exist to
Serve The 9Ps of Leadership Women Dominate the
Economy Implications for Implementation Women
Rule Implications for Implementation The
XF-50 Enhancing Cross-functional
Effectiveness Beyond Barriers The
PSF/Professional Service Firm Solution Beyond
Barriers The PSF 35 Getting Things Done The
Power Implementation 34 The Checklist The
Power of a Blinding Flash of the
Obvious Charlie Wilsons War Lessons
Learned Delivering Development Assistance
Effectively William Easterly The Creation of the
U.S. Constitution The Summer of 1787 Excellence
4/40 4 Ideas in 40 Years Excellence 1/40, 1 Idea
in 40 Years Try It! Presentation Excellence The
PresX56 Interviewing Excellence The
IntX31 Mastering Sales The Sales25 The Sales122
122 Ridiculously Obvious Thoughts About Selling
Stuff
83
The Have you 50
84
Mapping your competitive position or
85
While waiting last week early December 2007 in
the Albany airport to board a Southwest Airlines
flight to Reagan, I happened across the latest
Harvard Business Review, on the cover of which
was a yellow sticker. The sticker had on it the
words Mapping your competitive position. It
referred to a feature article by my friend Rich
DAveni. His work is uniformly goodand I have
said as much publicly on several occasions dating
back 15 years. Im sure this article is good,
toothough I didnt read it. In fact it triggered
a furious negative Tom reaction as my wife
calls it. Of course I believe you should worry
about your competitive position. But instead of
obsessing on competitive position and other
abstractions, as the B-schools and consultants
would always have us do, I instead wondered about
some practical stuff which I believe is more
important to the short- and long-term health of
the enterprise, tiny or enormous.
86
Unfortunately many leaders of major companies
believe their job is to create the strategy,
organization and organization processesremaining
aloof from the people doing the work. George
Kohlrieser, Hostage at the Table (GK is, among
other things, a hostage negotiator with a 95
success rate)
87
1. Have you in the last 10 days visited a
customer? 2. Have you called a customer
TODAY? 3. Have you in the last 60-90 days had
a seminar in which several folks from the
customers operation (different levels, different
functions, different divisions) interacted, via
facilitator, with various of your folks? 4. Have
you thanked a front-line employee for a small act
of helpfulness in the last three days? 5. Have
you thanked a front-line employee for a small act
of helpfulness in the last three hours? 6.
Have you thanked a frontline employee for
carrying around a great attitude today? 7. Have
you in the last week recognizedpubliclyone of
your folks for a small act of cross-functional
co-operation? 8. Have you in the last week
recognizedpubliclyone of their folks (another
function) for a small act of cross-functional
co-operation? 9. Have you invited in the last
month a leader of another function to your weekly
team priorities meeting? 10. Have you personally
in the last week-month called-visited an internal
or external customer to sort out, inquire, or
apologize for some little or big thing that went
awry? (No reason for doing so? If truein your
mindthen youre more out of touch than I dared
imagine.)
88
1. Have you in the last 10 days visited a
customer? 2. Have you called a
customer TODAY?
89
Blog1231.07 FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FOR IMMEDIATE
ACTION! FOR IMMEDIATE ACTION! FOR IMMEDIATE
ACTION! OLD YEARS RESOLUTION! Call (C-A-L-L!)
(NOT E-MAIL!) 25-50 (NO LESS THAN 25) people
TODAY to thank them for their support this
year (2007) and wish them and their families
and colleagues a Happy 2008!
Today TODAY N-O-W (not within the
hour) Remember ROIR gt ROI. ROIR Return On
Investment in Relationships. Success
f(Relationships). This is the most important
piece of advice I have provided this
year. This is Not Optional. Trust me
This is fun!!!! Trust me This
works. Happy 2008!!!
90
I posted this at tompeters.com on New Years Eve
2007.
91
11. Have you in the last two days had a chat with
someone (a couple of levels down?) about specific
deadlines concerning a projects next steps? 12.
