1. Tom Peters’ EXCELLENCE. BEDROCK. THEN. NOW. TOMORROW. World Strategy Summit St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort 17 November 2015 (Today’s slides and 10+ years of presentation slides at tompeters.com; also see our annotated 23-part Master Compendium at excellencenow.com)

2. EXECUTION

3. Conrad’s Commandment …

4. 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 …

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

6. People (REALLY) First

7. FIRST WOW THE WOWERS

8. EXCELLENT customer experience depends … entirely … on EXCELLENT on EXCELLENT employee experience! If you want to WOW your customers, FIRST you must WOW those who must WOW those who WOW the customers! WOW the customers!

9. “What employees experience, Customers will. The best marketing is happy, engaged employees. YOUR CUSTOMERS WILL NEVER BE ANY HAPPIER THAN YOUR EMPLOYEES.” —John DiJulius, The Customer Service Revolution: Overthrow Conventional Business, Inspire Employees, and Change the World

10. Rocket Science. NOT. “If you want staff to give great service, give great service to staff.” “If you want staff to give great service, give great service to staff.” —Ari Weinzweig, Zingerman’s Source: Small Giants: Companies That Choose to Be Great Instead of Big, Bo Burlingham

11. THE MORAL IMPERATIVE: PEOPLE DEVELOPMENT

12. “Human level capability has not turned out to be a special stopping point from an engineering perspective.” —Illah Reza Nourbakhsh, Robot Futures/2013 “SOFTWARE IS EATING THE WORLD.” —Marc Andreessen/2014 “The intellectual talents of highly trained professionals are no more protected from automation than is the driver’s left turn.” —Nicholas Carr, The Glass Cage: Automation and Us “If you think being a ‘professional’ makes your job safe, think again.” —Robert Reich

13. CORPORATE MANDATE #1 2015: 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 bonus: This is also the #1 mid- to long-term … profit maximization strategy!

14. “Business has to give people enriching, rewarding lives …

15. 1/4,096 : excellencenow.com “Business has to give people enriching, rewarding lives … or it's simply not worth doing.” —Richard Branson

16. TRAINING = Investment #1 !

17. In the Army, 3-star generals worry about training. In most businesses, it's a “ho-hum” mid-level staff function.

18. Is your CTO /Chief Training Officer your top paid “C-level” job (other than CEO/COO)? Are your top trainers paid/cherished as much as your top marketers/ engineers?

19. Is your CTO/Chief Training Officer your top paid “C-level” job (other than CEO/COO)? If not, why not? Are your top trainers paid as much as your top marketers and engineers? If not, why not? Are your training courses so good they make you … JUMP FOR JOY? If not, why not? Randomly stop an employee in the hall: Can she/he meticulously describe her/his development plan for the next 12 months? If not, why not? Why is your world of business any different than the (competitive) world of rugby, football, opera, theater, the military? If “people/talent first” and hyper-intense continuous training are laughably obviously for them, why not you?

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

21. What is the #1 reason to go berserk over training?

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

23. 1 st -Line Bosses (Cadre of) = Productivity Asset #1 ! 1 st -Line Bosses (Cadre of) = Productivity Asset #1 !

24. If the regimental commander lost most of his 2nd lieutenants and 1st lieutenants and captains and majors, it would be a tragedy. If he lost his sergeants it would be a catastrophe. The Army and the Navy are fully aware that success on the battlefield is dependent to an extraordinary degree on its Sergeants and Chief Petty Officers. Does industry have the same awareness?

25. Employee retention & satisfaction & productivity: Overwhelmingly based on the first-line manager! Source: Marcus Buckingham & Curt Coffman, First, Break All the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently

26. WHY NOT? *****

27. “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

28. INNOVATION ENGINE

29. INNOVATION OBSESSION: BUILDING A LEARNING LAB

30. Lesson 49 : WTTMSW

31. W HOEVER T RIES T HE M OST S TUFF W INS

32. “We made mistakes, of course. Most of them were omissions we didn’t think of when we initially wrote the software. We fixed them by doing it over and over, again and again. We do the same today. While our competitors are still sucking their thumbs trying to make the design perfect, we’re already on prototype version # 5. By the time our rivals are ready with wires and screws, we are on version #10. It gets back to planning versus acting: We act from day one; others plan how to plan—for months.” —Bloomberg by Bloomberg

33. “FAIL. FORWARD. FAST.” “FAIL FASTER. SUCCEED SOONER.” “MOVE FAST. BREAK THINGS.” —Facebook “FAIL. FORWARD. FAST.” —High Tech CEO, Pennsylvania “FAIL FASTER. SUCCEED SOONER.” —David Kelley/IDEO “MOVE FAST. BREAK THINGS.” —Facebook

34. “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

35. CULTURAL CONVERSION: ORGANIZATION AS VIBRANT LEARNING LAB

36. “You can’t be a serious innovator unless and until you are ready, willing and able to seriously play. ‘SERIOUS PLAY’ is not an oxymoron; it is the essence of innovation.” —Michael Schrage, Serious Play

