Tom Peters’ Lessons in Leadership Grand Rapids

Hen 37,000 feet …

Microsoft = R.O.W. Microsoft > GM + Ford + Boeing + Lockheed Martin + Deere + Caterpillar + USX + Weyerhaeuser + Union Pacific + Kodak + Sears + Marriott + Safeway + Kellogg Source: Business Week data through 5-99

Microsoft = R.O.W. (II) Microsoft > GM + Ford Boeing + Lockheed Martin + Deere + Caterpillar + USX + Weyerhaeuser + Union Pacific + Kodak + Sears + Marriott + Safeway + Kellogg + McDonald’s + Bank One + General Mills + American Airlines + United Airlines + + Delta Air Lines + US Airways + Quaker Oats Source: Yastrow Marketing (through )

No Wiggle Room! “Incrementalism is innovation’s worst enemy.” Nicholas Negroponte

Just Say No … “I don’t intend to be known as the ‘King of the Tinkerers.’ ” CEO, large financial services company (New York, 5-99)

“It means nothing less than the total reinvention of this company.”

Jacques’ New New Ford Ford + Microsoft Ford + Yahoo! Ford + Oracle Ford + HP Etc. Etc.

64/24

Goal?

“There’s going to be a fundamental change in the global economy unlike anything we have had since the cavemen began bartering.” Arnold Baker, Chief Economist, Sandia National Laboratories

“I genuinely believe we are living through the greatest intellectual moment in history.” Matt Ridley, Genome

“Medicine looks likely to change more in the next 20 years than it has in the last 200.” British Medical Journal ( )

??????????????????? Warner Lambert & Pfizer

“There is probably going to be more confusion in the business world in the next decade than there has been in any decade in history.” Steve Case (2-00)

“We are in a brawl with no rules!” Paul Allaire

S.A.V.

T.T.D.s The next slide is the first of many “T.T.D.” activities. I.e.: Things To Do. These are by and large shorthand forms of training exercises I use. Also: Most of these T.T.D. slides have accompanying Notes. (See following slide.) Tom Peters

T.T.D./True or False: “incrementalism” VERSUS “innovation”?

Notes Page This is a daunting issue. There is no “right answer.” But it merits constant, conscious debate. Consider the value of incremental change. [Kaizen, etc.] And discuss whether or not this thwarts “BIG” initiatives aimed at wholesale reinvention. Also: Consider … “Can we do both?” [I’m not sure.] P.S.: This crucial issue holds for Finance Departments as much as Product Divisions. And it holds for the smallest and newest of businesses! THIS DEBATE IS WORTH LOTS OF TIME! KEEP IT PRACTICAL!

Seminar Y2K Brand Everything : Distinct or Extinct!

Part I: Work Part II: Brand Inside Part III: Brand Outside Part IV: Brand Leadership

Brand It! Now, More Than Ever! “The increasing difficulty in differentiating between products and the speed with which competitors take up innovations will assist in the rise and rise of the brand.” Gillian Law and Nick Grant, Management [New Zealand]

Brand Defined Distinction Excellence Emotional “Signature” Trustworthiness Consistency Shorthand

Work The Destruction Imperative!

Forget > Learn “The problem is never how to get new, innovative thoughts into your mind, but how to get old ones out.” Dee Hock

“It is generally much easier to kill an organization than change it substantially.” Kevin Kelly, Out of Control

Q: What do you do when you are a big, dopey company and out of ideas?

A: You merge with another big, dopey company that doesn’t have any ideas either.

R: An incredibly big, incredibly dopey company … going nowhere.

“When asked to name just one big merger that had lived up to expectations, Leon Cooperman, former cochairman of Goldman Sachs’ Investment Policy Committee, answered: ‘I’m sure there are success stories out there, but at this moment I draw a blank.’ ” Mark Sirower, The Synergy Trap

“I feel betrayed. I bought stock in a company that was going to change the world. I didn’t buy a big, fat, stupid conglomerate. And now I’ve got one.” Alan Towers, consultant, quoted in Business Week [BW: “The irony is that AOL Time Warner is a vertically integrated conglomerate. Not exactly the sort of nimble competitor that will thrive in cyberspace.”]

“Talent” and a $2T enterprise??????

“Acquisitions are about buying market share. Our challenge is to create markets. There is a big difference.” Peter Job, CEO, Reuters

“We chose not to do a discounted cash flow analysis of their future earnings. We wanted their talent and we wanted their intellectual property.” Art Reidel, CEO, Pharsight

“Our ideal acquisition is a small startup that has a great technology product on the drawing board that is going to come out in six to twelve months. We buy the engineers and the next generation product. …” John Chambers, Cisco

And … Jorma Ollila Jim Crow

Dept. Head I = Sports G.M. Dept. Head II = V.C.

G.M. = The Recruitment and Development of Top Talent. [Period!] V.C. = Bets on “Talent.” Bets on Projects. [Period!]

Silicon Valley Success Secrets “Pursuit of risk”: 4 of 20 in V.C. portfolio go bust; 6 lose money; 6 do okay; 3 do well; 1 hits the jackpot Source: The Economist

“R & D” Intel’s venture fund: 275 investments, $3.5B Source: Fast Company (12-99)

EcoNets/Internet Zaibatsus “The model is about partial acquisitions and ownerships that then form a whole. Each part has to have value separately, be able to raise capital separately, and motivate employees separately. Corporations of the past never had that.” Flip Filipowski, divine interVentures (Red Herring)

“The brick and mortars will die, no matter what. … So you have to take your best employees and best businesses and spin them off and just own 40 percent of everything that’s left. Do that and you survive.” Flip Filipowski, divine interVentures (Red Herring)

T.T.D. What are the specifics of your [personal, unit] “Forgetting Strategy”?

Notes Page Discuss the idea of “learning” versus “forgetting.” I THINK THIS IS A LOT MORE THAN A “SEMANTICS DEBATE.” Assuming you agree with me, what – very specific – steps are you taking to move beyond the Assumptions du Jour? Hint: This holds for a 1999 dot.com startup as much as for an elderly company.

T.T.D. Discuss the G.M./V.C. “strategy” as it applies to your unit.

Notes Page What do “G.M.s” do? [Invite one to talk to your group.] Do you do what they do? If not, why not? How about a “G.M. Strategy”? Repeat the above for the Life of a Venture Capitalist.

T.T.D. Evaluate your portfolio of projects [and people]: Are you placing enough interesting [long shot?] bets?

Notes Page Be brutally honest! Hint: This holds for you and me as individuals as well as for our unit.

C.E.O. to C.D.O.

“It used to be that the big ate the small. Now the fast eat the slow.” Geoff Yang, IVP/ (Institutional Venture Partners)

[E.g.: Craig Venter/ Celera Genomics]

The Gales of Creative Destruction +29M = -44M + 73M +4M = +4M - 0M

“ALL OF THESE ‘CONVERSATIONS’ TODAY ABOUT ‘THE WEB’ WILL APPEAR SO BLOODY DAMN SILLY AND PEDESTRIAN TEN … FIVE? … THREE? … YEARS FROM NOW.” — Tom Peters (11-99) P.S.: Read Ray Kurzweil’s The Age of Spiritual Machines: When Computers Exceed Human Intelligence

BW: “human brain has only a short time left as the smartest thing on earth”/ “subjugate humanity by 2050” Health Forum Journal: “In one generation or less, every element of health care, every assumption, will be changed or gone.” Dr. George Poste, SKB: 500 molecular targets in ’95 to 70,000 in ’99/ 35 compounds per year to 2M

Wired [Feb 2000] “ Cyborg 1.0: Kevin Warwick Outlines His Plan to Become One with His Computer”

“Capitalism and democracy are the two dominant forces of modern history; they unleash human creativity and energy like nothing else. But they are also forces of destruction. They destroy old orders, hierarchy, tradition, communities, careers, stability and peace of mind itself. The challenge of the West in the next century will be to find ways to channel the sweeping power of these two - the last surviving big ideas - as they reorganize all human activity. Otherwise, for much of the world, it may be too fast a ride.” Newsweek 12-99

T.T.D. How do you rate as a … C.D.O.?

