Thursday Edition

dispatches from the new world of work

Good Friday 1978.
October 1982.
January 1, 2007.

In Search of Excellence birthday cake

I had to look it up! British management writer Stuart Crainer wrote, in 1999, The 75 Greatest Management Decisions Ever Made. E.g., in the "Marketing Magic" chapter there is the tale of Richard Sears' decision in 1891 to put all his products into a catalog. (Sixty-five percent of Americans still lived in the sticks—and the catalog grew from 32 pages in 1891 to 532 in 1895.) But "Great Decision #45" was the one I was looking for: "In April 1978 McKinsey's John Larson decided to ask colleague Tom Peters to step in at the last minute to make a presentation on some research he'd done. The presentation led to In Search of Excellence."

Apparently (per Crainer) the presentation, to Dart Corporation (Dart Drugs, Tupperware, etc.) in L.A., was made on Good Friday 1978. I do remember that I had less than 24 hours to get my act together; Larson, who ran McK's S.F. Office and was no particular fan, suffered a computer crash that destroyed the mother lode of data he'd intended to present—so he decided to hold onto the meeting, but offer me up as a questionable sub for his all-star data jocks. I remember rather clearly that I hadn't a clue as to what to call my hastily assembled "findings." Somehow the word "Excellence," all by its lonesome (no date, no nothing), ended up on the cover. I wasn't moved by it, and frankly the presentation was no award winner—but I recall a surprisingly intense discussion bubbled up around the meaning of the word "excellence" in business. I guess that was a tip-off—though only much later did I realize it; in general, just putting "the word" on a screen (via transparencies in those ancient PPP/Pre-PowerPoint days) triggered a robust exchange.

To make a long story painlessly short, 4.5 years later Harper & Row shoved In Search of Excellence onto bookstore shelves—mid-October 1982. And the rest is ... whatever.

Advanced math suggests that when the clock strikes midnight 2 days from now, we'll be entering ISOE+25, the quarter-century anniversary year of the book's arrival.

I'm psyched! That I'm still around. (I was 23 days short of my 40th birthday on Search's pub date.) That I still get semi-annual royalty checks from Search. (Not that many books are on the active duty shelves 25 years post initial appearance—the non-virtual shelves, not just the Amazon-Long Tail virtual "shelves.") And that, as I see it, the message—the power of Excellence per se, the word, the idea, the images—is as potent, if not more so, in 2007 as it was in 1982.

I'm psyched because I plan to join with colleagues from here, there and everywhere—starting now with our Blog Community—to celebrate & re-commit to the Idea of Excellence in our lives and in our organizations.

Excellence25. The Search continues ...

[Cake acquisition & photo by Erik Hansen; bakery name to come.]
[Addendum 01.02.07: The bakery is Party Favors on Beacon Street in Brookline, MA. Our thanks to them! And Happy New Year, everybody.—CM]

Tom Peters posted this on 12/29/06.

Comments

I would like to wish a Good Year of 2007, for you Tom, and for all the people that search excellence in what they do.

Posted by Carlos at December 29, 2006 3:03 PM

Here's to the next 25 years of 'Excellence' - ISOE is more than simply a book that is still selling - it is a movement. Proud to be a follower - good luck Tom - if my maths are right you will be 88 when you write your 50th anniversary Excellence Blog posting! :-)

Posted by Trevor Gay at December 29, 2006 3:13 PM

Excellence does not occur spontaneously. Really, it's mentoring that is responsible for helping others achieve their most remarkable performance. As an entreprenuer in the trenches, this can be an exhausting task. Being able to maintain composure through less than ideal circumstances may be daunting in itself. So, this ideal of excellence can become quite elusive. During synergetic times, though, excellence is exhillerating. I guess it's similar to religion, if you don't believe in it you may never experience it.

Posted by John at December 29, 2006 3:21 PM

The best information grows in value over time. ISOE and the themes you championed continue to provide important and valuable new lessons every day. Many thanks and congrats, Tom.

Posted by Rick T. at December 29, 2006 5:43 PM

I graduated from high school in 1978 and met "In Search of Excellence" in college. Awsome. It just made sense. Thank you.

