CONRAD HILTON …

CONRAD HILTON, at a gala celebrating his career, was called to the podium and asked, His answer … CONRAD HILTON, at a gala celebrating his career, was called to the podium and asked, “What were the most important lessons you learned in your long and distinguished career?” His answer …

“ Remember to tuck the shower curtain inside the bathtub.”

“ Amateurs talk about strategy. Professionals talk about logistics.” —Omar Bradley

-1/+1/2

THE RED CARPET STORE (Joel Resnick/Flemington NJ)

*Basement Systems Inc. (Larry Janesky/Seymour CT) *Dry Basement Science (100,000++ copies!) *1990: $0; 2003: $13M; 2010: $80,000,000

The Magicians of Motueka (PLUS) ! W.A. Coppins Ltd.* (Coppins Sea Anchors/ PSA/para sea anchors) *Textiles, 1898; thrive on “wicked problems” —e.g., U.S. Navy STLVAST (Small To Large Vehicle At Sea Transfer); custom fabric from W. Wiggins Ltd./Wellington (specialty nylon, “Dyneema,” from DSM /Netherlands)

“BE THE BEST. IT’S THE ONLY MARKET THAT’S NOT CROWDED.” From: Retail Superstars: Inside the 25 Best Independent Stores in America, George Whalin Independent Stores in America, George Whalin

JUNGLE JIM’S INTERNATIONAL MARKET, FAIRFIELD, OH: “An adventure in ‘shoppertainment,’ begins in the parking lot and goes on to 1,600 cheeses and 1,400 varieties of hot sauce—not to mention 12,000 wines priced from $8-$ 8,000 a bottle; all this is brought to you by 4,000 vendors. Customers from every corner of the globe.” $8-$ 8,000 a bottle; all this is brought to you by 4,000 vendors. Customers from every corner of the globe.” BRONNER’S CHRISTMAS WONDERLAND, FRANKENMUTH, MI, POP 5,000 : 98,000-square-foot “shop” features 6,000 Christmas ornaments, 50,000 trims, and anything else you can name pertaining to Christmas. …”

Where the +201,000 new private-sector jobs came from … 51% Small firms 41% Medium-sized* 8% Big Source: ADP National Employment Report/March 2011 *E.g., German MITTELSTAND

Small (Entrepreneurial) BUSINESS: Training Inc., a 14-person unit* in a 50-person HR department in a $200M business unit in a $3B corporation—aiming for Excellence & WOW! *PSF / Professional Service Firm (See my … Professional Service Firm 50: Fifty Ways to Transform Your “Department” Into A Professional Service Firm Whose Trademarks Are Passion and Innovation.) Professional Service Firm 50: Fifty Ways to Transform Your “Department” Into A Professional Service Firm Whose Trademarks Are Passion and Innovation.)

Tom Peters’ Re-Imagine EXCELLENCE ! e-town Festival Edmonton Economic Development Edmonton/12 September 2014 (For more see tompeters.com and our fully annotated 23-part Master Compendium [Mother of All Presentations] at excellencenow.com)

People:1/4,096

“Business has to give people enriching, rewarding lives …

1/4,096: excellencenow.com “Business has to give people enriching, rewarding lives … or it's simply not worth doing.” —Richard Branson

“You have to treat your employees like customers.” —Herb Kelleher, upon being asked his “secret to success” Source: Joe Nocera, NYT, “Parting Words of an Airline Pioneer,” on the occasion of Herb Kelleher’s retirement after 37 years at Southwest Airlines (SWA’s pilots union took out a full-page ad in USA Today thanking HK for all he had done) ; across the way in Dallas, American Airlines’ pilots were picketing AA’s Annual Meeting)

“If you want staff to give great service, service, give great service to staff.” “If you want staff to give great service, service, give great service to staff.” —Ari Weinzweig, Zingerman’s Source: Small Giants: Companies That Choose to Be Great Instead of Big, Bo Burlingham

Wegmans (was #1 in USA) Container Store (was #1 in USA) Whole Foods CostcoPublix Darden Restaurants Build-A-Bear Workshops Starbucks

Brand = Talent.

Les Wexner: FROM FASHION TRENDS GURU TO PICKING AND DEVELOPING PEOPLE!* *Limited Brands founder Les Wexner queried on astounding long-term success: It happened because “I got as excited about developing people” as he had been about predicting fashion trends in his early years as he had been about predicting fashion trends in his early years (“CONNOISSEUR OF TALENT” ) (PARC’s Bob Taylor: “CONNOISSEUR OF TALENT” )

“G-E-N-I-U-S” Getting more and more cantankerous (short tempered!) about this: Job #1 (& #2 & #3) about this: Job #1 (& #2 & #3) is to abet peoples' personal growth. All other good things flow there from. My idea of a gen-u-ine “genius” “breakthrough” idea: If you work your heart out to help people grow, they'll work their hearts out “breakthrough” idea: If you work your heart out to help people grow, they'll work their hearts out to give customers a great experience. to give customers a great experience.

