Tom Peters

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Tom Peters Re-Imagine2006!Business
Excellence in a Disruptive AgeMLIM National
GPC Sales MeetingKey Biscayne/0405.2006/Final
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Slides at tompeters.comAlso, Long
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For Ray.
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Unglued.
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THREE BILLION NEW CAPITALISTS Clyde Prestowitz
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Two New CapitalistsSergey, Larry gt Harvard
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Goodnight and Good Luck.
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There is no job that is Americas God-given
right anymore. Carly Fiorina/HP/January2004
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This is a dangerous world and it is going to
become more dangerous.We may not be
interested in chaos but chaos is interested in
us.Source Robert Cooper, The Breaking of
Nations Order and Chaos in the Twenty-first
Century
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The General, and Darwin
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If you dont like change, youre going to
like irrelevance even less. General Eric
Shinseki, Chief of Staff. U. S. Army
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It is not the strongest of the species that
survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one
most responsive to change. Charles Darwin
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and Me.
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In Toms world, its 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
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ExIn 1982-2002/Forbes.comDJIA 10,000 yields
85,000 EI 10,000 yields 140,050
Excellence Index/basket of 32 publicly traded
stocks
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Naked Emperors.
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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 1987.SP 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 1997.Source Dick Foster Sarah
Kaplan, Creative Destruction Why Companies That
Are Built to Last Underperform the Market
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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
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Innovateor Die!!
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A focus on cost-cutting and efficiency has
helped many organizations weather the downturn,
but this approach will ultimately render them
obsolete. Only the constant pursuit of innovation
can ensure long-term success. Daniel Muzyka,
Dean, Sauder School of Business, Univ of British
Columbia (FT/09.17.04)
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Different!Dramatic Difference (DH),
Remarkable Point of view (SG)
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Franchise Lost! TP How many of you 600
really crave a new Chevy?NYC/IIR/061205
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To grow, companies need to break out of a
vicious cycle of competitive benchmarking and
imitation. W. Chan Kim Renée Mauborgne,
Think for Yourself Stop Copying a Rival,
Financial Times/2003
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798
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415/SqFt/WalMart798/SqFt/Whole Foods
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Cirque du Soleil!
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Every time we come to a comfort zone, we will
find a way out. No Cloning. Reinvent the
brand with each new show. A typical day at the
office for me begins by asking, What is
impossible that I am going to do today? Daniel
Lamarre, president, Cirque du Soleil
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Up, Up, Up, Up the Value-added Ladder.
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Solve It.
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55B
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And the M Stands for ?Gerstners IBM
Systems Integrator of choice./BW (Lou, help
us turn all this into that long-promised
revolution. ) IBM Global Services
(Integrated Systems Services Corp.) 55B
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The Value-added Ladder Gamechanging
SolutionsServicesGoods Raw Materials
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The PSF35 Thirty-Five Professional Service
Firm Marks of Excellence
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The PSF35 The Work The Legacy1.
CRYSTAL CLEAR POINT OF VIEW (Every Practice
Group If you cant explain your position in
eight words or less, you dont have a
positionSeth Godin)2. DRAMATIC DIFFERENCE (We
are the only ones who do what we doJerry
Garcia)3. Stretch Is Routine (Never bite off
less than you can chewanon.)4. Eye-Appetite
for Game-changer Projects (Excellence at
Assembling Best TeamFast) 5. Playful
Clients (Adventurous folks who unfailingly Aim to
Change the World)6. Small Uneconomic
Clients with Big Aims 7. Life Is Too Short to
Work with Jerks (Fire lousy clients)8. OBSESSED
WITH LEGACY (Practice Group and Individual Dent
the UniverseSteve Jobs)9. Fire-on-the-spot
Anyone Who Says, Law/Architecture/Consulting/
I-banking/ Accounting/PR/Etc. has become a
commodity 10. Consistent with 9 above DO
NOT SHY AWAY FROM THE WORD (IDEA)
RADICAL
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?????Do good (excellent?!) workMake a lot of
money
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Point of View!
