1. EXCELLENCE. ALWAYS. Tom Peters/ExpoManagement Mexico D.F./08June 2006

2. 25

3. Slides at … tompeters.com

4. Manhole Cover Madness and More ….

5. Chicagoland’s Mystery Disappearances …

6. THREE BILLION NEW CAPITALISTS —Clyde Prestowitz

7. EXCELLENCE. THE MANDATE.

8. “If you don’t like change, you’re going to like irrelevance even less
“If you don’t like change, you’re going to like irrelevance even less.” —General Eric Shinseki, Chief of Staff. U. S. Army

9. “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” —Charles Darwin

10. “We are in a brawl with no rules.” —Paul Allaire

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

12. EXCELLENCE. THE GENERAL’S STORY.

13. “If you don’t like change, you’re going to like irrelevance even less
“If you don’t like change, you’re going to like irrelevance even less.” —General Eric Shinseki, Chief of Staff. U. S. Army

14. “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” —Charles Darwin

15. Nelson’s secret: “[Other] admirals more frightened of losing than anxious
to win”

16. EXCELLENCE. STARTERS.

17. Radio City Music Hall September 2005

18. Franchise Lost. TP: “How many of you [600] really crave a new Chevy
Franchise Lost! TP: “How many of you [600] really crave a new Chevy?” NYC/IIR/061205

19. P.P.E.E.R.R.E.

20. People. Product. Execution. Enthusiasm. Relentless. Re-invent
People. Product. Execution. Enthusiasm. Relentless. Re-invent. Excellence.

21. EXCELLENCE. THE WORD.

22. Synonyms Purity Transcendence Virtue Elegance Majesty Antonyms Mediocrity

23. EXCELLENCE. GAMECHANGER.

24. Excellence1982: The Bedrock “Eight Basics”
1. A Bias for Action
2. Close to the Customer
3. Autonomy and Entrepreneurship
4. Productivity Through People
5. Hands On, Value-Driven
6. Stick to the Knitting
7. Simple Form, Lean Staff
8. Simultaneous Loose-Tight
Properties”

25. ExIn*: /Forbes.com DJIA: $10,000 yields $85,000 EI: $10,000 yields $140, *Forbes/Excellence Index /Basket of 32 publicly traded stocks

26. EXCELLENCE. CAUSES. ADVERSARIES.

27. Implementation/Small Wins (Stanford GSB/PhD thesis;
Causes/
Implementation/Small Wins (Stanford GSB/PhD thesis;
1st on implementation per se)
EXCELLENCE (as a worthy business pursuit)
Management Style/Corporate Culture
Soft “Ss”/7-S (Waterman-Peters complete “business model”;
waaaaay beyond Strategy & Structure)
Structure > Strategy (“We shape our structures, then they shape
us …”—Churchillian paraphrase)
Soft Change Levers (> structure; symbols, patterns & settings)
Close to the Customer (novel idea, circa 1982)
MBWA (Managing By Wandering Around—courtesy a much
more intimate than today HP)
Productivity through People (novel idea, circa 1982)
Chaos/Crazy Times Call for Crazy Organizations
Middle-sized companies are cool
Re-imagine!/Innovate or Die!
Small-ish/Scale & Synergy limits-delusions/anti-Big Mergers

28. Causes/1966-2006 Women/Market opportunity
Women/Leaders (right for the times)
Design/Design-as-soul
Wow! (Hot language)
Weird!
Passion!/Enthusiasm!/Exuberance! (as Leader Lever #1)
Brand You (or else)
PSF = Bedrock (add value or bust—every group must
demonstrate economic viability)
PSF + Brand You + WOW Projects = New Biz Logic
Sales/+R > -C (increasing revenue more important than cutting cost)
HealthCare/Wellness-Safety-H5N1
Brand = Talent (best roster wins)
New VA Ladder/Products-Services-SOLUTIONS-EXPERIENCES-DREAMKETING (Dream Marketing)-LOVEMARK
Different > > Better
Boomers & Geezers/marketing to new “mega-segment”

29. Hardball: Are You Playing to Play or Playing to Win
Hardball: Are You Playing to Play or Playing to Win? by George Stalk & Rob Lachenauer/HBS Press “The winners in business have always played hardball.” “Unleash massive and overwhelming force.” “Exploit anomalies.” “Threaten your competitor’s profit sanctuaries.” “Entice your competitor into retreat.” Approximately 640 Index entries: Customer/s (service, retention, loyalty), 4. People (employees, motivation, morale, worker/s), 0. Innovation (product development, research & development, new products), 0.

