Comments

Rich - maybe expand on the meaning of the "dozen" - I'm unsure that the intent is clear - thanks.

Posted by Sean at June 10, 2005 1:46 PM

A dozen = 12........

Posted by Aaron at June 10, 2005 1:56 PM

#3 is an excellent one and should help eliminate some frustrations. One I would add comes would be Assume Good Intentions of Others Until Proven Otherwise. I think that's a fundamental principle for successful communities or teams. #1 seems like it would be more powerful if it had a timeframe attached to it as a basic parameter.

Posted by Jeffrey at June 10, 2005 3:39 PM

"4. Always tell the neighbours before you have the party!
5. No passengers.
6. "Tell me if I'm talking a load of old cobblers.""

There's clarity in those "rules"?

Posted by Sean at June 10, 2005 4:08 PM

I think somebody is trying to please everyone and in the process may be creating a whole lot of needless work in the process.

#1 "repond to all..." You gotta be kidding me. I guess it depends upon how much free time you have... or are you really doing entrepreneurial work or not?

I say... respond to the right requests... otherwise people will take advantage of the system...creating more work for others.

#7 try again with this one...

I say...deal effectively with emotions... not respond to all... that is ridiculous... you guys running a day-care... ever heard of enabling?

Finally...take ownership and move it to the top...right away it would eliminate 80% of needless #1 and #7.

#2 would be take risks...not chances...

Think about it-

Michael Pittman

Posted by michael pittman at June 10, 2005 5:06 PM

I guess you had to be at the Tom Peters Company meeting in January to understand #4. The others? Clear to me.

Posted by cathy at June 10, 2005 7:02 PM

Dear Richard:

For those among us who are not British, would you please elaborate on:

5. No passengers.
6. "Tell me if I'm talking a load of old cobblers.""

Thanks,

DSL

Posted by daniel at June 11, 2005 6:43 AM

For the non-Brits amongst you, "cobblers" is the same as "bollocks". Clear?!

A "passenger" is someone who isn't adding anything to the project in hand but who rides along anyway, usually in search of reflected glory. (We could get Noel writing some more on politics here..!)

Nice rules. Regarding, "Respond to all..." Well, a response could be a polite 3 liner declining the matter in hand - a polite rebuttal is generally better than silence. I'd ammend rule 11 to make it: "Show up on time..."

Posted by Mark JF at June 11, 2005 9:33 AM

Clear as Boston chowder. For PSfchowderheads.

Posted by sean at June 11, 2005 1:07 PM

Oooooohh! Do I sense a little British envy there, Mark?! Ah, sure it's just a little online free-time debating we're engaged in here, not Cromwell's Vengeance!

As for rules, how very un-British of you to stop at 11. I was expecting at least 433!

For you Americans out there, "bollocks" is the Irish word for balls but is used in the same context as bs. I'm being insulted in my own language : ) However, since we're being so literal and I've been getting dictionary definitions left, right and center, the dictionary definition for "bollocks" is as follows:

"make a mess of, destroy or ruin."

Therefore I think we can all come to the conclusion that Mark is talking a load of old cobblers and it's my duty under rule 6 to tell him so!

Posted by Noel Guinane at June 12, 2005 2:26 AM

Noel - under Rule 8 I've got to say, "Great reply!" Maybe there should be a rule 13: "No politics when it's of the counter-productive, time-wasting, petty office variety"?

Posted by Mark JF at June 12, 2005 5:03 AM

Definitely!

Posted by Noel Guinane at June 12, 2005 7:37 AM

Excellent. If your people focus on one of those things everyday, sure you´ll get changes. I like it Richard.

Posted by felix gerena at June 12, 2005 3:35 PM

One more: No jealousy when one of the other team members achieves success.

Posted by Tino Buntic at June 12, 2005 6:57 PM

Fabulous list Richard - I agree with them all

A few more from me:

1 There is no such thing as a bad idea
2 Encourage diversity and difference - recruit eccentrics
3 Welcome complaints
4 Celebrate failure
5 Never allow anyone in the team to say 'we have aleady tried that'

Happy Monday from England to all!