Notes Page So … what … exactly … are you doing to DESTROY what you [and yours] are today? List every Project that aims to ATTACK today’s “culture” and assumptions. Be specific!

Message from Seattle? Top 3 Americans > 48 poorest nations Source: Newsweek 12-99

[Visit India … every 24 months.]

Brand Inside PSF 1: Brand Org!

108 X 5 vs. 8 X 1* * 540 vs. 8

ERP, ECM, Web, Etc. IT’S THE GIANT SUCKING SOUND OF SLACK BEING EXTRACTED FROM THE GLOBAL ECONOMY!

White Collar Revolution (Finally!!) 90% … in 10 years! PSFs ….. All! Brand Yous … All! WOW Projects … All!

“The coefficient of friction associated with the grunge of business is amazing!” Michael Schrage

Cemex and FDX!

CCC Information Services!

Swissair e>booking e>ticket e>check-in e>track e>info

Oracle and Ford!

T.T.D. Discuss: Is my “90% in 10+ years” extreme?

Notes Page I admit that some say I’m over-the-top here. I honestly don’t think I am. Try and imagine your HR/Whatever Dept. fully automated with numerous tasks outsourced … to India or Ireland.

“Assetless Company” J.B.

“Don’t own nothin’ if you can help it. If you can, rent your shoes.” F.G.

And … $20,000 = $1T* *Michael Dertouzos, MIT, on India’s “back office” outsourcing potential [ /Delhi]

RR on Sara Lee “The most profitable businesses in the future will act as knowledge brokers, linking insights into what’s available with insights into the customer’s individual needs and preferences.”

The “&-!!+#$% in the middle”* Jim Clark on Healtheon * ’twixt docs, patients and providers; $250B in waste (?); source: Michael Lewis, The New New Thing

SoftWatch (MS) “Manage relationships across the healthcare continuum”/ Amir Kishon Establish e-relationships with customers/retain customers/collect data Patients record info + receive feedback/ Online access to nurses Community with others with MS Etc. Source: Start-Up

Hewitt & HMO e-bids!

“We want to be the air traffic controllers of electrons.” Bob Nardelli, GE Power Systems

[And: Enron!]

“UPS used to be a trucking company with technology. Now it’s a technology company with trucks.” Forbes (1-00), on UPS’s $11B spent on IS in the 90s; UPS was Forbes’ “Company of the Year”

T.T.D. Does your vision involve a critical position in the industry’s Spider’s Web?

Notes Page Try to depict your industry … or your department … with all its interconnections. E.g.: What if every task you perform became a “for profit” task in which you became an “industry expert”? E.g.: As an HR Dept. in the utility industry, what if you started the premier dot.com industry Talent Bank?

TRUST* *Now … more than ever!

[ Words to Live By … “Hierarchy is an organization with its face toward the CEO and its ass toward the customer.” Kjell Nordstrom and Jonas Ridderstrale, Funky Business]

PSF 1.0 Professional Service Firm Conversion Kit / Release 1.0

Why are there no books on how to create a “Cool, Rocking, WOW-producing Finance Department”?

Credo “WORK WORTH PAYING FOR”

T.T.D. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Notes Page What is the “bottom line” – WORTH PAYING FOR – for every project your unit [or you] has going?

PSF 1.0 Department Head to … Managing Partner, HR [IS, etc.] Inc.

“support function” / “cost center” / “bureaucratic drag” or … “Rock Stars of the ‘Age of Talent’ ”

“Real” PSF … –Think Inc. (Mindset = Step No.1!) –Clients rule! / Engage Clients in deep dialog/ “Join us in an Adventure” / Fire duds! –Work = WOW Projects (100%!) –Embrace the Politics of Implementation! –Practice serial monogamy! –Master “the economics”! (WWPF!)

“Real” PSF … –WE HELP PEOPLE! –Co-habit with the Client! –Create a Culture of Urgency! –Love thy Support Staff! –You need a Methodology! / Obsess on R&D! –BECOME A “CONNOISSEUR OF TALENT”!

Real PSF … WE OWN THIS PLACE! THIS IS COOL STUFF! WE ARE THE WORLD!

The “7Ps” of PSF 1.0 P rojects! P assion! P rovocation! P artnership! P olitics! P rofessionalism! P erformance!

T.T.D. Use the prior slide as a checklist relative to every activity [project] your unit is working on.

C.I.O. to C.E.F.R.N.S.*

* C hief E vangelist F or R eally N eat S tuff

T.T.D. Compare: “Department Head” versus “Managing Partner, Finance Inc.”

Notes Page See our book, the Professional Service Firm50, re the differences between a traditional “Dept.” and a full-fledged “PSF.” Our “The Work Matters” manifesto – at tompeters.com – also covers this.

Seminar Y2K Message: Distinct … or Extinct!

Brand Inside PSF 2: Brand Work!

“Reward excellent failures. Punish mediocre successes.” Phil Daniels, Sydney exec

But Does It Matter ???? “On time, on budget … who cares?” anon. seminar participant (4/99)

“You really got to me. So many of our information technology projects take on a life of their own, and I know they’ll never end up as more than ‘mediocre successes.’ ” CEO, F100 financial services company (10-98)

WOW Project Anatomy I. Create! II. Sell! III. Implement! IV. Exit!

I. Create! Reframe! THERE ARE NO “SMALL” PROJECTS! Observe & Record!! Head for the trenches! You gotta love it! Measure: WOW!, Beauty, Raving Fans, Impact! Build a no-baloney Business Plan Create community. Now! Obsess on … the End User. Now!

Reframers’ Rules: Rule 1: Never accept an assignment as given! Rule 2: You’re never so powerful as when you are “powerless”! Rule 3: Every “small” project contains the entire enterprise DNA!

T.T.D. Examine that “small”/ “annoying” project you’re working on. Can it be re-cast as a WOW/ Culture Change Project? What are the hidden assumptions about customers/ suppliers/ employees?

Notes Page I am adamant: Every project can be made into a “big deal” if your head is in the right place. So … now … COMPLETELY RE- INVENT THAT “SMALL” PROJECT YOU ARE WORKING ON! No bull! E.g.: What about a “Memorial Day Employee Picnic that signals a whole new attitude toward our staff”?

Measures –WOW! –Beauty! –Raving Fans! –Impact!

T.T.D. MEASURE … NOW … DAMN IT!

Notes Page NO BALONEY: THIS IS MY #1 GOAL FOR THE WHOLE DAMN SEMINAR … THAT YOU [AND YOURS] WILL MEASURE EVERY PROJECT AGAINST MY FOUR KEY CRITERIA: WOW!, BEAUTY, RAVING FANS, IMPACT. [P-L-E-A-S- E.]

E.g.: WOW Scale 1. … Dull as dishwater. 5. … Gets the job done. 7. … “Good work!”. 10. … A serious “Braggable”!

