EXCELLENCE.%20ALWAYS.%20%20Tom%20Peters/Gaborone/19June%202006

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EXCELLENCE. ALWAYS.Tom Peters/Gaborone/19June
2006
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1 1 of 5
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EXCELLENCE. ALWAYS.
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25
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This is not a mature category.
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This is an undistinguished category.
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7X. 730A-800P. F12A.93-03/10 yr annual
return CB 29 WM 17 HD 16. Mkt Cap 48
p.a.
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Wegmans
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1/100 Best Companies to Work for/2005
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?
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Its simple, really, Tom. Hire for ?s, and,
above all, promote for ?s. Starbucks middle
manager/field
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Donnellys Weatherstrip Service Weymouth MA
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Manhole Cover Madness and More .
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Bonus
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Stating the Obvious THE PROBLEM IS RARELY THE
PROBLEM.
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THE PROBLEM IS RARELY/NEVER THE PROBLEM. THE
RESPONSE TO THE PROBLEM INVARIABLY ENDS UP BEING
THE REAL PROBLEM

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OFTEN AS NOT/MORE OFTEN THAN NOT THE UNDERLYING
PROBLEM IS IN FACT NOT MUCH OF A PROBLEM.

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PERCEPTION IS ALL THERE IS. PERIOD. From
Whole Foods to IBM to the corner deli

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POWER WORDS!Im sorry.
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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.

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Stating the Obvious MORE POWER WORDS/IDEAS
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Thank You!
23
The two most powerful things in existence a
kind word and a thoughtful gesture.Ken Langone
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MBWA5,000 miles for a 5-minute face-to-face
meeting (courtesy super-agent Mark McCormack)
25
Say it with FLOWERS
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POWER IDEAS!You must care.General Melvin Zais
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HTSH Engage!Commit! Engage! Try! Fail! Get
up! Try again! Fail again! Try again! But never,
ever stop moving on! Progress for humanity is
engendered by those who join and savor the fray
by giving one hundred percent of themselves to
their dreams! Not by those timid souls who remain
glued to the sidelines, stifled by tradition, and
fearful of losing face or giving offense to the
reigning authorities.Key words Commit! Engage!
Try! Fail! Persist!HTST/Hands That Shape
Humanity, Tom Peters contribution to a Bishop
Tutu Foundation travelling exhibit
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You must be the change you wish to see in the
world.Gandhi
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Manhole Cover Madness and More .
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Bonus
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10.6
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Manhole Cover Madness and More .
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Chicagolands Mystery Disappearances
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THREE BILLION NEW CAPITALISTS Clyde Prestowitz
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EXCELLENCE. THE MANDATE.
36
If you dont like change, youre going to
like irrelevance even less. General Eric
Shinseki, Chief of Staff. U. S. Army
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It is not the strongest of the species that
survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one
most responsive to change. Charles Darwin
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We are in a brawl with no rules. Paul Allaire
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Sams Secret 1!
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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 No. 5. By the
time our rivals are ready with wires and screws,
we are on version No. 10. It gets back to
planning versus acting We act from day one
others plan how to planfor months. Bloomberg
by Bloomberg
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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
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Reward excellent failures. Punish mediocre
successes.Phil Daniels, Sydney exec
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Nelsons secret Other admirals more
frightened of losing than anxious to win
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EXCELLENCE. STARTERS.
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Radio City Music HallSeptember 2005
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Franchise Lost! TP How many of you 600
really crave a new Chevy?NYC/IIR/061205
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P.P.E.E.R.R.E.
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People.Product.Execution.Enthusiasm.Relentless
.Re-invent.Excellence.
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Did one of em ever turn to the other and say
Wow, I wonder what unimaginable new tools,
otherwise not possible, will be brought forth for
my daughter Alice, age 17, because of this deal?
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EXCELLENCE. THE WORD.
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SynonymsPurityTranscendenceVirtueEleganceMaj
estyAntonymsMediocrity
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EXCELLENCE. GAMECHANGER.
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Excellence1982 The Bedrock Eight Basics 1. A
Bias for Action 2. Close to the Customer 3.
Autonomy and Entrepreneurship 4. Productivity
Through People 5. Hands On, Value-Driven 6. Stick
to the Knitting 7. Simple Form, Lean Staff 8.
Simultaneous Loose-Tight Properties
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What is In Search of Excellence all
aboutPeople. Emotion. Engagement.
Exuberance. Action-Execution. Empowerment.
Independence. Initiative. Imagination. Great
Stories. Incredible Adventures. Trust. Caring.
Fun. Joy. Customer-centrism. Profit. Growth.
Brand You. Dramatic Differences.
Experiences that Make You Gasp. Excellence.
Always.
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ExIn 1982-2002/Forbes.comDJIA 10,000 yields
85,000 EI 10,000 yields 140,050
Forbes/Excellence Index /Basket of 32
publicly traded stocks
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EXCELLENCE. CAUSES.ADVERSARIES.
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Hardball Are You Playing to Play or Playing to
Win? by George Stalk Rob Lachenauer/HBS
PressThe winners in business have always
played hardball. Unleash massive and
overwhelming force. Exploit anomalies.
Threaten your competitors profit sanctuaries.
Entice your competitor into retreat.Approximat
ely 640 Index entries Customer/s (service,
retention, loyalty), 4. People (employees,
motivation, morale, worker/s), 0. Innovation
(product development, research development, new
products), 0.
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M.I.A. Talk. (Present.) Listen. (Interview.)
Sell. (Life Sales.) Do. (Execution-Implementatio
n.) Talent. (Recruit-Develop-Retain.) Project
Management. (Create. Solicit support. Execution.
Adoption-Client Culture Change.) Product.
(It.) Innovation. (Design. Creativity.
