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Tom Peters Articles

Written by: Tom Peters

The Art of Making People Feel Welcome - Click To Read Article
Jan Gunnarsson and Olle Blohm, in Hostmanship: The Art of Making People Feel Welcome, write:

TP's "CEOs are Idiots20" - Click To Read Article
My list just got another entry:

I'm Sorry! - Click To Read Article
It's rude to call people "idiots." It's rude to call CEOs "idiots." (I am assuming here that "CEOs" are "people.") It's really rude to call people "idiots" when you are a Guest. It's really, really rude to call people "idiots" when you are a Guest in another country. It's really, really, really rude to call CEOs "idiots" when you are a Guest in another country.

I Hate MBAs/Redux - Click To Read Article
Just a thought: Who, in their Right Mind would grow up desiring to be a "Master" of "Administration"? (E.g.: "I can file faster than you can! And prove it! After all, I'm a Master of ADMINISTRATION!")

And ... - Click To Read Article
P & G buys Gillette. $57 billion. I only have one, small question?

The EXCELLENCE 25: Master the Basics - Click To Read Article
Tripped over this list-and, frankly, liked it. (After a few edits.) Here it is-FYI.

FYI... - Click To Read Article
Great quotes I found while looking for a quote I never found:

The Seven-step Path to Sustaining Success - Click To Read Article
You take care of the people.

The Wisdom of David Ogilvy - Click To Read Article
At an event in Manila sponsored by Ogilvy & Mather, I received as a gift D.O.: The unpublished papers of David Ogilvy-a selection of his writings from the files of his partners. I am a longtime fan of Ogilvy, and found it to be a sterling gift. Here are a few of the gems I unearthed:

Getting It Wrong - Click To Read Article
So often we use familiar quotes that leave out "the next couple of lines." And the meaning is distorted beyond recognition in the process. Consider "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblins of little minds," from Ralph Waldo Emerson. The meaning is obviously that changing your mind is no sin; and that the wise among us change when circumstances change.

Martin Luther King, Jr. - Click To Read Article
The Annapolis I grew up in in the late 1940s and 1950s was very "Old South" in its sentiments, a long way from the "D.C. bedroom community" it is today.

Bests - Click To Read Article
A few "bests" picks for 2010.

Order Should Not Be Taken For Granted ... - Click To Read Article
This, from David Brooks in yesterday's New York Times, is, to my mind, brilliant beyond measure-especially the 1st of the two paragraphs I reproduce here:

Complaining with Style! - Click To Read Article
A friend recently went to Sante Fe and had a less than scintillating experience at the Inn and Spa at Loretto. I thought the online review he posted at tripadvisor.com was masterful. (I may copy some of his refined language the next time I have a crappy experience.)

What Matters? - Click To Read Article
What follows was drafted as I prepared for my seminar in Zurich on 03 October.

The Practice of Excellence. Limits Thereto. Or not? - Click To Read Article
As you doubtless know, one of my signature phrases is... EXCELLENCE. Always.

And She Called on Robin ... - Click To Read Article
In Intuition, a stunning novel about the politics of science by Allegra Goodman, "Marion," see below, is the head of a department where some powerful research is being conducted.

Happy Birthday U.S.A. And 3 Throaty Cheers! - Click To Read Article
There is a great deal of soul-searching going on in the United States as our 234th birthday arrives. Though nowhere near the soul-searching that loomed in Independence Hall 234 years ago today.

The One-third Rule: And You? - Click To Read Article
I had established the one-third rule: For every three hours you spend at work you have to spend at least one hour outside the office on professional development.

Never Look Back! Never Look Back? - Click To Read Article
I will not tell you what got me thinking about this. And a lot of other data will be suppressed as well ...

The Heart of Business Strategy: 48 Things That Matter - Click To Read Article
We usually think of business strategy as some sort of aspirational market positioning statement. Doubtless that's part of it. But I believe that the number one "strategic strength" is excellence in execution and systemic relationships (i.e., with everyone we come in contact with). Hence I offer the following 48 pieces of advice for creating a winning strategy that is inherently sustainable:

The 19Es of Excellence - Click To Read Article
Today's joyous commemoration of the birth of Dr Martin Luther King Jr and tomorrow's unique show of peaceful American renewal and celebration of limitless American possibility got me thinking about Excellence—no surprise. Out of which came these "19 Es of Excellence."