30. *B.Schools (“M.I.A.” or at most “B.I.A.”—barely in action)
M.I.A.*: Talk. (Present.) Listen. (Interview.) Sell. (Life = Sales.) Do. (Execution-Implementation.) Talent. (Recruit-Develop-Retain.) Project Management. (Create. Solicit support. Execution. Adoption-Client “Culture Change.”) Product. (“It.”) Innovation. (Design. Creativity. “Buzz-building.” Politics.) Leadership. (USMA, etc.) E.Q. (Connect.) “Culture” Change. (Lasting impact.) Diversity. (Cross-cultural Effectiveness.) Career Creation. (Brand You life-lifestyle.) Wellness. (Life.)
*B.Schools (“M.I.A.” or at most “B.I.A.”—barely in action)

31. Adversaries
B-schools (crappy at soft skills, implementation, leadership)
Strategy-is-all
By-the-numbers management
Dis-passionate management
Focus groups
Intuition discounted
Leading as an intellectual task
Leading without passion
Cool language in Hot times
Dilbert (accepting cubicle slavery)
Bigness per se (severe scale limitations—even at Microsoft)
White guys! (not really, but enough already)
18-44 emphasis in marketing (geezers > youth for foreseeable future)
-Cost > +Revenue (cost cutting more important than organic revenue growth)
CI (continuous improvement in an age of discontinuous world)
LESS THAN THE NO-HOLDS-BARRED PURSUIT OF EXCELLENCE

32. EXCELLENCE. ALWAYS.

33. “Why in the world did you go to Siberia?”

34. The Peters Principles: Enthusiasm. Emotion. Excellence. Energy
The Peters Principles: Enthusiasm. Emotion. Excellence. Energy. Excitement. Service. Growth. Creativity. Imagination. Vitality. Joy. Surprise. Independence. Spirit. Community. Limitless human potential. Diversity. Profit. Innovation. Design. Quality. Entrepreneurialism. Wow.

35. Business* ** (*at its best): An emotional, vital, innovative, joyful, creative, entrepreneurial endeavor that elicits maximum concerted human potential in the wholehearted service of others.*** **Excellence. Always. ***Employees, Customers, Suppliers, Communities, Owners, Temporary partners

36. Business: The Ultimate Creative Endeavor.

37. Business: The Ultimate Personal Development-Growth Experience.

38. Business: The Ultimate Transcendent Service Opportunity.

39. EXCELLENCE. YOU & ME.

40. “In Tom’s world, it’s 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

41. “Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body—but rather a skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming, ‘Wow, what a ride!’ ” —anon.

42. “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

43. EXCELLENCE. 4/40.

44. Pathetic!

45. “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 S&P 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 Source: Dick Foster & Sarah Kaplan, Creative Destruction: Why Companies That Are Built to Last Underperform the Market

46. “I am often asked by would-be entrepreneurs seeking escape from life within huge corporate structures, ‘How do I build a small firm for myself?’ The answer seems obvious: Buy a very large one and just wait.” —Paul Ormerod, Why Most Things Fail: Evolution, Extinction and Economics

47. “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

48. “I don’t believe in economies of scale
“I don’t believe in economies of scale. You don’t get better by being bigger. You get worse.” —Dick Kovacevich/Wells Fargo/Forbes/08.04 (ROA: Wells, 1.7%; Citi, 1.5%; BofA, 1.3%; J.P. Morgan Chase, 0.9%)

49. 4/40

50. De-cent-ral-iz- a-tion!

51. Ex-e- cu-tion!

52. “We have a ‘strategic plan. ’ It’s called doing things
“We have a ‘strategic plan.’ It’s called doing things.” — Herb Kelleher

53. “Execution is the job of the business leader
“Execution is the job of the business leader.” —Larry Bossidy & Ram Charan/ Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done

54. “Execution is a systematic process of rigorously discussing hows and whats, tenaciously following through, and ensuring accountability.” —Larry Bossidy & Ram Charan/ Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done

55. “The person who is a little less conceptual but is absolutely determined to succeed will usually find the right people and get them together to achieve objectives. I’m not knocking education or looking for dumb people. But if you have to choose between someone with a staggering IQ and an elite education who’s gliding along, and someone with a lower IQ but who is absolutely determined to succeed, you’ll always do better with the second person.” —Larry Bossidy/ Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done

56. Ac-count-a-bil-ity!

57. “GE has set a standard of candor. … There is no puffery
“GE has set a standard of candor. … There is no puffery. … There isn’t an ounce of denial in the place.” —Kevin Sharer, CEO Amgen, on the “GE mystique” (Fortune)

58. 6:15A.M.