Kaiser:

Liberty Ship 2 years 240 days 9 hours 4 days, 15 hours, 29 minutes

[ Just Say “No” to … S-t-r-e-t-c-h]

WOW Project “Acid Test” Can you explain it - with zest - to your 14-year-old?

“Every project we take on starts with a question: How can we do what’s never been done before?” Stuart Hornery, CEO, Lend Lease

II. Sell! Master “The Pitch”! Build Buzz. Consciously. Network maniacally! Preach to the choir! Forget your enemies. [Surround and marginalize!] Money kills! SELL, SELL, SELL!

III. Implement! - Live, eat, sleep … Quick Prototype! -Play! - Keep on recruiting! (Sell!) - Obsess on the End User Community! (Sell!) - Become a Milestone Maniac! / a Timeline Tyrant! / a List Freak! / find Ms. Last 2%! - Appoint a Marketing Director! - Keep the WOW! front and center!

Culture of Prototyping “Effective prototyping may be the most valuable core competence an innovative organization can hope to have.” Michael Schrage

“Good prototypes have ‘charisma.’ They create narratives … tell stories.” Michael Schrage, Serious Play

“I view models and prototypes as the battleground for thoughts and behaviors.” Michael Schrage

Think about It!? Innovation = Reaction to the Prototype Michael Schrage

Prototyping Logic/Magic 1. Start Doin’ Stuff! 2. “Doin’ Stuff” Launches a Rich Dialogue!* * No “stuff” = No dialogue! [No baloney!]

T.T.D./ Prototyper’s Laws Define a small, practical test of something on a page or less of text. Now. Gather “found” materials … on the [very] cheap. Find a/one partner-“customer” who’ll provide a test site. Set a very tight deadline of about 5 days for the next concrete step. Conduct the test! Debrief A.S.A.P. Set the next test date. Now. [No more than 5 days hence.]

Notes Page The idea is to establish a “rhythm of prototyping” that defines every project.

T.T.D./ Secret No. 1: Go horizontal: Find a (one!) “line” ally in “the Boonies” Secret No. 2: “Powerless” allies are Cool! Secret No. 3: Passion Rules! Secret No. 4: Become a Prototyping Maniac! Secret No. 5: Embrace Politics / “Community Organizing”!

Notes Page Main Idea: YOU ARE NOT “POWERLESS.” Seek out allies in strange places … and get going! DO NOT WASTE TIME “SELLING UP.”

K2K

Reference: Rules for Radicals, Saul Alinsky

TRUST* *Now … more than ever!

“It was much later that I realized Dad’s 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

The Sweet Smell of … “You can ‘smell’ caring [engagement, respect] from a mile away!” Seminar Participant, London (12/99)

IV. Exit! “Sell out!” / Embrace “The Suits”! Recruit a passionate Ms./Mr. Follow-up! Seed your freaks into the mainstream! Celebrate! Exit!

SOOOO … HOW MANY OF YOUR COLLEAGUES ARE “BACK HOME” AT WORK ON NO-BALONEY … WOW* PROJECTS! * WOW = Will be remembered fondly/ bragged about 5+ years from now

Epitaph from Hell … Joe T. Jones HE WOULDA DONE SOME REALLY COOL STUFF BUT … HIS BOSS WOULDN’T LET HIM!

T.T.D.: Now! –List all projects –Carefully describe a “WOW Outcome” for you and the Client –Score (!) all projects on WOW, Beauty, Impact, Raving Fan-hood –Pick one project with a high combined score –Draft a one-page New Description that emphasizes WOW, Beauty, etc. –Circulate and edit … for three days –Reduce to 5 bullet points

Notes Page DO IT! NOW!

Characteristics of the “Also Rans” “minimize risk” “respect the chain of command” “support the boss” “make budget” Source: Fortune on “most admired global corporations” (10/26/98)

The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it. Michelangelo

1) Turn ignition key. 2) Shift into drive. 3) Press foot firmly on the throat of mediocrity. Source: Mercedes ad

[We are not trying to “WOW you up.” We think you are/have WOW. We are trying to give you permission to be WOW.]

Seminar Y2K MESSAGE: THE WORK MATTERS!* *Sorry, Scott!

Seminar Y2K Message: Distinct … or Extinct!

Brand Inside PSF 3: Brand You!

“The fundamental unit of the new economy is not the corporation, but the individual. Tasks aren’t assigned and controlled through a stable chain of command but are carried out autonomously by independent contractors - e-lancers - who join together in fluid and temporary networks to sell goods and services. When the job is done, the network dissolves and its members become independent again, circulating through the economy, seeking the next assignment.” Thomas Malone and Robert Laubacher

DISTINCT … OR EXTINCT! “If there is nothing very special about your work, no matter how hard you apply yourself, you won’t get noticed and that increasingly means you won’t get paid much, either.” Michael Goldhaber, Wired

“If one quarter can’t make the journey, that’s the way it has to be.” Carly Fiorina (1-00/Forbes)

Personal “Brand Equity” Eval –I am known for [2 to 3 things] –My current Project is challenging me … –New things I’ve learned in the last 90 days include … –My public “recognition program” consists of … –Additions to my Rolodex include … –My resume is discernibly different from last year’s at this time …

T.T.D./Personal “Brand Equity” Eval –I am known for [2 to 3 things] –My current Project is challenging me … –New things I’ve learned in the last 90 days include … –My public “recognition program” consists of … –Additions to my Rolodex include … –My resume is discernibly different from last year’s at this time …

Notes Page Work your tail off on this. THIS IS A VERY SERIOUS EXERCISE. We have chosen these categories very carefully.

Ike’s World Book Page And Yours?

They “Get it”?! –stone mason –electrician –plumber –tiler –cabinet maker –contractor –blacksmith –well driller –blaster –sheep shearer –etc.

Icon Woman … –Totally turned on by her work! –“It” matters / a WOW Project! –“It” is … COOL! –“It” is … BEAUTIFUL! –She is … in your face! –She is an … adventurer! –She is … CEO of her own life!

Icon Woman … - She is … at least … a little funky! –Her curiosity is … insatiable! –She thinks screwups are … as normal as breathing! –She hangs out with some … seriously rad Dudes! –She is not God. She is not Bionic Woman. She is … determined to make a damned difference!

“Well-behaved women rarely make history.” — Anita Borg, Institute for Women and Technology

Icon Woman Meets the Web … –submits resume on the Web –recruited on the Web –hired on the Web –trained on the Web –creates and conducts projects with virtual teams on the Web –manages project and client follow-up on the Web –manages career/reputation-building on the Web

“The Brand Called URL”/ Nathan Shedroff, Vivid Studios “24 X 7 storefront devoted exclusively to The Brand Called You.”

T.T.D./Soooo… How’s your Web site?

Notes Page So … how is it? MY 18-YEAR-OLD SON HAS ONE! It’s fly-phat.

R.D.A. Rate: 15%?, 25%? Therefore: Formal “Investment Strategy”/ R.I.P.

R.I.P. 10 … Major job change [new area of concentration]; major offsite educational investment; extensive sabbatical [oddball learning experience of > 2 months]; exceptional community project [presidency of fundraising drive, run for school board].

R.I.P Extensive course work in oddball area of passionate interest; major off- the-job activity [community involvement, learn to play the cello, study Chinese]. 1 … Company training, as directed.

T.T.D./Your R.I.P. IS IT … FORMAL? IS IT... WOW!?

Notes Page We think “R.I.P.s” are imperative! So … please take these two questions seriously and literally!

