Lists: Important Stuff Tom Peters/GE Infrastructure/Orlandeo/24January2006

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ListsImportant StuffTom Peters/GE
Infrastructure/Orlandeo/24January2006
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Getting to WOW Through Mastery of The
Sales25.
3
Getting to WOW Through Mastery of The
Sales25.
4
Getting Things Done The Power
Implementation34.
5
Presentation Excellence The PresX56
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The Interviewing Excellence The IntX31
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The Project 50
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The PSF35 Thirty-Five Professional Service
Firm Marks of Excellence
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GE (more or less)89 Ridiculously Obvious
Thoughts About Selling StuffTom Peters/GE
Infrastructure/Orlando/24.01.2006
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Al I knew my stuffand it was damn good. What
I figured out I was that I wasnt a good
salesman. Thats when I started studying top
salesmen, and thats when I started to meet
with success.Top TV producer for 30 years
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The Sales25 Great Salespeople 1.
Know the product. (Find cool mentors, and use
them.)2. Know the company.3. Know the customer.
(Including the customers consultants.) (And
especially the corporate culture.)4. Love
internal politics at home and abroad.5.
Religiously respect competitors. (No badmouthing,
no matter how provoked.)6. Wire the customers
org. (Relationships at all levels
functions.)7. Wire the home teams org. and
vendors orgs. (INVEST Big Time time in
relationships at all levels functions.) (Take
junior people in all functions to client
meetings.)
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Its politics, stupid! (Play or sit on the
sidelines.)
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Great Salespeople 8.
Never overpromise. (Even if it costs you your
job.) 9. Sell only by solving problems-creating
profitable opportunities. (Our product solves
these problems, creates these unimagined
INCREDIBLE opportunities, and will make you a ton
of moneyheres exactly how.) (IS THIS A
PRODUCT SALE OR A WOW-ORIGINAL SOLUTION YOULL
BE DINING OFF 5 YEARS FROM NOW? THAT WILL BE
WRITTEN UP IN THE TRADE PRESS?)10. Will involve
anybodyincluding mortal enemiesif it enhances
the scope of the problem we can solve and
increases the scope of the opportunity we can
encompass.11. Know the Brand Story cold live
the Brand Story. (If not, leave.)
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Great Salespeople 12.
Think Turnkey. (Its always your problem!)13.
Act as orchestra conductor You are responsible
for making the whole-damn-network respond.
(PERIOD.)14. Help the customer get to know the
vendors organization build up their
Rolodex.15. Walk away from bad business. (Even
if it gets you fired.)16. Understand the idea of
a good loss. (A bold effort thats sometimes
better than a lousy win.)17. Think those who
regularly say Its all a price issue suffer
from rampant immaturity shrunken
imagination.18. Will not give away the store to
get a foot in the door. 19. Are wary
respectful of upstartsthe real enemy.20. Seek
several cool customerswholl drag you into
Tomorrowland.
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If you dont listen, you dont sell anything.
Carolyn Marland/MD/Guardian Group
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Great Salespeople
21. Use the word partnership obsessively,
even though it is way overused. (Partnership
includes folks at all levels throughout the
supply chain.)22. Send thank you notes by the
truckload. (NOT E-NOTES.) (Most are for little
things.) (50 of those notes are sent to those
in our company!) Remember birthdays. Use the word
we. 23. When you look across the table at the
customer, think religiously to yourself HOW CAN
I MAKE THIS DUDE RICH FAMOUS GET HIM-HER
PROMOTED? 24. Great salespeople can
affirmatively respond to the query in an HP
banner ad HAVE YOU CHANGED CIVILIZATION
TODAY?25. Keep your bloody PowerPoint slides
simple!
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Success or Failure? Try Instead Optimism or
Failure! From Martin Seligmans Learned
Optimism I believe the traditional wisdom is
incomplete. A composer can have all the talent of
a Mozart and a passionate desire to succeed, but
if he believes he cannot compose music, he will
come to nothing. He will not try hard enough. He
will give up too soon when the elusive right
melody takes too long to materialize. Success
requires persistence, the ability to not give up
in the face of failure. I believe that
OPTIMISTIC EXPLANATORY STYLE is the key to
persistence. The optimistic-explanatory-style
theory of success says that in order to choose
people for success in a challenging job, you need
to select for three characteristics (1)
Aptitude. (2) Motivation. (3) Optimism. All three
determine success. (Note Seligmans extensive
work with Met Life salespeople, among others,
proved out the abovein spades.)
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Pessimist Good things Im worthless, but got
lucky on this one. Bad things Im a bozo who
deserved my sorry fate.Optimist Good things
I deserved that Im the cats meow. Bad
things Im the cats meow, but the cat had an
unlucky day tomorrow will be better for sure.
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Getting Things Done The Power
Implementation34.
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Send Thank You notes! Its (always) all
about relationships. And at the Heart of
Effective Relationships is APPRECIATION. (Oh
yeah Never, ever forget a birthday of a
co-worker.) Bring donuts! Small gestures of
appreciation (on a rainy day, after a long days
work the day before) are VBDs Very Big
Deals. Make the call! One short,
hard-to-make call today can avert a relationship
crisis that could bring you down six months from
now. Remember There are no little gestures
of kindness. As boss, stopping by someones
cube for 30 seconds to inquire about their
sick parent will be remembered for 10 years.
(Trust me.) Make eye contact! No big deal?
Wrong! It is all about Connection! Paying
attention! Being there in the Moment Present.
So, work on your eye contact, your Intent to
Connect. Smile! Or, rather SMILE. Rule
Smiles beget smiles. Frowns beget frowns. Rule
WORK ON THIS. Smile! (If it kills you.)
Energy enthusiasm passion engender
energy-enthusiasm-passion in those we work with.
