Tom Peters

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Tom Peters X25EXCELLENCE. ALWAYS.State
Farm/Las Vegas/15May2007In Search of
Excellence 1982-2007
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2014,000,000,000,000- 25,000,000,000,000
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Slides at tompeters.com
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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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Punchline
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The last word There is no last word.
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Punchline
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Whoops The last word There is a last word(s).
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R.O.I.R.Return On Investment In
Relationships
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EXCELLENCE. CIRCA 1982.
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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
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EXCELLENCE.Hard is soft.Soft is hard.
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Hard Is SoftSoft Is Hard
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Hard Is Soft (s)Soft Is Hard (people)
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EXCELLENCE. ASPIRATION.2006.
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Why in the World did you go to Siberia?
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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!
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enterprises that Matter change the game
offer solutions experiences that surprise ,
amaze, and transform perceptions of whats
possible and stick like super-glue in
customers minds. such offerings are
brilliantly conceived and flawlessly delivered
by unconventional, creative, hyper-committed,
energetic talent from within outside the
organization. Tom PetersE.g. Apple, Whole
Foods, Cirque du Soleil, Starbucks, Wegmans,
London Drugs, Griffin Hospital/Planetree
Alliance, John Laing Homes, RE/MAX, Sewell Autos,
Jims Group, The Met/Big Picture, Virgin,
Commerce Bank, Google, Basement Systems Inc.,
Ford (circa 1917), IBM (circa 1970), Wannamakers
(circa 1880)
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EXCELLENCE. ASPIRATION.14 MAY 2007.EUGENE
OR.
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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
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EXCELLENCE. ASPIRATION.
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Do one thing every day that scares you.
Eleanor Roosevelt
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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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EXCELLENCE. INNOVATE. OR. DIE.
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InnoTacs
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try it. Try it. Try it. Try it. Try it. Try it.
Try it. Try it. Screw it up. Try it. Try it. Try
it. Try it. Try it. Try it. Try it. Screw it up.
it. Try it. Try it. try it. Try it. Screw it up.
Try it. Try it. Try it.
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do things.
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We have a strategic plan. Its called doing
things. Herb Kelleher
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drill.
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This is so simple it sounds stupid, but it is
amazing how few oil people really understand that
you only find oil if you drill wells. You may
think youre finding it when youre drawing maps
and studying logs, but you have to drill.
Source The Hunters, by John Masters, Canadian
O G wildcatter
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try things.
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Experiment fearlesslySource BW0821.06, Type
A Organization Strategies/ How to Hit a Moving
TargetTactic 1
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Screw. things.Up.
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Sams Secret 1!
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try.Miss.try.
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READY.FIRE!AIM.Ross Perot (vs Aim! Aim!
Aim! /EDS vs GM/1985)
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No try. No deal.
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You miss 100 of the shots you never take.
Wayne Gretzky
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Women as innovation force!
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94 of loans to womenMicrolending
Banker to the poor Grameen Bank Muhammad
Yunus 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner
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Women Principal Change Agents/ Health Finance
(Yunus.94, Yunus94)
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Up, Up, Up, Up the Value-added Ladder.
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LEAVE IT TO BEAVER.
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Trapper lt20 per beaver pelt.Source WSJ
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wdcp/Wildlife Damage-control Professional
150 to remove problem beaver 750-1,000
for flood-control piping so that beavers can
stay. Source WSJ
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EXCELLENCE.VALUE-ADDED LADDER I. SOLVE IT.
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55B
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Huge Customer Satisfaction versus Customer
Success
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He had done nothing to sell me on his business,
yet he had given me the most powerful sales pitch
of my life. Because his sole concern had been my
welfare and the success of my business. Jim
Penman, on learning how to sell (What Will They
Franchise Next? The Story of Jim's Group)
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The Value-added Ladder/ OPPORTUNITY-SEEKING
Customer Success/ Gamechanging
SolutionsServicesGoods Raw Materials
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EXCELLENCE.VALUE-ADDED LADDER II. 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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798
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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
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Up, Up, Up, Up the Value-added Ladder.
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The Value-added Ladder/ MEMORABLE
CONNECTIONSpellbinding Experiences
Gamechanging SolutionsServicesGoods Raw
Materials
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Commerce Bank From Service to Experience7X.
730A-800P. F12A.93-03/10 yr annual return
CB 29 WM 17 HD 16. Mkt Cap 48 p.a.
