dispatches from the new world of work

Opportunities Unlimited!

Spoke last Friday to a couple of thousand tanning salon owners. Ninety percent "Mom & Pops." I love such groups! (KFC and Hilton property owners recently. Community bankers coming soon.) That is, "my" salon owners' futures are ... entirely in their own hands! "Dramatic Difference" is theirs for the taking! (That was the title of my talk.) "Experiences" that invariably "Wow!" "Excellence" as a daily Aspiration & Practice! Staff that are Nurtured & Challenged and who thus aim to Grow & Flourish ... and serve the customer about 1,000 miles past "exceeds expectations."

Hard work? No! Insanely hard work! And Energy! And Passion! And Daring! And Will! And Imagination! (And a little bit of luck doesn't hurt.) A lack of money is rarely the issue. Sure you'd like a premier address or an uncle who owns a bank (or at least robbed one); but the dough is probably yours if you first create a gem-of-local-renown in your current "B" space.

Middle managers from "prestigious companies"? [Motto: "Nice ideas, Tom, but here are the 17 immutable reasons why we can't do any of 'em!"] Or 1,000 owner-entrepreneurs? [Motto: "I gotta start on some of this stuff today! Right now! You damn well better be right!"] Give me the self-directed "owners" ... it ain't a close race!

Tom Peters posted this on 10/13/05.

Comments

All comes back to success is largely about: A. showing up; b. showing up with 'tude. As for the middle managers in Corporate America and all those excuses - I always found it much easier to beg for forgiveness than ask permission. (I also consistently avoided reading the pol & procedure tomes...) If you're producing results, you can get away with an incredible amount of box burning and rule breaking (and be very well compensated).

And, "Brand You" got me through some dark days when I was still in a highly toxic big company. So, check it out folks, if you're still wielding a hoe on Mahoghany Row - it's a classic.

Posted by Mary Schmidt at October 13, 2005 10:00 AM

The Rolling Stones are mega mom and pop - Mick is mom & Keith is pop - 40+ years of pop culture.

Posted by Sean at October 13, 2005 12:28 PM

I agree Mary - I spent 35 years in National Health Service management here in the UK till a year ago tomorrow. NHS managers produce policies for everything you can possibly think of - and then some! - only sad people ever read them in my view. I can truthfully say that in 35 years I never once read a policy from beginning to end. My best advice to anyone starting off in National Health Service management is to ignore all policies and make yours up as you go along. As regards middle managers Tom - the negative ones always find reasons not to do stuff. The positive ones leave. A year into my own business it feels totally liberating and totally accountable â€“ both of which I never experienced in 35 years in the NHS.

Posted by Trevor Gay at October 13, 2005 2:32 PM

Tom, Just read 'the brand you 50'. It inspired me to begin collaboration with some really cool dudettes, as you would say...and I just did. Thanks for the insiring thoughts. This is after too many years with very large organizations. I look forward to some insanely hard work that is of my choosing and in keeping with my values, goals, and beliefs - in effect, my brand!!! I'll keep you posted from here in Austin, Texas.

Posted by Mike Chapman at October 13, 2005 3:41 PM

Absolutely Tom. Most corporate suits don't think like an entrepreneur; like an independent businessman. For an entrepreneur, survival is key. He sinks or swims with his business. And heâ€™ll make sure he does everything possible to ensure that survival.

Key questions to ask the 'suits' would be: Whom do you think like? Do you think like an entrepreneur? Or have you become insulated from your businessâ€™ results? If you sank or swam with your company, what would you differently? Would you shrug your shoulders and say itâ€™s a long-term business? Or would you develop a great sense of urgency?

Posted by Porus Munshi at October 14, 2005 5:27 AM

I have a quasi-entreprenurial role in a Financial 100 company. Our customers are extremely vocal about the experiences that would WOW! them.

While my parent company works on building the better mouse trap for the Billions of dollars under management; I am able to make customer's, willing to pay for my time, dreams reality today.

Posted by Rachel Gulen at October 14, 2005 9:39 PM

Folks,

I believe that entrepreneurs are born & managers are made bcos i feel that the formers have the uncanny ability to foresee things, events, scenarios et al & are willing to take the risk rather than jus rote learn Management Text Books. Also, i would like to blame quite a bit of B-Schools (both in US & outside US)...they dont teach what needs to be taught! I feel that B-School Grads better have that "gut" feeling embedded in them rather than mere rote learning capabilities cos in business, over 50% of the decisions (sometimes even 75%!) are made based on GUT feeling...no text book under the sun can save ur ass! So, my humble request to managers & would be managers is for all u noble beings to come out of ur shell by breaking all the barriers & conventional thinking & relentlessly pursue the path of excellence, innovation, creativity and exceution.....I LOVE THE QUOTE "EXCELLENCE IN EXECUTION"

Posted by K.Sriram at October 14, 2005 11:58 PM

K.Siram, at one level I agree that "entrepreneurs are born." But then you get to the heart of the matter: Most school systems systematically supress entrepreneurial traits. The upshot is that, given the chance and the right nudge at the right time, a lot of people's entrepreneurial instinct, quashed by the schools, can be re-ignited.

Posted by tom peters at October 15, 2005 6:13 AM

I'm in a fabulous Smallville now - in eastern Washington and the virtual entre-artistic spirit is alive and thriving - creatives here know how lucky we are and the fun we can have - not to mention Nordstrom and Starbucks and Costco fun!

Posted by Sean at October 15, 2005 9:13 AM