Buzz-building. Politics.) Leadership. (USMA,
etc.) E.Q. (Connect.) Culture Change. (Lasting
impact.) Diversity. (Cross-cultural
Effectiveness.) Career Creation. (Brand You
life-lifestyle.) Wellness. (Life.) B.Schools
(M.I.A. or at most B.I.A.barely in action)
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Causes/1966-2006 Im
plementation/Small Wins (Stanford GSB/PhD
thesis 1st on implementation per
se) EXCELLENCE (as a worthy business
pursuit) Management Style/Corporate Culture Soft
Ss/7-S (Waterman-Peters complete business
model waaaaay beyond Strategy
Structure) Structure gt Strategy (We shape our
structures, then they shape us Churchillian
paraphrase) Soft Change Levers (gt structure
symbols, patterns settings) Close to the
Customer (novel idea, circa 1982) MBWA (Managing
By Wandering Aroundcourtesy a much more
intimate than today HP) Productivity through
People (novel idea, circa 1982) Chaos/Crazy Times
Call for Crazy Organizations Middle-sized
companies are cool Re-imagine!/Innovate or
Die! Small-ish/Scale Synergy limits-delusions/an
ti-Big Mergers
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Causes/1966-2006 Women/Mark
et opportunity Women/Leaders (right for the
times) Design/Design-as-soul Wow! (Hot
language) Weird! Passion!/Enthusiasm!/Exuberance!
(as Leader Lever 1) Brand You (or else) PSF
Bedrock (add value or bustevery group must
demonstrate economic viability) PSF Brand You
WOW Projects New Biz Logic Sales/R gt -C
(increasing revenue more important than cutting
cost) HealthCare/Wellness-Safety-H5N1 Brand
Talent (best roster wins) New VA
Ladder/Products-Services-SOLUTIONS-EXPERIENCES-DRE
AMKETING (Dream Marketing)-LOVEMARK Different gt gt
Better Boomers Geezers/marketing to new
mega-segment
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Adversaries B-schools (crappy at soft skills,
implementation, leadership) Strategy-is-all By-the
-numbers management Dis-passionate
management Focus groups Intuition
discounted Leading as an intellectual
task Leading without passion Cool language in Hot
times Dilbert (accepting cubicle slavery) Bigness
per se (severe scale limitationseven at
Microsoft) White guys! (not really, but enough
already) 18-44 emphasis in marketing (geezers gt
youth for foreseeable future) -Cost gt Revenue
(cost cutting more important than organic revenue
growth) CI (continuous improvement in an age of
discontinuous world) LESS THAN THE
NO-HOLDS-BARRED PURSUIT OF EXCELLENCE
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EXCELLENCE. ALWAYS.
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Why in the world did you go to Siberia?
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The Peters Principles Enthusiasm. Emotion.
Excellence. Energy. Excitement. Service. Growth.
Creativity. Imagination. Vitality. Joy.
Surprise. Independence. Spirit. Community.
Limitless human potential. Diversity. Profit.
Innovation. Design. Quality. Entrepreneurialism.
Wow.
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Business (at its best) An emotional, vital,
innovative, joyful, creative, entrepreneurial
endeavor that elicits maximum concerted human
potential in the wholehearted service of
others.Excellence. Always.Employees,
Customers, Suppliers, Communities, Owners,
Temporary partners
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Business The Ultimate Creative Endeavor.
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Business The Ultimate Personal
Development-Growth Experience.
68
Business The Ultimate Transcendent Service
Opportunity.
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EXCELLENCE. YOU ME.
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In Toms world, its always better to try a swan
dive and deliver a colossal belly flop than to
step timidly off the board while holding your
nose. Fast Company /October2003
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This is the true joy of Life, the being used for
a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one
the being a force of Nature instead of a
feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and
grievances complaining that the world will not
devote itself to making you happy. GB
Shaw/Man and Superman
72
Life is not a journey to the grave with the
intention of arriving safely in a pretty and
well-preserved bodybut rather a skid in
broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out,
and loudly proclaiming, Wow, what a ride!
anon.
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My only goal is to have no goals. The goal,
every time, is that film, that very moment.
Bernardo Bertolucci
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2
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Action You Only Find Oil If You Drill Wells
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CONTEXT
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It is not the strongest of the species that
survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one
most responsive to change. Charles Darwin
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Pathetic!
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TP/BW on BigCo Sin 1 too much talk, too little
do
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Ninety percent of what we call management
consists of making it difficult for people to get
things done. Peter Drucker
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Forbes100 from 1917 to 1987 39 members of the
Class of 17 were alive in 87 18 in 87 F100
18 F100 survivors underperformed the market by
20 just 2 (2), GE Kodak, outperformed the
market 1917 to 1987.SP 500 from 1957 to 1997
74 members of the Class of 57 were alive in 97
12 (2.4) of 500 outperformed the market from
1957 to 1997.Source Dick Foster Sarah
Kaplan, Creative Destruction Why Companies That
Are Built to Last Underperform the Market
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I am often asked by would-be entrepreneurs
seeking escape from life within huge corporate
structures, How do I build a small firm for
myself? The answer seems obvious Buy a very
large one and just wait. Paul Ormerod, Why
Most Things Fail Evolution, Extinction and
Economics
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A BIAS FOR ACTION
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Excellence1982 The Bedrock Eight Basics 1. A
Bias for Action 2. Close to the Customer 3.
Autonomy and Entrepreneurship 4. Productivity
Through People 5. Hands On, Value-Driven 6. Stick
to the Knitting 7. Simple Form, Lean Staff 8.
Simultaneous Loose-Tight Properties
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Never forget implementation boys. In our work
its what I call the missing 98 percent of the
client puzzle. Al McDonald/McKinsey
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We have a strategic plan. Its called doing
things. Herb Kelleher
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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 (80)
88
We made mistakes. 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 No. 5. By the time
our rivals are ready with wires and screws, we
are on version No. 10. It gets back to planning
versus acting We act from day one others plan
how to planfor months. Bloomberg by
Bloomberg
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Sams Secret 1!