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The Commerce Bank Modelcost cutting is a death
spiral.Source Fans! Not customers. How
Commerce Bank Created a Super-growth Business in
a No-growth Industry, Vernon Hill Bob Andelman
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Our whole story is growing revenue. Vernon
Hills (Top-line driven standard is bottom-line
driven by cost cutting)
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The Commerce Bank Model over-invest in our
people, over-invest in our facilities.Source
Fans! Not customers. How Commerce Bank Created a
Super-growth Business in a No-growth Industry,
Vernon Hill Bob Andelman
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The Commerce Bank Modelwe want them in our
stores.Source Fans! Not customers. How
Commerce Bank Created a Super-growth Business in
a No-growth Industry, Vernon Hill Bob Andelman
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The Commerce Bank Model we dont accept the
80/20 theory. We believe every customer has
value, that you cant tell which one is the
high-value customer over time, and that that
philosophy degrades the brand.Source Fans!
Not customers. How Commerce Bank Created a
Super-growth Business in a No-growth Industry,
Vernon Hill Bob Andelman
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With its carefully conceived mix of colors and
textures, aromas and music, Starbucks is more
indicative of our era than the iMac. It is to the
Age of Aesthetics what McDonalds was to the Age
of Convenience or Ford was to the Age of Mass
Productionthe touchstone success story, the
exemplar of the aesthetic imperative. Every
Starbucks store is carefully designed to enhance
the quality of everything the customers see,
touch, hear, smell or taste, writes CEO Howard
Schultz. -Virginia Postrel, The Substance of
Style How the Rise of AestheticValue Is
Remaking Commerce, Culture and Consciousness
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EXCELLENCE.VALUE-ADDED LADDER III. DREAM
IT.
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Furniture vs. DreamsWe do not sell furniture
at Domain. We sell dreams. This is accomplished
by addressing the half-formed needs in our
customers heads. By uncovering these needs, we,
in essence, fill in the blanks. We convert
needs into dreams. Sales are the inevitable
result. Judy George, Domain Home Fashions
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Up, Up, Up, Up the Value-added Ladder.
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The Value-added Ladder/ EMOTIONDreams Come
TrueSpellbinding Experiences Gamechanging
SolutionsServicesGoods Raw Materials
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Storytelling is the core of culture.
Branded Nation The Marketing of Megachurch,
College Inc., and Museumworld, James Twitchell
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Best story wins!
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NEW MARKETS.
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women.BOOMERS.GEEZERS.
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women.BOOMERS.GEEZERS.
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Forget China, India and the Internet Economic
Growth Is Driven by Women. Headline, Economist,
April 15, 2006, Leader, page 14
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Womens TrifectaBuy WealthLead
ECLIPSE OF MALES (Old/Retire Young/Poorly
educated)
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Not Just America Boys Falling Seven Years
Behind Girls at GCSE Level headline, Weekly
Telegraph, UK, 10.25.06
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Girls are the new boys.Source The Daily
Mail, 0425.2007, Why todays women want a girl
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Women are the majority market Fara
Warner/The Power of the Purse
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The most significant variable in every sales
situation is the gender of the buyer, and more
importantly, how the salesperson communicates to
the buyers gender. Jeffery Tobias Halter,
Selling to Men, Selling to Women
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The Perfect Answer
Jill and Jack buy slacks in black
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(No Transcript)
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Women dont buy brands. They join
them.EVEolution
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2.6 vs. 21
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Selling to men The TRANSACTION ModelSelling to
Women The RELATIONAL ModelSource Selling
to Men, Selling to Women, Jeffery Tobias Halter
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10.6
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10 UNASSAILABLE REASONS WOMEN
RULE Women make all the financial
decisions.Women control all the wealth. Women
substantially outlive men. Women start most of
the new businesses. Womens work force
participation rates have soared
worldwide. Women are closing in on same pay for
same job. Women are penetrating senior
ranks rapidly even if the pace is slow for
the corner office per se. Womens
leadership strengths are exceptionally well
aligned with new organizational effectiveness
value-added imperatives. Women are better
salespersons than men. Women buy almost
everythingcommercial as well as consumer
goods. So what exactly is the point of men?
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One thing is certain Womens rise to power,
which is linked to the increase in wealth per
capita, is happening in all domains and at all
levels of society. Women are no longer content to
provide efficient labor or to be consumers with
rising budgets and more autonomy to spend.