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Up, Up, Up, Up the Value-added Ladder.
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Experience it.
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Experiences are as distinct from services as
services are from goods. Joe Pine Jim
Gilmore, The Experience Economy Work Is Theatre
Every Business a Stage
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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 thats not work or home. Its the
place our customers come for refuge.Nancy
Orsolini, District Manager
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The Value-added LadderSpellbinding Experiences
Gamechanging SolutionsServicesGoods Raw
Materials
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Up, Up, Up, Up the Value-added Ladder.
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Dream it.
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DREAM A dream is a complete moment in the life
of a client. Important experiences that tempt the
client to commit substantial resources. The
essence of the desires of the consumer. The
opportunity to help clients become what they want
to be. Gian Luigi Longinotti-Buitoni
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The Value-added LadderDreams Come
TrueSpellbinding Experiences Gamechanging
SolutionsServicesGoods Raw Materials
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Sell It.
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Women are the majority market Fara
Warner/The Power of the Purse
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?????????Home Furnishings 94Vacations 92
(Adventure Travel 70/ 55B travel
equipment)Houses 91D.I.Y. (major home
projects) 80Consumer Electronics 51 (66
home computers) Cars 68 (90)All consumer
purchases 83 Bank Account 89Household
investment decisions 67Small business
loans/biz starts 70Health Care 80
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10.6
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The Perfect Answer
Jill and Jack buy slacks in black
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(No Transcript)
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Read This Book EVEolution The Eight Truths
of Marketing to WomenFaith Popcorn Lys
Marigold
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EVEolution Truth No. 1Connecting Your Female
Consumers to Each Other Connects Them to Your
Brand
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Women dont buy brands. They join
them.EVEolution
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2.6 vs. 21
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1. Men and women are different.2. Very
different.3. VERY, VERY DIFFERENT.4. Women
Men have a-b-s-o-l-u-t-e-l-y nothing in
common.5. Women buy lotsa stuff.6. WOMEN BUY
A-L-L THE STUFF.7. Womens Market Opportunity
No. 1.8. Men are (STILL) in charge.9. MEN ARE
TOTALLY, HOPELESSLY CLUELESS ABOUT WOMEN.10.
Womens Market Opportunity No. 1.
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10. Womens Market Opportunity No. 1.
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Why?
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2005
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Good Thinking, Guys!Kodak Sharpens Digital
Focus On Its Best Customers Women Page 1
Headline/WSJ/0705
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Duh!More Hotels Try to Offer What Women Want
Headline, USA Today, 11.08.05
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Women come out better on almost every count as
investors They are less likely to hold a losing
investment too long, and less likely to wait too
long to sell a winner theyre also less likely
to put too much money into a single investment or
to buy a reputedly hot stock without doing
sufficient research. When It Comes to
Investing, Gender A Strong Influence on
Behavior./Atlantic
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Women poker players More cautious. More patient.
More disciplined. Bluff with more attention to
the odds. More notes on-line. Learn more and
improve faster. Less emotional, less ego. Know
more about men than men do about them more
effective at exploiting mens attitudes.Source
Ante Up, Ladies As poker mania grips the
nation, more women are mastering the game,
applying their own life lessons to poker and the
lessons of poker to life, Time, 11.05
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Sell It.
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2000-2010 Stats18-44 -155 21(55-64
47)
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44-65 New Customer Majority 45 larger
than 18-43 60 larger by 2010Source Ageless
Marketing, David Wolfe Robert Snyder
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The New Customer Majority is the only adult
market with realistic prospects for significant
sales growth in dozens of product lines for
thousands of companies. David Wolfe Robert
Snyder, Ageless Marketing
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Baby-boomer Women The Sweetest of Sweet Spots
for Marketers David Wolfe and Robert Snyder,
Ageless Marketing
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WOMAN of the Year Shes the most powerful
consumer in America. And as she starts to turn
sixty this month, the affluent baby boomer is
doing what shes always doneredefining herself.