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Its all RELATIONSHIPS. Remember Business
is a relationships business. (Period.) Were all
in sales! (Period.) Connecting! Making our case!
Following up! Networking! Relationships are
what we do. You Your Calendar. Your
true priorities are given away by your
calendar. YOUR CALENDAR NEVER LIES. What are you
truly spending your time on? Are you distracted?
Focused? Whats in a number? EVERYTHING!
While we all do a hundred things, we may
not/should not/cannot have more than 2 (or 3)
true strategic priorities at any point in time.
BELIEVE IT. She (he) who is best prepared wins!
Out study, out-read, out-research the
competition. Know more (lots more!) than the
person on the other side of the
table. Excellence is the Ultimate Cool Idea.
The very idea of pursuing excellence is a
turn onfor you and me as well as those we work
with. (And, I find to my dismay, its
surprisingly rare.) Think WOW! Language
matters! Hot words generate a Hot Team. Watch
your language! Take a break! We need all the
creativity we can muster these days. So close
your office door and do 5 (FIVE) minutes of
breathing or yoga get a bag lunch today and eat
it in the park.
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You are the boss! Old ideas of lifetime
employment at one company (maybe where Dad/Mom
worked) are gone. No matter what your current
status, think of your self as CEO of Brand Me,
Inc. We are all Small Business Owners of our
own careers. Do something in the next half
hour! Dont let yourself get stuck! There is
ALWAYS something little you can start/do in the
next thirty minutes to make a wee, concrete step
forward with a problem-opportunity. Test it!
NOW! We call this the Quick Prototype
Attitude. One of lifes, especially business
lifes, biggest problems is Too much talk,
too little do. If youve got a Cool Idea,
dont sit on it or research it to death. Grab a
pal, an empty conference, and start laying out a
little model. That is, begin the process of
transforming the Idea to Action ASAP.
Incidentally, testing something quarter-baked in
an approximation of the real world is the
quickest way to learn. Expand your horizons.
Routinely reach out beyond your comfort zone.
TAKE A FREAK TO LUNCH TOMORROW! Call somebody
interesting youve been meaning to get in touch
with invite them to lunch tomorrow. (Lunch with
the same ole gang means nothing new learned. And
thats a guarantee.) (Remember Discomfort
Growth.) Build a Web site. The Web is
ubiquitous. Play with it! Be a presence! Start
You.com ASAP!
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Spread the credit! Dont build monuments to
yourself, build them to othersthose whose
contributions we wholeheartedly acknowledge will
literally follow us into machine gun
fire! Follow Toms patented VFCJ strategy!
VFCJ Volunteer For Crappy Jobs. That is,
volunteer for the crummy little assignment nobody
else wants, but will give you a chance to (1) be
on your own, (2) express your creativity, and (3)
make a noticeable mark when it turns out
Wow. VOLUNTEER! Lifes a maze, and you
never know whats connected to what. (Six degrees
of separation, and all that.) So volunteer for
that Community Center fund raising drive, even
though youre busy as all get out. You might end
up working side-by-side with the president of a
big company whos looking for an enthusiast like
you, or someone wealthy who might be interested
in investing in the small business you dream of
starting. Join Toastmasters! You dont need
to try and match Ronald Reagans speaking skills,
but you do need to be able to speak your piece
with comfort, confidence and authority.
Organizations like Toastmasters can help
enormously. Dress for success! This one is
old as the hills and I hate it!! But its true.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS DO MATTER. (A lot!!!)
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Follow the Gospel of Experience Marketing in
all you do. The shrewdest marketers today tell
us that selling a product or service is not
enough in a crowded marketplace for everything.
Every interaction must be reframed as a
Seriously Cool Experience. That includes the
little 15-minute presentation you are giving to
your 4 peers tomorrow. Think of your resume as
an Annual Report on Brand Me Inc. Its not
about keeping your resume updated. It is about
having a Super-cool Annual Report. (Tom Peters
Inc 2004.) What are your stunning
accomplishments that you can add to that Report
each 6 months, or at the most annually? Build
a Great Team even if you are not boss. Best
roster wins, right? So, work on your roster. Meet
someone new at Church or your kids birthday
party? Add them to your team (Team Tom) you
never know when they might be able to assist you
or give you ideas or support for something you
are working on. She or he who has the Fattest
and Best-managed Rolodex wins. Your Rolodex is
your most cherished possession! Have you added 3
names to it in the last 2 weeks? Have you renewed
acquaintance (email, lunch, gym date) with 3
people in your Rolodex in the last month?
MANAGE YOUR ROLODEX!
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Start your own business! Sure thats radical.
But people are doing itespecially womenby the
millions. Let the idea percolate. Chat about it,
perhaps, with pals. Start a file folder or three
on things you Truly Care About that just might
be the basis for Cool Self-employment. Theres
nothing cooler than an Angry Customer! The
most loyal customers are ones who had a problem
with us and then marveled when we went the
Extra Ten Miles to fix it! Business opportunity
No. 1 Irate customers converted into fans. So
are you on the prowl for customer problems to
fix? All marketing is Relationship Marketing.
In business, profit is a byproduct of
bringing em back. Thus, systematic and intense
and repeated Follow-up and After-sales Service
and Scintillating New Hooks are of the utmost
importance.
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BRANDING aint just for Big Dudes. This may
well be Business Mistake No. 1 the idea that
branding is only for the likes of Coke and Sony
and Nike. Baloney! Branding applies as much for
the one-person accountancy run out of a spare
bedroom as it does for Procter
Gamble. Credibility! In the end Character
Matters Most. Does he/she give their word, and
then stick to it come hell high water? Can
you rely on Her/Him in a pinch? Does she/he
CARE? Grace. Is it a pleasure to do
business with you? Is it a pleasure to be a
member of your team?
