Tom Peters

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Tom Peters Re-Imagine!Excellence in a
Disruptive AgeSOUTHDIV NAVFAC/Charleston/10Marc
h2005
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TP Navy/Public Sector BackgroundGuadalcanalSeve
rn River Severn SchoolThe CryptPERTNROTC,
Wally Lind The QueenCEC/NMCB9/NAVFAC06/OPNAV04
Drugs!ISOE/Bob Stone/Bill Creech
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What I LearnedHWBjr Excellence,
Accountability, Initiative, K.I.S.S., Leader
LoveDick Empowerment, Entrepreneurship,
Challenge, Execution (Project gt Paper),
Accountability, MBWA, K.I.S.S., Fanatic
Customer-centrism (CustomergtCommand,
MarinesgtRegiment), Leader Love, Output,
DogtBeNameless Tangible vs Palpable
(Bureaucracy, Control, Tight Leashes,
Command-centric, Demoralization, Paper gt Project,
Product Paper, K.I.C.S.)
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To Be somebody or to Do somethingBOYD The
Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War (Robert
Coram)
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What I LearnedHWBjr Excellence,
Accountability, Initiative, K.I.S.S., Leader
LoveDick Empowerment, Entrepreneurship,
Challenge, Execution (Project gt Paper),
Accountability, MBWA, K.I.S.S., Fanatic
Customer-centrism (CustomergtCommand,
MarinesgtRegiment), Leader Love, Output,
DogtBeNameless Tangible vs Palpable
(Bureaucracy, Control, Tight Leashes,
Command-centric, Demoralization, Paper gt Project,
Product Paper, K.I.C.S.)
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What I LearnedBen Decency, Soft Power, Fanatic
Customer-centrism (DogtBe)Walter Fanatic
Mission-centrism, Soft Power, Relationship-managem
ent, Execution, Accountability, Early to Bed
Bob PosgtNeg/Recognition, K.I.S.S., The Way of
the Demo (Execution), Hero-building,
Mission-centrism, DogtBeBill
De-centralization, Recognition, Support-staff
Centrism, Measurement (K.I.S.S.), Soft Power
(Paint n Pride), Rapid Culture Change
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Slides at tompeters.com
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Re-imagine! Eric Ss World.
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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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Re-imagine! Not Your Fathers World I.
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26m
12
43h
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35/70
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This is a dangerous world and it is going to
become more dangerous.We may not be
interested in chaos but chaos is interested in
us.Source Robert Cooper, The Breaking of
Nations Order and Chaos in the Twenty-first
Century
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Re-imagine! Your Fathers World (and Ours).
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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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Re-imagine! Not Your Fathers World II.
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A focus on cost-cutting and efficiency has
helped many organizations weather the downturn,
but this approach will ultimately render them
obsolete. Only the constant pursuit of innovation
can ensure long-term success. Daniel Muzyka,
Dean, Sauder School of Business, Univ of British
Columbia (FT/09.17.04)
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Wealth in this new regime flows directly from
innovation, not optimization. That is, wealth is
not gained by perfecting the known, but by
imperfectly seizing the unknown. Kevin Kelly,
New Rules for the New Economy
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ForgetgtLearnThe problem is never how to get
new, innovative thoughts into your mind, but how
to get the old ones out.Dee Hock
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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!
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A380!
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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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Reward excellent failures. Punish mediocre
successes.Phil Daniels, Sydney exec
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Re-imagine! What Organization?
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About a year ago I hired a developer in India to
do my job. I pay him 12,000 to do the job I get
paid 67,300 for. He is happy to have the work. I
am happy that I only have to work about 90
minutes per day (I still have to attend meetings
myself, and I spend a few minutes every day
talking code with my Indian counterpart.) The
rest of my time my employer thinks Im
telecommuting. They are happy to let me
telecommute because my output is higher than most
of my coworkers. Now Im considering getting a
second job and doing the same thing with it. That
may be pushing my luck though. The extra money
would be nice, but that could push my workday
over five hours. from posting at Slashdot
(02.04.04), reported by Dan Pink
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07.04/TP In Nagano Revenue 10BFTE
1Maybe
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Not out sourcingNot off shoringNot near
shoringNot in sourcingbut Best Sourcing
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NAVFAC best value provider or get out of the
business
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Dont own nothin if you can help it. If you
can, rent your shoes.F.G.
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Re-imagine! Turn on a Dime.