Joan Hamilton, Town Country, JAN06
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Boomers Were not going gently. Were going
the way our generation does everything else.
Research it. Make sure youre getting the best
deal. Study the alternatives the way we studied
alternative families and alternative diets and
alternative religions. Baby Boomers Want Less
Pain And More Grace Before That Good night,
reads one headline James Atlas/My Life in
the Middle Ages
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Duh.Women.Boomers-Geezers.Women business
owners.Single-adults (Urban)
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Fastest growing demographic Single-person
Households (gt50 in London, Stockholm,
etc)Source Richard Scase
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of homes purchased by single women 1981, 10
2005, 20 of homes purchased by single men
1981, 10 2005, 9Source USA Today/02.15.06
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Lead It Loud.
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Leadership23Tom Peters/for MLIM/0405.06
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Leadership231. 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 gt Better. (Only ones who do what we
do.)18. MBWA. Customer MBWA.19. Laughs.20.
Repot. Curiosity. Why?21. You Calendar. To
Dont. Two.22. Excellence. Always. 23.
Nelsonian. (Other admirals more afraid of
losing than anxious to win.)
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Kevin Roberts Credo1.
Ready. Fire! Aim.2. If it aint broke ... Break
it!3. Hire crazies.4. Ask dumb questions.5.
Pursue failure.6. Lead, follow ... or get out of
the way!7. Spread confusion.8. Ditch your
office.9. Read odd stuff.10. Avoid moderation!
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Sir Richards RulesFollow your passions.Keep
it simple.Get the best people to help
you.Re-create yourself.Play.Source Fortune
on Branson
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Tom PetersThe Irreducibles209/Sales122MLIM/Key
Biscayne04.05.2006
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The Irreducible209Tom Peters/31 March 2006
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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, hed 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 meand 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
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1. Hare 1, Tortoise 0. (Hare-y times.) 2. Tempo.
(O.O.D.A.) 3. MBWA. 4. Appreciation. (Motivator
1.) (Cant be faked. Good.) 5. Decency. 6.
Hurry. 7. Time out. 8. One matters. (H5N1.) 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.)
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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. (Yushchenko didnt do de
Bono.) 28. Smile.
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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.
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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 gt Work smart.
(Mostly.) 55. Feedback. Necessary. Fast. (R.F.A.
in RFA times.) 56. Customers. Listen.
Lead. (Paradox.) 57. On stage. Always. (GW,
FDR, AG Supreme actors.)
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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. Dont
belittle. 70. Respect. 71. All we have this
moment. (Moments matter most?) 72. Now.
(Procrastination. Death.)
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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 whom?) 82.
Choose/battle the right competitor. 83.
Schools. Creativity. Entrepreneurship.
(Not.) 84. MBAs. Creativity. Entrepreneurship.
Leadership. (Not.) 85. Design. Under-rated.
Wildly. (Still.) (Everything.)
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86. You Calendar. (Calendar. Never. Lies.) 87.
Laugh. 88. Handshake. (Quantity. Quality.) 89.
Dont 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?)
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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.)
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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.
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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 gt Neg. Encourage gt
Fix.) 136. Somebodys doing it today. Find
em. 137. Someone is living 2016 in 2006.
(Find em. Study em.)
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138. Dont benchmark, futuremark.
(2016. 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.
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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.)
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163. Own up. Quick. ( Denial. Cancer.)164.
Celebrate. Often.165. 78 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
out.)171. Be intolerant of sour. (1 Major
pollution.)172. No quick trigger on
promotion. (Too important.)173.
Evaluation Lots of study-time.174. Evaluation
Life or death to evaluee.175. 360
evaluation. No fad.176. Exit when youre done.
(Done. Sooner than you think.)
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177. Today. Now. My Project. Am. Is. I.
Period. 178. Beautiful systems. (Good biz
phrase. Not oxymoron.) 179. Build on
strengths gt Fix weaknesses. 180. To dont To
do. (To dont gt To do ?) 181.