T.T.D./R.I.P. Use by yourself. Use with your mates. Use [quantitatively?] as a measure of departmental/ P.S.F. renewal. Use in formal eval process.

Notes Page The whole idea is to make “R.I.P.s” a/the centerpiece – formally – of measuring unit “freshness.” E.g.: SCORE EVERYONE’S “R.I.P.” ON ITS BOLDNESS/WOW.

“Temporary workers used to be at the low end of the workplace food chain. …” The Wall Street Journal

Training Y2K Anytime, anywhere! Whatever! Concocted by the employee [“Training Account”]

“When was the last time you asked, ‘What do I want to be?’ ” Sara Ann Friedman, Work Matters

There comes a time in everyone’s life when they realize they work for a dead guy. FreeAgent.com [ad]

“Everything can be taken from man but one thing: the last of human freedoms - to choose one’s own attitude in any set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” Victor Frankl, Auschwitz survivor

Seminar Y2K Message: Distinct … or Extinct!

T.T.D./Assignment Construct a 1/8-page or 1/4-page ad for Brand You … for the Yellow Pages

Notes Page THIS IS A BIG DEAL. TAKE IT SERIOUSLY. [“Yellow Pages ads” are the centerpiece of our formal Brand You training programs.]

[ T.T.D.: How About It? Replace your current evaluation process with Yellow Pages ads.]

Notes Page NO BULL! Some of our Clients have gone this far. And report stunning results. If you can’t do this formally, try it informally.

Bill Parcells’ World/ Brand You World! BLAME NOBODY! EXPECT NOTHING! DO SOMETHING! NY Post (9/99)

TRUST* *Now … more than ever!

Brand Inside PSF 4: Brand Talent!

Issue Y2K The Great War for Talent!

“The leaders of Great Groups love talent and know where to find it. They revel in the talent of others.” Warren Bennis & Patricia Ward Biederman

Alan Kay on PARC’s Bob Taylor “He was a connoisseur of talent.”

T.T.D./ ARE YOU?

Notes Page There’s perhaps no more difficult “test”: AM I A NO-BALONEY CONNOISSEUR OF TALENT? Use a quantitative measure.

A Connoisseur of Talent … –Spends time on Talent! –Becomes a student of Talent! –Puts Talent “on the agenda”! –Practices D.I.Y. –Uses Plain English! (If you want “sunny” … ask for “sunny”!) –Creates Workspaces that foster energy, entrepreneurship and creativity! –Recruits from oddball places! / Recruits Oddballs!

“Recruiting college students is a job for marketing, not HR.” Jeff Daniel, collegehire.com

“Talent” and Work Space: A Grossly Neglected Connection! “Imagine working for a company that not only understood that the best ten hours of your day are spent at work - but did everything in its power to make them energizing, rewarding and productive as possible. Imagine coming to work each day in a building that greeted every person as a creative, entrepreneurial, exciting person.” Rosemary Kirkby, Lend Lease, proposal for headquarters of MLC

“Our 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

“The boundaries for acceptable weirdness have dramatically expanded.” Michael Schrage

Axiom: Never hire anyone without an aberration in their background. (Find the One Ton Cookie Man!)

A Connoisseur of Talent … –Recruits M.I. (Gardner: Logical-mathematical, linguistic, artistic, musical, bodily-kinesthetic, intrapersonal-self, interpersonal-others) –Recruits arts! –Becomes de facto C.D.O. (Chief Diversity Officer) –Turns the pay scale upside down! / Pays Talent! – Rewards & Promotes all on Talent Development Skills! –Spouts the Gospel of Renewal! (R.D.A./ R.I.P.)

“Every school I visited was participating in the systematic suppression of creative genius.” “From cradle to grave the pressure is on: BE NORMAL!” Gordon MacKenzie

“Where do good new ideas come from?... That’s simple! From differences. Creativity comes from unlikely juxtapositions. The best way to maximize differences is to mix ages, cultures and disciplines.” Nicholas Negroponte

T.T.D. Use the two Connoisseur of Talent slides as a guide for creating a Formal Talent Development Plan

Notes Page Literally use the items on the two slides as a formal check list to measure yourself [quantitatively] against.

“Firms will not ‘manage the careers’ of their employees. They will provide opportunities to enable the employee to develop identity and adaptability and thus be in charge of his or her own career.” Tim Hall et al., “The New Protean Career Contract”

H.R. to H.E.D. ??? Human Enablement Department

Attributes of Those Who “Made” the 10th Grade History Book –Committed! –Determined to make a difference! –Focused! –Passionate! –Irrational about their life’s project! –Ahead of their time / Paradigm busters! –Impatient! / Action Obsessed

Attributes of Those Who “Made” the 10 th Grade History Book –Made lots of people mad! –Flouted the chain of command! –Creative / Quirky / Peculiar! / Rebels! / Irreverent! –Masters of improv / Thrive on chaos / Exploit chaos!

Attributes of Those Who “Made” the 10 th Grade History Book –Forgiveness > Permission –Bone honest! –Flawed as the dickens! – “In touch” with their followers’ aspirations –Damn good at what they do!

Just Say “No” to “Grout”! Participant: “Don’t you need ‘grout’ between the tiles?” TP: “No!” [med staff, NFL Special Teams,waiters, PFCs, cymbals player, bit parts, waiters]

TP’s Ideal Job: Head of Housekeeping!

“Conformity is the enemy of freedom and the jailer of growth.” J.F.K.

Flair! Sparkle! Don’t call me “Competent”!

Yes! Director of Bringing in the Really Cool People

All You Need to Know? Chief Evangelist For Really Neat Stuff Director Of Bringing In The Really Cool People

T.T.D. STEAL THESE TWO JOB TITLES!

Talent War Y2K! –All out!/ Time consuming! –Never ending!/ Unwinnable! –Includes everybody!/ Everybody’s game! (“We’re all in sales.”) –Expensive! –Cool!/ WOW!/ Fun!/ Creative! –Strategic!/ Core competence!

Talent War Y2K! –Basis of Brand!/ WHO WE ARE! –Brand You within Brand Us! –Encompassing!/ Cultural! (KEWLNESS: mine v. yours) –Substantive!/ “The best Projects win!” [Cairo 12-99]

Big Co.: The Saving Remnant Toy Store* Resources People Distribution Channel(s) * “Make your own McKinsey” (AP)

Talent = Brand

Brand Outside = Brand Inside

“Emotional values are replacing physical attributes as the fundamental market influence.” “This book is concerned with self-worth and belief.” “In the international market, it is no longer products that compete, it’s concepts.” “Only with a strong spirit at its foundation can a company achieve strong market position.” Jesper Kunde, Corporate Religion

TRUST* *Now … more than ever!

T.T.D. Construct a formal “Great War for Talent Strategy” for your unit!

Notes Page Key word: FORMAL!

Seminar Y2K Message: Distinct … or Extinct!

Brand Outside Context: No “Commodities”!

In the Beginning … “The audit has become a commodity.” Big 5 audit partner to TP

Quality Not Enough! “Quality as defined by few defects is becoming the price of entry for automotive marketers rather than a competitive advantage.” J.D. Power

Quality Not Enough! “While everything may be better, it is also increasingly the same.” Paul Goldberger on retail, “The Sameness of Things,” The New York Times

What’s Special? “Customers will try ‘low cost providers’ because the Majors have not given them any clear reason not to.” Leading Insurance Industry Analyst (10-98)

“We make over three new product announcements a day. Can you remember them? Our customers can’t!” Carly Fiorina

“The ‘surplus society’ has a surplus of similar companies, employing similar people, with similar educational backgrounds, coming up with similar ideas, producing similar things, with similar prices and similar quality.” Kjell Nordstrom and Jonas Ridderstrale, Funky Business

6 Sigma or “Jazzy Offerings”? WSJ/2-9-00: Nokia extends market share lead [22.5% in ’98 to 26.9% in ’99] over Motorola [19.5% to 16.9%]

The “10X/10X Phenomenon” 10 Times Better/ 10 Times Less Different

T.T.D. Discuss: Is “10X/10X” rampant in your industry?