100 Ways to Succeed #39 - Click To Read Article
Blog As If Your Life Depended On It!

100 Ways to Succeed #58 - Click To Read Article
PUT ART IN YOUR LIFE!

100 Ways to Succeed #85 - Click To Read Article
R.O.C(I): "They" All Work For Me!

100 Ways to Succeed #109 - Click To Read Article
The Clean Team!

100 Ways to Succeed #120 - Click To Read Article
Pleasant. Caring. Engaged.

100 Ways to Succeed #59 - Click To Read Article
INSANELY GREAT?

100 Ways to Succeed #96 - Click To Read Article
Make a Public "Insane Effort" Upon Occasion; Consider It to Be an "Extreme Weapon" in your Success Arsenal

We Have Met the Enemy ... - Click To Read Article
There are other coffee chains. And damn fine independents. The coffee is good at Dunkin' Donuts ... and McDonald's for that matter. (My next door neighbor will go to the mat defending DD.) Still, Starbucks is sailing in pretty blue ocean to this day. So why is its stock in the tank, why did founder Howard Schultz decide last week to can the CEO and re-take the job himself?

Beyond Excellence: The "Berserk Standard" - Click To Read Article
Amazon has changed the world. eBay has changed the world. Craigslist has changed the world—put about a zillion nails in the coffins of newspapers, among many other Richter 8.0+ things. Craigslist has more traffic than Amazon or eBay. (Though a private company, Craigslist has a projected market capitalization in the billions.)

The Entrepreneurial Spirit - Click To Read Article
Fred Karl, designer of the Viking range and owner of that company said, "I was a weird kid—I began designing towns when I was 12." We all know that "weird" can be good, if we don't judge others through our lens ... Being weird increases creativity if we allow it to flourish. Fred Karl, founder of Viking Range, let his weirdness flourish abundantly.

More on Indifference from Tom - Click To Read Article
Darci, from her Comment: "... and pursue my passion. It was a leap of faith and there was no safety net to catch me if I failed."

Scary! - Click To Read Article
Scariest start of an article award 2010, from yesterday's New York Times:

Mea Culpa - Click To Read Article
I was in Cannes this time last week, giving a speech to Adecco's top couple of hundred folks. I did not fall in love with Cannes (wretched excess too much, especially in these times). Uncharacteristically, I did "fall in love" with Adecco.

Hmmm! - Click To Read Article
The Sunday New York Times had a special section called "Education Life." One article, "Career U.," describes some of the changes we might expect in university education. For example, the president of the University of Michigan was surprised (to put it mildly) when she learned five years ago that 10% of incoming freshmen, some 600, had started their own businesses while in high school. She and her colleagues responded by creating about 100 entrepreneurship courses. The article tickles our imagination by describing a few of the more inventive new master's programs:

False Dichotomy! (If Anything, Backwards!) - Click To Read Article
False Dichotomy! (If Anything, Backwards!) I was asked to contribute "a paragraph" to a writer who was doing a magazine article on "management" "versus" "leadership." Herewith my contribution:

The Mess Will Save Us. Eventually. - Click To Read Article
We tend to think of the jobs economy in terms of jobs lost at the likes of GM and jobs added at the likes of Google. And thinking in such a manner is misleading, and downright dangerous.

The Little BIG Things - Click To Read Article
On July 28, 2004, I made my first Blogpost at tompeters.com. The topic was then-Illinois State Senator Barack Obama's speech to the 2004 Democratic Convention in Boston.

Psychology By Any Other Name - Click To Read Article
I love the book Nudge-the content's pretty good, the title even better! But I hate-literally hate-the title of the genre. Namely, "behavioral economics."

