EXCELLENCE.

ALWAYS.Tom Peters/The Luminary Series/

Phoenix/26April2006

Bonus

Happy 50!

26April2006

Malcom McLean

Containerization

LessonsNeed-driven

A thousand “parents”Messy

Evolutionary“Trivial”

Experimentation

trial & ERRORLoooong time for systemic adaptation/s

(many innovations) (bill of lading, standard time)

Not …

“Plan-driven”The product of “Strategic Thinking/Planning”

The product of “focus groups”

Get mad. Do something

about it. Now.

Manhole Cover

Madness and More ….

Chicagoland’s

Mystery Disappearances …

New Economy?!

Sergey + Larry >

Harvard/370

“If you don’t like change,

you’re going to like irrelevance even less.” —General Eric

Shinseki, Chief of Staff. U. S. Army

“It is not the strongest of the

species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most

responsive to change.” —Charles Darwin

“In Tom’s world, it’s always better to try a

swan dive and deliver a

colossal belly flop than to step timidly off the board while holding your nose.” —Fast Company

/October2003

EXCELLENCE.

ALWAYS.Tom Peters/The Luminary

Series/Phoenix/26April2006LONG

Slides at …

tompeters.com

Bonus

The Irreducible20

9

A frustrated participant at a seminar for investment bankers in Mauritius listened impatiently to my explanation of differences of opinion among me, Mike Porter,

Gary Hamel, Jim Collins, etc. Finally, he’d had enough. “What, if anything,” he asked,

“do you believe ‘for sure’?” I mumbled something, but his query started rumbling

around in my mind. Three days later, wandering on a Sunday in London, the idea of “the irreducibles” occurred to

me—and I started jotting down notes on stuff I do indeed believe “for sure.” Before I knew it, a few days later, the list had grown to 209 items. Hence “The

Irreducible209” that follows.

Tom Peters

EXCELLENCE.

ALWAYS.

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

People.Product.

Execution.Enthusiasm.Relentless.Re-invent.Excellence.

EXCELLENCE.

1982.

Excellence1982: The Bedrock “Eight Basics”

1. A Bias for Action2. Close to the Customer3. Autonomy and Entrepreneurship4. Productivity Through People5. Hands On, Value-Driven6. Stick to the Knitting7. Simple Form, Lean Staff8. Simultaneous Loose-Tight Properties”

What is In Search of Excellence all about:

People. Emotion. Engagement. Exuberance. Action-Execution. Empowerment. Independence. Initiative. Imagination. Great

Stories. Incredible Adventures. Trust. Caring. Fun. Joy.

Customer-centrism. Profit. Growth. “Brand You.” “Dramatic Differences.” Experiences that Make You “Gasp.” Excellence.

Always.

ExIn*: 1982-2002/Forbes.com

DJIA: $10,000 yields $85,500 EI: $10,000 yields $140,050

*Excellence Index /Basket of 32 publicly traded stocks

EXCELLENCE.

Synonyms

PurityTranscendence

VirtueEleganceMajesty

Antonyms

Mediocrity

EXCELLENCE.

ALWAYS.

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

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.

Business* ** (*at its best): An emotional, vital, innovative, joyful,

creative, entrepreneurial endeavor that elicits

maximum concerted human potential in the

wholehearted service of others.***

**Excellence. Always.***Employees, Customers, Suppliers, Communities, Owners, Temporary partners

EXCELLENCE.

ALWAYS.

Summary:

WallopWal*Mart16*

*Or: Why it’s so absurdly easy to beat a GIANT Company

The “Small Guys” Guide: Wallop Wal*Mart16

*Niche-aimed. (Never, ever “all things for all people,” a “mini-Wal*Mart.)

*Never attack the monsters head on! (Instead steal niche business and lukewarm customers.)

*“Dramatically Different” (La Difference ... within our

community, our industry regionally, etc … is as obvious as the end of one’s nose!) (THIS IS WHERE MOST MIDGETS COME UP SHORT.)