Leaders Do People. (Period.) 182. Leaders enjoy
leading. 183. Serious leadership training
Serious. 184. Priorities. Obvious. (Or
else.) 185. 5 Priorities 0 Priorities.
(3 Priorities 0 Priorities?) 186. People.
First. Last. Always. 187. It. Is. Always. The.
People. 188. Handshake. (Quantity. Quality.)
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189. Dont fold your hands in front of
your chest. Ever. (Never.)190. Simplicity.
Redundancy. Resilience.
Bloody-mindedness. Visible optimism.
(Success.)191. Employee Entrance Guest
Entrance.192. Put the customer SECOND.
(Thanks, Hal.)193. Flowers. (Or did I say that
before? No matter if I did.)194. Big
Mergers dont work. Small acquisitions
can/do workif you dont screw with their
energy.
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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) 198. 2011/2016 has
already happened. Find it.
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199. Kids know kids. Oldies know oldies.
Women know women. (Staff
accordingly.)200. Everybody is my customer.201.
Cosset vendors.202. I want to run a
Housekeeping department. (And you?)203.
The military doesnt 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
dont sleight.)207. Dont dumb down. Ever.
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208. NO LESS THAN EXCELLENCE.
EVER.209. EXCELLENCE. ALWAYS.
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Work In ProgressXXX. One size fits. One. Only.
(Evaluations. Period.)XXX. Teaching.
Individualized. Only. (6 billion people
6 billion learning trajectories.)
(Montessori.)XXX. First impression. Matters.
Shapes all that comes. Hard to overcome.
(Understatement.)XXX. Manage the hell out of
first impressions.XXX. Last impression. Matters.
Dominates memory. Hard to overcome.
(Understatement.)XXX. Manage the hell out of
last impressions.
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GE (more or less)The Sales122 122
Ridiculously Obvious Thoughts About Selling
StuffTom Peters/0402.2006
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This list was first prepared for GE Energy sales
marketing people in January. It started with a
half-dozen items, and grew like Topsy. Possibly,
given its origins, its a little tilted toward
complex, engineering-based sales. In any event,
it makes a perfect companion to The
Irreducibles209. This, too, is effectively a
list of irreducibles.Tom Peters
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1. Strategy overrated, simply doin stuff
underrated. See Kelleher and Bossidy We have a
strategic plan, its called doing things.Herb
Kelleher. 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. Action has its
own logicask Genghis Khan, Rommel, COL John
Boyd, U.S. Grant, Patton, W.T. Sherman. 2. What
are you personally great at? (Key word great.)
Play to strengths! Distinct or Extinct. You
should aim to be outrageously good/B.I.W. at a
niche area (or more). 3. Are you a personality,
a de facto brand in the industry? The Dr Phil
of ... 4. Opportunism (with a little forethought)
mostly wins. (Successful people are the ones who
are good at Plan B.) 5. Little starts can lead
to big wins. Most true winnersthink search
Googlestart as something small. Many big
dealsDisney Pixarcould have been done as
little-er deals if youd had the guts to jump
before the value became obvious.
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6. Non-obvious targets have great potential.
Among many other things, everybody goes after the
obvious ones. Also, the non-obvious are often
good Partners for technology experiments. 7. The
best relationships are often (usually?) not top
to top! (Often the best hungry division GMs
eager to make a mark.) 8. ITS RELATIONSHIPS,
STUPIDDEEP AND FROM MULTIPLE FUNCTIONS. 9. In
any public-sector business, you must become an
avid student of the politics, the incentives
and constraints, mostly non-economic, facing all
of the players. Politicians are usually
incredibly logicalif you (deeply!) understand
the matrix in which they exist. 10. Relationships
from within our firm are as importantoften more
importantas those from outsideagain broad is as
important as deep. Alliesavid supporters!within
and from non-obvious places may be more important
than relationships at the Client organization.
Goal an insanely unfair market share of
insiders time devoted to your projects!