Wrong. 30 Times Over. - Click To Read Article
While on holiday in New Zealand ... I got to thinking. As time goes by, "one" (me) tends to complexify one's approach to almost everything. The innocence (and clarity) of "days gone by" is blurred. I know that I am "guilty as charged." (By me.) And I think most of the other "gurus" (horrid term, but it's become part of the biz language) have also gotten away from reality. Hence, I began taking notes for a book-like "thing" that is not, in fact, a book. I titled it:

Wish I Could Bring Myself to Giggle (or At Least Smile) in Public - Click To Read Article
There's nothing to smile about in the world financial markets. The pain is spreading by the nano-second. But it's hard not to giggle at least a little.

What's Culture Got To Do with It? - Click To Read Article
A beautifully crafted strategy can fail when the employees in various divisions within an organization clash. Logically, we think that strategy should drive behavior, but, in reality, it's the culture—underlying norms, values, belief systems—that dictates how effectively people work together. Employees' behavior has direct impact on the bottom line, costs, revenue streams, level of productivity, customer satisfaction, even the brand—every aspect of the business is affected. If strategy and culture are not aligned, the culture may support behaviors that conflict with what has to get done—and actually block execution of the strategy.

What the Hell! - Click To Read Article
Found this on a greeting card in a Boston paper store. Frankly, it doesn't get much better than this:

Wake Up and Smell the Coffee - Click To Read Article
Just when I was beginning to wonder whether another great experience was going to surrender to the short-term gains of operational excellence, Howard Schultz gave me faith.

User Friendly Award! (Where You'd Least Expect It) - Click To Read Article
At 6 p.m. Monday, I was out brushcutting. I apparently woke up a yellowjacket neighborhood buried in the mud. In short order, I was stung perhaps a dozen times—one YJ got stuck under my shirt. Luckily, I didn't go into anaphylactic shock. But, in a few hours the reaction was body-wide. I went to an ER the next morning after a truly crappy night. The doc said I should have come at the time—because I had some wheezing, which meant I'd moved in the direction of impeded breathing.

The Tale of the Toothache - Click To Read Article
"Think, then act" is the Mantra of "the strategy boys." I've long been an "act, then think" guy.

"The Ultimate Question"-Answered - Click To Read Article
Our Amalfi Coast hike was overseen by Country Walkers. I'm busy writing my lengthy assessment. Views great, group great—chief guide awful, substance and style,* and I'm being generous, and hotels average to awful (Capri, view of stone wall—no shit) and food—in Italy!!!!—mediocre.

The Train Keeps on Rolling ... - Click To Read Article
There's the "imminent" threat to American economic pre-eminence from China and India. There was a similar, "on our last legs" threat 25 years ago from Japan. And economist and former MIT biz-school dean Lester Thurow claimed a decade or so ago that Europe would eclipse us in the years (or was it weeks?) to come.

The "Stuff" Is the Fluff, The Flower Is the Power - Click To Read Article
I see there's a lotta talk about Posts with flowers pics! Fact is, The Great Peony Post was just an innocent (I thought) riff about missing home, pretty flowers, and Mid-summer's. But if you wanna fight ...

"The Word" According To Marshall - Click To Read Article
Marshall Goldsmith is widely considered to be the premier executive coach, more or less the inventor of the genre. We have been together on several programs, I like him immensely—and I think he does great work.

The Decent Thing to Do Is the Smart Thing to Do - Click To Read Article
Going back 25 years to 1982 and In Search of Excellence, Bob Waterman and I were simply interested in what made for excellent corporate performance.

The "2Bs": Buffett. Basics. - Click To Read Article
The subprime mess gets nastier by the day. I've seen recent estimates of the fiscal damage alone exceeding $1 trillion. (Not enough pain to reduce Wall Street bonuses, mind you—a record $39 billion in performance-based handouts expected.)

Sorry About the Understatement! - Click To Read Article
In a recent Post, I recalled a story from Maryann Keller's Rude Awakening: The Rise, Fall, and Struggle for Recovery of General Motors about the extreme deference paid to GM middle managers. I did it from memory, but ordered the book anyway. I got the stocked refrigerator and the torn-out hotel room wall part right (mostly—it was soft drinks, not beer), but had forgotten the story that preceded it—which made my little vignette small change by comparison. An exec reported this to Ms Keller about a not-atypical incident that marked his more junior days as a GM staffer:

Strategic Competence! Damn It! - Click To Read Article
In What Got You Here Won't Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful, Marshall Goldsmith proclaims: "I regard apologizing as the most magical, healing, restorative gesture human beings can make. It is the centerpiece of my work with executives who want to get better."

