dispatches from the new world of work

15 October 1982

Tom called me from the road to tell me this story. He's celebrating an anniversary. On the 15th of October, 1982, he received a small package from New York at his Palo Alto office. When he returned from a meeting in mid-afternoon and opened the package—there it was—two copies of his first book, from an initial print run of 5,000. Beside himself with delight, Tom fondled the book—and headed off to Cupertino with the second copy to give it to a senior executive at Apple, a little computer company with about 200 employees.

And now, exactly 25 years later, Tom is still out on the road, "spreading the word" about "MBWA/Managing By Wandering Around," "A Bias for Action," and other more or less eternal truths. On this 25th anniversary to the day, Tom is making the 10,000-plus-mile trip to Seoul, where he will present, along with General Powell and the President of Korea, among others, at a major event aimed at vaulting Korea's innovation skills to another level.

Happy Anniversary! to Tom and In Search of Excellence.

Cathy Mosca posted this on 10/15/07.

Comments

Congratulations - and on that date we wore a young man's clothes! PS - & hopefully soon N Korea falls into the excellence model of S Korea.

Posted by John at October 15, 2007 1:47 PM

In search of was one of my favorite books my college profs had me read at Fresno State. Congratulations Tom!!!
Jeff

Posted by Jeff Rhodes at October 15, 2007 2:39 PM

congratulations Tom..it's a great book..also I like "Design".

Posted by Adam at October 15, 2007 4:18 PM

Congrats Tom - ISOE was the first management book I enjoyed. That book inspired my 25 year passion for simplicity in management. Up to that point in history management books were about as exciting as watching paint dry. Thank you.

Posted by Trevor Gay at October 15, 2007 5:05 PM

congrats!!! whadda way to celebrate...TP rox!!!

Hail â€œIn Search of Excellenceâ€ Hail â€œTom Petersâ€

Posted by K.Sriram at October 16, 2007 2:44 AM

Happy Anniversary and also many, many big thanks to Tom and Bob. As a young man, I hadn't really read that much about management (even though it was ostensibly what I did!) much less thought about it. This was the book that grabbed my interest and made me start working at it and enjoying it more. Here's to the next 25 years too!

Posted by Mark JF at October 16, 2007 5:51 AM

Tom,

I have been on the Peters bandwagon since 1986. All of my business decisions are filtered through the TP lens. I am currently working the "women's" issue in an industry where we ignore this grand opportunity. Congratulations and thank you Tom for your tireless efforts in making us better at what we do everyday. Never stop driving the MBWA program.

Posted by Jack Dillon at October 16, 2007 7:48 AM

Happy Anniversary Tom! My dad had a copy of your book when it came out. I was in High School. I decided to read it one day and I have never been the same since! This may be hard to believe, but the rest of my High School years and through the College years, they where still teaching 50's style managment back then. Your book help keep things in prespective.
I have always enjoyed your ability to grasp what is working and where trends are heading. Still one of my favorite insights from you where the "Bucky Balls". Keep up the great work!

Posted by Cyle Dibble at October 16, 2007 8:07 AM

Tom - Congratulation. I remember ISOE when I was working on my BSBA in the 1980's, and again when I worked on my MBA in the late 1990's. I will always consider you the Guru of modern business. Happy Birthday.

Posted by Doug at October 16, 2007 6:23 PM

Bravo! And thank you for re-imagining and becoming a vibrant mentor to me and so many others. -Laurie

What you can plan
is too small
for you to live.

What you can live
wholeheartedly
will make plans
enough
for the vitality
hidden in your sleep.

To be human
is to become visible
while carrying
what is hidden
as a gift to others.

-David Whyte

Posted by Laurie Perez at October 16, 2007 9:37 PM

This was a turning point in my life when I watched part of the film "In search of Excellence". I have always enjoyed listening to Mr. peters himself when he was in Istanbul twice in 1997 and 2006. Hope he comes again. And thank you very much for the "Future Shape of the Winner. Kind regards, Ilmi

Posted by Ilmi Yavuz at October 17, 2007 6:34 AM

Congratulations Tom! I thank you for guiding me in many of my business decisions. You are a big part of my business "success".

Still trying to adjust to thriving on chaos and searching for excellence!!

Posted by jay Hathaway at October 17, 2007 10:14 AM