59. ???????? Work Hard > Work Smart

60. EXCELLENCE. LEADING.

61. Leadership23

62. Leadership Enthusiasm. Energy. Exuberance. 2. Action. Execution. 3. Tempo. Metabolism. 4. Relentless. 5. Master of Plan B. 6. Accountability. 7. Meritocracy. 8. Leaders “do” people. Mentor. (“Success creation business.”) 9. Women. Diversity. 10. Integrity. Credibility. Humanity. Grace. 11. Realism. 12. Cause. Adventures. Quests. 13. Legacy. 14. Best story wins. 15. On the edge. (“Wildest chimera of a moonstruck mind.”)
16. “Reward excellent failures. Punish mediocre successes.” 17. Different > Better. (“Only ones who do what we do.”) 18. MBWA. Customer MBWA. 19. Laughs. 20. Repot. Curiosity. Why? 21. You = Calendar. “To Don’t.” Two. 22. Excellence. Always.
23. Nelsonian! (“Other admirals more afraid of losing
than anxious to win.”)

63. Kevin Roberts’ Credo 1. Ready. Fire. Aim. 2. If it ain’t broke
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!

64. The Irreducible209

65. A frustrated participant at a seminar for investment bankers in Mauritius listened impatiently to my explanation of differences of opinion among me, Mike Porter, Gary Hamel, Jim Collins, etc. Finally, he’d had enough. “What, if anything,” he asked, “do you believe ‘for sure’?” I mumbled something, but his query started rumbling around in my mind. Three days later, wandering on a Sunday in London, the idea of “the irreducibles” occurred to me—and I started jotting down notes on stuff I do indeed believe “for sure.” Before I knew it, a few days later, the list had grown to 209 items. Hence “The Irreducible209” that follows. Tom Peters

66. 1. Hare 1, Tortoise 0. (Hare-y times.)
2. Tempo. (O.O.D.A.)
3. MBWA.
4. Appreciation. (“Motivator” #1.)
(Can’t be faked. Good.)
5. Decency.
6. Hurry.
7. Time out.
8. One matters.
9. Big change. Short time. (Alt not work.)
10. Excellence. Always.
11. Passion. Energy. Hustle. Enthusiasm.
Exuberance. (Move mountains. No alt.)
12. You must care.
13. Emotion.
14. Hard is soft. (Soft is hard.)

67. 15. Men. Women. Different. Contend. Connect.
16. Women. Buy. All. (RU listening?)
17. Quality. (“Mind-blowing.” Beyond 6-Sigma.)
18. Re-invent. Re-pot. (Required.)
19. Jaywalk.
20. Big change. Small # of people. (Always.)
21. Experiment. Now.
22. Failure. Normal.
23. Most failures, most success.
(Fail. Forward. Fast.)
24. “Reward excellent failures. Punish
mediocre successes.”
25. Women leaders. (Altered times.)
26. Extremism. (Good business. Bad politics.)
27. Innovation source. Only. Extreme irritation.
28. Smile.

68. 29. You must care.
30. Mentor. (Highest ROI.)
31. Best “roster” wins.
32. Wow. (Okay in biz.)
33. We all have customers. (Biz. Personal.)
34. All contacts = Experiences.
35. Cirque du Soleil. (Peerless.)
36. Leaders create space for growth.
37. Quests. (Only.)
38. High aspirations, “high” results.
(Self-fulfilling prophecy.)
39. Attitude 1, Skills 0. (Mostly.)
(Attitude 1, Skill 0.3?)
40. Sometimes: Skill 1, Attitude 0.1.
41. Must “love,” not “like.”
42. Wegmans.” (No excuses. “Mere” groceries.)
43. Less than your best. Cheating.

69. 44. Brand You. (No alt.)
45. Self-sufficiency. (Biggest LT turn-on.)
46. In the moment.
47. The moment wins.
48. Tomorrow = Never.
49. Action 1, Plan 0.1.
50. “Execution” can be a “system.”
51. Realism.
52. Own up. Move on.
53. Accountability.
54. Work hard > Work smart. (Mostly.)
55. Feedback. Necessary. Fast. (R.F.A. in
“RFA times.”)
56. Customers. Listen. Lead. (Paradox.)
57. “On stage.” Always. (GW, FDR, RG =
Supreme actors.)