Speaking of Design: How to Spend $50,000 - Click To Read Article
If I had $50,000 to spend on the design of a new home—or smallish professional office building, here's how I'd spend it:If I had $50,000 to spend on the design of a new home—or smallish professional office building, here's how I'd spend it:

Repeat! - Click To Read Article
I used this quote last week in a post. Since then, I've shared it with dozens of people in professional and personal settings. Almost no one has failed to say, "Email it to me—I want to circulate it." Hence my decision to re-inflict you with it:

Push or Pull - Click To Read Article
I have been thinking about the various blogs on leadership lately, and it strikes me that there is a difference of opinion amongst our community on whether employee performance is best improved by pushing or pulling. I believe the best leaders incorporate both into their style.

Read It Anyway! - Click To Read Article
I really dislike the recently released Jacked Up: The Inside Story of How Jack Welch Talked GE into Becoming the World's Greatest Company. I put it down several times. I threw it down several times.

Quote of the Day - Click To Read Article
"If I had said 'yes' to all the projects I turned down and 'no' to all the ones I took, it would have worked out about the same."—David Picker, movie studio exec, quoted in William Goldman's classic Adventures in the Screen Trade (cited by Caltech physics professor and author Leonard Mlodinow in The Drunkard's Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives)

Perceived Effort - Click To Read Article
I'm not going. Nonetheless ...

Place Those Small Bets, Quickly! - Click To Read Article
Nothing goes so well with that first cup of coffee as having your biases confirmed! In yesterday's Wall Street Journal ("In Search of Growth Leaders"), University of Virginia/Darden Graduate School of Business Prof Sean Carr, et al., lay out a growth model. There are, more or less, two flavors of companies:

Percy's Gang of 125: How Curved Is the Earth??? It's A Small World, After All ??? - Click To Read Article
Percy Barnevik was Europe's exemplar businessman for much of the '80s and '90s. He woke up a sleepy ABB Asea Brown Boveri big time—and made about as many notable management inventions as Jack Welch along the way. I sang his praises at length in my 1992 book, Liberation Management. In particular, Barnevik's ABB was peerless when it came to internationalization and managing very far-flung ventures. Along the way, as I recall, he surprised many of us by asserting that among his cast of hundreds of thousands, with managers numbering in the tens of thousands, he really only needed about 125 true internationalists!

Now Don't You Worry Your Little Self... - Click To Read Article
The economist Alan Blinder calls himself “a free trader down to my toes.” But what’s that goop seeping between his toes these days?

"My Summer Vacation" - Click To Read Article
As you know, I haven't been Posting a lot in the last few weeks. True, I've had seminars in Kenya and Brazil, but my calendar is mainly filled with blanks.

Mud Season. Not. - Click To Read Article
It's (still) "mud season" in Vermont, courtesy this winter's abundance of snow. Cars and trucks, in particular, look like flying mud balls.

On the Attack! - Click To Read Article
At an Inc. magazine forum last week, I found myself on the attack. The target? Me. I was engaging in a moderated dialogue with Seth Godin—not only do I have the utmost respect for him, but we are in agreement a frightening percentage of the time. It seems at times that we use the same adjectives and adverbs to make the same points. Hence, the surprise at some areas of disagreement.

My Kinda Guy! - Click To Read Article
Several Sunday papers reviewed Neil Sheehan's A Fiery Peace in a Cold War: Bernard Schriever and the Ultimate Weapon. It's a "one guy against the world" story of the first order.

Life Is Good - Click To Read Article
Richard Branson has a big ego, which can be off-putting. (My one contact with him was unpleasant; it gave new meaning to the word "condescending.")