90
Fail faster. Succeed sooner.David Kelley/IDEO
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Fail. Forward. Fast. High-tech Exec/PA
92
Reward excellent failures. Punish mediocre
successes.Phil Daniels, Sydney exec
93
Boyd on TEMPO
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The most successful people are those who are
good at plan B. James Yorke, mathematician,
on chaos theory in The New Scientist
95
He who has the quickest O.O.D.A. Loops
wins!Observe. Orient. Decide. Act./Col. John
Boyd
96
70-10/Nebraska/Unk QB 643 yards K.State/ Linemen
spread wide/All legals go out for pass/Defenders
confused tire (Boyd/Tempo is not
speed/Re-arrange the mind of the enemyT.E.
Lawrence)/ By changing the geometry of the game,
and pushing the limits of space and time on the
gridiron, Mike Leach is taking Texas Tech to some
far out places. Michael Lewis (NY Times
Magazine, 12.04.05, on Mike Leach/Texas Tech)
97
In war, delay is fatal. Napoleon The only
way to whip an army is to go out and fight it.
Grant demonstrating the tactic that would
become his hallmark the immediate move to seek
out the enemy and attack him John Mosier, on
Grant A good plan executed right now is far
preferable to a perfect plan executed next
week. Patton
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METABOLIC MANAGEMENT
99
The Leadership111. Talent
Management2. Metabolic Management3. Technology
Management4. Barrier Management5. Forgetful
Management6. Metaphysical Management7.
Opportunity Management8. Portfolio Management9.
Failure Management10. Cause Management11.
Passion Management
100
The secret of fast progress is inefficiency,
fast and furious and numerous failures.Kevin
Kelly
101
If things seem under control, youre just not
going fast enough. Mario Andretti
102
Im not comfortable unless Im
uncomfortable.Jay Chiat
103
Bossidy on EXECUTION
104
Execution is the job of the business leader.
Larry Bossidy Ram Charan/ Execution The
Discipline of Getting Things Done
105
Execution is a systematic process of
rigorously discussing hows and whats,
tenaciously following through, and ensuring
accountability. Larry Bossidy Ram Charan/
Execution The Discipline of Getting Things Done
106
Realism is the heart of execution. Larry
Bossidy Ram Charan/Execution The Discipline
of Getting Things Done
107
The person who is a little less conceptual but
is absolutely determined to succeed will usually
find the right people and get them together to
achieve objectives. Im not knocking education or
looking for dumb people. But if you have to
choose between someone with a staggering IQ and
an elite education whos gliding along, and
someone with a lower IQ but who is absolutely
determined to succeed, youll always do better
with the second person. Larry
Bossidy/Execution The Discipline of Getting
Things Done
108
The Leaders Seven Essential
BehaviorsKnow your people and your
businessInsist on realismSet clear goals and
prioritiesFollow throughReward the
doersExpand peoples capabilitiesKnow
yourself Source Larry Bossidy Ram Charan,
Execution The Discipline of Getting Things Done
109
Action8/VPMR/Peters on BossidyExternal Focus
(Competitors/Customers)Realism/Truth-tellingVi
sion Projects (Must add up to Vision)
MilestonesCommitment/EnergyRapidReviewCons
equences (/-)
110
TACTIC 1
111
Culture of PrototypingEffective prototyping
may be the most valuable core competence an
innovative organization can hope to
have.Michael Schrage

112
EXCELLENCE. 4/40.
113
4/40
114
De-cent-ral-iz-a-tion!
115
Ex-e-cu-tion!
116
Ac-count-a-bil-ity!
117
615A.M.
118
K.I.S.S.
119
450/8
120
I wanted GE to operate with the speed,
informality, and open communication of a corner
store. Corner stores often have strategy right.
With their limited resources, they have to rely
on laser-like focus on doing one thing very
well. Jack Welch/Fortune/04.05
121
Lees Rule Run It off a Blackberry!
122
The art of war does not require complicated
maneuvers the simplest are the best, and common
sense is fundamental. From which one might wonder
how it is generals make blunders it is because
they try to be clever. Napoleon on Simplicity,
from Napoleon on Project Management by Jerry
Manas.
123
BIAS
124
Excellence1982 The Bedrock Eight Basics 1. A
Bias for Action 2. Close to the Customer 3.
Autonomy and Entrepreneurship 4. Productivity
Through People 5. Hands On, Value-Driven 6. Stick
to the Knitting 7. Simple Form, Lean Staff 8.
Simultaneous Loose-Tight Properties
125
Importance of Success Factors by Various
Gurus/ Estimates
(Unreliable) by Tom Peters
Strategy Systems Passion/
Execution
Leadership
Porter
45 20 20
15Drucker 35 30 15
20Bennis 20 20
35 25Peters 15
20 30 35
126
MBWA
127
MBWA
128
25
129
Mark McCormack 5,000 miles for a 5 min. meeting!
130
LET US MARCH
131
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
132
Let us march.
133
Nelsons secret Other admirals more
frightened of losing than anxious to win
134
A year from now you may wish You had
started today. Karen Lamb
135
You only find oil if you drill wells. T he
Hunters, by John Masters, Canadian O G
wildcatter
136
TP/Chile I dont know if it is possible. I
do know its necessary.
137
3
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Leadership23
139

Leadership231. Enthusiasm. Energy.
Exuberance.2. Action. Execution.3. Tempo.
Metabolism.4. Relentless.5. Master of Plan
B.6. Accountability.7. Meritocracy.8. Leaders
do people. Mentor. (Success creation
business.)9. Women. Diversity.10. Integrity.
Credibility. Humanity. Grace.11. Realism.12.