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Everyone lives by selling something. Robert
Louis Stevenson
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11. Interesting outsiders are essential to
innovative proposal and sales teams. An
exciting sales-proposal team is as important as
a prestigious one. 12. Is the proposal-sales team
weird enoughweirdos come up with the most
interesting, game-changer ideas. Period. 13.
Lunch with at least one weirdo per month. (Goal
always on the prowl for interesting new
stuff.) 14. Gratuitous comment Lunches with good
friends are typically a waste of (professional)
time. 15. Dont short-change (time, money,
depth) the proposal process. Miss one tiny
nuance, one potential incentive that makes my
day for a key Client playerand watch the whole
gig be torpedoed. 16. Sticking with it
sometimes pays, sometimes notit takes a lot of
tries to forge the best path in. Sometimes you
never do, after a literal lifetime. (Ah,
life.) 17. WOMEN ARE SIMPLY BETTER AT
RELATIONSHIPSdont get hung upparticularly in
tech firmson what industries-countries women
cant do. (Or some such BS.)
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18. Work incessantly on your storymost
economic value springs from a good story (think
Perrier)! In sensitive public or quasi-public
negotiations, a compelling story is of immense
valuepolitics is about the tension among
competing stories. (If you dont believe me, ask
Karl Rove or James Carville.) (Storytelling is
the core of culture. Branded Nation The
Marketing of Megachurch, College Inc., and
Museumworld, James Twitchell) 19. Call this 18A,
or 18 repeat Become a first-rate Storyteller!
(A key perhaps the key to leadership is the
effective communication of a story.Howard
Gardner, Leading Minds An Anatomy of
Leadership) 20. Risk Assessment Risk Management
is more about stories than advanced mathi.e.,
brilliant scenario construction. 21. Good
listeners are good sales people. Period. 22.
Lousy listeners are lousy sales people. Period.
23. GREAT LISTENERS ARE GREAT SALES PEOPLE.
(Listening skills are hard to learn and subject
to immense effort in pursuit of Mastery. A
virtuoso listener is as rare as a virtuoso
cello player.) (If you dont listen, you dont
sell anything.Carolyn Marland/MD/Guardian
Group)
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24. Things that are funny to me (American) are
often-mostly not funny to those in other
cultures. (Humor is as fine-edged as it gets, and
rarely travels.) 25. You dont know Jack Squat
about other peoples culturesespecially if you
are a typically myopic American. (Like me.) 26.
Are you a great interviewer? Its a make or break
skill. (Think Barbara Walters skill at
extracting unwanted truths from pros in
persona-protection ... in front of 10s of
millions of people. 27. Are you a great (not
merely good) presenter? Mastering presentation
skills is a lifes workwith stupendous
payoff. 28. Work like hell on the Big 2
LISTENING/INTERVIEWING, PRESENTING. These are
the essence of sales lifeand usually
picked-up in an amateurish fashion. Mistake!
(Become a professional student of these two
areas, achieve Mastery.) 29. Are you good at
flowers? Think FLOWER POWER! (see Harvey
Mackays Mackay 66what you should know about a
Client e.g., birthdays anniversaries.) (My
flowers budget is out of control. Hooray for
me.) 30. You cant do it allbe clear at what you
are good at, bad at, indifferent at. Hubris
sucks.
109
If you dont listen, you dont sell anything.
Carolyn Marland/ Managing Director/ Guardian
Group
110
31. The point is not to prove yourself.
(Thats ego-talk.) Let the best person present to
the Clientperhaps a lower level geek.
(Control freaks get their just desserts in the
long haulor sooner.) 32. The numbers will more
or less take care of themselves over the long
haulif the relationship/s is/are solid gold. 33.
The Gold Standard in selling INDISPENSABLE to
the Client. No other goal is worthy. 34. Never
stop growing-broadening-deepening the
relationship. The key to indispensability is to
get the Client more and more and more and
then more imbedded in our web. Hence the
so-called selling process is only the first
step! 35. USE THE WORD WE CONSTANTLY
RELIGIOUSLY! (E.g. Wethe Client meare
going to change the world with this
service.) 36. Dont waste your time on
jerksitll rarely work out in the mid- to
long-term. 37. Genius is walking away from lousy
scores (deals)and accepting the attendant
heat. Big Business is the premier home to Big
Egos overpaying by a factor of 2 to 22 with
billion at stake. (Think Jerry Levin and AOL
Time Warner.)