Lick-worthy! - Click To Read Article
Steve Jobs offers us this definition of terrific design: "You know a design is good when you want to lick it." (From Design: Intelligence Made Visible, Stephen Bayley & Terence Conran)

In Summary... - Click To Read Article
I've been working on various forms of my Master Presentation, pretty much fulltime, for the last couple of weeks. A Post yesterday started a rather vigorous discussion about success "rules" that withstand the test of time. Virtually nothing—you, me, the corporation, the nation—withstands the test of time. And one of the principal reasons is hardening of the philosophical arteries—increasingly rigid interpretations of yesterday's "success" rules.

How to Stay Innovative? - Click To Read Article
Sara Blakely, a local Atlantan, started the company Spanx out of her apartment. After several failed attempts to find the right undergarment to hide imperfections and panty lines when wearing white pants with open-toed shoes, she decided to cut the feet off her pantyhose. This worked beautifully! So, she wondered, why doesn't this already exist?

"How to Spend It" - Click To Read Article
I will stack my practical credentials as "avowed capitalist pig" up to anybody's; say, Steve Forbes. Among other things, how could one have lived in Palo Alto-Silicon Valley for three decades without "turning rabid capitalist," even if one had not been before? Likewise, today, capitalism unleashed in India and China is, I am quite certain, good for the world's prospects for some modicum of peace—and is enhancing the welfare of additional millions by the month.

Go, Coach! - Click To Read Article
I must admit that, though a fanatic football fan, I find that most coaches' books leave me cold. Not so the recent offering from legendary Michigan coach Bo Schembechler: Bo's Lasting Lessons (with John Bacon).

EXCELLENCE? Always? Yes! - Click To Read Article
(As Far as I'm Concerned.) (And I'm right.) (Damn it.)

Efficient Toast - Click To Read Article
There is an interesting article in this month's Harvard Business Review called "Breaking the Trade-off Between Efficiency and Service." The basic idea is that service businesses, unlike manufacturers, have the unfortunate challenge that customers come barging in and interfere with their operations, introducing significant variability. Most businesses think they face a black and white choice:—accommodate the variability, or reduce it. The author, Frances Frei, says there are better ways to address this challenge.

Deloitte! Again! - Click To Read Article
Deloitte & Touche just took honors as the #1 place for college grads to go to work. And D&T has long won my honors for its successful, Herculean efforts to retain top women performers who had been leaving in droves—see Deloitte's WIAR/Women's Initiative Annual Report (PDF).

DAMN IT! - Click To Read Article
WHAT PURE CRAP! WALL STREET JOURNAL. NOVEMBER 9-11: "WHY WOMEN REFRAIN FROM PURSUING MBAs." ONE EXCEPTION TO "NORMAL" [#s HEAVY] APPROACH TO MBA IS UK's LANCASTER UNIVERSITY MANAGEMENT SCHOOL. LANCASTER FOCUSES ON "SOFT SKILLS" THAT "PLAY TO WOMEN'S STRENGTHS." TOTAL, PURE, UNMITIGATED CRAP!

"Dealing with Recessionary Times" - Click To Read Article
I am constantly asked for "strategies/'secrets' for surviving the recession." I try to appear wise and informed—and parade original, sophisticated thoughts. But if you want to know what's going through my head, read the list below:

Design! - Click To Read Article
(1) Nice touch! Award-winning chef Sissy Hicks has opened a wonderful take-out, 3-meal-a-day place 5 miles from my home!! (My wife and I haven't cooked for weeks. Or, rather, I haven't cooked in the three weeks since Susan broke her leg and I "took over"!)

Cheeky Rebelliousness - Click To Read Article
Walter Isaacson, on Albert Einstein, from his new book, Einstein: His Life and Universe: "His slow development was combined with a cheeky rebelliousness toward authority, which led one schoolmaster to send him packing and another to declare that he would never amount to much."

Caught In the Act! - Click To Read Article
I have worked relentlessly to keep this Blog apolitical. For at least two reasons: (1) We are about enterprise management. (With a few VT farm pictures thrown in from time to time.) (2) When a Blog "turns political," then intemperate remarks become the norm—I have spent the better part of the last two months beating up people of every stripe over intemperate language used concerning our presidential candidates.