Notes Page Are you frustrated? That is, doing “much better work” … but not standing apart from the herd? Hint: This suggested analysis pertains to the internal Training Dept. as much as to the New Products gang. BE BRUTALLY HONEST CONCERNING THE DEGREE TO WHICH “WE REALLY STAND OUT” … OR DON’T!

TP’s Campaign Y2K Just say [shout] “No!” to the “inevitable commoditization” of anything.

Aarrgh! “Quality is conformance to requirements, not goodness.” Phil Crosby

“When we did it ‘right’ it was still pretty ordinary.” Barry Gibbons on “Nightmare No. 1”

Pretzel Crumb-less-ness Plus … “The Ritz Carlton Experience enlivens the senses, instills well-being and fulfills even the unexpressed wishes and needs of the guest.” from the Ritz Carlton Credo

“We want to create waves of lust for our product.” Andy Grove (on the Pentium Processor)

“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

What Jerry Should Have Said??? “You do not merely want to be the best of the best, you want to be considered in conformance with requirements.”

Lust Hierarchy Satisfy … Conform to Requirements … Exceed Expectations … Delight! … WOW! … Lust! … ONLY ONES WHO DO WHAT WE DO!

Nirvana! - Nordstrom - Four Seasons - Adirondack Guide Boat - OXO - Ziplocs

Why? Cool!/Surprising! Reliable! Friendly!/Comfortable! Aesthetically pleasing!

T.T.D. And your favorites? Why? (Pay attention to the flavor of the words you use) Translation to your/ “finance world,” etc.?

Notes Page Think about the words you use to describe “stuff” you really LOVE. Do those terms apply to your unit’s products and services? If you talk about a “compelling” movie or novel or theatrical performance, why not a “compelling business process”?

T.T.D. What words do you & yours use to describe Customer Contentment? [Way] beyond “satisfaction”? [DO SUCH WORDS MATTER?]

Notes Page PLEASE [REDUX]: PAY LOTS OF ATTENTION TO WORDS … AND THE EMOTIONAL “SIGNS” THEY CONNOTE. [TomWorld: What applies to a Detroit Red Wings “performance” ought to apply to a “Purchasing Dept. performance”!

Context: “No” to “inevitable commoditization” S1: Lead the Customer! S2: Master E-Commerce! S3: Women Rule! (and the elderly) S4: Design Rules! (too) S5: It’s the Experience! Bottom Line: Glorious Age of the BRAND!

Brand Outside Strategy 1 : Lead the Customer!

“The customer is a rear view mirror, not a guide to the future.” George Colony, Forrester Research “If you worship at the throne of the voice of the customer, you’ll get only incremental advances.” Joseph Morone, President, Bentley College

Early Customer Rejection Post-Its [12 years!] Chrysler Minivans VCRs Fax machines FedEx CNN Heart-assist pumps Etc. Source: Fortune

Good = Bad/ 1 of 30,000 “We are crazy. We should do something when people say it is ‘crazy.’ If people say something is ‘good’, it means someone else is already doing it.” Hajime Mitarai, Canon

“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

“Lead” customers! K2K redux!

T.T.D.: Do You K2K? Are you working with [numerous] weird, far out customers? [As opposed to “biggest” customers?]

Notes Page Trust me! You will be as Cool as your Coolest Clients. Cool Clients co-invent the future with us. Soooo … WHAT’S YOUR COOL CLIENT PORTFOLIO LOOK LIKE? [Hint: “Biggest” are rarely “coolest.”]

Benchmarking, Perils of … “The best swordsman in the world doesn’t need to fear the second best swordsman in the world; no, the person for him to be afraid of is some ignorant antagonist who has never had a sword in his hand before; he doesn’t do the thing he ought to do, and so the expert isn’t prepared for him; he does the thing he ought not to do and often it catches the expert out and ends him on the spot.” Mark Twain

Amen! “The Age of the Never Satisfied Customer” Regis McKenna

T.T.D./Sooooo… Are you pushing your customers? [Internal or external.] ARE YOU ENGAGING THEM IN A JOINT VENTURE-JOURNEY INTO TOMORROWLAND?

Notes Page No bull: Evaluate EVERY Client Relationship. Is EVERY CP/Client Project a “test”? That is, an effort to explore Uncomfortable-But-Important-Stuff?

Context: “No” to “inevitable commoditization” S1: Lead the Customer! S2: Master E-Commerce! S3: Women Rule! (and the elderly) S4: Design Rules! (too) S5: It’s the Experience! Bottom Line: Glorious Age of the BRAND!

Brand Outside Strategy 2 : Master E-Commerce!

$35,000,000. = ???

Dell’s Web sales … daily

350,000 = ?????

New items going on sale at eBay … daily (12-99)

[AOL delivers more mail than the USPS! Source: Fortune 2-00]

2X = 100 days (Internet traffic) 2X = 9 months (network capacity) Source: Red Herring (1-00)

Time to 50M Users Radio … 38 years TV … 13 years PC … 16 years Internet … 4 years Source: Business 2.0 [01-00]

T.T.D.: Study!! Read: Business 2.0 Red Herring Wired

Notes Page YOU MUST [M-U-S-T] BECOME AN AVID INTERNET STUDENT! PERIOD! SO … HOWYADOING?

Tomorrow Today: Cisco! $7B of $10B Save $500M (service and tech support) C.Sat e >> C.Sat H Customer Engineer Chat Rooms ($1B?)

And Larry?

Business 2.0: “20 Industries About To Be Fossilized by The Net” (3-99) Travel Agents ($2B now, $30B in 2003); Apparel (1-21); Autos (4-213); Home Electronics (1-21); Paper and Office Supplies (1-65); Food (<1-54); Utilities (7-170); Computing (20-400); Newspapers ($5B of $19B classifieds)

Cherry Picking Vertical Markets Plasticsnet.com: $370B; sellers pay $5K to $8K for “storefront”; 5% to 10% cut Hook: community services (database, catalogs, forums, industry job bank, etc.)

The Motley Fool Secret? “Strangers helping strangers” “Fools’ Logic,” IW

T.T.D.: Message! COMMUNITY!/ COMMUNITY SERVICES!

Notes Page Web Secret No.1: COMMUNITY – as in, User Community – RULES! So: How do your online Community Development Activities rate?

B2B 1999 – 2004: 50X 2004: $7.4 Source: GartnerGroup (per Reuters ) T

W.W. Grainger* 2X phone/fax *$220B “MRO” market (per Business 2.0/02-00)

Welcome to D.I.Y. Nation! “Changes in business processes will emphasize self service. Your costs as a business go down and perceived service goes up because customers are conducting it themselves.” Ray Lane, Oracle

Shop in your Underwear Source: SM’d logo for ae = American Eagle Outfitters

“Autoweb. Take the Wheel.” - Advertising Age

Psych 101: Strongest Force on Earth? My need to be in perceived control of my universe!