Have you in the last two days had a chat with
someone (a couple of levels down?) about specific
deadlines concerning a projects next steps and
what specifically you can do to remove a hurdle?
(Ninety percent of what we call management
consists of making it difficult for people to get
things done.Peter His eminence Drucker.) 13.
Have you celebrated in the last week a small
(or large!) milestone reached? (I.e., are you a
milestone fanatic?) 14. Have you in the last week
or month revised some estimate in the wrong
direction and apologized for making a lousy
estimate? (Somehow you must publicly reward the
telling of difficult truths.) 15. Have you
installed in your tenure a very comprehensive
customer satisfaction scheme for all internal
customers? (With major consequences for hitting
or missing the mark.) 16. Have you in the last
six months had a week-long, visible, very
intensive visit-tour of external customers? 17.
Have you in the last 60 days called an abrupt
halt to a meeting and ordered everyone to get
out of the office, and into the field and in
the next eight hours, after asking those
involved, fixed (f-i-x-e-d!) a nagging small
problem through practical action? 18. Have you in
the last week had a rather thorough discussion of
a cool design thing someone has come
acrossaway from your industry or functionat a
Web site, in a product or its packaging? 19.
Have you in the last two weeks had an informal
meetingat least an hour longwith a frontline
employee to discuss things we do right, things we
do wrong, what it would take to meet your mid- to
long-term aspirations? 20. Have you had in the
last 60 days had a general meeting to discuss
things we do wrong that we can fix in the
next fourteen days?
92
UniCredit Group/
UniCredito Italiano 3rd party
measurementCustomer-initiated
measurementPrimary incentivesFactories
Primary Corporate InitiativeEtc13TP/1
93
The director of staff services at the giant
financial services firm, UniCredit Group,
installed the most thorough internal customer
satisfaction measures scheme I have seenwith
exceptional rewards for those who make the grade
with their internal customers.
94
21. Have you had in the last year a one-day,
intense offsite with each (?) of your internal
customersfollowed by a big celebration of
things gone right? 22. Have you in the last
week pushed someone to do some family thing that
you fear might be overwhelmed by deadline
pressure? 23. Have you learned the names of the
children of everyone who reports to you? (If not,
you have six months to fix it.) 24. Have you
taken in the last month an interesting-weird
outsider to lunch? 25. Have you in the last month
invited an interesting-weird outsider to sit in
on an important meeting? 26. Have you in the last
three days discussed something interesting,
beyond your industry, that you ran across in a
meeting, reading, etc? 27. Have you in the last
24 hours injected into a meeting I ran across
this interesting idea in strange place? 28.
Have you in the last two weeks asked someone to
report on something, anything that constitutes an
act of brilliant service rendered in a trivial
situationrestaurant, car wash, etc? (And then
discussed the relevance to your work.) 29. Have
you in the last 30 days examined in detail (hour
by hour) your calendar to evaluate the degree
time actually spent mirrors your espoused
priorities? (And repeated this exercise with
everyone on team.) 30. Have you in the last two
months had a presentation to the group by a
weird outsider?
95
You Your calendarCalendars never lie
96
All we have is our time. The way we spend our
time is our priorities, is our strategy.
Your calendar knows what you really care about.
Do you?
97
31. Have you in the last two months had a
presentation to the group by a customer, internal
customer, vendor featuring working folks 3 or 4
levels down in the vendor organization? 32. Have
you in the last two months had a presentation to
the group of a cool, beyond-our-industry ideas by
two of your folks? 33. Have you at every meeting
today (and forever more) re-directed the
conversation to the practicalities of
implementation concerning some issue before the
group? 34. Have you at every meeting today (and
forever more) had an end-of-meeting discussion on
action items to be dealt with in the next 4, 48
hours? (And then made this list publicand
followed up in 48 hours.) And made sure everyone
has at least one such item.) 35. Have you had a
discussion in the last six months about what it
would take to get recognition in local-national
poll of best places to work? 36. Have you in
the last month approved a cool-different training
course for one of your folks? 37. Have you in
the last month taught a front-line training
course? 38. Have you in the last week discussed
the idea of Excellence? (What it means, how to
get there.) 39. Have you in the last week
discussed the idea of Wow? (What it means,
how to inject it into an ongoing routine
project.) 40. Have you in the last 45 days
assessed some major process in terms of the
details of the experience, as well as results,
it provides to its external or internal customers?
