EXCELLENCE. WHAT I’VE LEARNED ABOUT “SMALL BUSINESS” SINCE 1981/98Q by tom peters

Passion for PRODUCT. OBSESSION With Product. LOVE The Product. Aim To Be “ONLY ONES WHO DO WHAT WE DO.” Keep ADDIN’ Stuff. Invest “UNWISELY” in R&D. Reside Permanently In The DISCOMFORT Zone. “Unhealthy” PARANOIA Is A Good Thing. Add Clients That PUSH-PULL. SELL. SELL. SELL. SELL. Go For Broke: CUSTOMER CONTACT PEOPLE. PERFECTION: Customer Contact People. Hire for ATTITUDE. INVITE On An Adventure. GREAT CFO/Biz Guy-Gal. NASTY CFO/Biz Guy-Gal. QUADRANGULAR LEADERSHIP: Visionary-Talent Fanatic-Project Manager-I.P.M. (I.P.M. = Inspired Profit Mechanic)

Moore

GREAT Logo. DESIGN! “OVERDO” Marketing Materials. WOMEN Roar. WOMEN Rule. WOMEN Buy. Diversity = $$$$$$ Be RELENTLESS. Cut And RUN. Product Includes-Features the PACKAGING. Define Your DRAMATIC DIFFERENCE (R.P.O.V.8) Best STORY Wins. DRESS For Success. First Goal: AMUSE Yourself. Know YOURSELF. DON’T Do Stuff You Hate. “Over-invest” In RELATIONSHIPS. (R.O.I.R.: Return On Investment in Relationships) SYSTEMATICALLY “Manage” Relationships. “Work” The SUPPORT PEOPLE In Client Orgs.

BLOG As If Your Life Depended On It. SOPHISTICATED Use Of Infotech. RESPONSE To Problems. Make ’Em PAY. CLOSE The Sale. Invest BIGTIME In PR. Media FRIENDLY. Live-To-SCHMOOZE. Fun/Laughter = $$$$ MBWA: Stay In Touch. “You Must Be The Change You Wish To See In The World”/GANDHI 5K For 5M. Your CALENDAR Never Lies. OUT: Pastels. IN: Technicolor

JUST SAY “NO” TO C.E.O.: CIO/Chief Innovation Officer. CSO/Chief Sales Officer. CWO/Chief Wow Officer EXCELLENCE Is Very Cool. “MICRO-MANAGE” Your Reputation. Wear Your Integrity On Your SLEEVE. KEEP Your Promises. EXECUTION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! “A Man Without A Smiling Face MUST NOT Open His Shop.” RECOGNITION! Work HARD, Not Smart. Insanely Great. THE STANDARD.

Tom/2006/Q97-Q100 Study more. Renew more. Tailor more. Offer more. Listen more. Market more. Practice more. Challenge more. Socialize more. Smile more. Follow-up more. Plan execution more. Cost control more.

“ A man without a smiling face must not open a shop.” —Chinese Proverb

“ It’s always showtime.” —David D’Alessandro, Career Warfare

Summary: WallopWal-Mart16* *Or: Why it’s so absurdly easy to beat a GIANT Company

The “Small Guys” Guide: Wallop Wal*Mart16 * Niche-aimed. (Never, ever “all things for all people,” a “mini- Wal*Mart.) * Never attack the monsters head on! (Instead steal niche business and lukewarm customers.) *“Dramatically Different” (La Difference... within our community, our industry regionally, etc … is as obvious as the end of one’s nose!) (THIS IS WHERE MOST MIDGETS COME UP SHORT.) * Compete on value/experience/intimacy, not price. (You ain’t gonna beat the behemoths on cost-price in 9.99 out of 10 cases.) * Emotional bond with Clients, Vendors. (BEAT THE BIGGIES ON EMOTION/CONNECTION!!)

“This is an essay about what it takes to create and sell something remarkable. It is a plea for originality, passion, guts and daring. You can’t be remarkable by following someone else who’s remarkable. One way to figure out a theory is to look at what’s working in the real world and determine what the successes have in common. But what could the Four Seasons and Motel 6 possibly have in common? Or Neiman-Marcus and Wal*Mart? Or Nokia (bringing out new hardware every 30 days or so) and Nintendo (marketing the same Game Boy 14 years in a row)? It’s like trying to drive looking in the rearview mirror. The thing that all these companies have in common is that they have nothing in common. They are outliers. They’re on the fringes. Superfast or superslow. Very exclusive or very cheap. Extremely big or extremely small. The reason it’s so hard to follow the leader is this: The leader is the leader precisely because he did something remarkable. And that remarkable thing is now taken—so it’s no longer remarkable when you decide to do it.” —Seth Godin, Fast Company/

The “Small Guys” Guide: Wallop Wal*Mart16 * Hands-on, emotional leadership. (“We are a great & cool & intimate & joyful & dramatically different team working to transform our Clients lives via Consistently Incredible Experiences!”) * A community star! (“Sell” local-ness per se. Sell the hell out of it!) * An incredible experience, from the first to last moment—and then in the follow- up! (“These guys are cool! They ‘get’ me! They love me!”) * DESIGN DRIVEN! (“Design” is a premier weapon-in-pursuit-of-the sublime for small-ish enterprises, including the professional services.)

The “Small Guys” Guide: Wallop Wal*Mart16 * Employer of choice. (A very cool, well-paid place to work/learning and growth experience in at least the short term … marked by notably progressive policies.) (THIS IS EMINENTLY DO-ABLE!!) * Sophisticated use of information technology. (Small-“ish” is no excuse for “small aims”/execution in IS/IT!) * Web-power! (The Web can make very small very big … if the product-service is super-cool and one purposefully masters buzz/viral marketing.) * Innovative! (Must keep renewing and expanding and revising and re-imagining “the promise” to employees, the customer, the community.)

The “Small Guys” Guide: Wallop Wal*Mart16 * Brand-Lovemark* (*Kevin Roberts) Maniacs ! (“Branding” is not just for big folks with big budgets. And modest size is actually a Big Advantage in becoming a local-regional-niche “lovemark.”) * Focus on women-as-clients. (Most don’t. How stupid.) * Excellence! (A small player … per me … has no right or reason to exist unless they are in Relentless Pursuit of Excellence. One earns the right—one damn day and client experience at a time!— to beat the Big Guys in your chosen niche!)

Small Giants: Companies That Choose To Be Great Instead Of Good —by Bo Burlingham