Cause. Adventures. Quests.13. Legacy.14. Best
story wins.15. On the edge. (Wildest chimera of
a moonstruck mind.) 16. Reward excellent
failures. Punish mediocre successes.17.
Different gt Better. (Only ones who do what we
do.)18. MBWA. Customer MBWA.19. Laughs.20.
Repot. Curiosity. Why?21. You Calendar. To
Dont. Two.22. Excellence. Always. 23.
Nelsonian! (Other admirals more afraid of
losing than anxious to win.)
140
4
141
ALL YOU NEED TO KNOWmore or less
142
Cause
143
Create a cause, not a business. Gary Hamel
144
Management has a lot to do with answers.
Leadership is a function of questions. And the
first question for a leader always is Who do we
intend to be? Not What are we going to do? but
Who do we intend to be? Max De Pree, Herman
Miller
145
We are a life Success CompanyDave
Linegar, founder, RE/MAX
146
Artist
147
Leader Job 1Paint Portraits of Excellence!
148
I never, ever thought of myself as a
businessman. I was interested in creating things
I would be proud of. Richard Branson
149
People
150
Brand Talent.
151
Leaders do people. Anon.
152
Our MissionTo develop and manage talentto
apply that talent,throughout the world, for the
benefit of clientsto do so in partnership to
do so with profit.WPP
153
Decency
154

• 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

155
Grace
156
Thank you
157
The two most powerful things in existence a
kind word and a thoughtful gesture.Ken Langone
158
Rodales on Grace elegance charm
loveliness poetry in motion kindliness ..
benevolence benefaction compassion beauty
159
Intangibles
160
Hard is soft. Soft is hard.In Search of
Excellence
161
Self-management
162
The First step in a dramatic organizational
change program is obviousdramatic personal
change! RG
163
You Your Calendar
164
You must be the change you wish to see in the
world.Gandhi
165
Before you can inspire with emotion, you must be
swamped with it yourself. Before you can move
their tears, your own must flow. To convince
them, you must yourself believe. Winston
Churchill
166
MBWA
167
A body can pretend to care, but they cant
pretend to be there. Texas Bix Bender
168
You cant lead a cavalry charge if you think you
look funny on a horse. John Peers, President,
Logical Machine Corporation
169
Curiosity
170
Why?
171
Ears
172
If you dont listen, you dont sell anything.
Carolyn Marland/MD/Guardian Group
173
Conformity
174
To grow, companies need to break out of a
vicious cycle of competitive benchmarking and
imitation. W. Chan Kim René Mauborgne, Think
for Yourself Stop Copying a Rival, Financial
Times/08.11.03
175
The short road to ruin is to emulate the
methods of your adversary. Winston Churchill
176
Action
177
We have a strategic plan. Its called doing
things. Herb Kelleher
178
Focus
179
Dennis, you need a To-dont List !
180
I used to have a rule for myself that at any
point in time I wanted to have in mind as it so
happens, also in writing, on a little card I
carried around with me the three big things I
was trying to get done. Three. Not two. Not
four. Not five. Not ten. Three. Richard
Haass, The Power to Persuade
181
Change
182
If you dont like change, youre going to
like irrelevance even less. General Eric
Shinseki, Chief of Staff. U. S. Army
183
Im not comfortable unless Im
uncomfortable.Jay Chiat
184
Richard Kevin
185
Sir Richards RulesFollow your passions.Keep
it simple.Get the best people to help
you.Re-create yourself.Play.
186
Kevin Roberts Credo1. Ready.
Fire! Aim.2. If it aint broke ... Break it!3.
Hire crazies.4. Ask dumb questions.5. Pursue
failure.6. Lead, follow ... or get out of the
way!7. Spread confusion.8. Ditch your
office.9. Read odd stuff.10. Avoid moderation!
187
Passion Enthusiasm
188
Nothing is so contagious as enthusiasm.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
189
I am a dispenser of enthusiasm. Ben Zander
190
A man without a smiling face must not open a
shop. Chinese ProverbCourtesy Tom Morris,
The Art of Achievement
191
Hustle
192
Most important, he upped the energy level at
Motorola. Fortune on Ed Zander/08.05
193
Sunny
194
A leader is a dealer in hope.Napoleon
195
Aim High
196
The greatest dangerfor most of usis not that
our aim istoo highand we miss it,but that it
istoo lowand we reach it.Michelangelo
197
Beware of the tyranny of making Small Changes to
Small Things. Rather, make Big Changes to Big
Things. Roger Enrico, former Chairman, PepsiCo
198
Dream
199
Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one
wild and precious life? Mary Oliver
200
Sell
201
. Everyone lives by selling something.
Robert Louis Stevenson
202
Experience
203
Experience Rebel Lifestyle!What we sell is
the ability for a 43-year-old accountant to dress
in black leather, ride through small towns and
have people be afraid of him. Harley exec,
quoted in Results-Based Leadership
204
798
205
415/SqFt798/SqFt
206
No Limits
207
You do not merely want to be the best of the
best. You want to be considered the only ones who
do what you do.Jerry Garcia
208
!
209
5
210
The Irreducible209/Sales122/60TIBsTom
Peters/0607.2006
211
The Irreducible209
212
A frustrated participant at a seminar for
investment bankers in Mauritius listened
impatiently to my explanation of differences of
opinion among me, Mike Porter, Gary Hamel, Jim
Collins, etc. Finally, hed had enough. What, if
anything, he asked, do you believe for sure?
I mumbled something, but his query started
rumbling around in my mind. Three days later,
wandering on a Sunday in London, the idea of the
irreducibles occurred to meand I started
jotting down notes on stuff I do indeed believe
for sure. Before I knew it, a few days later,
the list had grown to 209 items. Hence The
Irreducible209 that follows.Tom Peters
213
1. Hare 1, Tortoise 0. (Hare-y times.) 2. Tempo.
(O.O.D.A.) 3. MBWA. 4. Appreciation. (Motivator
1.) (Cant be faked. Good.) 5. Decency. 6.