98
41. Have you in the last month had one of your
folks attend a meeting you were supposed to go to
which gives them unusual exposure to senior
folks? 42. Have you in the last 60 (30?) days sat
with a trusted friend or coach to discuss your
management styleand its long- and short-term
impact on the group? 43. Have you in the last
three days considered a professional relationship
that was a little rocky and made a call to the
person involved to discuss issues and smooth the
waters? (Taking the blame, fully deserved or
not, for letting the thing-issue fester.) 44.
Have you in the last two hours stopped by
someones (two-levels down") office-workspace
for 5 minutes to ask What do you think? about
an issue that arose at a more or less just
completed meeting? (And then stuck around for 10
or so minutes to listenand visibly taken
notes.) 45. Have you in the last day looked
around you to assess whether the diversity pretty
accurately maps the diversity of the market being
served? (And ) 46. Have you in the last day at
some meeting gone out of your way to make sure
that a normally reticent person was engaged in a
conversationand then thanked him or her, perhaps
privately, for their contribution? 47. Have you
during your tenure instituted very public
(visible) presentations of performance? 48. Have
you in the last four months had a session
specifically aimed at checking on the corporate
culture and the degree we are true to itwith
all presentations by relatively junior folks,
including front-line folks? (And with a
determined effort to keep the conversation
restricted to real world small casesnot
theory.) 49. Have you in the last six months
talked about the Internal Brand Promise? 50. Have
you in the last year had a full-day off site to
talk about individual (and group) aspirations?
99
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.

100
R.O.I.R.
101
Return On Investment In Relationships
102
Job One.
103
You must care. General Melvin Zais
104
Courtesies of a small and trivial character are
the ones which strike deepest in the grateful and
appreciating heart. Henry Clay
105
The magic number 25.Mbwa.Calendars never
lie.Excellence.Always.Tom Peters/0709.07
106
25
107
Though his empire is enormous, and his executive
team strong, Starbucks founder Howard Schultz
still religiously visits at least 25 Sbucks
shops per week! Regardless of our size, he
told me, we still sell it one-cup-at-a-time, one
customer-at-a-time, one server-at-a-time. I need
to see it and touch it and feel it.
108
MBWA5,000 miles for a 5-minute face-to-face
meeting (courtesy super-agent Mark McCormick)
109
When Bob Waterman and I wrote In Search of
Excellence in 1982, business was by the
numbersand the Americans were struggling (to
put it mildly) with hands on, tactile stuff, like
Japanese quality. Then, at Hewlett Packard, we
were introduced to the famed HP Way, the
centerpiece of which was in-touch management. HP
had a term for this MBWA. (Managing By
Wandering Around.) Bob and I fell in immediate
love. Not only was the idea per se important and
cool, but it symbolized everything we were coming
to cherishenterprises where bosses-leaders were
in immediate touch with and emotionally attached
to workers, customers, the product. The idea is
as important or more important in fast-paced 2007
as it was in 1982.
110
20-minute rule Craig Johnson/30 yrs
111
Craig Johnson, a famed Venture Capitalist for
three decades refuses to invest in companies
that are more than a 20-minute drive from his
office. To guide them through the serpentine path
ahead, he insists that he must be in constant
touch as banker, advisor, friend.