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38. You havent a clue as to how this situation
will actually play outbe prepared to move fast
in a different direction. 39. Keep your word. 40.
KEEP YOUR WORD. 41. Underpromise (i.e., dont
over-promise i.e., cut yourself a little slack)
even if it costs you businesswinning is a
long-term affair. Over-promising is Sign 1 of a
lack of integrity. You will pay the piper. 42.
There is such a thing as a good lossif youve
tested something new and developed good
relationships. A half-dozen honorable, ingenious
losses over a two-year period can pave the way
for a Big Victory in a New Space in year 3. 43.
Its a competitive world out there. New,
innovative products are harder to sell than old
stand-bys. Nonetheless, you will be a long-term
star to the extent that you are willing to push
the harder-to-sell-at-the-moment Innovative
Products that cement long-term Client success
(Indispensability!) even if it means a s hit
this quarter. PART OF YOUR JOB TAKE CLIENTS ON
AN ADVENTURE THAT PUTS THEM AHEAD OF THE GAME
CALLED (GAMECHANGINGhopefully) COMPETITIVE
ADVANTAGE!
112
44. Think legacywhat the hell is all this
really about for you and the world? (Tell me,
what is it you plan to do with your one wild and
precious life? Mary Oliver) 45. THERE ARE NO
MODERATES IN THE HISTORY BOOKS! 46. Keep it
simple! (Damn it!) No matter how sophisticated
the product. If you cant explain it in a phrase,
a page, or to your 14-year-old ... you havent
got it right yet. 47. Know more than the next
guy. Homework pays. (of course its obviousbut
in my work it is too often honored in the
breach.) 48. Regardless of project size, winning
or losing invariably hinges on a raft of little
stuff. Little stuff is and always has been
everything!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!or, one mans
little stuff is another mans 7.6 Richter
deal-breaker. 49. In public settings in
particular, face saving is all. When something
changes, allow the other guy to come out looking
like a winner, especially if he has lost. (Even
if you must accept the egg on your facehe will
always remember you!) 50. Dont hold grudges. (It
is the ultimate in small mindednessand
incredibly wasteful and ineffective. Theres
always tomorrow.)
113
51. ITS ALWAYS THE POLITICSwee
private-sector deal or giant public sector deal.
(Every player, small or large, is angling for
something. Master the calculus of advantage.) 52.
To beat the turnover problem in key Client
posts amidst long negotiations, invest outrageous
amounts of time building a wide deep set of
relationships with mid-level ( lower!!)
plodding careerists. The invisible
careerists are the bedrock upon which repeated
success is built! (My Capitol Hill Axiom Its
the 24-year-old LA who in the end briefs the
Senator right before she goes to the Floor to
vote.) 53. Speaking of she Gender differences
are Enormousdealing with a woman and dealing
with a man are different kettles of fishyou must
become an A student of gender differences.
(E.g. Men are typically more interested in the
short-term score. Women are more interested in
the long-term consequences.) 54. LITTLE PEOPLE
OFTEN HAVE BIG FRIENDS. 55. This is not war, damn
it. All parties can win (or not lose, anyway).
And losing bidders can walk away from a deal with
increased respect for you and your team.
114
56. Never, ever dump on a competitorthe Tom
Watson IBM glory-days mantra. 57. Never forget
the Law of Cousins! In developing nations in
particular, power brokers at all levels are at
least cousins! Consideration for a second cousin
can pay off big time. 58. Speaking of favors,
jail sucks. 59. Work hard beats work smart.