Hurry. 7. Time out. 8. One matters. 9. Big
change. Short time. (Alt not work.) 10.
Excellence. Always. 11. Passion. Energy. Hustle.
Enthusiasm. Exuberance. (Move mountains. No
alt.) 12. You must care. 13. Emotion. 14. Hard is
soft. (Soft is hard.)
214
15. Men. Women. Different. Contend. Connect. 16.
Women. Buy. All. (RU listening?) 17. Quality.
(Mind-blowing. Beyond 6-Sigma.) 18. Re-invent.
Re-pot. (Required.) 19. Jaywalk. 20. Big change.
Small of people. (Always.) 21. Experiment.
Now. 22. Failure. Normal. 23. Most failures,
most success. (Fail. Forward. Fast.) 24.
Reward excellent failures. Punish mediocre
successes. 25. Women leaders. (Altered times.)
26. Extremism. (Good business. Bad
politics.) 27. Innovation source. Only. Extreme
irritation. 28. Smile.
215
29. You must care. 30. Mentor. (Highest ROI.) 31.
Best roster wins. 32. Wow. (Okay in biz.) 33.
We all have customers. (Biz. Personal.) 34. All
contacts Experiences. 35. Cirque du Soleil.
(Peerless.) 36. Leaders create space for
growth. 37. Quests. (Only.) 38. High aspirations,
high results. (Self-fulfilling
prophecy.) 39. Attitude 1, Skills 0. (Mostly.)
(Attitude 1, Skill 0.3?) 40. Sometimes Skill
1, Attitude 0.1. 41. Must love, not like. 42.
Wegmans. (No excuses. Mere groceries.) 43.
Less than your best. Cheating.
216
44. Brand You. (No alt.) 45. Self-sufficiency.
(Biggest LT turn-on.) 46. In the moment. 47. The
moment wins. 48. Tomorrow Never. 49. Action 1,
Plan 0.1. 50. Execution can be a system. 51.
Realism. 52. Own up. Move on. 53.
Accountability. 54. Work hard gt Work smart.
(Mostly.) 55. Feedback. Necessary. Fast. (R.F.A.
in RFA times.) 56. Customers. Listen.
Lead. (Paradox.) 57. On stage. Always. (GW,
FDR, RG Supreme actors.)
217
58. Master statistical analysis. 59. Excellence
Set the table. 60. Legacy. (Will it have
mattered?) 61. Great. (Why not?) 62. Radicals
rule. (Think Olympics.) 63. !!! Good. 64. Red
1, Brown 0. (Red times.) 65. Talk. Listen. (Big
2. Master.) 66. Politics. (Normal-inevitable
state of affairs. Master.) 67. Student.
Forever. 68. Why? (Question 1.) 69. Dont
belittle. 70. Respect. 71. All we have this
moment. (Moments matter most?) 72. Now.
(Procrastination. Death.)
218
73. Exercise. 74. Paint. (Leader. Portraits of
Excellence.) 75. Best story wins. 76. You must
be the change you wish to see in the
world. 77. Two big ones. Max.
(Priorities.) 78. No I in Team. (I in
Win.) 79. I in Win. (No I in Team.) 80.
Different 1, Better 0. (Better 0.1) 81.
Imitation Mistake. (Learn, from who?) 82.
Choose/battle the right competitor. 83.
Schools. Creativity. Entrepreneurship.
(Not.) 84. MBAs. Creativity. Entrepreneurship.
Leadership. (Not.) 85. Design. Under-rated.
Wildly. (Still.) (Everything.)
219
86. You Calendar. (Calendar. Never. Lies.) 87.
Laugh. 88. Handshake. (Quantity. Quality.) 89.
Dont fold your hands in front of your chest.
Ever. (Never.) 90. Grace. (Works in biz.) 91.
Weird. Wins. (Weird times.) 92. Crazy times.
Crazy orgs. 93. Internet. All. 94. Women.
Boomers-Geezers. Market. All. 95. Passion.
(Repeat. So what?) 96. Energy. (Repeat.
So what?) 97. Hustle. (Repeat. So
what?) 98. Enthusiasm. (Repeat. So what?) 99.
Exuberance. (Repeat. So what?) 100. Smile.
(Repeat. So what?) 101. Care.
(Repeat. So what?)
220
102. Simplicity. Redundancy. Resilience. Bloody-
mindedness. Visible optimism. (Success.)
103. Act. (Repeat. So what?) 104.
Appreciate. (Repeat. So what?) 105. Fun. (Biz.
Why not?) 106. Joy. (Biz. Why not?) 107. Sales
Life. 108. Marketing Life. 109. Long-term. Top
line. 110. Great company Creates the most
individual success stories. (RE/MAX) 111.
Talent first, performance byproduct. 112.
Sustained Wow 1, Shareholder value,
0.2 (Product, People.) 113. Commitment, by
invitation only. 114. Creativity, by invitation
only. 115. HR 1. (Ought to.) 116.
Face-to-face. (5K miles, 5 minutes.)
221
117. Negotiation. Make all winners. (Save
face.) 118. Grace makes enemies friends. 119.
Network. 120. Invest in relationships. (Think
ROIR. Return On Investment in
Relationships.) 118. Relationship investment.
Forethought. Calendar item.
Intensity. 119. Innovation. Easy. (Hang out
with weird.) 120. Weird Win. (Weird
times.) 121. The bottleneck is at the top
of the bottle. 122. Good Board Weird Board.
(At least, surprising.) 123. No
contention, no progress.