112
gt70Hank Paulson, China visits, Fortune 1127.06
113
China is clearly our most important economic
partner. Our dialog with China was not what it
might have been when Hank Paulson took over as
Secretary of the Treasury. Immediate improvement
occurred for numerous reasons, not least of which
were Paulsons SEVENTY TRIPS to China while at
Goldman Sachs.
114
I call 60 CEOs in the first week of the year
to wish them happy New Year. Hank Paulson,
former CEO, Goldman SachsSource Fortune,
Secrets of Greatness, 0320.05
115
MBWA, Grameen Style!Conventional banks ask
their clients to come to their office. Its 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
116
You must be the change you wish to see in the
world.Gandhi
117
Its always showtime. David DAlessandro,
Career Warfare
118
a blinding flash of the obvious Manny Garcia
119
All this this little riff is indeed, as
seminar participant and leading Burger King
franchisee Many Garcia once said to me,
obvious. But observation over four decades
suggests that amidst the hubbub and travails of a
typical days work, the so-called obvious is
often-usually left unattended. For perfectly good
reasons, another week passes without a visit to
our equivalent of the Starbucks shops or HP RD
labs, without the equivalent to Hank Paulsens
How ya doin? call to a key customer. My Tom
Peters Job One in life? Remind busy folks of the
obvious!Manny Garcia/1983 Tom, I hope you
wont be insulted when I say this was the best
seminar Ive ever been toand it was a blinding
flash of the obvious.I had two commanding
officers during my two Vietnam tours in U.S.
Naval Mobile Construction Battalion NINE
(1966-1968). One was a Howard Shultz
look-alikeinstinctively in the field. The other
was an in the office leader. The one produced.
The other didnt. At age 24 I learned an
incredible life lesson, though I couldnt
describe it well until tripping over HPs
MBWA/Managing By Wandering Around.
120
EXCELLENCE.1982.Hard is soft.Soft is hard.
121
Hard Is SoftSoft Is Hard
122
Hard Is Soft (s)Soft Is Hard (people)
123
Hard Is Soft (Plans, s)Soft Is Hard (people,
customers, values, relationships))
124
The 7-S ModelStrategyStructureSystemsStyle
SkillsStaffSuper-ordinate goal
125
The 7-S ModelHard Ss (Strategy,
Structure, Systems)Soft SS (Style, Skills,
Staff, Super-ordinate goal)
126
The 7-S ModelStrategyStructureSystemsStyle
(Corporate Culture, The way we do
things around here)Skills (Distinctive
Competence/s)Staff (People-Talent)Super-ordinate
goal (Vision, Core Values)
127
If I could have chosen not to tackle the IBM
culture head-on, I probably wouldnt have. My
bias coming in was toward strategy, analysis and
measurement. In comparison, changing the attitude
and behaviors of hundreds of thousands of people
is very, very hard. Yet I came to see in my
time at IBM that culture isnt just one aspect of
the gameit is the game. Lou Gerstner, Who
Says Elephants Cant Dance
128
EXCELLENCE.Always.Respect.
129

• It was much later that I realized Dads secret.
  He gained respect by giving it. He talked and
  listened to the fourth-grade kids in Spring
  Valley who shined shoes the same way he talked
  and listened to a bishop or a college president.
  He was seriously interested in who you were and
  what you had to say.
• Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot, Respect

130
The Union senior officers rode past the
Confederates smugly without any sign of
recognition except by one. When General Grant
reached the line of ragged, filthy, bloody,
despairing prisoners strung out on each side of
the bridge, he lifted his hat and held it over
his head until he passed the last man of that
living funeral cortege. He was the only officer
in that whole train who recognized us as being on
the face of the earth. quote within a quote
from diary of a Confederate soldier
131
Its not people who arent credit-worthy. Its
banks that arent people worthy.Muhammad Yunus
132
The deepest human need is the need to be
appreciated.William James
133
Dont belittle! OD Consultant
134
Story I once heard Famous consultant, with a
whopping daily fee, comes into a room to address
a Client group. He walks to the blackboard and
writes upon it two words. Dont belittle. He
turns and walks outand sends hi full
bill. Makes sense to me
135
Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a
great battle. Philo of Alexandria
136
You can make more friends in two months by
becoming interested in other people than you can
in two years by trying to get other people
interested in you. Dale Carnegie
137
He had done nothing to sell me on his business,
yet he had given me the most powerful sales pitch
of my life. Because his sole concern had been my
welfare and the success of my business. Jim
Penman, on learning how to sell (What Will They
Franchise Next? The Story of Jims Group)
138
If you dont listen, you dont sell anything.