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100
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Boyd
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OODA Loop/Boyd CycleUnraveling the
competition/ Quick Transients/ Quick Tempo (NOT
JUST SPEED!)/ Agility/ So quick it is
disconcerting (adversary over-reacts or
under-reacts)/ Winners used tactics that caused
the enemy to unravel before the fight (NEVER
HEAD TO HEAD)BOYD The Fighter Pilot Who
Changed the Art of War (Robert Coram)
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Erics ArmyFlat.Fast.Agil
e.Adaptable.Light But Lethal.Talent/ I Am
an Army of One.Info-intense.Network-centric.
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Float like a butterfly. Sting like a bee. Ali
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Rather than have massive armies that people can
go along and inspect, it is now about having
rapidly deployable expediency forces that can be
dropped by land, sea or air and with full
support. MoD official, on Defense Secretary
Geoff Hoons defense white paper (12.2003)
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From Weapon v. Weapon To
Org structure v. Org structure
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Our military structure today is essentially one
developed and designed by Napoleon.Admiral
Bill Owens, former Vice Chairman, Joint Chiefs of
Staff
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Re-imagine! K.I.S.S.
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450/380/8
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Cast in StoneConstruction Criteria
Manual450/380/8
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K.I.S.S. Insert Gratuitous Comment
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Lose the ACRONYMS If it sounds confusing it is
confusing! (S.T.I.N.G.E.R.)
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Metrics K.I.S.S.
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Really Important Stuff Rogers Rule of Three!
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Bills Rule of Visibility!
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The Project/Accountability Rules! (Beware
Matrix Madness)
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Percys Rule Two Strikes Youre Fired
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Charles Ws Rule Fire the Bottom Quartile
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Control K.I.S.S.
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Lees Rule Run It off a Blackberry!
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Life K.I.S.S.
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Its T-H-R-E-E, Stupid!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
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Life K.I.S.S.
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Norms Rule If soldiers families are happy then
soldiers are happy and then we fight well!
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Re-imagine! The Bill Bob Show (Redux)!
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Bill Creech Organizing Around the Human
Spirit (As opposed to the McNamara spirit)
Paint PrideWing to Squadron
(Decentralize!!!) (Red Hats, Red Scarves, Red
TailsBobS)6 Sigma/VERY Visible-Clear-Competiti
ve Measures!Maintenance Rules! (The Drive
By!)
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Bob Stone World
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Some people look for things that went wrong and
try to fix them. I look for things that went
right, and try to build off them. Bob Stone
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Demos! Heroes! Stories!
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Re-imagine! The Horatio John Show!
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The Nelson Bakers Dozen 1. Simple-clear scheme
(Plan) (Not wildly imaginative) (Patton A
good plan executed with vigor right now tops
a perfect plan executed next week.)2.
SOARING/BOLD/CLEAR/UNEQUIVOCAL/WORTHY/NOBLE/INSPIR
ING GOAL/MISSION/PURPOSE/QUEST3.
Conversation Engagement of All Leaders4.
Leeway for Leaders Select the Best/Dip
Deep/Initiative demanded/Accountability
swift/Micromanagement absent5. LED BY LOVE
(Lambert), NOT AUTHORITY (Identify with
sailors!)6. Instinct/Seize the
Moment/Impetuosity (Boyds OODA Loops React
more quickly than opponent, destroy his
world view)7. VIGOR! (Zander leader as
Dispenser of Enthusiasm)8. Peerless Basic
Skills/Mastery of Craft (Seamanship)9.
Workaholic! (Duty first, second, and third)10.
LEAD BY CONFIDENT DETERMINED CONTINUOUS
VISIBLE EXAMPLE (In Harms Way) (Gandhi
You must be the change you wish to see in the
world/ Giuliani Show up!)11. Genius
(Transform the world to conform to their ideas,
Triumph over rules) (Gandhi,
Lee-Singapore) , not Greatness (Make the most of
their world) 12. Luck! (Right time, right
place survivor) (Lucky Eagle vs Bold
Eagle) 13. Others principal shortcoming
ADMIRALS MORE FRIGHTENED OF LOSING THAN
ANXIOUS TO WIN Source Andrew Lambert, Nelson
Britannias God of War
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Nelsons
Way A Bakers Dozen 1. Simple scheme. 2. Noble
purpose! 3. Engage others. 4. Find great talent,
let it soar! 5. Lead by Love! 6. Trust your gut,
not the focus group Seize the Moment! 7. Vigor!