Anne Busquet/ American Express Not: “Age of the Internet” Is: “Age of Customer Control”

“IT enables total transparency. People with access to relevant information are beginning to challenge any type of authority. The stupid, loyal and humble customer, employee or citizen is dead.” Kjell Nordstrom and Jonas Ridderstrale, Funky Business

Patricia Seybold’s “Basics”: The E-Customer Bill of Rights Don’t waste my time! Remember who I am! Make it easy for me to order and procure service! Customize your products and services for me! Source: customers.com

“Welcome back, Tommy!”

T.T.D.: Message! THE CUSTOMER IS IN CONTROL!

Notes Page Do you Joyfully “allow” the Customer to lead you around by the nose? Is this truly his/her site? Her/his “home”?

“In the network economy, the Website becomes the company’s primary interface to the customer. The user interface becomes the marketing materials, store front, store interior, sales staff and post- sales support all rolled into one.” Jakob Nielsen, Designing Web Usability

“Most companies would do more business on the Internet if they fired their entire marketing department and replaced it with people who could produce interactive content that actually made it easier for users to buy.” Jakob Nielsen, Nielsen Norman Group

Red Herring (01/00) 75% of online shoppers don’t complete their purchase!

Nielsen/Designing Web Usability All Web projects are customer- interface projects! Simplicity rules! Make it easy for customers to perform useful tasks! Less “cool,” more useful! Speed rules!

Nielsen/ Continued Must work … on a small screen! Must work … w/o graphics loading! “Scannability” rules! [Users pick out key words.] Navigation page: No scrolling! Remember: 25% to 50% “successful use”

T.T.D.: Message! SIMPLICITY!

Notes Page READ JAKOB NIELSEN’S BOOK! Hold your site to the Exacting Nielsen Standard! [Be ruthless … on yourself.]

T.T.D./Read This! Jakob Nielsen Designing Web Usability: The Practice of Simplicity* *

“The Net hasn’t lived up to its hype. It’s a distant, cold, alien, threatening world called ‘cyberspace.’ The challenge is to make the Net into something intimate, warm, friendly, useful, personal.” Carly Fiorina, CEO, Comdex ’99

T.T.D.: Message! Friendliness!

Notes Page Is our Site – including B2B sites – “a place called home”?

“Even if executives of established businesses grasp the impact of new technologies … they still face a massive competitive disadvantage precisely because they are incumbents. … They do complex financial calculations and get bogged down in internal political debates. Insurgents have no such inhibitions.” Philip Evans & Thomas Wurster, Blown to Bits

“ … if they set up a completely independent organization and let that organization attack the parent.” Clayton Christensen, The Innovator’s Dilemma

The Way “They” Talk! “I have this chance for … changing the world.” Marco Boerries, Sun, re StarOffice (Business 2.0, 2-00)

“Where does the Internet rank in priority? It’s No. 1, 2, 3, and 4.” Jack Welch

Change … Or Die! “Most of the brick and mortars look at the Internet as an add-on business … until they get a major scare. Then they either change or die. … You have to put all your heart and soul in that direction, the way Charles Schwab and Dell did.” Flip Filipowski, divine interVentures (Red Herring)

There are 2 Kinds of … Defense* vs. Offense** *Fend off upstarts. ** Reinvent our marketspace!

T.T.D. Most important Y2K question: Are you & yours “dealing with” the Web … or “embracing it” as “central to our being”?

Notes Page SPEND A LOT OF TIME ON THIS “TTD”!

Web Strategy: GE Power Systems “Launch and Learn” (4 sites in 30 days)

Goodhome.com

Ready. Fire! Aim. Ross Perot, Wayne Calloway, Harry Quadracci, et al.

[ He who has the quickest O.O.D.A. Loops* wins! *Observe. Orient. Decide. Act. / Col. John Boyd ]

Context: “No” to “inevitable commoditization” S1: Lead the Customer! S2: Master E-Commerce! S3: Women Rule! (and the elderly) S4: Design Rules! (too) S5: It’s the Experience! Bottom Line: Glorious Age of the BRAND!

Brand Outside Strategy 3 : Women Rule!

48% working wives > 50% 80% checks 61% bills 53% stock (mutual fund boom) 43% > $500K 95% financial decisions/ 29% single handed

????????? Home Furnishings … 94% Vacations … 92% Houses … 91% Bank Account … 89% Health Care … 75% Etc.

Women … 49% of Web users; 6 of 10 new users; 83% of wired women are primary decision makers for family healthcare, finances, education. Source: Business Week (11-99)

$3.3T + $1.5T = $4.8T* * Larger than Japan!

Most Under-reported story! 9M*/20M+/$4T [> Germany] * 400K in ’72; 132% since ’92; source: NFWBO, Cognetics

New golfers … 37% Basketball … 13.5M 1 in 27 (’70) … 1 in 3 (’96)

1874?

1874 … Jock Strap 1977 … Jogbra K 1996 … 42 M

Yeow! 1970 … 1% 2000 … 50%

OPPORTUNITY NO. 1!* [* No shit!]

T.T.D.: Measure! How clear are you about your demographics … in particular, share of women purchasers [for you, for the industry]?

Notes Page Are you getting an “unfair share” of women purchasing your service or product? IF NOT, WHY NOT? [Most of the other schmoes are, after all, asleep!]

T.T.D.: Study! Does anybody in your industry do “it” right? Brilliantly? [If so … how?]

Notes Page STUDY! [Damn it!]

Carol Gilligan/ In a Different Voice Men: Get away from authority, family Women: Connect Men: Self-oriented Women: Other-oriented Men: Rights Women: Responsibilities

FemaleThink/ Popcorn “Men and women don’t think the same way, don’t communicate the same way, don’t buy for the same reasons. “He simply wants the transaction to take place. She’s interested in creating a relationship. Every place women go, they make connections.”

“Men seem like loose cannons. Men always move faster through a store’s aisles. Men spend less time looking. They usually don’t like asking where things are. You’ll see a man move impatiently through a store to the section he wants, pick something up, and then, almost abruptly he’s ready to buy. … For a man, ignoring the price tag is almost a sign of virility.” Paco Underhill, Why We Buy* [*Buy this book!]

Women and Financial Advisors Women want … a plan, to be listened to, to be taken seriously, to read about it, to think about it. Women do not want … an in-your-face sales pitch Source: Kathleen Boyle, Wheat Boyle Butcher Singer

Women and Healthcare Women are … more dissatisfied, frustrated by the way they are treated and spoken down to by physicians, seek more information, are more pressed for time … and make 75% of health care decisions and control 2/3 of health care $$$$ [and constitute 2/3 of health care employees]. Source: Patricia Braus, Marketing Healthcare to Women

Marketing to Women: Help Them Save Time! 80% … work 86% … cook 58% … run errands with kids 38% … take child to school 21% … go to the gym 21% … take outside classes

How Many Gigs You Got, Man? “Hard to believe … Different criteria” “Every research study we’ve done indicates that women really care about the relationship with their vendor.” Robin Sternbergh/ IBM

T.T.D. Do you [clearly] understand the difference between men’s and women’s purchasing habits?

Notes Page Again: STUDY! [It took me years to get a handle on “this stuff.”]

Not!! “Year of the Woman”

Enterprise Reinvention! Recruiting Hiring/Rewarding/ Promoting Structure Processes Measurement Strategy Culture Vision Leadership THE BRAND ITSELF!

“What kind of car does Mommy want?”