*Compete on value/experience/intimacy, not price. (You ain’t gonna beat the behemoths on cost-price in 9.99 out of 10 cases.)

*Emotional bond with Clients, Vendors. (BEAT THE BIGGIES ON EMOTION/CONNECTION!!)

$798

$415/SqFt/Wal*Mart$798/SqFt/Whole

Foods

EXCELLENCE?

ALWAYS?

This is not a “mature

category.”

This is an “undistinguishe

d category.”

Franchise Lost!

TP: “How many of you [600] really

crave a new Chevy?”

NYC/IIR/061205

EXCELLENCE.

ALWAYS.

7X. 730A-800P.

F12A.**’93-’03/10 yr annual return: CB: 29%; WM: 17%;

HD: 16%. Mkt Cap: 48% p.a.

“It’s simple, really, Tom. Hire for s,

and, above all, promote for s.”

—Starbucks middle manager/field

#1/100

“Best Companies to

Work for”/2005

Wegmans

Donnelly’s Weatherstrip

Service

Weymouth MA

Bonus.

?????

Weenie of the year,

2006 …

????????

6/44

P&G

The Irreducible20

9

73. Exercise.74. Paint. (Leader. Portraits of Excellence.)

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

“Storytelling

is the core of culture.”

—Branded Nation: The Marketing of Megachurch, College Inc., and Museumworld, James Twitchell

EXCELLENCE.

ALWAYS.

$55B

EXCELLENCE?

ALWAYS?

“ ‘Disintermediation’ is overrated. Those who fear disintermediation should in fact be afraid of

irrelevance—disintermediation is just another way

of saying that … you’ve become

irrelevant to your

customers.”

—John Battelle/Point/Advertising Age/07.05

Chicago:

HRMAC

“support function” / “cost

center”/ “overhead”

or …

Are you … “Rock Stars of the

Age of Talent”

DD$21M

A review of Jack and Suzy Welch’s Winning claims there are but two key differentiators that set GE “culture” apart from the herd:

First: Separating financial forecasting and performance measurement. Performance measurement based, as it usually is, on budgeting leads to an epidemic of gaming the system. GE’s performance measurement is divorced from budgeting—and instead reflects how you do relative to your past performance and relative to competitors’ performance; ie it’s about how you actually do in the context of what happened in the real world, not as compared to a gamed-abstract plan developed last year.

Second: Putting HR on a par with finance and marketing.

The Irreducible20

9

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.

EXCELLENCE.

ALWAYS.

“support function” / “cost

center”/ “overhead”

or …

Answer:

PSF

“Purchasing Officer” Thrust #1: Cost (at All Costs*) Minimization

Professional? Or/to: Full Partner-Leader in Lifetime

Value-added Maximization?

(*Lopez: “Arguably ‘Villain #1’ in GM tragedy”/Anon VSE-Spain)

HCare CIO: “Technology Executive” (workin’ in a hospital)

Or/to: Full-scale, Accountable (life or death)

Member-Partner of XYZ Hospital’s Senior Healing-Services Team (who happens to be a techie)

Welcome to the Homer Simpson Hospital

a/k/a

The Killing Fields

HCare CIO: “Technology Executive” (workin’ in a hospital)

Or/to: Full-scale, Accountable (life or death)

Member-Partner of XYZ Hospital’s Senior Healing-Services Team (who happens to be a techie)

EXCELLENCE.

ALWAYS.

EXCELLENCE.

ALWAYS.

Better By Design: A National Strategy

NZ = Design

Excellence

The Irreducible20

9

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.)

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 you’re done. (Done. Sooner than you think.)

EXCELLENCE.

ALWAYS.

Brand =

Talent.

Organizing Genius / Warren Bennis and Patricia Ward Biederman

“Groups become great only when everyone in them, leaders and

members alike, is free to do his or her absolute best.”