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Presentation Excellence The PresX56
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The problem with communication ...is the
ILLUSION that it has been accomplished George
Bernard Shaw
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Presentation
Excellence1. Total commitment to the
Problem/Project/Outcome2. A compelling Story
line/Plot3. Enough data to sink a tanker (98
in reserve)4. Know the data from memory ability
to manipulate the data in your head5. Great
Stories/Illustrations/Vignettes6. Superb
political antennae (you must play the room
like a Virtuoso and be hyper-attentive to the
likes of Body Language)7. By hook or by crook
CONNECT7A. CONNECT! CONNECT! CONNECT!8. Punch
line/Plot Outline/WOW/Surprise in firstone to
two minutes
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Joe Kramer, welder When my mothers toaster
went on the fritz, I asked myself, If I were
that toaster and didnt work, what would be wrong
with me? Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Flow The
Psychology of Optimal Experience, on empathetic
identification (Joe burdens vs
opportunities to master complex problems) (BC
vs JK)
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Presentation
Excellence9. Once youve won stop pushing
(dont rub it in)10. Be in command but dont
show off (if youre brilliant theyll figure it
out for themselves)11. Pay attention to the
Senior Person present, but not too much (dont
look like/act like/be a suck up)12. Brief the
hell out of your champions before the
presentation insist that they make changes/fine
tune ... they must own the outcome before the
fact!13. Dont try to score off your
detractors be especially courteous to them
(even if/especially if theyre jerks)14. Adjust
as you go LET THE GROUP ARRIVE AT YOUR
CONCLUSION! THEY MUST OWN IT (I knew that) IN
THE END!
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Presentation
Excellence15. No more than THREE key points!
Come at them in several different ways.16. No
more than ONE point per slide!17. Slides NO
CLUTTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (no wee print/
charts/graphs)18. Slides Good quotes from the
field. (Remember youre telling a story)19. Be
aware of differing cognitive styles, especially
M-F20. There must be surprise some key facts
that are not commonly known/are counter-intuitive
(no reason to do the presentation in the first
place if there are no Surprises)21. Summarize
the argument/story from time to time22. Include
an Action Agenda that involves some small items
that will be started/accomplished in the next 72
HOURS(this ices commitment/practicality)
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Presentation
Excellence23. If you dont know something
ADMIT IT! (this is actually a good thingas
opposed to appearing as a know it all)24. ASK
FOR THE SALE! (Remember to be a closer)25.
This is War (a war for Hearts Mind), but never
forget that you are the Supplicant!26. Data are
imperative, but also play to Emotion. 27.
Consider bringing along a customer (internal or
perhaps external) for support28. Be precisely
clear where/when you intend to prototype and
that the prototype guinea pig is lined up (better
yet, do the first, at least partial, prototype
before the presentation)29. Compromise but dont
yield! (Lost battles are normal, no matter how
agonizing)30. Assume that you may be cut off at
any moment, and be prepared to give on the spot a
compelling 30-second to one- minute (no longer!)
Brilliant Summary including Sales Pitch
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Presentation
Excellence31. Follow the Law of Recency Make
sure that you have been in the field with the key
operating players more recently than anyone in
the room32. Make it clear that youve done a
Staggering Amount of Homework, even though you
are exhibiting but a tiny fraction allude to
the tons of research that are available if
desired by participants offer deeper one-on-one
briefings if desired33. SMILE! RELAX (to a
point) (fake it if necessary) (up tight is
disastrous) (remember you are doing them a favor
by sharing this Compelling Opportunity!)34. EYE
CONTACT!!!!!!!35. Be shrewd Override some
interruptions be attentive to others
(distraction is okay and normal within
limits!)36. Becoming an Excellent Presenter is
as tough as becoming a great baseball pitcher.
THIS IS IMPORTANT and Presentation Excellence
is never accidental! (Work your buns off!)
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Presentation
Excellence37. Practice but dont leave your
game in the locker room.38. Seek tips on how
various participants play the presentation
game39. A Presentation is an Act (FDR The
President must be the nations number one
actor)40. Remember, the presentation is about
Change RESISTANCE IS NORMAL (in fact if theres
little resistance then your Project is hardly a
game changer)41. Dress well. Dont
over-dress.42. Be early (obvious, but worth
saying) 43. GET THE A/V RIGHT/PERFECT.44. Dont
bring a supporting horde a couple of back-ups
is okay/enough45. No matter how good you are
youll have crappy days WEEP AND THEN GET BACK
ON THE HORSE
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Presentation
Excellence46. Speak in Plain English keep
the jargon to a minimum47. Make your Personal
Commitment clear as a bell!48. Emphasize
competitive advantage and timeliness (act now),
without stooping to ridiculous war-like language
(tear the heart out of the competition) (in
audiences with heavy female component, if you are
male, avoid repetitive football analogues)49.
Underscore the USP/Unique Selling Proposition50.
Emphasize the Positive51. Sell Novelty yet fit
with core values52. Remember JFKs immortal
words The only reason to give a speech is to
change the world
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Presentation
Excellence 53. Say what you have to say Clearly
and then Say It Again Again from slightly
different angles54. Make it clear that you are a
Man/Woman of Action and Execution Excellence is
your First, Middle, and Last Name!55. Energy!
Enthusiasm! (dont know the answer to, If you
aint got it how do you get it?)56. Enjoy it!
This is a Hoot! THE ULTIMATE TURN ON! Remember
your Goal Change the world!
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The only reason to give a speech is to change
the world. JFK
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In classical times when Cicero had finished
speaking, the people said, How well he spoke,
but when Demosthenes had finished speaking, they
said, Let us march. Adlai Stevenson
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Let us march.
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The Interviewing Excellence The IntX31
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Interviewing Excellence1. INTERVIEWING IS AN
ART WORTH MASTERING! (Think Christiane
Amanpour, Mike Wallace)2. Dont overschedule2
or 3 in depth interviews are a solid days work.