(Mostly.) 60. REPEAT HE/SHE WHO HAS THE
MOST-BEST RELATIONSHIPS WINS. RELATIONSHIPS ARE
THE ESSENCE OF THE WORK OF THE SALESPERSON. THE
HARD ... AND LONG ... WORK OF THE SALESPERSON.
61. Mano v mano hardball is seldom the
answerend runs based and patient multi-level
relationship building via deeper-wider networks
win. 62. If the deal is wired from below, truly
wired, than the so-called big negotiations are
essentially irrelevant. 63. If every quarter is a
little better than the prior quarterthen you
are not taking any serious risks. 64. Phones
beat email.
115
Nothing is so contagious as enthusiasm. Samuel
Taylor Coleridge
116
65. A THREE-MINUTE CALL TODAY CAN AVOID A
GAME-LOSER OF A FIASCO NEXT MONTH. There was
always a time when a little thing could have been
addressed that headed off a subsequent big thing.
As to avoiding that call, didnt someone say,
Pride goeth before the fall? 66. Be
hyper-organized about relationship managementyou
are in the anthropology business. Study the great
pols! Brilliant NRM (network relationship
management) is not accidental! It is not
catch-as-catch can. (Football analogies are
cutebut deep political understanding pays the
private-school tuition.) 67. Obsess on ROIR
(Return On Investment In Relationships). 68.
THANK YOU NOTES Worlds highest-return
investment!! 69. The way to anyones heart Doing
a nice thing for their kid. (But, gawd, does this
take a gentle touch.) 70. Scoring off other
people is stupid. Winners are always in the
business of creating the maximum of
winnersamong adversaries at least as much as
among partners. 71. Your colleagues successes
are your successes. Period. (Trust me, my
greatest personal successfinancially as well as
artisticallyhas been creating a bigger pond in
which everyone wins, even if my market share is
down.)
117
72. Lend a helping hand, especially when you
dont have the time. E.g. share relationshipsthe
more you give away the more you get in return
(just like they say in church). 73. Listen up
It was much later that I realized Dads 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. (I.e., Respect is Cool.) 74. Mentoring
is a thrilland the practical payoff is enormous.
The best mentors have the whole world working its
buns off for them! 75. Hire for enthusiasm.
Promote for enthusiasm. Cherish enthusiasm.
REMOVE NON-ENTHUSIASTSTHEY ARE CANCERS.
(Nothing is so contagious as enthusiasm.Samuel
Taylor Coleridge. A man without a smiling face
must not open a shop.Chinese Proverb.) 76. ITS
ALWAYS YOUR PROBLEMyou sold it to them.
118
77. Its never over While there may be an
excellent service activity in your company, the
relationship belongs to You! Hence the
aftersales moments of truth are at least
asif not more than--important to the Continuing
Relationship as the sale transaction itself.
(I vote for more than.) Youll get your
biggest points with the Client for being an
effective after-the-fact go-between with your
company. 78. Dont get too hung up on systems
integrationfirst foremost, the individual
bits have got to work. 79. For Gods sake dont
over promise on systems integrationits nigh
on impossible to deliver. 80. On the other hand
winners clamber Up the Value-added Ladder, and
offer ever so much more than mere product. ALL
SUCCESSFUL SALES PEOPLE ARE IN THE SOLUTIONS
BUSINESSno matter how jargony that may sound.
119
81. Systems / Solutions selling means
grappling directly with culture change in
Client organizations. (The business of selling
is not just about matching viable solutions to
the customers that require them. Its equally
about managing the change process the customer
will need to go through to implement the solution
and achieve the value promised by the
solutionJeff Thull, The Prime Solution Close
the Value Gap, Increase Margins, and Win the
Complex Sale) 82. Shit happens. Thats what they
pay you for. 83. This is not a GE or Ben
Jerrys saleit is a Joe Jones/Jane Jones sale.
YOU ARE THE BRAND THE CLIENT BUYSespecially
over the long haul. 84. Duh You make money, the
company makes moneyon repeat business. 85.