This is just the beginning. The phenomenon will
only grow as girls prove to be more successful
than boys in the school system. For a number of
observers, we have already entered the age of
womenomics, the economy as thought out and
practiced by a woman. Aude Zieseniss de Thuin,
Financial Times, 10.03.2006
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women.BOOMERS.GEEZERS.
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2014,000,000,000,000- 25,000,000,000,000
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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! People turning 50 today have
more than half of their adult life ahead of
them. Bill Novelli, 50 Igniting a Revolution
to Reinvent America
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7/13
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BOOMERS.GEEZERS.MONEY.ALL.NOW.
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We are the Aussies Kiwis Americans
Canadians. We are the Western Europeans
Japanese. We are the fastest growing, the
biggest, the wealthiest, the boldest, the most
(yes) ambitious, the most experimental
exploratory, the most different, the most
indulgent, the most difficult demanding, the
most service experience obsessed, the most
vigorous, (the least vigorous,) the most health
conscious, the most female, the most
profoundly important commercial market in the
history of the worldand we will be the Center of
your universe for the next twenty-five years.
We have arrived!
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(No Transcript)
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See me. Watch me. respect me. Suck up to
me. Serve me. Love me. Love my longevity. Love
my m-o-n-e-y.
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Elizabeth Cady Stanton (more or less) (circa
0331.2007)
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See her. Watch her. respect her. Be
obsequious to her. Serve her. Love her. Love her
long longevity. Love her m-o-n-e-y. (which is
damn near a-l-l the mon-.)
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Boomers-Geezers-Womens TrifectaBuy/all
Wealth/all time left/ lots
Eclipse of males/retire-die
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Pause.Little Stuff.
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Thank You!
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FLOWERPOWER
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Courtesies of a small and trivial character are
the ones which strike deepest in the grateful and
appreciating heart. Henry Clay
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The Jim Jeffords oversight!
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THE PROBLEM IS RARELY/NEVER THE PROBLEM. THE
RESPONSE TO THE PROBLEM INVARIABLY ENDS UP BEING
THE REAL PROBLEM. RMN, M Stewart, WJC,
Scooter Libby

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Relationships (of all varieties) THERE ONCE WAS
A TIME WHEN A THREE-MINUTE PHONE CALL WOULD
HAVE AVOIDED SETTING OFF THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL THAT
RESULTED IN A COMPLETE RUPTURE.

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RESPECT
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• 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

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The deepest human need is the need to be
appreciated.William James
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THE ONE THING YOU NEED TO KNOW (Marcus
Buckingham)
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The one thing you need to know about sustained
individual success Discover what you dont like
doing and stop doing it. Marcus
Buckingham, The One Thing You Need to Know
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Little Stuff (the end)(almost)
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EXCELLENCE. BEDROCK.LEADERSHIP.12 Ps. Tom
Peters/04.18.2007
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PURPOSE.PASSION.Potential.Presence.Personal.
pissed off. Playful.PERSISTENCE.PEOPLE.
Peculiar.Potent.Positive.
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PURPOSE.PASSION.Potential.Presence.Personal.
pissed off. Playful.PERSISTENCE.PEOPLE.
Peculiar.Potent.Positive.
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A leader is a dealer in hope. Napoleon
(TPs writing room pics)
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PURPOSE.PASSION.Potential.Presence.Personal.
pissed off. Playful.PERSISTENCE.PEOPLE.
Peculiar.Potent.Positive.
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Nothing is so contagious as enthusiasm.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
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PURPOSE.PASSION.Potential.Presence.Personal.
pissed off. Playful.PERSISTENCE.PEOPLE.
Peculiar.Potent.Positive.
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The role of the Director is to create a space
where the actors and actresses can become more
than theyve ever been before, more than theyve
dreamed of being. Robert Altman, Oscar
acceptance speech
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PURPOSE.PASSION.Potential.Presence.Personal.
pissed off. Playful.PERSISTENCE.PEOPLE.
Potent.Positive.
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PURPOSE.PASSION.Potential.Presence.Personal.
pissed off. Playful.PERSISTENCE.PEOPLE.
Peculiar.Potent.Positive.