(More than that is lunacy and will lead to
shallow results.)3. Save, if possible, the Big
Guy/Gal until lastthat is, until you know what
the hell youre doing!4. Find a
comfy/safe/neutral setting. THIS IS ALL
IMPORTANT! (Worst case You on the other side of
his/her desk.)5. Start with a little bit
(LITTLE) of local small talk. But get some tips
on the interviewee ahead of time he may be one
of the brusque ones who considers any small
talk a waste of his Imperial Time.6. DO YOUR
DAMN HOME WORK! (On the interviewee, the subject
matter.)7. Concoct a LONG LIST of questions.
(Youll only use 10 of it, but thats okay.)
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Interviewing Excellence8. Prepare a SHORT
LIST of questions you must get answered.9.
Begin by briefly reviewing your assignmentwhy
youre here.10. ALWAYS ASK FOR EXAMPLES! (When
she says Customer Service is in good shape, you
ask for specificshard data, recent Customer
Service successes (and failures). And PRECISELY
WHO YOU CAN FOLLOW UP WITH TO GET MORE
DETAIL.11. STORIES! STORIES! STORIES! (You are
in the Story Collection Business.)12. Dress
well. DONT OVERDRESS. (Look like they look, more
or less perhaps a touch more formalthis is a
Serious Affair you are engaging in.)13. Assume
youll never get another chance to talk to this
person.14. Be personable, but more or less match
the interviewees style. (THIS IS HARD WORK!)15.
THINK SMALL! Please walk me in great detail
through the complaint resolution process. Here,
lets diagram it.
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Interviewing
Excellence16. For Gods sake, get to the Front
Line! (The devil is in the details, and the
details are to be found on the loading dock at
3a.m.) (YES 3A.M.)17. Dont quit until you
understand. THE INTERVIEWEE ALWAYS TALKS IN
SHORTHANDusing the jargon of the Corporate
Culture. Youve got to crack the code. (THIS IS
ABOUT THE HARDEST THING TO DO, ESPECIALLY IF YOU
ARE YOUNG AND UNCERTAIN Tell yourself you are
here to ask Dumb Questionsthis is not a job
interview. Again, think Mike Wallace So did you
in fact murder Mrs. Smith?)18. Ignore
generalizations! YOU ARE HERE IN SEARCH OF
SPECIFICS!!!19. CONTEXT! Get the corporate
culturee.g. Shell is not ExxonMobil! Find out
(from a set of interviewees) Core Values (in
theory and in practice).
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Interviewing
Excellence20. Engage the Interviewee! GET HER
TO DO SOME OF THE WORK! E.g., write out her view
of the Ten Key Operative Core Valuesor some
such.20A. ENGAGE! ENGAGE! ENGAGE!21. You must
come across as trustworthy. YOU ARE A DUMBO
HERE TO LEARNNOT AN FBI AGENT IN DISGUISE. 22.
Take me through yesterday. Get past the
theoretical crap. Give me in excruciating detail
an average day YESTERDAY! (One hour/meeting at a
time.)23. If youre comfortable, lets go over
your Calendar for the last month, so I can
understand the flow of things. (Remember TPs
Rule 1 YOU YOUR CALENDAR.)24. DONT LET YOUR
NOTES AGE!! Immediately after the interview set
aside some time to do a stream of consciousness
recap. And to clean up the obscure scrawl on your
notes.
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Interviewing
Excellence25. Ask the interview if you can get
back to her by phone tomorrow to fill in holes
that your tin ear missed. NO MORE THAN TEN
MINUTES.26. LEARNING! Tag along with great
interviewers in your organization. (I made three
PBS films with a Director who had been Mike
Wallaces director at 60 Minutesoh my God, how
much I learnedor, rather, how little I learned
He could drag stuff out of people that you
couldnt believe. (Secret Im just a dumb old
fart trying to figure out what goes on here. HELP
ME. PLEASE.)27. Work on your Level of
Dis-satisfaction BE MAD AS HELL WHEN YOU SPENT
1.5 HOURS ON AN INTERVIEW WITHOUT
REVALATIONS!28. No, youre not FBIBUT YOU ARE
HERE TO FERRET OUT THE NON-OBVIOUS. So Keep
Digging! (Think Woodward Bernstein.)
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Interviewing
Excellence29. Repeat INTERVIEWING IS A
CRUCIALLY IMPORTANT ART. Study it! Work on it!
Its no different than golf or underwater
basket-weaving. The more harder you work, the
better you get. 30. Yes, we need facts (e.g.,
stories), but remember alWays INTERVIEWS ARE
PURE SIMPLE ABOUT EMOTIONAL INTERACTION!31.
Tom Wrap-up Note FEW THINGS IN LIFE PISS ME OFF
MORE THAN GOING THROUGH SOMEONES INTERVIEW NOTES
AND FINDING A DEARTH OF SOLID EVIDENCEexamples.
, stories, detailed process maps, etc. (I BLOODY
HATE Generalizations!) (Think doctors office
Come hell high water they start with weight,
blood pressure, pulse.)
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The Project 50
49
Create Sell
Implement ExitTraditional 10
0 90 0EmphasisOur View
30 30 30 10
50

• 
  The Project 50
• CREATE
• 1. REFRAME NEVER ... EVER! ... ACCEPT A
  PROJECT/ASSIGNMENT AS GIVEN!
• 2. TRANSLATE YOUR DAILY EXPERIENCES INTO COOL
  STUFF TO DO.
• 2A. Become a Benchmarking Fanatic LOOK at
  every-small-thing-that-happens-to-you as a Golden
  Learning Opportunity.
• 3. Improve your vocabulary! Learn to love WOW!