8. Master your craft. 9. Work harder than the
next person. 10. Show the way, walk the talk,
exude confidence! Start a Passion
Epidemic! 11. Change the rules Create your own
game! 12. Shake of the pain, get back up off the
ground, the timing may well be right
tomorrow! (E.g., Get lucky!) 13. By hook or by
crook, quash your fear of failure, savor your
quirkiness and participate fully in the
fray! Source Andrew Lambert, Nelson
Britannias God of War
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FisherismsDo right and damn the
odds.Stagnation is the curse of life.The best
is the cheapest.Emotion can sway the world.Mad
things come off.Haste in all things.Any fool
can obey orders.History is a record of exploded
ideas. Life is phrases.Source Jan Morris,
Fishers Face, Or, Getting to Know the Admiral
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We must have no tinkering! No pandering to
sentiment! No regard for susceptibilities! We
must be ruthless, relentless, and remorseless.
Jan Morris, Fishers Face, Or, Getting to Know
the Admiral
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Re-imagine! Message from Mike Jim Go for It!
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The greatest dangerfor most of usis not that
our aim istoo highand we miss it,but that it
istoo lowand we reach it.Michelangelo
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B.H.A.G.Big Hairy Audacious Goal/Jim Collins
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Re-imagine! Message from Tom WOW! or Bust.
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Life WOW! Projects
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Insanely Great
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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 (from Mike Ray, The Highest Goal)
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Joe J. Jones 1942 2003 HE WOULDA DONE
SOME REALLY COOL STUFF BUT HIS BOSS
WOULDNT LET HIM!
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Re-imagine! Message from Lou Sam More More
Value-added!
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And the M Stands for ?Gerstners IBM
Systems Integrator of choice. (BW) IBM Global
Services 35B
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Big Browns New Bag UPS Aims to Be the Traffic
Manager for Corporate America Headline/BW/07.19.
2004
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New York-Presbyterian 7-year, 500M
enterprise-systems consulting and equipment
contract with GE Medical SystemsSource
NYT/07.18.2004
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Customer Satisfaction to Customer
SuccessWere getting better at Six Sigma
every day. But we really need to think about the
customers profitability. Are customers bottom
lines really benefiting from what we provide
them?Bob Nardelli, GE Power Systems
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Keep In Mind Customer Satisfaction versus
Customer Success
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Re-imagine! The PSF33 Thirty-Three
Professional Service Firm Marks of Excellence
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The PSF33 The Work The
Legacy1. CRYSTAL CLEAR POINT OF VIEW (Every
Practice Group If you cant explain your
position in eight words or less, then 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
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Best is not Good enough!Suggests a linear
measurement rod
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Point of View!
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R.POV8Remarkable Point Of View/8 Words or
less/If you cant state your position in eight
words or less you dont have a position.--SG
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Gasp-worthy!
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The PSF33 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?
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The PSF33 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
Skills25. Team Leadership Skills Valued
Early26. Partner with B.I.W. Best In World
Outsiders as Needed and to Infuse Different
Views
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The PSF33 The Firm The
Brand27. EAT-SLEEP-BREATHE-OOZE INTEGRITY (My
life is my messageGandhi) 28. Excellence
in EXECUTION 100.00 of the Time (No such
thing as a small sins/World Series Ring to
the Batboy!) 29. Drop everything/Swarm to
Support a Harried-On The Verge Team30.
SPEND AS AGGRESSIVELY ON RD AS A TECH FIRM OR
CIRQUE DU SOLEIL 31. Web (Technology)
Obsession 32. BRAND/LOVEMARK MANIACS (Organize
Around a Point of View Worth BROADCASTING
You must be the change you wish to see in
the worldGandhi) 33. 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)
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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!