“I didn’t know [company] were giving company cars to secretaries.” Source: UK financial services CEO, 12/99

Not a Morality Play! “It is critical that we all understand that IBM is not marketing to women entrepreneurs because it is the thing to do, or even the right thing to do. We are marketing to women entrepreneurs because it is a huge opportunity.” Cherie Piebes

T.T.D. DO YOU REALLY “GET IT”?

Notes Page Spend a lot of time talking about this. THE POTENTIAL PAYOFF IS ENORMOUS … IF YOU ARE WILLING TO INVEST ACCORDINGLY.

T.T.D. DO YOU UNDERSTAND [“GET”] THE ENORMITY OF THIS OPPORTUNITY?

Notes Page Discuss … AT LENGTH!

T.T.D. What would it take to get you & yours to “Go For It”? First steps?

Notes Page What could you do – in the next 30 days – to begin to test these ideas? Define 10 actions!

Speaking of Enormous [Missed] [Huge] Opportunities...

74/55 “At each stage of their lives, the needs and desires of the baby boomers have become the dominant concerns of American business and popular culture. If you can anticipate the movement of the baby-boom generation’s life-span migration, you can see the future.” Ken Dychtwald, Age Wave

Aging/“Elderly” 2X growth rate $$$$$$$$$$$$ “I’m in charge!” “Experiences” vs. Products Design revolution! Good source: Ken Dychtwald, Age Wave

Priorities: Aging/“Elderly” Experiences … Convenience … Comfort … Access … Respect!

“Any student who combines an expertise in gerontology with, say, an M.B.A. or law degree will have a license to print money.” Newsweek

T.T.D. SOOOOO … WHERE ARE YOU ON THIS ONE??? [REMEMBER: 74M!]

Notes Page Listen up: THIS IS ANOTHER BIGGIE! Think about it. Discuss it. Collect data. [Become a “student.”] Experiment.

Context: “No” to “inevitable commoditization” S1: Lead the Customer! S2: Master E-Commerce! S3: Women Rule! (and the elderly) S4: Design Rules! (too) S5: It’s the Experience! Bottom Line: Glorious Age of the BRAND!

Brand Outside Strategy 4 : Design Rules!

And Tomorrow … “Fifteen years ago companies competed on price. Now It’s quality. Tomorrow it’s design.” Robert Hayes

All Equal Except … “At Sony we assume that all products of our competitors have basically the same technology, price, performance and features. Design is the only thing that differentiates one product from another in the marketplace.” Norio Ohga

“Design is treated like a religion at BMW.” Fortune (10/98)

Drop-dead Charm! “The new Beetle fails at most categories. The only thing it doesn’t fail in is drop-dead charm.” Jerry Hirshberg, Nissan Design International

Object of Desire! “Every now and then, a design comes along that radically changes the way we think about a particular object. Case in point: the iMac. Suddenly, a computer is no longer an anonymous box. It is a sculpture, an object of desire, something that you look at.” Katherine McCoy, Michael McCoy, Illinois Institute of Technology

Design as Soul “We don’t have a good language to talk about this kind of thing. In most people’s vocabularies, design means veneer. … But to me, nothing could be further from the meaning of design. Design is the fundamental soul of a man-made creation.” Steve Jobs

Check Out the Language: “Tomorrow it’s design …” “Design is the only thing …” “Design is … religion...” “Drop-dead charm …” “Object of desire …” “Fundamental soul …”

T.T.D. Where do you stand on design? [1 = Who, me? 10 = Preoccupation.] Where do you stand on design-as-soul?

Notes Page I’m at a bit of a loss here. I DON’T KNOW HOW TO “MAKE YOU” “GET” THIS. I think it is of the Utmost Importance. I want you – at least – to become “aware” of the Power of Great Design. And … I do [fervently] believe that Great-Design-Is- Soul.

The I.D. [International Design] Forty* Airstream … Alfred A. Knopf … Apple Computer … Amazon.com … Bloomberg … Caterpillar … CNN … Disney … FedEx … Gillette … IBM … Martha Stewart … New Balance … Nickelodeon … Patagonia … The New York Yankees … 3M … Etc. * List No. 1, 1999

Unconventional [Design] Messages Not about... “Lumpy Objects”! Not about... $79,000 objects

One-sixth Second per Item! “During the 30 minutes you spend on an average trip to the supermarket, about 30,000 products vie to win your attention and ultimately to make you believe in their promise.” Thomas Hine, The Total Package

[ Design Moments! Shopping cart = 2X heavy items Source: Wall Street Journal ( ) ]

T.T.D./Message: Services are Not Intangible! You “give off” hundreds of design cues … daily! YOU ARE A DESIGNER!

Notes Page List 100 [!] “design cues” that you give off! [Okay, start with 25.]

Graceful language!

Susan Sargent Designs: PLEASE COMPLAIN! Thanks for your order! We dearly want everything to go p-e-r-f-e-c-t-l-y! If the order was late. Or wrong. Or if any of the goods are damaged in the slightest. Or if you’re just having a lousy day and want to unload on someone … Call our Customer Care Hotline!

T.T.D./“Beauty Contest!” 1. Pick one form/ document: invoice, airbill, sick leave policy, returns claim form. 2. Rate it on a 1 to 10 scale (1 = Awful; 10 = Scintillating) on three dimensions: Beauty, Grace, Clarity. 3. Repeat … every 15 days.

Notes Page DO THIS! USE MY TERMS! [Beauty … Grace … Clarity.] Be quantitative. [PLEASE.]

WEB Words: TP NO CLUTTER!

“When you click on Yahoo! today you get the same simple, nearly graphics-free home page you would have seen had you clicked three years ago.” Fortune, on Zod Nazem, Yahoo! CTO

No Clutter! CNNSI.com developed an increasingly common problem. In the midst of adding material, its design went bad. CNNSI became so packed with links, new sections and graphics that it actually became hard to find something as basic as the score of last night’s ballgame. Then it got worse. The team tried to make new graphic elements eye-catching enough to stand out from the site’s clutter. But the surfers ignored them, thinking they were ads.” Business Week [9-99]

T.T.D.: Campaign Y2K! Plain, energetic, sparkling English!

Notes Page Spend … a lot … of time talking about this. MAKE IT YOUR EVERYDAY STANDARD FOR … EVERYTHING … THAT EMERGES FROM YOU/YOUR UNIT.

T.T.D./Design “Awareness”! STEP No. 1: NOTEBOOK! [Start recording the awesome and the awful.]

Notes Page THIS IS MY “SECRET.” I am not “artistic.” But … I did teach myself to be … CONSTANTLY AWARE. The Key: My [simple] notebook! [I’VE NOW BEEN “RECORDING” FOR ALMOST TEN YEARS!]

Huge Opportunities [That Damn Few Are Pursuing!] Women! The rapidly aging population! Design!

Context: “No” to “inevitable commoditization” S1: Lead the Customer! S2: Master E-Commerce! S3: Women Rule! (and the elderly) S4: Design Rules! (too) S5: It’s the Experience! Bottom Line: Glorious Age of the BRAND!

Brand Outside Strategy 5 : It’s the Experience!

“Experiences are as distinct from services as services are from goods.” Joseph Pine & James Gilmore, The Experience Economy: Work Is Theater & Every Business a Stage

“The [Starbucks] Fix” Is on … “We have identified a ‘third place.’ And I really believe that sets us apart. The third place is that place that’s not work or home. It’s the place our customers come for refuge.” Nancy Orsolini, District Manager

Safe, On Time and … “We defined personality as a market niche. We seek to amuse, to surprise, to entertain.” Herb Kelleher, Main Man, LUV Airlines

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

Mantra: “Any good can be ing -ed” the driv ing experience the pump ing experience the sitt ing experience the read ing experience the wash ing experience the cook ing experience Joseph Pine & James Gilmore, The Experience Economy: Work Is Theater & Every Business a Stage

“What’s the plot?” Freeman Thomas, designer

T.T.D. WHAT’S THE [your] PLOT?