70. 58. Master statistical analysis.
59. Excellence = Set the table.
60. Legacy. (Will it have mattered?)
61. “Great.” (Why not?)
62. Radicals rule. (Think … Olympics.)
63. !!! = Good.
64. Red 1, Brown 0. (Red times.)
65. Talk. Listen. (“Big 2.” Master.)
66. Politics. (Normal-inevitable state
of affairs. Master.)
67. Student. Forever.
68. “Why?” (Question #1.)
69. Don’t belittle.
70. Respect.
71. All we have: this moment.
(“Moments matter most”?)
72. Now. (Procrastination. Death.)

71. 73. Exercise.
74. Paint. (Leader. Portraits of Excellence.)
75. Best story wins.
76. “You must be the change you wish
to see in the world.”
77. Two “big ones.” Max. (Priorities.)
78. No “I” in Team. (“I” in Win.)
79. “I” in Win. (No “I” in Team.)
80. Different 1, Better 0. (Better = 0.1)
81. Imitation = Mistake. (Learn, from who?)
82. Choose/battle the “right” competitor.
83. Schools. Creativity. Entrepreneurship.
(Not.)
84. MBAs. Creativity. Entrepreneurship.
Leadership. (Not.)
85. Design. Under-rated. Wildly.
(Still.) (Everything.)

72. 86. You = Calendar. (Calendar. Never. Lies.)
87. Laugh.
88. Handshake. (Quantity. Quality.)
89. Don’t fold your hands in front of your chest. Ever. (Never.)
90. Grace. (“Works” in biz.)
91. Weird. Wins. (Weird times.)
92. Crazy times. Crazy orgs.
93. Internet. All.
94. Women. Boomers-Geezers. Market. All.
95. Passion (Repeat. So what?)
96. Energy (Repeat. So what?)
97. Hustle (Repeat. So what?)
98. Enthusiasm. (Repeat. So what?)
99. Exuberance. (Repeat. So what?)
100. Smile (Repeat. So what?)
101. Care (Repeat. So what?)

73. 102. Simplicity. Redundancy. Resilience. Bloody-
mindedness. Visible optimism. (Success.)
103. Act. (Repeat. So what?)
104. Appreciate. (Repeat. So what?)
105. Fun. (Biz. Why not?)
106. Joy. (Biz. Why not?)
107. Sales = Life.
108. Marketing = Life.
109. Long-term. “Top line.”
110. Great company = Creates the most
individual success stories. (RE/MAX)
111. Talent first, performance byproduct.
112. Sustained Wow* 1, “Shareholder
value,” 0.2 (*Product, People.)
113. Commitment, by invitation only.
114. Creativity, by invitation only.
115. HR = #1. (Ought to.)
116. Face-to-face. (5K miles, 5 minutes.)

74. 117. Negotiation. Make all winners.
(Save face.)
118. Grace makes enemies friends.
119. Network.
120. Invest in relationships. (Think ROIR.
Return On Investment in Relationships.)
118. Relationship investment. Forethought.
Calendar item. Intensity.
119. Innovation. Easy. (Hang out
with weird.)
120. Weird = Win. (Weird times.)
121. “The bottleneck is at the top
of the bottle.”
122. Good Board = Weird Board.
(At least, surprising.)
123. No contention, no progress.

75. 124. “Crucial conversations.” “Crucial
confrontations.” (Study. Learn. Do.)
125. Honest feedback.
126. Gaspworthy. Yes.
127. “Insanely great.”
128. “Astonish me.”
129. “Make it immortal.”
130. “Will you remember it in 20 years?”
131. No small opportunities. (Reframe.)
132. One playmate, one playpen = Enough.
133. End run. Sensible.
134. Allies are there for the finding.
135. Find successes. Build on successes.
(Pos > Neg. Encourage > Fix.)
136. Somebody’s doing it today. Find ’em.
137. Someone is living 2016 in 2006.
(Find ’em. Study ’em.)

76. 138. Don’t “benchmark,” “futuremark.”
( Happening. Somewhere.)
139. “PMA.” It works.
140. There are no experts. (You are the expert.)
141. Life is short.
142. “Sustained success.” Fat chance.
Make today matter. (“Sustained.” Ha.)
143. Collaborate. (Networked world.)
144. Go solo. (Individual. Unit of
Intellectual Capital.)
145. There are no “perfect” plans. (Do. Wins.)
146. Plans motivate. (Right or wrong.
Sense of purpose.)
147. Never rest.
148. Get some sleep.
149. Winning = Embracing paradox.
150. Ambiguity = Opportunity.