Carolyn Marland/Managing Director/Guardian
Group
139
Attending to the Last 98 The New Management
Science, or Hard Is Soft, Soft Is
Hard Tom Peters/09 April 2008
140
Alternate title
141
Attending to the Last 98 flower power! Tom
Peters/06 April 2008
142
FLOWERPOWER
143
Hold in your mind the idea of flower
powermore to come!
144
S ƒ ( ___ ) Success Is a Function of
145
SF50 Success Is a Function of ... What
follows are not in fact true mathematical
formulaeobviously. Nonetheless, in tribute to my
own scientific background, and, more important,
that of many seminar participants, I have chosen
this formatwhich seems to work for those of my
ilk to whom it has been exposed
146
SF50 50 Equations on achieving success at
pretty much anything
147
S ƒ(DR -2L, -3L, 4L, IE) Success is a
function of Number and depth of relationships 2,
3, and 4 levels down inside and outside the
organization S ƒ(SDgtSU) Sucking down is more
important than sucking upthe idea is to have the
your entire organization working for you. S
ƒ(non-FF, non-FL) Number of friends not in my
function S ƒ(XFL/m) Number of lunches with
colleagues in other functions per month S
ƒ(FF) Number of friends in the finance
organization
148
Loser Hes such a suck-up!Winner
Hes such a suck-down.
149
Never waste a lunch! More or less
150
S ƒ(PKWP)S ƒ(PKLP) of people you
know in the wrong places people you know in
low places
151
???????Success doesnt depend on the number of
people you know it depends on the number of
people you know in high places!or Success
doesnt depend on the number of people you know
it depends on the number of people you know in
low places!
152
It helps to know people in high places!
153
It helps more to know people in low places!
154
Gust Avarkotos boiler room CIA palsWalters
enabler P.M. Thank You notesFlexirents XSecs
Customer PA lunchesAnybodys XSecAnybodys
PAAll customer Purchasing Dept
receptionistsSecy Chaffees letter
writerMcKinsey report prep staffMcKinsey
research staffAdmirals AideCongressional
Committee staff drafterCongressmans appropriate
LAAnybody in Finance
155
The previous entries are shorthand for stories
about low level relationships determining high
level decisionsor at least having surprising
impact. Flexirent is an Australian consumer
financial services company. Its offerings are
mostly made through retailersand following the
80-20 rule, a small of retailers control a
large share of Flexirents business. The
Executive Secretary-PA (Personal Assistant) to
Flexirents CEO is a bright, energetic, outgoing
person. Along the way, and not accidentally, she
has developed very close relationships to the Pas
of most of the CEOs of Flexirents major
customers. Among other things, she more or less
regularly (quarterly, roughly) takes her PA pals
out for lunch. The goal on both sides is clear,
understood and shamelessto enhance unvarnished
communications among these true power players.
One can only imagine the number of times, over,
say, five years, that this back channel (front
Channel, in reality) has paved the way for
success and staved off disasters. The rest of the
entries on the slide are of the same ilk.
156
S ƒ(OF) Number of oddball friends S
ƒ(PDL) Purposeful, deep listeningthis is very
hard S ƒ(DSTM, EH, TTAGFG) Dont shoot the
messengerembrace him! Truth-tellers are gifts
from God! S ƒ(EODD3MC) Number of
end-of-the-day difficult (youd rather avoid)
3-minutecalls that sooth raw feelings, mend
fences, etc. S ƒ(UFP, UFK, OAPS) Unsolicited
favors performed, UFs involving co-workers kids,
overt acts politeness-solicitude toward
co-workers spouses, parents, etc.