“The best thing a leader can do for a

Great Group is to allow its members to discover their

greatness.”

Leadership’s Mt Everest/Mt Excellence

“free to do his or her absolute best” …

“allow its members to discover their

greatness.”

“We are a ‘Life

Success’ Company’

Dave Liniger, founder, RE/MAX

Brand You Nation

“You are the storyteller of your own life, and you

can create your own legend or not.” —Isabel Allende

Health:Century21.Job # 1

(HC21.J1)

Tom Peters/0426.2006

Quality!Prevention!Wellness!

Chronic care!Childhood obesity!

H5N1!

Quality!Prevention!Wellness!

Chronic care!Childhood obesity!

H5N1!

22mm3838ss

“When I climb Mount Rainier I face less

risk of death than I’ll face on the

operating table.” —Don Berwick, “Six Keys to Safer Hospitals: A Set of Simple Precautions Could Prevent 100,000 Needless Deaths Every Year,” Newsweek (1212.2005)

The Ultimate “Culture Change”

“Healthcare” vs.

“Health”

Quality (100K+ deaths)

“Evidence/Outcomes-based” medicineIS/IT-in-health(care) revolution

Wellness/PreventionHealth“care” to Health “culture” transformation

Wash your hands!Home-care (as the population rapidly ages)

Med-school re-orientation “Public health” emphasisChildhood Obesity

Mind-boggling (15 years?) social-moral-technological impact of life sciences (“the Singularity”?)

H5N1/WMDs/Environmental degradationRisk assessment (private, public)

Market opportunityPublic vs/+ Private responsibilities & partnerships

Africa! (Unconscionable failure to attend to/staggering Health consequences for all)

Re-imagine Healthcare: Reportcard2006

Evidence-based/Outcomes-based ……………….………...... DPay-for-performance ………………………………………….… DIS/IT (general) ………………………………..………………..…. C-Use of information (for decisionmaking-measurement) .… C-EMR (Electronic Medical Records) ……………………..….... C-/DCPOE (Computerized Physician Order Entry) ……….……. C-/DQuality/100K+ unnecessary deaths …………..……… D-(kind)Acute care to chronic care-home care shift ………….….... D/D-Acute-care to Prevention/Wellness Obsession…..… D/D-Patient-centric/Client-centric………………………………….. DDocs’ acceptance of “evidence-based” …………............… D/D-“Revolutionary”-intensity Incentives re evidence …..……. D-Childhood obesity epidemic …………………………….. D-H5N1 preparedness ………………………………….…….. D

Corporate focus on Prevention/Wellness…………..…..…..... C-/DIndividual focus on Prevention/Wellness…………………..… DIndividuals’ health education/self-management …….…...…. C-

Workforce acceptance of self-responsibility ….…….…...….. C-Workforce transition to “Brand You” attitude……..……..….. C-/D

3 March 2006/Tom Peters

“If God spoke to me by saying, ‘Mark, you’re down to your last three words: What would you want to say to

your fellow humans that would make the most positive impact?’ It would be a close call between Love Thy

Neighbor and Wash Your Hands . A close third would be Move,

Move, Move.” —Mark Pettus, M.D., The Savvy Patient

“The most important thing you can do to keep

from getting sick is to wash your hands. ” —CDC/National Center for Infectious Diseases

The Irreducible20

9

188. Handshake. (Quantity. Quality.)189. Don’t fold your hands in front of your chest. Ever. (Never.)190. Simplicity. Redundancy. Resilience. Bloody-mindedness. Visible optimism. (Success.) (Repeat.)

191. Employee Entrance = Guest Entrance.192. Put the customer SECOND. (Thanks, Hal.)193. Flowers. (Or did I say that before? No matter if I did.)194. Big Mergers don’t work. Small acquisitions can/do work—if you don’t screw with their energy.

EXCELLENCE.

ALWAYS.