222
124. Crucial conversations. Crucial
confrontations. (Study. Learn. Do.) 125. Honest
feedback. 126. Gaspworthy. Yes. 127. Insanely
great. 128. Astonish me. 129. Make it
immortal. 130. Will you remember it in 20
years? 131. No small opportunities.
(Reframe.) 132. One playmate, one playpen
Enough. 133. End run. Sensible. 134. Allies are
there for the finding. 135. Find successes. Build
on successes. (Pos gt Neg. Encourage gt
Fix.) 136. Somebodys doing it today. Find
em. 137. Someone is living 2016 in 2006.
(Find em. Study em.)
223
138. Dont benchmark, futuremark.
(2016. Happening. Somewhere.) 139. PMA. It
works. 140. There are no experts. (You are the
expert.) 141. Life is short. 142. Sustained
success. Fat chance. Make today matter.
(Sustained. Ha.) 143. Collaborate. (Networked
world.) 144. Go solo. (Individual. Unit of
Intellectual Capital.) 145. There are no
perfect plans. (Do. Wins.) 146. Plans motivate.
(Right or wrong. Sense of purpose.) 147.
Never rest. 148. Get some sleep. 149. Winning
Embracing paradox. 150. Ambiguity Opportunity.
224
151. Resilience. 152. Relentless-ness. 153. None.
Above. Comeuppance. (GM. Sears. U.S.
Steel. DEC.) 154. Be yourself. Period. 155. Never
work with jerks. Including customers.
(Life. Too short.) 156. Under-promise,
over-deliver. 157. Talent. (Powerful word.) 158.
Customer Anyone whose actions affect
your results. 159. Competition stinks. (Seek the
soft spots where you can dominate.) 160.
K.I.S.S./Keep It Simple, Stupid. 161. Beauty.
(Good biz word.) 162. See the beauty in a
hamburger bun. (Go. Ray.)
225
163. Own up. Quick. ( Denial. Cancer.)164.
Celebrate. Often.165. 78 people 78 approaches.
(Each. Unique.)166. Weed. Ceaselessly. (Prune.
Stupid. Rules. Non-stop.)167. Get out
of the way. (You The problem.)168. Smile.
Sunny. Optimism. (If it kills you.)169. Flowers.
(Cheery workplace.)170. Enjoy. (Or get the
hell.)171. Be intolerant of sour. (1 Major
pollution)172. No quick trigger on promotion.
(Too important.)173. Evaluation Lots of
study-time.174. Evaluation Life or death to
evaluee.175. 360 evaluation. No fad.176. Exit
when youre done. (Done. Sooner than you
think.)
226
177. Today. Now. My Project. Am. Is. I.
Period. 178. Beautiful systems. (Good biz
phrase. Not oxymoron.) 179. Build on
strengths gt Fix weaknesses. 180. To dont To
do. (To dont gt To do ?) 181.
Leaders Do People. (Period.) 182. Leaders enjoy
leading. 183. Serious leadership training
Serious. 184. Priorities. Obvious. (Or
else.) 185. 5 Priorities 0 Priorities.
(3 Priorities 0 Priorities?) 186. People.
First. Last. Always. 187. It. Is. Always. The.
People.
227
188. Handshake. (Quantity. Quality.)189. Dont
fold your hands in front of your chest.
Ever. (Never.)190. Simplicity. Redundancy.
Resilience. Bloody-mindedness. Visible
optimism. (Success.) (Repeat.)191. Employee
Entrance Guest Entrance.192. Put the
customer SECOND. (Thanks, Hal.)193.
Flowers. (Or did I say that before? No
matter if I did.)194. Big Mergers dont work.
Small acquisitions can/do workif you
dont screw with their energy.
228
195. Instinctively head for the front
line. (In all contexts.)196. Success
DDMMPR/"D-squared, M-squared, PR
DramDiff Money-Financial Acumen
Good Marketing Instincts Stellar
People Resilience (The fab five
What. Every. Small. Biz. Needs.) (Big
too.) 197. Core Mechanism (Game-changing
Solutions) PSF (Professional Service
Firm model) Wow! Projects
(Different vs Better) Brand You
(Distinct or Extinct) 198. 2011/2016 has
already happened. Find it.
229
199. Kids know kids. Oldies know oldies.
Women know women. (Staff
accordingly.)200. Everybody is my customer.201.
Cosset vendors.202. I want to run a
Housekeeping department. (And you?)203.
The military doesnt follow the military
model. (Initiative Excellence.)204. No such
thing as going to absurd lengths to
serve the Customer. (HSM Lefties.)205. Forget
the customer. All Clients.206. It takes
decades to get over sleights. (So
dont sleight.)207. Dont dumb down. Ever.
230
208. NO LESS THAN EXCELLENCE.
EVER.209. EXCELLENCE. ALWAYS.
231
Work In ProgressXXX. One size fits. One. Only.
(Evaluations. Period.)XXX. Teaching.
Individualized. Only. (6 billion people
6 billion learning trajectories.)
(Montessori.)XXX. First impression. Matters.
Shapes all that comes. Hard to overcome.
(Understatement.)XXX. Jerks. Dont work with.
(Life Too short.)XXX. Manage the hell out of
first impressions.XXX. Last impression. Matters.
Dominates memory. Hard to overcome.
(Understatement.)XXX. Manage the hell out of
last impressions.XXX. Plain English.XXX.
K.I.S.S. (450/8.)XXX. 798. 55,000,000,000.
3,000,000,000. 7AM-7PM. 615AM.XXX.
Donnelly Weatherstrip rules.XXX. Managers do
things right. Leaders do the right
thing. NOT.