157
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.

158
S ƒ(TSHRO) Time spent ... Hurdle Removing for
Others
159
Peter Drucker once famously said, Ninety-percent
of what we call management consists of making
it difficult for people to get things done.
There is more than a grain of truth to that. On
the other side, and there can be an other side,
I see the managers principal role as identifying
things that get in peoples way (by asking them!)
and meticulously getting those things out of
their way. Thence, you could cal the boss the
CIRO, or Chief Impedance Reduction Officer, or my
choice, CHR, Chief Hurdle Remover. In any event
the idea is that this is a/the primary task the
boss performsand that it is a systematic,
pro-active affair (e.g., on the daily agenda).
160
S ƒ(AC, PTS/OLC, SAPA) Absolute of
consultations, perception of being taken
seriously (Responsible for one line of code),
small acts of public appreciation S
ƒ(1D) Seeking the assignment of writing first
drafts, minutes, etc. (1787) S ƒ(SEAs) Number
of solid relationships with Executive
Assistants S ƒ(UL/w-m) useful lunches per
week, month S ƒ(FG, FOC-BOF, CMO) Favors
given, favors owed collectively, balance of
favors, conscious management thereof
161
Buy in- Ownership-Authorial bragging
rights-Born again Champion One Line of Code!
162
It works this way, Tom. Youre talking to a guy
whos important to implementation down where the
rubber meets the road. Hes skepticalhe either
really is, or its the act he chooses to play.
You go over the thing with him and he has a
thousand objections. You nod your head a lot, and
take copious notes. Then you go back to your
guys, and you find a few places where you can
very specifically accommodate him. You make the
changes, even if they are pretty ugly. Then you
go back to him, and show him exactly what youve
done. You have a born again supporter. You
took him seriouslyand through the changes, hes
now your co-inventor, your savior. Now hes doing
the selling for you. Hey, the whole damn thing
wouldnt have worked were it not for his
interjectionsthats the way he frames it to his
folks. I tell you, it never fails.Source
Australian IS-IT chief, mid-sized company in
financial services
163
S ƒ(SU) Showing up (Woody Allen, Delawares
ridiculous influence on the Constitution of the
USA) S ƒ(KSU, R) Keep showing up
relentlessness (U.S. Grant!!) S ƒ(DW,
TMSTTOG) Drill wells, try more stuff than the
other guy (John Masters, Mike Bloomberg)
164
Ninety percent of success is showing up.
Woody Allen
165
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 youre finding it when youre drawing
maps and studying logs, but you have to drill.
Source The Hunters, by John Masters, Canadian
O G wildcatter
166
We made mistakes, of course. Most of them were
omissions we didnt 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,
were 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 planfor months. Bloomberg
by Bloomberg
167
S ƒ(CM) Conscious calendar management (the
calendar never lies)
168
You Your calendarCalendars never lie!
169
You must be the change you wish to see in the
world.Gandhi
170
S ƒ(CPRM, TS) Conscious-planned Relationship
management, time spent thereon
171
R.O.I.R.
172
Far more important than ROI!
173
Return On Investment In Relationships
174
FYI Relationship power Monopoly power
175
The goal is clearan unfair share of attention
from an internal staffer, a vendor, a customer.
We unabashedly pursue through good-better-best
relationshiops de facto monopolythe
monopolization of other important folks love and
affection, as it were.
176
FYI Sustainable competitive advantage
Relationship-based advantage (period.)
177
Some Resources
Relationships The Managers Book of Decencies
How Small Gestures Build Great CompaniesSteve
Harrison RespectSara Lawrence-Lightfoot Hostmansh
ip The Art of Making People Feel Welcome Jan
Gunnarsson Olle Blohm (leader as host to his-
her employees) The SPEED of Trust The One Thing
that Changes EverythingStephen M.R.