Posted by Pat M at December 29, 2006 7:16 PM

Tom

I remember hearing an interview you gave in 1983-84 or thereabouts on "In Search...." The interviewer, as I recall, seemed baffled by the success of the book. He asked you what you attributed its success to.. You replied "we got lucky".. We wrote a book that seems to be right for these times..." I remember thinking to myself - only in America would you hear such an open and frank response to such a question. All these years later I realise that it had nothing to do with me being in America and it had everything to do with the fact it was Tom Peters who was being interviewed.

Another time I heard you talking about book signings. You said you loved to sign a copy of "In Search..." that was dog eared and had highlighter markings right through it. Someone had actually read it... Or words to that effect.

Twenty five years on... May you continue to be lucky and write about the things that seem to be right for these times. May you also rest in the knowledge that a whole heap of folks have read "In Search.. " (personally I have read all of it at least five times and some bits of it much more than that...) they have marked it up, they have taught from it, they have learnt from it, they have been inspired by it, and they have gone on to write their own missives, riffs, and treatise based on parts of it.

You should know too that "In Search..." has always been, and still is, worth the price of admission.

Stay well and have fun in your anniversary year..

Richard.

Posted by Richard Lipscombe at December 29, 2006 7:57 PM

Tom:

The new excellence for U.S. companies, as reported in the cover story in Barrons on 12/25/06, is R & D, design, and marketing Their story says the name of the game is shedding the risk of manufacturing to China, India, etc.and turning up the focus on the where it matters in the creation of exciting new products and services.

Steve

Posted by Steve Gettler at December 30, 2006 12:30 PM

Congratulations - ISOE came to me while getting a 2nd degree in statistics [1982] - then saw you in Albuquerque in about 1994 ... the CEO of our office said you were an "entertainer" ... and given that Entertainment Culture seems to rule = perfect LUCK - c'est la vie & 2.007 is a lucky year!

Posted by sean_luck at December 30, 2006 4:21 PM

Absolutely fabulous. A toast...to all of us who have been at it after all of these years.

Posted by Kate at December 30, 2006 4:31 PM

Remember the WSJ article titled, "Tom Peters Ruined My Life?" It told the story of a woman who could not go through life without observing all commerce in a new way after reading ISOE. Same here. Congrats.

Posted by CSP at December 31, 2006 9:16 PM

Dear Tom,

I must confess, I was a bit young for "In Search Of Excellence" when it first came out. I think I was in 7th Grade or something. More interested in skateboarding, Steely Dan records, female 7th Graders, or whatever.

But reading "Re-Imagine" 3 years ago for the first time gave me a week long "Aha!" moment. Seriously.

Last month, I was hanging out quite a lot in Paris at Les Web 3 with David Weinberger, co-author of The Cluetrain Manifiesto [one of my most seminal, life-changing books]. When I first met him, he cited you as one of his heroes. Last year, another friend of mine, Seth Godin, called you the same. And they were right to do so.

The fact is, a lot of us are so familiar with your work, we often take it for granted. But that's the same with great figure skaters.... they make it look so damn easy. And it isn't.

Thank God we live in a world where people like you can thrive and prosper. Imagine how miserable it would be for all & sundry if that were not the case.

So... Please keep it coming for a long while yet. Thanks.

Godspeed for 2007,

Hugh MacLeod

www.gapingvoid.com

Posted by hugh macleod at January 1, 2007 10:48 PM

I echo Trevor's view - long may Excellence continue.

Any thoughts on what has changed/remained the same in what we call Excellence these days?

Posted by PaulH at January 2, 2007 12:02 PM

I must admit that I read the book when it first came out and thought, "It will be a long time before Big Business will follow this train!" Those that have are more prosperous, more innovative and more fun to work for than their counterparts. More likely their competitors are not around or have plodded through the last 25 years. It's a pleasure to read and re-read ISOE and I think I'll read it again to reminisce!
Happy Silver Anniversary!

Posted by Dave at January 18, 2007 6:45 PM