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You must be the change you wish to see in the
world.Gandhi
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Questions What do others think of you? Are you
sure? What do you think of you? Are you
sure? What is your impact on others? Are you
sure? What is your impact on others? Are you
sure? What is your impact on others? Are you
sure? What are the little things you
(perhaps unconsciously) do that cause people to
shrivelor blossom? Are you sure? What do you
want? Are you sure? Are you aware of your
changing moods? Are you sure? How fragile is
your ego? Are you sure? Do you have a true
confidant? Are you sure? Do you perform brief
or not-so-brief self-assessments? Do you talk
too much? Are you sure? Do you know how to
listen? Are you sure? Do you listen? Are you
sure? What is your style of hashing things
out? Are you perceived as (a) arrogant, (b)
abrasive (c) attentive, (d) genuinely interested
in people, (e) etc? Are you sure? Are you
flexible? Have you changed your mind about
anything important in a while? Are you
comfortable-uncomfortable with folks on the front
line? Do you think youre in touch with the
pulse of things around here? Are You Sure?
Are you too emotional/intuitive? Are you too
unemotional/rational? Do you spend much time
with people who are new to you? Do you think
questions like this are so much BS?
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PURPOSE.PASSION.Potential.Presence.Personal.
pissed off. Playful.PERSISTENCE.PEOPLE.
Peculiar.Potent.Positive.
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Pissed Off As in Im pissed off and Im
not gonna take it any more Innovation Stems
from Irritation (Re-imagining Results from
Rage)
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InnovationGet mad. Start Doing something about
it. Now.
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PURPOSE.PASSION.Potential.Presence.Personal.
pissed off. Playful.PERSISTENCE.PEOPLE.
Peculiar.Potent.Positive.
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READY.FIRE!AIM.Ross Perot (vs Aim! Aim!
Aim! /EDS vs GM/1985)
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PURPOSE.PASSION.Potential.Presence.Personal.
pissed off. Playful.PERSISTENCE.PEOPLE.
Peculiar.Potent.Positive.
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This adolescent incident of getting from
point A to point B is notable not only because
it underlines Grants fearless horsemanship and
his determination, but also it is the first known
example of a very important peculiarity of his
character Grant had an extreme, almost phobic
dislike of turning back and retracing his steps.
If he set out for somewhere, he would get there
somehow, whatever the difficulties that lay in
his way. This idiosyncrasy would turn out to be
one the factors that made him such a formidable
general. Grant would always, always press
onturning back was not an option for him.
Michael Korda, Ulysses Grant
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Relentless One of my superstitions had always
been when I started to go anywhere or to do
anything, not to turn back , or stop, until the
thing intended was accomplished. Grant
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PURPOSE.PASSION.Potential.Presence.Personal.
pissed off. Playful.PERSISTENCE.PEOPLE.
Peculiar.Potent.Positive.
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Leaders do people. Period. Anon.
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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, Organizing Genius
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PARCs Bob Taylor Connoisseur of Talent
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lt CAPEXgt People!
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Brand Talent.
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Our MissionTo develop and manage talentto
apply that talent,throughout the world, for the
benefit of clientsto do so in partnership to
do so with profit.WPP
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Leaders SERVE people. Period. Anon.
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PURPOSE.PASSION.Potential.Presence.Personal.
pissed off. Playful.PERSISTENCE.PEOPLE.
Peculiar.Potent.Positive.
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Normal o for 800
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PURPOSE.PASSION.Potential.Presence.Personal.
pissed off. Playful.PERSISTENCE.PEOPLE.
Peculiar.Potent.Positive.
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The greatest dangerfor most of usis not that
our aim istoo highand we miss it,but that it
istoo lowand we reach it.Michelangelo
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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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PURPOSE.PASSION.Potential.Presence.Personal.
pissed off. Playful.PERSISTENCE.PEOPLE.
Peculiar.Potent.Positive.
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On NELSON other admirals more frightened of
losing than anxious to win
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PURPOSE.PASSION.Potential.Presence.Personal.
pissed off. Playful.PERSISTENCE.PEOPLE.
Peculiar.Potent.Positive.
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Excellence can be obtained if you ... care
more than others think is wise ... risk more
than others think is safe ... dream more than
others think is practical ... expect
more than others think is
possible. Source Anon. (Posted _at_ tompeters.com
by K.Sriram, November 27, 2006 117 AM)
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"Life is not a journey to the grave with the
intention of arriving safely in one pretty and
well preserved piece, but to skid across the line
broadside, thoroughly used up, worn out, leaking
oil, shouting GERONIMO! Bill McKenna,
professional motorcycle racer (Cycle magazine
02.1982)
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Ger-on-i-mo!