77. 151. Resilience.
152. Relentless-ness.
153. None. Above. Comeuppance.
(GM. Sears. U.S. Steel. DEC.)
154. Be yourself. Period.
155. Never work with jerks. Including
customers. (Life. Too short.)
156. Under-promise, over-deliver.
157. Talent. (Powerful word.)
158. “Customer = Anyone whose actions
affect your results.”
159. Competition stinks. (Seek the soft
spots where you can dominate.)
160. K.I.S.S./Keep It Simple, Stupid.
161. Beauty. (Good biz word.)
162. “See the beauty in a hamburger bun.”
(Go. Ray.)

78. 163. Own up. Quick. ( Denial. Cancer. ) 164. Celebrate. Often. 165
163. Own up. Quick. ( Denial. Cancer.) 164. Celebrate. Often people = 78 approaches. (Each. Unique.) 166. Weed. Ceaselessly. (Prune. Stupid Rules. Non-stop.) 167. Get out of the way. (You = The problem.) 168. Smile. Sunny. Optimism. (If it kills you.) 169. Flowers. (Cheery workplace.) 170. Enjoy. (Or get the hell.) 171. Be intolerant of “sour.” (1 = Major pollution) 172. No “quick trigger” on promotion (Too important.) 173. Evaluation = Lots of study-time Evaluation = “Life or death” to evaluee “360” evaluation. No fad Exit when you’re done. (Done Sooner than you think.)

79. 177. Today. Now. My Project. Am. Is. I. Period.
178. “Beautiful” systems. (Good biz phrase.
Not oxymoron.)
179. Build on strengths > Fix weaknesses.
180. “To don’t” = “To do.” (“To don’t” >
“To do” ?)
181. Leaders “Do” People. (Period.)
182. Leaders enjoy leading.
183. Serious leadership training = Serious.
184. Priorities. Obvious. (Or else.)
“Priorities” = 0 Priorities.
(3 “Priorities” = 0 Priorities?)
186. People. First. Last. Always.
187. It. Is. Always. The. People.

80. 188. Handshake. (Quantity. Quality. ) 189
188. Handshake. (Quantity. Quality.) 189. Don’t fold your hands in front of your chest. Ever. (Never.) 190. Simplicity. Redundancy. Resilience Bloody-mindedness. Visible optimism. (Success.) (Repeat.) 191. Employee Entrance = Guest Entrance Put the customer SECOND (Thanks, Hal.) 193. Flowers. (Or did I say that before? No matter if I did.) 194. Big Mergers don’t work. Small acquisitions can/do work—if you don’t screw with their energy.

81. 195. Instinctively “head for the front line. ” (In all contexts. ) 196
195. Instinctively “head for the front line.” (In all contexts.) 196. Success = DDMMPR/"D-squared,
M-squared, PR” = DramDiff +
Money-Financial Acumen + Good
“Marketing” Instincts + Stellar People
+ Resilience (The “fab five”: What.
Every. Small. Biz. Needs.) (Big too.)
197. Core Mechanism (“Game-changing
Solutions”): PSF (Professional Service
Firm “model”) + Wow! Projects
(“Different” vs “Better”) + Brand You (“Distinct” or “Extinct”)
/2016 has already happened.
Find it.

82. 199. Kids “know” kids. Oldies “know” oldies. Women “know” women
199. Kids “know” kids. Oldies “know” oldies Women “know” women. (Staff accordingly.) 200. Everybody is my customer Cosset “vendors.” 202. I want to run a Housekeeping department (And you?) 203. The military doesn’t follow the “military model.” (Initiative = Excellence.) 204. No such thing as “going to absurd lengths” to serve the Customer. (HSM & Lefties.) 205. Forget the “customer.” All = “Clients.” 206. It takes decades to get over “sleights.” (So don’t sleight.) 207. Don’t “dumb down.” Ever.

83. 208. NO LESS THAN EXCELLENCE. EVER. 209. EXCELLENCE. ALWAYS.

84. EXCELLENCE. STRETCH.

85. 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

86. “Beware of the tyranny of making Small Changes to Small Things
“Beware of the tyranny of making Small Changes to Small Things. Rather, make Big Changes to Big Things.” —Roger Enrico, former Chairman, PepsiCo

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

88. EXCELLENCE. LET. US. MARCH.

89. “In classical times when Cicero had finished speaking, the people said, ‘How well he spoke,’ but when Demosthenes had finished speaking, they said, ‘Let us march.’” —Adlai Stevenson

90. Let us march.

91. “Never doubt that a small group of committed people can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has.” —Margaret Mead

92. EXCELLE ALWAYS.