  Use the word. WOW!
• 4. There are no small projects IN EVERY
  LITTLE FORM OR PROCEDURE, IN EVERY LITTLE
  PROBLEM THERE USUALLY LURKS A B-I-G PROJECT!
• 4A. CONVERT today's annoying chore into a WOW!
  Project. THE B-I-G IDEA THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS
  A GIVEN.
• 5. Put on the brakes! DONT BETRAY WOW!
• 6. LOVE MAKES THE WORLD GO ROUND!
• 7. Will itthe project, our babybe beautiful?
  Yes ... BEAUTIFUL!
• Design-Is-It. I.e. One of the single most
  powerful forces in the whole bloody universe.
• 9. IS THE PROJECT REVOLUTIONARY? (ARE YOU SURE?)

51

The Project 50 10. Is the Web factored
into the project? In a b-i-g way? 11. Impact.
Henry James asked this, as his ultimate question,
of an artist's work Was it worth doing? 11A.
Made Anybody(s) Angry Lately? 12. RAVING
FANS! 12A. Women-as-Raving Fans. Women take to
products/servicesand, thence, project
deliverablesfor (very) different reasons than
men. 13. Pirates-on-the-high-seas. We are on a
Mission/Crusade. We plan to upset the applecart
(convention wisdom) Big Time ... and Make a Damn
Difference. 14. If you can (hint you can!),
create a place. That Is ... Pirates Need Ships
at Sea and Caves on Land. (Safe Houses in
Spy-speak.) 15. Put it in your resume. NOW!
PICTURE YOURSELF CROSSING THE FINISH LINE. 16.
THINK RAINBOW! 17. THINK ... OR RETHINK ... OR
REFRAME ... YOUR CONCEPT ... INTO A BUSINESS
PLAN. 18. Think/obsess ... D-E-A-D-L-I-N-E. Be
ridiculously/absurdly/insanely demanding of
yourself/your little band of renegades.
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The Project 50 19. Find a Wise Friend.
WOW Projects Aint Easy! They Stretch You, Stress
You, and Often Vex You. And the Organization. 20.
FINDAND THEN NURTUREA FEW (VERY FEW)
CO-CONSPIRATORS. 20A. Find at least one
user/co-conspirator. NOW. Think user from the
start. 21. Consider carrying around a little
card that reads WOW! BEAUTIFUL! REVOLUTIONARY!
IMPACT! RAVING FANS! SELL 22. Be
S-U-C-C-I-N-C-T. Describe your project (its
benefits and its WOW!) in T-H-R-E-E minutes. 22A.
METAPHOR TIME! The pitchand every aspect of
the projectworks best if there is a compelling
theme/image/hook that makes the whole thing
cohere, resonate, and vibrate with life. 23.
SALES MEANS SELLING ... EVERYONE! 24. Hey WOW
Project Life Sales. Right? So ... WORK
CONSCIOUSLY ON BUZZ. GET VISIBLE AND STAY
VISIBLE. 25. Do your Community Work. Start to
Expand the Network! ASAP.
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• 
  The Project 50
• 26. Last is as good as first. If they support
  you ... they are your friends.
• 27. Preach to the choir! Never forget your
  friends!
• 28. Don't try to convert your enemies. Dont
  waste time on them.
• 29. CREATE AN A-TEAM ADVISORY BOARD.
• 30. Become a Master Bootstrapper. You heard it
  here first Too much initial money ... kills!
• Think B-E-T-A! As in ... Beta Site(s). You need
  customer-partners ... as safe-haven testing
  grounds for rough prototypes.
• IMPLEMENT
• 32. CHUNK! CHUNK! CHUNK! Weve gotta break
  itour project, now on the movedown into
  tidbit/do-it-today/do-it-in-the-next-four-hours
  pieces.
• 33. Live ... Eat ... Sleep ... Breathe
  Prototype! I.e. BECOME AN UNABASHED PROTOTYPING
  FANATIC.
• 33A. Teach prototyping. Prototyping is a
  corporate culture issue. I.e. Work to create a
  Culture of Prototyping.
• 34. PLAY! FIND PLAYMATES!
• 35. Scrunch the Feedback Loops!
• 36. BLOW IT UP! PLAY ... AND DESTRUCTION ... ARE
  HANDMAIDENS.

54

The Project 50 37. Keep recruiting! Iron
Law WOW Projects Call for WOW! People. Never
stop recruiting! 37A. WANTED COURT JESTER. 38.
Make a B-I-G binder! This is the Project Bible.
It's the Master Document ... the macro-map. 39.
List mania. Ye shall make lists ... and the lists
shall make ye omniscient. (No joke.) 40. Think
(live/sleep/eat/breathe) Timeline/
Milestones. 40A. WANTED MS. LAST TWO
PERCENT! 41. Master the 15-Minute Meeting. You
can change (or at least organize) the world in 15
minutes! 42. C-E-L-E-B-R-A-T-E! 42A. CELEBRATE
FAILURES! 43. Station break! The keynote here is
action. Exactly right! But Don't allow the
action fanaticism to steer you off course re
WOW!/Beauty/Revolution/Impact!/Raving Fans. 44.
A Project Has an Identity. Its Alive. PROJECT
LIFE ... SPIRIT ... PERSONALITY.
55

The Project 50 45. Cast the Net a
Little/Lot Farther Afield. 46. It's the U-S-E-R,
stupid! Never lose sight of the user
community. 47. Concoct a B.M.P./Buzz-Management
Program. Marketing is Implementation. EXIT 48.
SELL OUT! It's been us against them ... and
one heck of a ride. But now the time has come to
dance with the suits ... if we really want full
impact. 48A. Recruit a Mr. Follow-up ... Who Is
as Passionate as You Are! (And L-O-V-E-S
Administration.) 49. SEED YOUR FREAKS INTO THE
MAINSTREAM ... WHERE THEY CAN BECOME MUTANT
VIRUSES FOR YOUR (QUIRKY) POINT OF VIEW! 50.