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Re-imagine! The SE17 Origins of Sustainable
Entrepreneurship
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SE17/Origins of Sustainable
Entrepreneurship 1. Genetically disposed to
Innovations that upset apple carts (3M,
Apple, FedEx, Virgin, BMW, Sony, Nike, Schwab,
Starbucks, Oracle, Sun, Fox, Stanford
University, MIT) 2. Perpetually determined to
outdo oneself, even to the detriment of
todays winners (Apple, Cirque du Soleil,
Microsoft, Nokia, FedEx) 3. Love the Great
Leap/Enjoy the Hunt (Apple, Oracle, Intel,
Nokia, Sony) 4. Encourage Vigorous
Dissent/Genetically Noisy (Intel, Apple,
Microsoft, CitiGroup, PepsiCo) 5. Culturally as
well as organizationally Decentralized (GE,
JJ, Omnicom) 6. Multi-entrepreneurship/Many
Independent-minded Stars (GE, PepsiCo, JJ,
Time Warner)
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SE17/Origins of Sustainable
Entrepreneurship 7. Keep decentralizingtireless
in pursuit of wiping out Centralizing
Tendencies (JJ, Virgin) 8. Scour the world for
Ingenious Alliance Partnersespecially
exciting start-ups (Pfizer) 9. Acquire for
Innovation, not Market Share (Cisco, GE) 10.
Dont overdo pursuit of synergy (GE, Time
Warner) 11. Find and Encourage and Promote
Strong-willed/ Independent people (GE,
PepsiCo) 12. Ferret out Talent anywhere and
everywhere/No limits approach to
retaining top talent (Nike, Virgin, GE, PepsiCo)
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SE17/Origins of Sustainable
Entrepreneurship 13. Unmistakable Results
Accountability focus from the get-go to the
grave (GE, New York Yankees, PepsiCo) 14. Up or
Out (GE, McKinsey, big consultancies and law
firms and ad agencies and movie studios
in general) 15. Competitive to a fault! (GE, New
York Yankees, News Corp/Fox,
PepsiCo) 16. Bi-polar Top Team, with Unglued
Innovator 1, powerful Control Freak 2
(Oracle, Virgin) (Watch out when 2 is
missing Enron) 17. Masters of Loose-Tight/Hard-no
sed about a very few Core Values,
Open-minded about everything else (Virgin)
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Re-imagine! Cherish Weird!
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The Cracked Ones Let in the LightOur business
needs a massive transfusion of talent, and
talent, I believe, is most likely to be found
among non-conformists, dissenters and
rebels.David Ogilvy
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Why Do I love
Freaks? (1) Because when Anything Interesting
happens it was a freak who did it. (Period.)
(2) Freaks are fun. (Freaks are also a pain.)
(Freaks are never boring.) (3) We need freaks.
Especially in freaky times. (Hint These are
freaky times, for you me the CIA the Army
Avon.) (4) A critical mass of
freaks-in-our-midst automatically make
us-who-are-not-so-freaky at least somewhat more
freaky. (Which is a Good Thing in freaky
timessee immediately above.) (5) Freaks are
the only (ONLY) ones who succeedas in, make it
into the history books. (6) Freaks keep us
from falling into ruts. (If we listen to them.)
(We seldom listen to them.) (Which is why most of
usand our organizationsare in ruts. Make that
chasms.)
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Re-imagine! Go BIG!
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Beware of the tyranny of making Small Changes to
Small Things. Rather, make Big Changes to Big
Things. Roger Enrico, former Chairman, PepsiCo
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Re-imagine! Trumpet an Exhilarating Story!
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A key perhaps the key to leadership is
the effective communication of a story.Howard
Gardner Leading Minds An Anatomy of Leadership
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Job 1?Paint Pictures of Excellence!
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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
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Re-imagine! It all adds up to THE
BRAND. (THE STORY.)(THE DREAM.)(THE LOVE.)
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WHO ARE WE?
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WHATS OUR STORY?
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WHATS THE DREAM?
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EXACTLY HOW ARE WE DRAMATICALLY DIFFERENT?
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EXACTLY HOW DO I PASSIONATELY CONVEY THAT
DRAMATIC DIFFERENCE TO THE CLIENT ?
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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
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Re-imagine! Make It a Grand Adventure!
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Quests!
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Never doubt that a small group of committed
people can change the world. Indeed it is the
only thing that ever has. Margaret Mead
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Re-imagine! Dispense Enthusiasm!
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BZ I am a Dispenser of Enthusiasm!
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Re-imagine! Do Jack. (Lunacy rules!)
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You cant behave in a calm, rational manner.
Youve got to be out there on the lunatic
fringe. Jack Welch
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Change or Irrelevance!Focus!/Clarity!/K.I.S.S./C
ustomer-fanaticism!Decentralize!/Flat!/Fast!/Boy
d World!Accountability!/Simple, Compelling
Measures!WOW!/Quests!/B.H.A.G.s!Innovation!/E
ntreprenurialism!/Risk-taking!/Weird!Passion!/E
nthusiasm!/Lunacy!