“It may sound radical, unconventional, and bordering on being a crazy business idea. However— as ridiculous as it sounds—joy is the core belief of our workplace. Joy is the reason my company, Menlo Innovations, a customer software design and development firm in Ann Arbor, exists. It defines what we do and how we do it. It is the single shared belief of our entire team.” —Richard Sheridan, Joy, Inc.: How We Built a Workplace People Love

Training = Investment #1 !

6/2/3* *It takes Jerry Seinfeld SIX MONTHS to develop TWO or THREE MINUTES of new material (documentary: Comedian)

Is your CTO /Chief Training Officer your top paid “C-level” job (other than CEO/COO)? If not, why not? Are your training courses so good they make you giggle and tingle? If not, why not?

Gamblin’ Man Gamblin’ Man Bet #1: >> 5 of 10 CEOs see training as expense rather than investment. Bet #2: >> 5 of 10 CEOs see training as defense rather than offense. Bet #3: >> 5 of 10 CEOs see training as “necessary evil” rather than “strategic opportunity.”

Bet #4: >> 8 of 10 CEOs, in 45-min “tour d’horizon” of their biz, would NOT mention training.

What is the best reason to go bananas over training? GREED. (It pays off.) (Training should be an official part of the R&D budget and a capital expense.)

1 st -Line Bosses (Cadre of) = Productivity Asset #1 ! 1 st -Line Bosses (Cadre of) = Productivity Asset #1 !

“People leave managers not companies.” —Dave Wheeler

WOMEN RULE ! (WOMEN BUY [EVERYTHING] ! )

“ Research suggests that to succeed, start by promoting women.” “McKinsey & Company found that the international companies with more women on their corporate boards far outperformed the with more women on their corporate boards far outperformed the average company in return on equity and other measures. average company in return on equity and other measures. Operating profit was 56% higher.” Source: Nicholas Kristof, “Twitter, Women, and Power,” NYTimes,

“AS LEADERS, WOMEN RULE: New Studies find that female managers outshine their male counterparts in almost every measure” TITLE/ Special Report/ BusinessWeek

“Forget CHINA, INDIA and the INTERNET: Economic Growth Is Driven by WOMEN. ”* Source: Headline, Economist *W > 2X (C + I) = $28T

Context:1,000,000

China/Foxconn: 1,000,000 robots/next 3 years 1,000,000 robots/next 3 years Source: Race AGAINST the Machine, Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee

“Just like other members of the board, the algorithm gets to vote on whether the firm makes an investment in a specific company or not. The program will be the sixth member of DKV's board.” Source: Business Insider, 13 May 2014: “A Hong Kong VC fund has just appointed an algorithm to its board.”

“The root of our problem is not that we’re in a Great Recession that we’re in a Great Recession or a Great Stagnation, but rather or a Great Stagnation, but rather that we are in the early that we are in the early throes of a. Our technologies are racing ahead, throes of a Great Restructuring. Our technologies are racing ahead, but our skills and organizations but our skills and organizations are lagging behind.” are lagging behind.” Source: Race AGAINST the Machine, Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee

CORPORATE MANDATE #1/MORAL IMPERATIVE 2014: Your principal moral obligation as a leader is to develop the skillset, “soft” and “hard,” of every one of the people in your charge (temporary as well as semi- permanent) to the maximum extent of your abilities. The good news: This is also the #1 mid- to long-term … profit maximization strategy!

Leading

25/50

You = Your calendar* *The calendar NEVER lies.

“The 4 most important words in any organization are …

THE FOUR MOST IMPORTANT WORDS IN ANY ORGANIZATION ARE … “WHAT DO YOU THINK?” * ARE … “WHAT DO YOU THINK?” * Source: courtesy Dave Wheeler, posted at tompeters.com *“Employees who don't feel significant rarely make significant contributions.” —Mark Sanborn

“The doctor interrupts after …* after …* *Source: Jerome Groopman, How Doctors Think

18 …

18 … seconds!

“I always write ‘LISTEN’ on the back of my hand before a meeting.” Source: Tweet

“EXPERIMENT FEARLESSLY” Tactic #1 “RELENTLESS TRIAL AND ERROR” * Source: Wall Street Journal, cornerstone of effective approach to “rebalancing” company portfolios in the face of changing and uncertain global economic conditions ( ) *WTTMSW /Whoever Tries The Most Stuff Wins “EXPERIMENT FEARLESSLY” Source: BusinessWeek, “Type A Organization Strategies: How to Hit a Moving Target”— Tactic #1 “RELENTLESS TRIAL AND ERROR” * Source: Wall Street Journal, cornerstone of effective approach to “rebalancing” company portfolios in the face of changing and uncertain global economic conditions ( ) *WTTMSW /Whoever Tries The Most Stuff Wins

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Kevin Roberts’ Credo 1. Ready. Fire! Aim. 2. If it ain’t 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. AVOID MODERATION! Kevin Roberts’ Credo 1. Ready. Fire! Aim. 2. If it ain’t 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!