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dispatches from the new world of work

New Year's 2010

To begin with, one needs two or three Posts rather than one. That is, a "spoiled brats" Post for the 90% of employed Americans and Europeans and Japanese and a few others. We live high off the hog. Period. And for all the Great Recession's pain, it's hard to feel sorry for us. Then there are those in rich countries who are on the short end of the stick, and there are millions upon more millions of these folks. The third Post should at least acknowledge the billions who are at or below subsistence—and add to this Group III the millions trapped in wars and civil wars and the like.

In my own "Group I World," a single word is on my mind, and it was there before the Christmas Day NWA/terrorist fiasco.

The word: Resilience.

I expect my computer to work—and the rest of my electronics as well.
I expect my car to start—and for gas to be plentiful.
I expect safe food.
I expect my two stepsons to make it home for holidays.
I expect ...
I expect ...

I've got a generator for the farm house that I bought in a super-cautious moment prior to Y2K. And a six month supply of meds that my doc suggested at the time of the bird flu scare.

And I spent two years in Vietnam.

But I'm soft. I expect everything I need to work, and small disruptions piss me off.

I have no plans to become a survivalist—though my VT farm is a pretty good place to be in that regard. But I do plan to think about "it" a little more than I have.

As I said, I planned to write about resilience prior to our terrorist scare. Namely because, as I parse the evidence as a non-expert, I think the odds are high that the next 10 years will bring a major terror event, maybe another financial crash, and so on.

Half-assed as it is, I'll leave it at that, leave it at a call for explicit attention resilience.

There are five other mini-segments to present in this New Year's 2010 Post. The first comes from writing my new book. It's really largely about the "basics," and in particular about thoughtfulness and civility. I think thoughtfulness-civility-grace-decency-kindness-appreciation pays off ... Big Time ... on the bottom line. And I think it pays off when you look in the mirror or raise your kids. And, incidentally, I think it's directly related to resilience—that is, going gently in the world serves the community and keeps the heat (emotional reaction to tough news) a little lower.

The third word is serve. In my new book I call leadership a "sacred trust,' and I think it is. To steal shamelessly from Robert Greenleaf, I am a keen fan–adherent of "servant leadership." Leaders work for those who "report to" them—not vice versa.

Word four: contribute. We Group I-ers (see above) simply have an obligation—a pressing obligation—to give back and lend a helping hand. I live in an other-than-high-wage community, and I deeply deeply appreciate the enormous amount of time and energy my wife is contributing as Board leader of our local daycare center. (This is hardly her first major act of community service-leadership; it's simply the one most on my mind at the moment.) Contradicting to some extent my Group III mention above, I am a strong adherent, assuming you're not Bill Gates, of supporting (time, $$) local efforts where you can have direct impact. (Perhaps from local "fanatic" service will grow the desire to expand the stage on which you work.)

Next up, and next to last is ... learn. The best way to stay fresh and vibrant, and thence useful, in my opinion, is to seek new experiences and learning opportunities. Like all of these "words," it takes thoughtfulness (planning) and work—though presumably this work, in every case, should largely be an act of joy.

The final word? My old friend ... EXCELLENCE. I never get tired of it, and I hope you don't either. It's a wonderful standard, a wonderful aspiration, a wonderful way of life (the aspiration to).

So my Aim2010 is to focus on these words:

Resilience.
Thoughtfulness-Civility.
Serve.
Contribute.
Learn.
EXCELLENCE.

Doing so hardly solves the problems of Africa, or the "gendercide" I wrote about yesterday (girls being killed-murdered by the million for no reason other than being girls). And for that I apologize.

In any event, may your year be one of peace and health and energetic engagement and exploration.

Tom

Tom Peters posted this on 12/31/09.

Comments

The longer I live, the more I realize it is all about the basics. As a leader of a large group, I inevitably find that when something is wrong; it is rarely a complex situation. 95% of the time it's basic blocking and tackling: Relationships, communication, basic planning, hard-work (or lack of it) ... Give me a team that blocks and tackles well, and I'll easily find people to throw, catch and run for TD's.

Tom, I appreciate this emphasis and I totally agree with this approach.

Posted by Dave Holland at December 31, 2009 9:54 AM

Tom:

Your thoughts on servant leadership remind me that in schools administrators often seem to forget the meaning of the word that defines their job. When administrators administer to those they should serve, rather than expecting others to serve them, schools will become better places.