Notes Page WHAT IS YOUR STORY? [Be specific!] Message: This applies to every [Finance] project!

“Cars are not simply to get you from place to place. They ought to be entertainment. We are sort of in the entertainment business.” J Mays, Ford

“This is the end of the pure product era. For instance, car makers are beginning to understand that the car is a platform for delivering services that drive the customer experience.” Carly Fiorina, Comdex ’99

T.T.D. Carefully examine/think through every aspect of “the experience of us.”* *This holds for the Finance Dept. as well as the corporation’s “products”

Notes Page This demands a lot of care! THINK OF YOURSELF AS A DRAMATIST, A DIRECTOR. THINK ABOUT “THE WAY WE COME ACROSS.” Be … ridiculously … specific! [God is in the Details.]

Context: “No” to “inevitable commoditization” S1: Lead the Customer! S2: Master E-Commerce! S3: Women Rule! (and the elderly) S4: Design Rules! (too) S5: It’s the Experience! Bottom Line: Glorious Age of the BRAND!

[ “Take Home Value” Road Warriors: Cast Off Your Blands/ Free Your Taste Buds Tabasco Sauce Dijon Mustard Balsamic Vinegar ]

Brand Outside BRAND POWER!

T.T.D. How do you [& yours] define “brand”?

Notes Page It sounds Elementary. It’s not! DISCUSS: WHAT IS A BRAND [THAT MATTERS]?

Brand Defined Distinction Excellence Emotional “Signature” Trustworthiness Consistency Shorthand

Brand It! Now, More Than Ever! “The increasing difficulty in differentiating between products and the speed with which competitors take up innovations will assist in the rise and rise of the brand.” Gillian Law and Nick Grant, Management [New Zealand]

“What Matters to Online Buyers”* #1: Product brand #2: Retailer brand *Source: Business 2.0

No Room for Brands? Nike Saturn CNN America Online Charles Schwab Starbucks The Gap Intel Etc.

T.T.D. HAVE YOU GENUINELY EXAMINED THE ENORMITY OF “BRAND POWER”? ARE YOU A NO-BALONEY STUDENT OF BRANDING?

Notes Page As usual: STUDENT- HOOD MATTERS!

Brand = Trust! “Most buyers do not have a clue whether anybody else makes a better microprocessor, but ‘Intel Inside’ has become a ‘trust mark’ - a trademark that consumers put their faith in.” The Economist

“Branding is not a problem if you have the right mentality. You go to your team and you pin up a $200 Swiss Army Watch. Competing in the ridiculously crowded sub-$200 watch market, they made it into a brand name, named after the most irrelevant and useless thing in history [the Swiss Army]. And you say, ‘Gang, if they can do it, we can do it.’ ” Barry Gibbons

“Salt is salt is salt. Right? Not when it comes in a blue box with a picture of a little girl carrying an umbrella. Morton International continues to dominate the U.S. salt market even though it charges more for a product that is demonstrably the same as many other products on the shelf.” Tom Asaker, Humanfactor Marketing

T.T.D./Calling the Corporate Shrink! “Organizational Psychotherapy”/ WHO WE ARE!

Notes Page This is The Big Enchilada: SPEND – lotsa – TIME ON IT!

“Corporate Religion is a completely new way of thinking about companies. Today, the product is still the main communication highway in the company. When companies make the shift to selling solutions, brands and attitudes … communicating the company’s attitudes and values becomes the decisive parameter for success. It demands that you find out who you are as a company.” Jesper Kunde, Corporate Religion

“Consumers don’t simply buy products, they buy attitudes as well. When confronted with proliferation and diversity, choices become increasingly informed by belief. [Consumers] want to know who is behind the products that they buy. They want to know the company. They want to know what you think.” Jesper Kunde, Corporate Religion

Scott Bedbury/ Nike, Starbucks “A Great Brand taps into emotions. Emotions drive most, if not all, of our decisions. A brand reaches out with a powerful connecting experience. It’s an emotional connecting point that transcends the product. “A Great Brand is a story that’s never completely told. A brand is a metaphorical story that connects with something very deep - a fundamental appreciation of mythology. Stories create the emotional context people need to locate themselves in a larger experience.”

Brand = Special = Passion = Connection = Caring* * (Way) beyond “market research”

“We are in the twilight of a society based on data. As information and intelligence become the domain of computers, society will place more value on the one human ability that cannot be automated: emotion. Imagination, myth, ritual - the language of emotion - will affect everything from our purchasing decisions to how we work with others. Companies will thrive on the basis of their stories and myths. Companies will need to understand that their products are less important than their stories.” Rolf Jensen, Copenhagen Institute for Future Studies

“In the funky village, real competition no longer revolves around marketshare. We are competing for attention – mindshare and heartshare.” Kjell Nordstrom and Jonas Ridderstrale, Funky Business

T.T.D./Assignment Y2K Write an essay on “Who we are.”* * Jesper Kunde, Corporate Religion

Notes Page DO IT! 500 words. [And then: 10 words.]

“How can I know what I think till I see what I say”* Exercise : Write copy for a bookmark! (Etc.) *Graham Wallas, The Art of Thought

The Ten Rules of Radical Marketing CEO must “own” the marketing function! Hyper-lean Mktg. Dept. (No filters!) CEO hangs out with customers! Love + Respect your customers! Just Say No … to market research! Hire only passionate missionaries! Create a Community of users-customers! Emphasize one-to-one marketing tools! Celebrate craziness! Be insanely True to the Brand! Sam Hill & Glenn Rifkin, Radical Marketing (e.g., Harley, Virgin, The Dead, HBS, NBA)

T.T.D./Message Bran[d]son: Live the Brand!* *How? [Be specific! As of … NOW!]

Notes Page YOU ARE THE BRAND! How – exactly – has that been expressed by your actions … TODAY? [IN THE LAST 45 MINUTES?]

Brand Leadership Lead Out Loud!

ENTHUSIASM RULES! “I am a dispenser of enthusiasm.”/ Ben Zander

“If you want to be persuasive, you have to generate a high level of energy. It’s energy that makes you visible, that gives you presence. I call it ‘performance energy,’ and it’s the basis of dynamic leadership. There is nothing artificial about it. Performance energy is an authentic part of who you are. You just have to access it.” Martha Burgess, Theater Techniques for Business People

“Leadership is a performance. You have to be conscious of your behavior, because everybody else is.” Carly Fiorina

T.T.D. Evaluate yourself [unsparingly] as an [enthusiastic] “performing artist”!* *In today’s dealings. [Use outside assistance?]

Notes Page You don’t have to be Bill Cosby. You do have to understand that … ALL LEADERS ARE ON-STAGE … ALL THE TIME! [And: “Leader” does NOT mean “boss.” It means anyone trying to “Get Cool Stuff Done.”]

T.T.D./Follow Ann Richards’ Dogma Show up! Know your message! PUT YOURSELF AT RISK!

Notes Page Sooooooo …… ???

“If you ask me what I have come to do in this world, I who am an artist, I will reply, I am here to live my life out loud.” Emile Zola

“I’d rather regret the things I have done than the things I have not.” Lucille Ball

How sweet it is !

“If things seem under control, you’re just not going fast enough.” Mario Andretti