Insanely Great Language!

“Insanely Great.”

—Steve Jobs

Radically Thrilling Language!

“Radically Thrilling.”

—BMW Z4 (ad)

EXCELLENCE.

ALWAYS.

“It’s always

showtime.”

—David D’Alessandro, Career Warfare

EXCELLENCE.

ALWAYS.

The Irreducible20

9

A frustrated participant at a seminar for investment bankers in Mauritius listened impatiently to my

explanation of differences of opinion among me, Mike Porter, Gary Hamel, Jim Collins, etc. Finally, he’d had

enough. “What, if anything,” he asked, “do you believe ‘for

sure’?” I mumbled something, but his query started rumbling around in my mind. Three days later,

wandering on a Sunday in London, the idea of “the irreducibles” occurred to

me—and I started jotting down notes on stuff I do indeed believe “for sure.” Before I knew it, a few days

later, the list had grown to 209 items. Hence “The Irreducible209” that follows.

Tom Peters

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

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

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. Wegman’s.” (No excuses. “Mere” groceries.)43. Less than your best. Cheating.

44. Brand You. (No alt.)45. Self-sufficiency. (Biggest LT turn-on.)46. In the moment.47. The moment wins.48. Tomorrow = Never. 49. Action 1, Plan 0.1.50. “Execution” can be a “system.”51. Realism.52. Own up. Move on.53. Accountability.54. Work hard > Work smart. (Mostly.)55. Feedback. Necessary. Fast. (R.F.A. in “RFA times.”)56. Customers. Listen. Lead. (Paradox.)57. “On stage.” Always. (GW, FDR, RG = Supreme actors.)

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

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

86. You = Calendar. (Calendar. Never. Lies.)87. Laugh.88. Handshake. (Quantity. Quality.)89. Don’t fold your hands in front of your

chest. Ever. (Never.)90. Grace. (“Works” in biz.)91. Weird. Wins. (Weird times.)92. Crazy times. Crazy orgs.93. Internet. All.94. Women. Boomers-Geezers. Market. All.95. Passion. (Repeat. So what?)96. Energy. (Repeat. So what?)97. Hustle. (Repeat. So what?)98. Enthusiasm. (Repeat. So what?)99. Exuberance. (Repeat. So what?)100. Smile. (Repeat. So what?)101. Care. (Repeat. So what?)

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.)

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.

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

138. Don’t “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.

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.)

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.)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 you’re done. (Done. Sooner than you think.)

177. Today. Now. My Project. Am. Is. I. Period.178. “Beautiful” systems. (Good biz phrase. Not oxymoron.)179. Build on strengths > Fix weaknesses.180. “To don’t” = “To do.” (“To don’t” > “To do” ?)181. Leaders “Do” People. (Period.)182. Leaders enjoy leading.183. Serious leadership training = Serious.184. Priorities. Obvious. (Or else.)185. 5 “Priorities” = 0 Priorities. (3 “Priorities” = 0 Priorities?)186. People. First. Last. Always.187. It. Is. Always. The. People.

188. Handshake. (Quantity. Quality.)189. Don’t fold your hands in front of your chest. Ever. (Never.)190. Simplicity. Redundancy. Resilience. Bloody-mindedness. Visible optimism. (Success.) (Repeat.)191. Employee Entrance = Guest Entrance.192. Put the customer SECOND. (Thanks, Hal.)193. Flowers. (Or did I say that before? No matter if I did.)194. Big Mergers don’t work. Small acquisitions can/do work—if you don’t screw with their energy.

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.

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 doesn’t follow the “military model.” (Initiative = Excellence.)204. No such thing as “going to absurd lengths” to serve the Customer. (HSM & Lefties.)205. Forget the “customer.” All = “Clients.”206. It takes decades to get over “sleights.” (So don’t sleight.)207. Don’t “dumb down.” Ever.

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

EXCELLENCE.

ALWAYS.