Write up the project history. Throw a Grand
Celebratory Bash!
56
Excellence, to me, is the state of grace that
can descend only when one tunes out all the
worlds clamor, listens to an inward voice one
recognizes as wiser than ones own, and
transcribes without fear. Naomi Wolf
57
The PSF35 Thirty-Five Professional Service
Firm Marks of Excellence
58
The PSF35 The Work The
Legacy1. CRYSTAL CLEAR POINT OF VIEW (Every
Practice Group If you cant explain
your position in eight words or less, you dont
have a positionSeth Godin)2. DRAMATIC
DIFFERENCE (We are the only ones who do what
we doJerry Garcia)3. Stretch Is Routine
(Never bite off less than you can
chewanon.)4. Eye-Appetite for Game-changer
Projects (Excellence at Assembling Best
TeamFast) 5. Playful Clients (Adventurous
folks who unfailingly Aim to Change the
World)6. Small Uneconomic Clients with Big
Aims 7. Life Is Too Short to Work with Jerks
(Fire lousy clients)8. OBSESSED WITH LEGACY
(Practice Group and Individual Dent the
UniverseSteve Jobs)9. Fire-on-the-spot Anyone
Who Says, Law/Architecture/Consulting/
I-banking/ Accounting/PR/Etc. has become a
commodity 10. Consistent with 9 above DO
NOT SHY AWAY FROM THE WORD (IDEA)
RADICAL
59
Best is not good enough!
60
Point of View!
61
The PSF35 The Client
Experience11. Always team with client full
partners in achieving memorable results
(Wanted Chimeras of Moonstruck
Minds!)12. We will seek assistance Anywhere to
assemble the Best-in- Planet Team for the
Project13. Client Team Members routinely declare
that working with us was the Peak
Experience of my Career14. The jobs not done
until implementation is 100.00 complete
(Those who dont get it must go)15.
IMPLEMENTATION IS NOT COMPLETE UNTIL THE CLIENT
HAS EXPERIENCED CULTURE CHANGE16.
IMPLEMENTATION IS NOT COMPLETE UNTIL SIGNIFICANT
TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER HAS TAKEN PLACE-ROOT
(Teach a man to fish )17. The Final
Exam DID WE MAKE A DRAMATIC, LASTING,
GAME-CHANGING DIFFERENCE?
62
The business of selling is not just about
matching viable solutions to the customers that
require them. Its equally about managing the
change process the customer will need to go
through to implement the solution and achieve the
value promised by the solution. One of the key
differentiators of our position in the market is
our attention to managing change and making
change stick in our customers organization.
(E.g. CRM failure rate/Gartner 70) Jeff
Thull, The Prime Solution Close the Value Gap,
Increase Margins, and Win the Complex Sale
63
The PSF35 The People The
Leadership18. TALENT FANATICS (Best-Coolest
place to work) (PERIOD)19. EYE FOR THE PECULIAR
(Hiring Go beyond same old, same old)
20. Early Opportunities (vs. Wait your turn)
21. Up or Out (Based on Legacy/Mentoring as
much as Billings/Rainmaking)22. Slide
the Old Aside/Make Room for Youth (Find oldsters
new roles?)23. TALENT IS OBSESSED WITH
RENEWAL FROM DAY 1 TO DAY R R
Retirement24. Office/Practice Leaders Evaluated
Primarily on Mentoring-Team Building
Skills 25. A PROPRIETARY TALENT DEVELOPMENT
PROCESS (GE) 26. Team Leadership Skills Valued
Early27. Partner with B.I.W. Best In World
Outsiders as Needed and to Infuse Different
Views
64
The PSF35 The Firm The
Brand28. EAT-SLEEP-BREATHE-OOZE INTEGRITY (My
life is my messageGandhi) 29. Excellence
in EXECUTION 100.00 of the Time (No such
thing as a small sins/World Series Ring to
the Batboy!) 30. Drop everything/Swarm to
Support a Harried-On The Verge Team31.
SPEND AS AGGRESSIVELY ON RD AS A TECH FIRM OR
CIRQUE DU SOLEIL 32. A PROPRIETARY
METHODOLOGY (FBR, McKinsey, Chiat Day, IDEO, old
EDS)33. Web (Technology) Obsession 34.
BRAND/LOVEMARK MANIACS (Organize Around a
Point of View Worth BROADCASTING You must
be the change you wish to see in the
worldGandhi) 35. PASSION! ENTHUSIASM! (Passion
Enthusiasm have as much a place at the
Head Table in a PSF as in a widgets
factory You cant behave in a calm, rational
manner. Youve got to be out there on the
lunatic fringeJack Welch)
65
PSF Nirvana CounselorTrusted Advisor
66
The Trusted Advisor David Maister, Charles
Green, Robert Galford Four Types of
Relationship Service Offering-based,
Needs-based, Relationship-based,
Trust-basedClient-Advisor Relationship Subject
matter or Process expert, Subject matter expert
plus affiliated field, Valuable Resource, Trusted
Advisor
67
Static/ImitativeIntegrity.Quality.Excellence.
Continuous Improvement.Superior Service (Exceeds
Expectations.)Completely Satisfactory
Transaction.Smooth Evolution.Market
Share.Dynamic/DifferentDramatic
Difference!Disruptive!Insanely Great!
(Quality)Life-(Industry-)changing
Experience!Game-changing!WOW!Surprise!Delight!
Breathtaking!Punctuated Equilibrium!Market
Creation!
68
Coolest PSFFully decked-out Big
Rig!PSF/WOW Project/Brand You/Dramatic
Difference
69
(No Transcript)
70
PSF, damn it!