Covey The Dream Manager Matthew Kelly The
Customer Comes Second Put Your People First and
Watch Em Kick ButtHal Rosenbluth and Diane
McFerrin Peters (no relationbe delighted if she
was) Crucial ConversationsKerry Patterson,
Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, Al Switzler
Crucial Confrontations Kerry Patterson, Joseph
Grenny, Ron McMillan, Al Switzler Influence
Science and PracticeRobert Cialdini Emotional
Intelligence Why It Can Matter More Than
IQDaniel Goleman
178
A few of my favorite reads on this
topicespecially 1. The idea of
competitive-advantage-through-decency is
extraordinary. Of course, we know thisbut to
see it spelled out this way may change the course
of your professional life.
179
S ƒ(TN/d, FG/m, AA/d) Thank you notes per Day,
flowers given per Month, Acts of Appreciation per
Day S ƒ(WLHAO) Willingness to laugh heartily
at oneself S ƒ(PTA100ATS, ENMF,
TTT) Proactive, timely, 100 apologies for tiny
screw-ups, even if not my fault (it always takes
two to tango) S ƒ(AMR, NBS-SG) Acceptance of
mutual responsibilities for all affairs, no
blame-shifting, scape-goating S ƒ(RP,
PRPgtgtP) Never forget, and act accordingly
Response to the screwup- problem and perception
thereof is (far, far) more important than the
problem itself! S ƒ(APLSLFCT) Awareness,
perception of little snubsand lightening fast
correction thereof
180
S ƒ(TN/d, FG/m, AA/d) Thank you notes per Day,
flowers given per Month, Acts of Appreciation per
Day S ƒ(WLHAO) Willingness to laugh heartily
at oneself S ƒ(RP, PRPgtgtP) Never forget, and
act accordingly Response to the screwup- problem
and perception thereof is (far, far) more
important than the problem itself! S
ƒ(APLSLFCT) Awareness, perception of little
snubsand lightening fast correction thereof
181
THE PROBLEM IS RARELY/ NEVER THE PROBLEM. THE
RESPONSE TO THE PROBLEM INVARIABLY ENDS UP BEING
THE REAL PROBLEM.

182
S ƒ(Thank you notes per Day,
flowers given per Month,
Acts of Appreciation per Week)
183
The deepest human need is the need to be
appreciated.William James
184
Courtesies of a small and trivial character are
the ones which strike deepest in the grateful and
appreciating heart. Henry Clay
185
S ƒ(PTA100ATS, ENMF, TTT) Proactive,
timely, 100 apologies for tiny screw-ups, even
if not my fault (it always takes two to tango) S
ƒ(AMR, NBS-SG) Acceptance of mutual
responsibilities for all affairs, no
blame-shifting, scape-goating
186
Power phrase Im really sorry.
187
Amazing how rare this iswhich of course is why
its so powerful.
188
Power phrase I screwed up.