232
GE (more or less)The Sales122 122
Ridiculously Obvious Thoughts About Selling
StuffTom Peters/0402.2006
233
This list was first prepared for GE Energy sales
marketing people in January. It started with a
half-dozen items, and grew like Topsy. Possibly,
given its origins, its a little tilted toward
complex, engineering-based sales. In any event,
it makes a perfect companion to The
Irreducibles209. This, too, is effectively a
list of irreducibles.Tom Peters
234
1. Strategy overrated, simply doin stuff
underrated. See Kelleher and Bossidy We have a
strategic plan, its called doing things.Herb
Kelleher. Execution is a systematic process of
rigorously discussing hows and whats, tenaciously
following through, and ensuring accountability.
Larry Bossidy Ram Charan/ Execution The
Discipline of Getting Things Done. 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 deals if youd had the guts to jump
before the value became obvious.
235
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.) 8. ITS RELATIONSHIPS,
STUPIDDEEP AND FROM MULTIPLE FUNCTIONS. 9. In
any public-sector business, 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!
236
Everyone lives by selling something. Robert
Louis Stevenson
237
11. Interesting outsiders are essential to
innovative proposal and sales teams. An
exciting sales-proposal team is as important as
a prestigious one. 12. Is the proposal-sales team
weird enoughweirdos come up with the most
interesting, game-changer ideas. Period. 13.
Lunch with at least one weirdo per month. (Goal
always on the prowl for interesting new
stuff.) 14. Gratuitous comment Lunches with good
friends are typically a waste of (professional)
time. 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. (Ah,
life.) 17. WOMEN ARE SIMPLY BETTER AT
RELATIONSHIPSdont get hung upparticularly in
tech firmson what industries-countries women
cant do. (Or some such bullshit.)
238
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) 19. Call this 18A,
or 18 repeat Become a first-rate Storyteller!
(A key perhaps the key to leadership is the
effective communication of a story.Howard
Gardner, Leading Minds An Anatomy of
Leadership) 20. Risk Assessment Risk Management
is more about stories than advanced mathi.e.,
brilliant scenario construction. 21. Good
listeners are good sales people. Period. 22.
Lousy listeners are lousy sales people. Period.
23. 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.) (If you dont listen, you dont
sell anything.Carolyn Marland/MD/Guardian
Group)
239
24. 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.) 25. You dont know Jack Squat
about other peoples culturesespecially if you
are a typically myopic American. (Like me.) 26.
Are you a great interviewer? Its a make or break
skill. (Think Barbara Walters skill at
extracting unwanted truths from pros in
persona-protection ... in front of 10s of
millions of people. 27. Are you a great (not
merely good) presenter? Mastering presentation
skills is a lifes workwith stupendous
payoff. 28. Work like hell on the Big 2
LISTENING/INTERVIEWING, PRESENTING. These are
the essence of sales lifeand usually
picked-up in an amateurish fashion. Mistake!
(Become a professional student of these two
areas, achieve Mastery.) 29. Are you good at
flowers? Think FLOWER POWER! (see Harvey
Mackays Mackay 66what you should know about a
Client e.g., birthdays anniversaries.) (My
flowers budget is out of control. Hooray for
me.) 30. You cant do it allbe clear at what you
are good at, bad at, indifferent at. Hubris
sucks.
240
If you dont listen, you dont sell anything.
Carolyn Marland/ Managing Director/ Guardian
Group
241
31. The point is not to prove yourself.
(Thats ego-talk.) Let the best person present to
the Clientperhaps a lower level geek.
(Control freaks get their just desserts in the
long haulor sooner.) 32. The numbers will more
or less take care of themselves over the long
haulif the relationship/s is/are solid gold. 33.
The Gold Standard in selling INDISPENSABLE to
the Client. No other goal is worthy. 34. Never
stop growing-broadening-deepening the
relationship. The key to indispensability is to
get the Client more and more and more and
then more imbedded in our web. Hence the
so-called selling process is only the first
step! 35. USE THE WORD WE CONSTANTLY
RELIGIOUSLY! (E.g. Wethe Client meare
going to change the world with this
service.) 36. Dont waste your time on
jerksitll rarely work out in the mid- to
long-term. 37. Genius is walking away from lousy
scores (deals)and accepting the attendant
heat. Big Business is the premier home to Big
Egos overpaying by a factor of 2 to 22 with
billion at stake. (Think Jerry Levin and AOL
Time Warner.)
242
38. You havent a clue as to how this situation
will actually play outbe prepared to move fast
in a different direction. 39. Keep your word. 40.
KEEP YOUR WORD. 41. Underpromise (i.e., dont
over-promise i.e., cut yourself 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. 42.
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 two-year period can pave the way
for a Big Victory in a New Space in year 3. 43.
Its a competitive world out there. New,
innovative products are harder to sell than old
stand-bys. Nonetheless, you will be a long-term
star to the extent that you are willing to push
the harder-to-sell-at-the-moment Innovative
Products that cement long-term Client success
(Indispensability!) even if it means a s hit
this quarter. PART OF YOUR JOB TAKE CLIENTS ON
AN ADVENTURE THAT PUTS THEM AHEAD OF THE GAME
CALLED (GAMECHANGINGhopefully) COMPETITIVE
ADVANTAGE!
243
44. 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) 45. THERE ARE NO
MODERATES IN THE HISTORY BOOKS! 46. Keep it
simple! (Damn it!) No matter how sophisticated
the product. If you cant explain it in a phrase,
a page, or to your 14-year-old ... you havent
got it right yet. 47. Know more than the next
guy. Homework pays. (of course its obviousbut
in my work it is too often honored in the
breach.) 48. 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. 49. In public settings in
particular, face saving is all. When something
changes, allow the other guy to come out looking
like a winner, especially if he has lost. (Even
if you must accept the egg on your facehe will
always remember you!) 50. Dont hold grudges. (It
is the ultimate in small mindednessand
incredibly wasteful and ineffective. Theres
always tomorrow.)
244
51. ITS ALWAYS THE POLITICSwee
private-sector deal or giant public sector deal.