71
GE (more or less)89 Ridiculously Obvious
Thoughts About Selling StuffTom Peters/GE
Infrastructure/Orlando/24.01.2006
72
1. Strategy overrated, simply doin stuff
underrated. See Kelleher and Bossidy. (We have a
strategic plan, its called doing things.HK)
Action has its own logicask Genghis Khan,
Rommel, COL John Boyd, U.S. Grant, Patton, W.T.
Sherman. 2. What are you personally great at?
(Key word great.) Play to strengths! Distinct
or Extinct. You should aim to be outrageously
good/B.I.W. at a niche area (or more). 3. Are
you a personality, a de facto brand in the
industry? The Dr Phil of 4. Opportunism (with
a little forethought) mostly wins. (Successful
people are the ones who are good at Plan B.) 5.
Little starts can lead to big wins. Most true
winnersthink search Googlestart as something
small. Many big dealsDisney Pixarcould have
been done as little-er, less expensive deals if
youd had the nerve to step out before the value
became obvious. 6. Non-obvious targets have great
potential. Among many other things, everybody
goes after the obvious ones. Also, the
non-obvious are often good partners for
technology experiments. 7.The best relationships
are often (usually?) not top to top! (Often
the best hungry division GMs eager to make a
mark.)
73
8. Its relationships, stupiddeep and from
multiple functions. 9. In any business such as
GEs you must become an avid student of the
politics, the incentives and constraints, mostly
non-economic facing all of the players.
Politicians are usually incredibly logicalif you
(deeply!) understand the matrix in which they
exist. 10. Relationships from within our firm are
as importantoften more importantas those from
outsideagain broad is as important as deep.
Alliesavid supporters!within and from
non-obvious places may be more important than
relationships at the Client organization. Goal
an insanely unfair market share of insiders
time devoted to your projects! 11.Gratuitous
comment Lunches with good friends are typically
a waste of time. 12.Interesting outsiders are
essential to innovative proposal and sales teams.
An exciting sales-proposal team is as important
as a prestigious one. 13. Is the proposal-sales
team weird enoughweirdos come up with the most
interesting, game-changer ideas. Period. 14.
Lunch with at least one weirdo per month. (Goal
always on the prowl for interesting new stuff.)
74
15.Dont short-change (time, money, depth) the
proposal process. Miss one tiny nuance, one
potential incentive that makes my day for a key
Client playerand watch the whole gig be
torpedoed. 16. Sticking with it sometimes
pays, sometimes notit takes a lot of tries to
forge the best path in. Sometimes you never do,
after a literal lifetime. 17. Women are simply
better at relationshipsdont get hung up on what
industries-countries women cant do. 18. Work
incessantly on your storymost economic value
springs from a good story (think Perrier)! In
sensitive public or quasi-public negotiations, a
compelling story is of immense valuepolitics is
about the tension among competing stories. (If
you dont believe me, ask Karl Rove or James
Carville.) (Storytelling is the core of
culture.Branded Nation The Marketing of
Megachurch, College Inc., and Museumworld, James
Twitchell) (Hint Engineers usually stink at
this.) 19. Risk Assessment Risk Management is
more about stories than advanced mathand of
incredible value in long-term deals. 20. Good
listeners are good sales people. Period. 21.
GREAT LISTENERS ARE GREAT SALES PEOPLE.
(Listening skills are hard to learn and subject
to immense effort in pursuit of Mastery. A
virtuoso listener is as rare as a virtuoso
cello player.)
75
22. Things that are funny to me (American) are
often-mostly not funny to those in other
cultures. (Humor is as fine-edged as it gets, and
rarely travels. 23. You dont know Jack Squat
about other peoples culturesespecially if you
are a typically myopic American. (Like me.) 24.
Are you a great interviewer? Its a make or break
skill. (Think Barbara Waltersie her skill at
extracting unwanted truths from pros in
persona-protection in front of 10s of millions
of people.) 25. Are you a great (not merely
good) presenter? Mastering presentation skills
is a lifes workwith stupendous payoff. 26. Are
you good at flowers (Harvey Mackays Mackay
66what you should know about a Client.) 27. You
cant do it allbe clear at what you are good at,
bad at, indifferent at. Hubris sucks. 28. The
numbers will more or less take care of themselves
over the long haulif the relationship/s is/are
solid gold. 29. Dont waste your time on
jerksitll rarely work out in the mid- to
long-term.
76
30. Genius is walking away from lousy scores
(deals) and living through the attendant heat.
Big Business is the premier home to Big Egos
overpaying by a factor of 2 to 22 with billions
at stake. (Think Jerry Levin.) 31. You havent a
clue as to how this situation will actually play
outbe prepared to move fast in a different
direction. 32. Keep your word. 33. There is such
a thing as a good lossif youve tested
something new and developed good relationships. A
half-dozen honorable, ingenious losses over a
ten-year period can pave the way for a Big
Victory in year 11. 34. Underpromise (ie dont
over-promise ie cut yourself/GE a little slack)
even if it costs you businesswinning is a
long-term affair. Over-promising is Sign 1 of a
lack of integrity. You will pay the piper. 35.
Think legacywhat the hell is all this really
about for you and the world? (Tell me, what is
it you plan to do with your one wild and precious
life?Mary Oliver) 36. Keep it simple! (Damn
it!) Yup, even in your business. If you cant
explain it in a phrase, a page you havent got
it right yet.