37. WTTMSASTMSUTFW WTTMSASTMSUTFW

38. We Are What We Eat. We Are Who We Hang Out With. We Are What We Eat. We Are Who We Hang Out With.

39. The “We are what we eat”/ “We are who we hang out with” Axiom: At its core, every ( !!! ) relationship-partnership decision (employee, vendor, customer, etc., etc.) is a strategic decision about: “Innovate, ‘Yes’ or ” The “We are what we eat”/ “We are who we hang out with” Axiom: At its core, every ( !!! ) relationship-partnership decision (employee, vendor, customer, etc., etc.) is a strategic decision about: “Innovate, ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ ”

40. “Who’s the most interesting person you’ve met in the last 90 days? How do I get in touch with them?” —Fred Smith

41. The Future Is Small

42. “Mr. Foster and his McKinsey colleagues collected detailed performance data stretching back 40 years for U.S. companies. They found that of the long-term survivors managed to outperform the market. Worse, the longer companies had been in the database, the worse they did.” —Financial Times “Mr. Foster and his McKinsey colleagues collected detailed performance data stretching back 40 years for 1,000 U.S. companies. They found that NONE of the long-term survivors managed to outperform the market. Worse, the longer companies had been in the database, the worse they did.” —Financial Times

43. The Future Is Small —book, by Gervais Williams, superstar fund manager, FT/1217.14: “Research shows that new and small companies create almost all the new private sector jobs and are disproportionately innovative.”

44. THE RED CARPET STORE (Joel Resnick/Flemington NJ)

45. 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)

46. My “love affair” … Middle- My “love affair” … Middle- sized Niche- sized Niche- or Micro-niche Dominators!* or Micro-niche Dominators!* *"Own" a niche through EXCELLENCE/INNOVATION ! *"Own" a niche through EXCELLENCE/INNOVATION ! ( Writ large: Germany’s MITTELSTAND —“agile creatures darting between the legs of the multinational monsters” ) ( Writ large: Germany’s MITTELSTAND —“agile creatures darting between the legs of the multinational monsters” )

47. Hidden Champions* of the 21 st Century: Success Secrets of Unknown World Market Leaders/ Hermann Simon (*1, 2, or 3 in world market; <$4B; low public awareness) Baader (Iceland/80% fish- processing systems) Gallagher (NZ/electric fences) W.E.T. (heated car seat tech) Gerriers (theater curtains and stage equipment) Electro-Nite (sensors for the steel industry) Essel Propack (India/tooth paste tubes) SGS (product auditing and certification) DELO (specialty adhesives) Amorim (Portugal/cork products) EOS (laser sintering) Beluga (heavy-lift shipping) Omicron (tunnel-grid microscopy) Universo (wristwatch hands) Dickson Constant (technical textiles) O.C. Tanner (employee recognition/$400M) Hoeganaes (powder metallurgy supplies)

48. LEADERSHIP

49. 25 !

50. MBWA ( M anaging B y W andering A round)

51. “I’m always stopping by our stores— at least 25 a week. I’m also in other places: Home Depot, Whole Foods, Crate & Barrel. I try to be a sponge to pick up as much as I can.” —Howard Schultz Source: Fortune, “Secrets of Greatness”

52. 4

53. “The 4 most important words in any organization are …

54. 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

55. “Employees who don't feel significant rarely make significant contributions.” —Mark Sanborn

56. 18

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

58. 18 …

59. 18 … seconds !

60. (An obsession with) Listening is... the ultimate mark of Respect. of Respect. Listening is... the heart and soul of Engagement. Listening is... the heart and soul of Kindness. Listening is... the heart and soul of Thoughtfulness. Listening is... the basis for true Collaboration. Listening is... the basis for true Partnership. Listening is... a Team Sport. Listening is... a Developable Individual Skill.* (*Though women are far better at it than men.) are far better at it than men.) Listening is... the basis for Community. Listening is... the bedrock of Joint Ventures that work. Listening is... the bedrock of Joint Ventures that grow. Listening is... the core of effective Cross-functional Communication.* (*Which is in turn Attribute #1 of Communication.* (*Which is in turn Attribute #1 of organization effectiveness.) organization effectiveness.)

61. Suggested Core Value #1: “We are Effective Listeners—we treat Listening EXCELLENCE as the Centerpiece of our Commitment to Respect and Engagement and Community and Growth and Innovation and Profitability.”

62. *Listening is of the utmost … STRATEGIC importance! *Listening is a proper … CORE VALUE ! *Listening is … TRAINABLE ! *Listening is a … PROFESSION !

63. EXCELLENCE EXCELLENCE

64. Excellence “Twitter-ized”: X140

65. EXCELLENCE in <140 Characters: EXCELLENCE in <140 Characters: Cherish your people, cuddle your customers, wander around, “try it” beats “talk about it,” Excellence or else, tell Cherish your people, cuddle your customers, wander around, “try it” beats “talk about it,” Excellence or else, tell the truth. the truth. 126 with spaces/Q.E.D.