189
S ƒ(G) Grace S ƒ(GA) Grace toward
adversary S ƒ(GW) Grace toward the wounded in
bureaucratic firefights S ƒ(PD) Purposeful
decency S ƒ(MBTSSMR) Purposeful management
of this Soft Stuff by people reporting to me S
ƒ(EC, MMO) Emotional connection, mgt
maintenance of S ƒ(IMDOP) Investment in
Mastery of detailed organizational processes
190
What I learned from my years as a hostage
negotiator is that we do not have to feel
powerlessand that bonding is the antidote to
the hostage situation. George Kohlrieser,
Hostage at the Table (GKs negotiation success
rate is gt95)
191
S ƒ(H-TS) Time spent on Hiring S ƒ(TSPD,
TSP-L1) Time spent on promotion decisions,
especially for 1st level managers S ƒ(SS,
H-PD) soft stuff involved in Hiring, Promotion
decisions S ƒ(WLP) women in leadership
positions S ƒ(TWA, P, NP) Time wandering
around, purposeful, non-planned S ƒ(SBS) Slack
built into Schedule
192
AS LEADERS, WOMEN RULE New Studies find that
female managers outshine their male counterparts
in almost every measure TITLE/ Special
Report/ BusinessWeek
193
Womens Negotiating
StrengthsAbility to put themselves in their
counterparties shoesComprehensive, attentive
and detailed communication styleEmpathy that
facilitates trust-buildingCurious and attentive
listeningLess competitive attitudeStrong
sense of fairness and ability to
persuadeProactive risk managerCollaborative
decision-makingSource Horacio Falcao, Cover
story/May 2006, World Business, Say It Like a
Woman Why the 21st-century negotiator will need
the female touch
194
This relationship stuff comes naturally to
women (for starters, from the genes) and is
painfully difficult for many-most men.
195
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 days
events? Who is better at keeping in touch
with others?Source Selling Is a Womans Game
15 Powerful Reasons Why Women Can Outsell Men,
Nicki Joy Susan Kane-Benson
196
S ƒ (TMTSS, PMTSS, DTDTSS) of time,
measured, on This Soft Stuff, purposeful
management of this Soft Stuff, daily to do
concerning this Soft Stuff
197
Q But wheres the beef? A This is
the beef!
198
The terms hard facts, and the soft stuff
used in business imply that data are somehow real
and strong while emotions are weak and less
important. George Kohlrieser, Hostage at the
Table
199
O(B) ƒ(XX) O(B), the blueness of ones
ocean think Blue Ocean Strategy, the popular
book, is directly proportional to ones
eXcellence in eXecution/XX, per me. If one finds
a strategic blue ocean, one will, especially
in todays world, copied immediately the only
defensepossibility of sustaining successis
XX/eXcellence in eXecution. Think EXXON MOBIL
they and their rivals know where the hydrocarbons
arebut EXXON MOBIL handily out-executes the
competition.
200
Equations 48, 49 and 50 are more about
organizational effectiveness than individual
effectivenessand thus round out this brief
presentation.
201
S(O) ƒ(XXFX) The single most important cause
of failure to execute effectively is the lack of
effective cross-functional communication-execution
. Hence, Organizational Success is a function of
eXcellence (X) in cross-functional (XF) eXecution
(X). Attached as Appendix II is my The XF-50
50 Ways to Enhance Cross-Functional Effectiveness
and Deliver Speed, Service Excellence and
Value-added Customer Solutions.
202
S(O) ƒ(XSIT) In 1982 in In Search of
Excellence, Bob Waterman and I wrote about the
idea of MBWA, or Managing By Wandering Around
we came across MBWA at Hewlett-Packard, then a
much smaller company, and it was love at first
sight! For reasons described in Appendix III, I
recently returned to the centrality of that
notionand created a list of 50 Have Yous. That
is, instead of worrying ceaselessly about
strategy and blue oceans, how good a job have
you done at Staying In Touch with your extended
internal and external organizational family?
That is S(O), Organizational Success, is a
function of X SIT, eXcellence at Staying In
Touch.
203
Hard Is SoftSoft Is Hard
204
Hard Is Soft (Plans, s)Soft Is Hard (people,
customers, values, relationships))
205
If I could have chosen not to tackle the IBM
culture head-on, I probably wouldnt have. My
bias coming in was toward strategy, analysis and
measurement. In comparison, changing the attitude
and behaviors of hundreds of thousands of people
is very, very hard. Yet I came to see in my
time at IBM that culture isnt just one aspect of
the game it is the game. Lou Gerstner, Who
Says Elephants Cant Dance
206
The tough-minded Mr Gerstner became a reluctant
convert to the power of this soft stuff.
207
FLOWERPOWER
208
Organizations exist to serve. Period. Leaders
live to serve. Period. Tom Peters/17 September