"Best Business Book 2008" (Hands Down) - Click To Read Article
If business's true bottom line is people & relationships (What else???), then I offer my, hands down, 2008 Biz Book of the Year:

Believe It or Not: An Original Take on Leadership - Click To Read Article
Dov Frohman is a pioneer in the semiconductor industry. Among (many) other things, he started Intel Israel and was largely responsible for the growth of Israel's potent high-tech sector. With Robert Howard, he has written a truly original book on leadership, Leadership the Hard Way: Why Leadership Can't Be Taught—and How You Can Learn It Anyway.

Ask 'em! - Click To Read Article
Don't remember where I was among the many stops during my just completed mega-trip. But I do remember the exchange, more or less. It went like this:

Another Career Option Bites the Dust - Click To Read Article
I guess I can never be a Supreme Court justice.

A Few "Talent Lessons" from the Arts - Click To Read Article
Been meaning to publish this for a while. If we are in an Age of Talent, then we can turn to guidance from arenas where the Big Idea of Talent has been standard fare for eons. Namely, the likes of the arts. I put together a single PPT slide called "A Few 'Talent Lessons' from the Arts." You'll find the content (pretty self-explanatory) below—and then another tiny Special Presentation. To wit

Acccccccelerated Learning: The [Remarkable] Power of Screwing Up - Click To Read Article
I had a chance to preview Dan Coyle's forthcoming The Talent Code: Unlocking the Secret of Skill in Sports, Art, Music, Math, and Just About Anything. In short, I thought the book was a marvel—explaining pockets of amazing talent, such as Brazil and football-soccer, and, based in part on new findings in neuroscience, turning conventional ideas about teaching and learning on their head. I'll have more to say when The Talent Code appears, and Dan, I hope, will consent to becoming a Cool Friend. In a rather trivial (however, not to me at the time) way I had a chance to practice parts of what Dan discovered—and was stunned at the efficacy of his findings in this small case.

AHA Redux: A Matter of Leadership! - Click To Read Article
I began my remarks to the American Hospital Association last week with an outline of the situation as I saw it. I called the outline "Principal Management & Leadership (as opposed to Policy) Issues."

100 Ways to Succeed #91 - Click To Read Article
The Rule of Realism

100 Ways to Succeed #82 - Click To Read Article
100 Ways to Succeed #82: Of Service!

100 Ways to Succeed #81 - Click To Read Article
100 Ways to Succeed #81:P>C

100 Ways to Succeed #84 - Click To Read Article
If The Envelope Doesn't Fit, Forget It! (So Check on the Envelopes.)

100 Ways to Succeed #83 - Click To Read Article
Don't Forget Why You're Here!

100 Ways to Succeed #89 - Click To Read Article
The Ultimate Question ...

100 Ways to Succeed #90 - Click To Read Article
For the Sheer Hell of It!

100 Ways to Succeed #75 - Click To Read Article
Your 2-Cents' Worth

100 Ways to Succeed #80 - Click To Read Article
The 1% "No brainer"

100 Ways to Succeed #92 - Click To Read Article
Got Your Dreamer Quota Aboard?

100 Ways to Succeed #52 - Click To Read Article
Work Like a Dog at Your Writing!

100 Ways to Succeed #78 - Click To Read Article
Speak Not Ill of Thine Competitors

100 Ways to Succeed #95 - Click To Read Article
NON-LINEARITY RULES. NON-LINEARITY = LIFE. IF SUCCESS [OR FAILURE] IS DETERMINED ALMOST ENTIRELY BY THE UNPREDICTABLE [LITERALLY], THEN WHAT?

100 (Or So) Ways to Succeed #102 - Click To Read Article
Purposefully Practice Listening (And "Hearing")

100 Ways to Succeed #77 - Click To Read Article
In The Moment

100 Ways to Succeed #73 - Click To Read Article
"Ms/Mr Ambassador"

100 Ways to Succeed #93 - Click To Read Article
Bottom Line

100 Ways to Succeed #79 - Click To Read Article
Kindness. Always.

100 Ways to Succeed #104 - Click To Read Article
Shut Up!

100 Ways to Succeed #111 - Click To Read Article
Get Out And About!





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