Masteryes, youthe PR Game. Word of Mouth is
not accidental! You want Word of Mouth? Make it
happen! 86. GOAL 1 MAKE YOUR CLIENT A HEROYOU
ARE NOT THERE TO GET CREDIT. (Taking credit is
for egomaniacs. And losers.) 87. Decent
margins, over the mid- to long-term, are a
product of better relationships, not better
negotiating skill. (Mostly.)
120
You cant behave in a calm, rational manner.
Youve got to be out there on the lunatic
fringe. Jack Welch
121
88. In the immortal words of ex-GE Vice Chairman
Larry Bossidy, more or less, Realism rocks.
(Bullshit artist and great salesperson,
contrary to conventional wisdom, are Diametric
Opposites. Truthteller and Great Salesperson is
more like it.) 89. Be the first to tell the
Client bad news (e.g., slipped delivery) his
intelligence sources will tell him fastyou want
to be there first with your story and to enhance
your rep as Truthteller! 90. Work like hell to
get a reputation as a valued industry expert, to
become an industry resource. 91. Work the Trade
Association angle for all its worthit may take a
decade to pay offe.g., when you become an
officer or are on an important panel or testify
Before Congress. 92. PAY YOUR DUES IN THE CLIENT
ORG AND IN YOUR OWN ORG! 93. Its all bloody
tactics. 94. You must ... LOVE .... the product!
(Period.) 95. YOU MUST LOVE THE PRODUCT! 96.
Dont over-schedule. Running late is
inexcusable at any level of seniority it is the
ultimate mark of self-importance mixed with
contempt.
122
97. Women are better salespeople. (See
Addendum.) 98. Women alone understand Women. 99.
Actually, Women by and large understand Men
better than Men understand Men. 100.Women
purchasers buy Stories and recommendations. 101.
Women take longer to become Loyal purchasers, but
then stay Loyal. 102. Men buy Stats. 103. Men
decide fast, but are fickle. 104. Men Women are
VERY, VERY Different. 105. Women buy most
things. Consumer. Increasingly, professional
goods and services. 106. Womens Market is
Opportunity 1. 107. Boomers. Many, many. Lots
lots lots of . 108. Boomers-Geezers are
very different purchasers than those in other
categories.
123
109. It takes time to get to know people.
(DUH.) 110. The very idea of efficiency in
relationship development is ... STUPID. 111. MBWA
(still) rules. 112. Preparing the soil is the
first 98 percent. (Or more.) 113. WORK THE
PHONES! 114. Rule 5K-5M 5K miles for a 5-Minute
meeting often makes sense. (Yes, often.) (Even
with constrained travel budgets.) (Thanks,
super-agent Mark McCormack.) 115. Become a
student! Study great salespeople! (Including
Presidents.) (Natural is a little bit truebut
then Naturals are always the ones who study
hardeste.g., Jerry Rice.) 116. Become a
student! Yes, you can study Relationship
Building. So, study 117. Beware
complexifiers and complicators. (Truly smart
people ... Simplify things.)
124
118. The smartest guy in the room rarely
winsalas, he usually is aware hes the smartest
guy. (And neednt waste his time on that soft
relationship crap.) 119. Be kind. It works. 120.
Be especially kind when there are screw-ups.
(Theres plenty of time later to Play the Great
Accountability Game.) 121. Presidents never tire
of being treated like Presidents. 122. Luck
matters. So Good luck!
125
ADDENDUM Women Rock as Salespersons (From Item
98.) And the answers are? TAKE THIS QUICK
QUIZ Who manages more things at once? Who puts
more effort into their appearance? Who usually
takes care of the details? Who finds it easier
to meet new people? Who asks more questions in
a conversation? Who is a better listener?
Who has more interest in communication skills?
Who is more inclined to get involved? Who
encourages harmony and agreement? Who has
better intuition? Who works with a longer to
do list? Who enjoys a recap to the days
events? Who is better at keeping in touch with
others?Source Selling Is a Womans Game 15
Powerful Reasons Why Women Can Outsell Men, Nicki
Joy Susan Kane-Benson