Posted by Trevor Gay at June 13, 2005 5:21 AM

So who is doing this on a grand scale? Who among us will stand up and say I am doing this PSFing and here is the backup to prove it? Yes, we can all tell stories where at one time or another we listened to the customer, derailed politics, or responded with the speed of a stallion to a problem. But that’s not at a grand scale, that’s not a business model, and certainly its not a differentiator of the million of people doing the same thing.

You have to laugh when you bring 10 groups of parents into a room and 9 of the 10 will say that their kids are gifted. They can’t all be gifted and we all are not level 10 PSF’s. So, who beyond Tom Peters is taking this concept to the next level. I want to visit your online representation and learn from you…

Posted by RTodd at June 13, 2005 7:21 AM

Good question RTodd - that is the nub of it!

WHO ACTUALLY DOES IT???

Chances are most good nimble tiny organisations (single handers and up to five employees) do most of the 12 very well

A few medium size organisations will do some of the 12

A few large organisations will try some of the 12 in parts of the institution

Huge organisations will probably mutter under their breath ... 'what the hell are you talking about?' - 'why should we change?'

In my experience massive organisations see the customer and teams within the institution as nothing more than an inconvenience to the boredom they wish to perpetuate.

Phew that feels better

Posted by Trevor Gay at June 13, 2005 8:00 AM

Phew! Thanks for the debate. The nuts for me is in RTodd's and Trevor Gay's comments at the end of the list. Who the hell is doing this PSF stuff? We know it makes sense. Tom says "PSF is everything!" But who is taking it seriously in their work? If the answer is still "hardly anyone" then there's a big opportunity here, isn't there?

Posted by Richard King at June 13, 2005 8:49 AM

Just tuning in today !!

I think Richard has put together a good cull.

Trevor sez "'what the hell are you talking about?' - 'why should we change?' "

"I find the great things in this world is not so much where we stand, as in the direction we are going:To reach the port of heaven, we must sail sometimes with the wind and sometimes agisnt it- but we must sail, and not drift , nor lie at anchor. " - Oliver (who??)

RTodd: The folks who are doing it right are the ones who are small. Most folks are looking for the big PSF thing in a big corporation ..try looking at some of the small one.. eg. EnglishCut ..its just a google click away !!

Posted by /pd at June 14, 2005 12:27 PM

Thanks for the translation from the British, everybody.

Nobody took on #5, no passengers. It's the same as #22 from Tom's PSF50: Pitch in ... or bail out! I.e.: Everybody supports everybody else. All are willing to jump in and help out when the going gets tough for someone else on the team.

Tom's working on a PSF PPT right now. Look for it soon.

Re: relevance of the PSF idea: I am a PSF. Every time Tom asks me to do something, I deliver it a little better than he asked for it. I always try to throw in a little extra, something he might have wanted, even if he didn't know he wanted it. That way, he keeps "hiring" me for the next project, and the one after that. I think everybody in these times must see themselves as a PSF. It is how anybody gets work or keeps the job they have.

Posted by cathy at June 14, 2005 4:28 PM

I have two observations on my challenge from two days ago. First, is that none of us that spend time on this site stood up and made the claim that we are a PSF in our field. Either we are a very humble bunch or something else is happening.

My second observation is to respond to /pd; thanks for providing an example for us. Assuming that /pd hasn’t ever actually visited the englishcut store or purchased a product then his claim of PSF status is based on two things: TP’s endorsement from several months ago or /pd’s perception derived from the online presence of the tailor. What this tells me is that I don’t spend near enough time updating and managing my online environment to support my brand. How about you? Do you spend several hours a week managing your online presence? Do you review you site statistics in order to measure your progress? Is your site user friendly? Are you blogging and house your own blog?

Posted by RTodd at June 15, 2005 5:57 AM