(Every player, small or large, is angling for
something. Master the calculus of advantage.) 52.
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! (My Capitol Hill Axiom Its
the 24-year-old LA who in the end briefs the
Senator right before she goes to the Floor to
vote.) 53. Speaking of she Gender differences
are Enormousdealing with a woman and dealing
with a man are different kettles of fishyou must
become an A student of gender differences.
(E.g. Men are typically more interested in the
short-term score. Women are more interested in
the long-term consequences.) 54. LITTLE PEOPLE
OFTEN HAVE BIG FRIENDS. 55. 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.
245
56. Never, ever dump on a competitorthe Tom
Watson IBM glory-days mantra. 57. Never forget
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. 58. Speaking of favors,
jail sucks. 59. Work hard beats work smart.
(Mostly.) 60. 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.
61. Mano v mano hardball is seldom the
answerend runs based and patient multi-level
relationship building via deeper-wider networks
win. 62. If the deal is wired from below, truly
wired, than the so-called big negotiations are
essentially irrelevant. 63. If every quarter is a
little better than the prior quarterthen you
are not taking any serious risks. 64. Phones
beat email.
246
Nothing is so contagious as enthusiasm. Samuel
Taylor Coleridge
247
65. 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? 66. Be
hyper-organized 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.) 67. Obsess on ROIR
(Return On Investment In Relationships). 68.
THANK YOU NOTES Worlds highest-return
investment!! 69. The way to anyones heart Doing
a nice thing for their kid. (But, gawd, does this
take a gentle touch.) 70. 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. 71. 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.)
248
72. 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). 73. 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. (I.e., Respect is Cool.) 74. Mentoring
is a thrilland the practical payoff is enormous.
The best mentors have the whole world working its
buns off for them! 75. 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.) 76. ITS
ALWAYS YOUR PROBLEMyou sold it to them.
249
77. Its never over While there may be an
excellent service activity in your company, the
relationship belongs to You! Hence the
aftersales moments of truth are at least
asif not more than--important to the Continuing
Relationship as the sale transaction itself.
(I vote for more than.) Youll get your
biggest points with the Client for being an
effective after-the-fact go-between with your
company. 78. Dont get too hung up on systems
integrationfirst foremost, the individual
bits have got to work. 79. For Gods sake dont
over promise on systems integrationits nigh
on impossible to deliver. 80. On the other hand
winners clamber Up the Value-added Ladder, and
offer ever so much more than mere product. ALL
SUCCESSFUL SALES PEOPLE ARE IN THE SOLUTIONS
BUSINESSno matter how jargony that may sound.
250
81. Systems / Solutions 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. Shit happens. Thats what they
pay you for. 83. This is not a GE or Ben
Jerrys saleit is a Joe Jones/Jane Jones sale.
YOU ARE THE BRAND THE CLIENT BUYSespecially
over the long haul. 84. Duh You make money, the
company makes moneyon repeat business. 85.
Masteryes, youthe PR Game. Word of Mouth is
not accidental! You want Word of Mouth? Make it
happen! 86. GOAL 1 MAKE YOUR CLIENT A HEROYOU
ARE NOT THERE TO GET CREDIT. (Taking credit is
for egomaniacs. And losers.) 87. Decent
margins, over the mid- to long-term, are a
product of better relationships, not better
negotiating skill. (Mostly.)
251
You cant behave in a calm, rational manner.
Youve got to be out there on the lunatic
fringe. Jack Welch
252
88. In the immortal words of ex-GE Vice Chairman
Larry Bossidy, more or less, Realism rocks.
(Bullshit artist and great salesperson,
contrary to conventional wisdom, are Diametric
Opposites. Truthteller and Great Salesperson is
more like it.) 89. Be the first to tell the
Client bad news (e.g., slipped delivery) his
intelligence sources will tell him fastyou want
to be there first with your story and to enhance
your rep as Truthteller! 90. Work like hell to
get a reputation as a valued industry expert, to
become an industry resource. 91. Work the Trade
Association angle for all its worthit may take a
decade to pay offe.g., when you become an
officer or are on an important panel or testify
Before Congress. 92. PAY YOUR DUES IN THE CLIENT
ORG AND IN YOUR OWN ORG! 93. Its all bloody
tactics. 94. You must ... LOVE .... the product!
(Period.) 95. YOU MUST LOVE THE PRODUCT! 96.
Dont over-schedule. Running late is
inexcusable at any level of seniority it is the
ultimate mark of self-importance mixed with
contempt.
253
97. Women are better salespeople. (See
Addendum.) 98. Women alone understand Women. 99.
Actually, Women by and large understand Men
better than Men understand Men. 100.Women
purchasers buy Stories and recommendations. 101.
Women take longer to become Loyal purchasers, but
then stay Loyal. 102. Men buy Stats. 103. Men
decide fast, but are fickle. 104. Men Women are
VERY, VERY Different. 105. Women buy most
things. Consumer. Increasingly, professional
goods and services. 106. Womens Market is
Opportunity 1. 107. Boomers. Many, many. Lots
lots lots of . 108. Boomers-Geezers are
very different purchasers than those in other
categories.
254
109. It takes time to get to know people.
(DUH.) 110. The very idea of efficiency in
relationship development is ... STUPID. 111. MBWA
(still) rules. 112. Preparing the soil is the
first 98 percent. (Or more.) 113. WORK THE
PHONES! 114. Rule 5K-5M 5K miles for a 5-Minute
meeting often makes sense. (Yes, often.) (Even
with constrained travel budgets.) (Thanks,
super-agent Mark McCormack.) 115. Become a
student! Study great salespeople! (Including
Presidents.) (Natural is a little bit truebut
then Naturals are always the ones who study
hardeste.g., Jerry Rice.) 116. Become a
student! Yes, you can study Relationship
Building. So, study 117. Beware
complexifiers and c