dispatches from the new world of work

Happy Thanksgiving!

Probably won't blog tomorrow, what with 20 family members—and 8 dogs—arriving today and T.Day at Grey Meadow Farm in VT. Much as I love London, especially decked out for Christmas, it'll be fantastic to get Home after three weeks on the road. Though I must say that I do appreciate the genuine hospitality and graciousness I'm met with all around the world ... and of course throughout the U.S.A. I fully acknowledge cultural differences, at home as well as far away; on the other hand, I've long observed that people react pretty much the same way everywhere if you are curious, courteous, attentive and fully engaged.

That last little bit reminds me of one of my favorite quotes, from Harvard prof Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot's marvelous book Respect:

"It was much later that I realized Dad's secret. He gained respect by giving it. He talked and listened to a fourth-grade kid 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."

A great Thanksgiving message, eh?

Tom Peters posted this on 11/24/04.

Comments

Tom: Have a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving - and thanks for the energy and life that you have put into this blog. It truly is a gift for those of us who thrive on wow, imagination, and innovation!

Posted by walter white at November 24, 2004 10:12 AM

Thanks for everything!!! Here gazing out the office window at the Capitol dome ... high on a 2nd wife and 3rd Diet Rite white grape soft drink (Splenda) ...... Happy Snappy Thanksgiving!!!

Next week - ultra cool ALL THINGS ENVIRONMENTAL 16 person 3-day "top level" national meeting on strategy to conserve lands of Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, Parks Service, Fish & Wildlife, Wilderness, et. al!!!

Posted by Freeman at November 24, 2004 10:39 AM

happy thanks giving Tom. You caught me before I embarked on my particular journey to dent the Universe and so your wisdom is all I know. I am thankful for it everyday.

Posted by fredd at November 24, 2004 11:50 AM

happy thanks giving Tom. You caught me before I embarked on my particular journey to dent the Universe and so your wisdom is all I know. I am thankful for it everyday.

Posted by fredd at November 24, 2004 11:52 AM

My message to you all..."kind words can be short and easy to speak, bu their echos are truly endless" -Mother Theresa

have a wonderfull and blessed Thanksgiving All

Posted by /pd at November 24, 2004 1:27 PM

A happy and peaceful Thanksgiving to you, Tom and your most excellent staff and colleagues. You all were an important part of making this a fruitful year, highlighted by the beginnings of this blog. You have created your own virtual "universe" of thoughtful and creative minds by connecting all of us with you. Celebrate!

Posted by Michele at November 24, 2004 6:03 PM

Tom, you were the first business â€œGuruâ€ I encountered - in fact, I didnâ€™t even KNOW there was such thing as a business Guru before I saw one of your videos (the Ingersoll-Rand get-out-there-and-ask-them-what-they-want case) at a training course here in Dublin, Ireland, ten or more years ago. Before that I thought people just went to work!!

Well, after one taste of THAT approach to work there was no going back. I think the essence of the Tom Peters bug is to get people to think strategically FOR THEMSELVES. For me, this has meant ten years of rewarding dissatisfaction - always looking for the next stepping stone. I have your bench-marks for behaviour embedded in my brain, (in work, you ARE your projects!) which always make sure I donâ€™t get complacent.

Thanks Tom, and have a peaceful (and recuperative after three weeks on the road!!) Thanksgiving.

David Egan

Posted by David Egan at November 25, 2004 11:08 AM

Hey - I have an on-topic comment... rather than simply leaping in with gushing twaddle. (How do 'attentive and fully engaged' figure in that mix?)

>hospitality and graciousness... gained respect by giving it

Ties-in with that Dalai Lama thing about 'leadership by service'... a great 247365 point from which we can all benefit - rather than 'let's all feel good for a day or two around the holiday'.

Posted by g at November 26, 2004 9:30 AM

g:an't this the same as the servant leadership ??

Posted by /pd at November 26, 2004 2:03 PM

and now for something completely (not) different...

Encore Women Roar!

- right here in VT. Power vs. power.

Picture = 1000 words...see http://www.shieldus.com/

Posted by ET Lapp at November 26, 2004 5:46 PM

>g:an't this the same as the servant leadership ?? viagra 100mg pfizer

Perhaps. And maybe not. The stuff to which you refer seems to come from the head and has a price tag - the Buddhist way is 'done by wandering around' and shouldn't come with a tariff.

Posted by g at November 26, 2004 6:51 PM