77
37. Know more than the next guy. Homework pays.
(of course its obviousbut in my work it is too
often honored in the breach.) 38. Regardless of
project size, winning or losing invariably hinges
on a raft of little stuff. Little stuff is and
always has been everything!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!or,
one mans little stuff is another mans 7.6
Richter deal-breaker. 39. In public settings,
face saving is all. When something changes, allow
the other guy to come out looking like a winner,
especially if he has lost. 40. Dont hold
grudges. (it is the ultimate in small
mindednessand incredibly wasteful and
ineffective. Theres always tomorrow.) 41. ITS
ALWAYS THE POLITICS wee private-sector deal or
giant public sector deal. (Every player, small or
large, is angling for something. Master the
calculus of advantage.) 42. To beat the turnover
problem in key Client posts amidst long
negotiations, invest outrageous amounts of time
building a wide deep set of relationships with
mid-level ( lower!!) plodding careerists.
The invisible careerists are the bedrock upon
which repeated success is built! (The Dale Moss
Axiom. And mine from Capitol Hill.)
78
43. Little people often have Big Friends. 44.
This is not war, damn it. All parties can win
(or not lose, anyway). And losing bidders can
walk away from a deal with increased respect for
you and your team. 45. Never, ever dump on a
competitorthe Tom Watson mantra. 46. Never for
get the Law of Cousins! In developing nations
in particular, power brokers at all levels are at
least cousins! Consideration for a second cousin
can pay off big time. 47. Speaking of favors,
jail sucks. 48. Work hard beats work smart.
(Mostly.) 49. REPEAT He/she who has the
most-best relationships wins. Relationships are
the essence of the Work of the Salesperson. The
hard and long work of the salesperson. 50.
Mano v mano hardball is seldom the answerend
runs based on deeper-wider networks win. If the
deal is wired from below, truly wired, than the
so-called big negotiations are essentially
irrelevant.
79
51. If the deal is wired from below, truly
wired, than the so-called big negotiations are
essentially irrelevant. 52. If every quarter is a
little better than the prior quarterthen you
are not taking any serious risks. 53. Phones
beat email. 54. A THREE MINUTE CALL TODAY CAN
AVOID A GAME-LOSER OF A FIASCO NEXT MONTH. There
was always a time when a little thing could have
been addressed that headed off a subsequent big
thing. As to avoiding that call, didnt someone
say, Pride goeth before the fall? 55. Be
hyperorganized about relationship managementyou
are in the anthropology business. Study the great
pols! Brilliant NRM (network relationship
management) is not accidental! It is not
catch-as-catch can. (Football analogies are
cutebut deep political understanding pays the
private-school tuition.) 56. Think/ obsess on
ROIR (Return On Investment In Relationships).
80
57. THANK YOU NOTES Worlds highest-return
investment! 58. The way to anyones heart Doing
a nice thing for their kid. (But, gawd, does this
take a gentle touch.) 59. Scoring off other
people is stupid. Winners are always in the
business of creating the maximum of
winnersamong adversaries at least as much as
among partners. 60. Your colleagues successes
are your successes. Period. (Trust me, my
greatest personal successfinancially as well as
artisticallyhas been creating a bigger pond in
which everyone wins, even if my market share is
down.) 61. Lend a helping hand, especially when
you dont have the time. E.g. share
relationshipsthe more you give away the more you
get in return (just like they say in church).
62. Listen up 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
81
63. Mentoring is a thrilland the practical
payoff is enormous. The best mentors have the
whole world working its buns off for them! 64.
Hire for enthusiasm. Promote for enthusiasm.
Cherish enthusiasm. Remove non-enthusiaststhey
are cancers. (Nothing is so contagious as
enthusiasm.Samuel Taylor Coleridge.) (A man
without a smiling face must not open a shop.
Chinese Proverb.) 65. Its always your
problemyou sold it to them. 66. Dont get too
hung up on systems integrationfirst, the
individual bits have got to work. 67. Systems
Integration is important. But For Gods sake
dont over promise on systems integrationits
nigh on impossible to deliver. Systems/Solution
s selling means grappling directly with culture
change in Client organizations. (The business
of selling is not just about matching viable
solutions to the customers that require them.
Its equally about managing the change process
the customer will need to go through to implement
the solution and achieve the value promised by
the solutionJeff Thull, The Prime Solution
Close the Value Gap, Increase Margins, and Win
the Complex Sale)
82
68. Shit happens. Thats what they pay you for.
(A man without a smiling face must not open a
shop. Chinese Proverb) 69. This is not a GE
saleit is a Joe Jones/Jane Jones sale. YOU ARE
THE BRAND THE CLIENT BUYS. (Mostly.) 70. GOAL
1 MAKE YOUR CLIENT A HEROYOU ARE NOT THERE TO
GET CREDIT. (Taking credit is for
ego-maniacs.) 71. Decent margins, over the mid-
to long-term are a product of better
relationships, not better negotiating skill.
(Mostly.) 72. In the immortal words of Larry
Bossidy, more or less, Realism rocks. (A little
truth goes a long way.) 73. Work like hell to
get a rep as an expert, to become an industry
resource. 74. Work the association angle for
all its worthit may take a decade to pay
off. 75. Pay your dues in the client org and in
your own org! 76. Its all bloody tactics.
83
77. You must LOVE . the product!
(Period.) 78. Dont over-schedule. Running
late is inexcusable at any level of seniority
it is the ultimate mark of self-importance mixed
with contempt. 79. It takes time to get to know
people. (Duh.) 80. The very idea of
efficiency in relationship development is
STUPID. 81. MBWA (still) rules. 82. Preparing
the soil is the first 98 percent. 83. WORK
THE PHONES! 84. 5K miles for a 5-minute meeting
often makes sense. (Thanks, Mark.) 85. Beware
complexifiers and complicators. (Truly smart
people simplify things.) 86. The smartest guy
in the room rarely winsalas, he usually is aware
hes the smartest guy.
84
87. Be kindit really is okay, even if you work
for GE. 88. Presidents never tire of being
treated like Presidents. 89. Luck matters. So
Good luck!