Posted by Bill Williams at December 31, 2009 10:41 AM

When I think of contribution, I think of Buck Rodgers of IBM fame: "We all [Group I] have a Civic rent to pay."

Great post. Thanks.

-ski

Posted by Jeff SKI Kinsey at December 31, 2009 10:45 AM

As my old mum told me once: "don't ever take things or people for granted".

Happy New Year!

Posted by RobCH at December 31, 2009 11:33 AM

Thoughtful comments, Tom, and on the ball. Again. As usual. Thanks for your continued posts, advice, encouragement and wisdom - it's much appreciated.

My 7 week old Mercedes broke down yesterday. The local dealer was offhand and made everything seem like he was doing me a favour during the Xmas break. He failed on 3 of your 5 points. (In fairness to Mercedes, I moved house a short while ago and the previous dealer was unfailingly excellent: I may well drive the 20 miles to their premises instead of the 2 miles to the local dealer when it comes time for a routine service.) The guy from the courtesy hire car company, on the other hand, was so good I almost want to break down again so that I can experience such great customer service. It's not just that one company seemed to recognise it was dealing with a distress incident; it's that one company seems to be staffed by decent people who care.

Finally, may I wish a very happy New Year to everyone working, posting, playing, learning and so forth on this site.

Posted by Mark JF at December 31, 2009 12:47 PM

Tom, May I suggest checking out John Robb's "resilient communities" tags at http://globalguerrillas.typepad.com/globalguerrillas/ -- of course you'll need to scan thru, but going back several years he has a lot to say on the subject relative to "local".

Posted by Randy Bosch at December 31, 2009 2:20 PM

As it is a time for reviewing/re-visiting as well as looking ahead these are my 16 story headings from a leadership book I wrote a few years back. I believe these even more passionately now than then. Happy New Year to all associated with Tom Peters and this Blog:

• Never, ever assume.
• Be humble, you are still learning.
• Making it up as you go along works.
• Actually you don’t know all the answers.
• The best way to gain power is to let go of power.
• Know what it is that you do.
• You are as powerful or as weak as you believe you are.
• ‘Walking the talk’ means getting your hands dirty.
• Never under estimate how powerful you are perceived to be.
• Cherish the basics.
• Take responsibility personally as a leader.
• You don’t need to shout.
• Rules are made to be stretched.
• Decisiveness is both listening and doing.
• Make up your own mind.
• Always be ready to change your plans.

Posted by Trevor Gay at December 31, 2009 3:20 PM

Beautiful post, Tom. Thank you. Happy New Year to all! Many blessings continually...

Another fresh new year is here . . .
Another year to live!
To banish worry, doubt, and fear,
To love and laugh and give!

This bright new year is given me
To live each day with zest . . .
To daily grow and try to be
My highest and my best!

I have the opportunity
Once more to right some wrongs,
To pray for peace, to plant a tree,
And sing more joyful songs!

--William Arthur Ward

Posted by Judith Ellis at December 31, 2009 4:35 PM

Very best for 2010 Tom. May your little things bring big results!

Peter Cook

Posted by Peter Cook at December 31, 2009 5:25 PM

While i am from a developing contry (Brazil) i am for shure from group I. We have a farm here and a business that´s ours. We don´t need trucks here to remove the snow.hehe I promess i will be more servant to the needy poor people, i have lots of room for improvement on this endeavor.

happy 2010!!!!

Posted by Fausto at December 31, 2009 7:06 PM

Tom,

You have been guiding my work life since the first book and remain one of the few authors that stood the test of time to stay on the shelf. Thank you for that. I want to call out your point on

Civility and Thoughtfulness, so easy to say but so often lost as our political, business and financial leadership reach out first for their lawyer to guide. Just doing the decent, "right" thing would prevent so much suffering and waste. Practical advice, not spiritual.

You have a great new year. I look forward to getting rid of this past decade and on to something new, like your new book.

Cheers,
Tom

Posted by Tom Marsh at December 31, 2009 10:20 PM

A terrifically Excellent post!

For me, 2009 was about learning. I learned that after a 12 year absence from community involvement due to a career change that things were pretty much at the same place I left them, particularly with regards to public schools. I learned a great deal about the challenges that working parents face...be they single working parents or two parents working...and how ridiculously ineffective, inadequate and inefficient many of the support programs and services that we spend mega bucks on are...far to much $$$$ spent on administrative personnel and programs and far to few $$$$$ making it to the "neighborhood" level. I learned a great deal about how none responsive many workplaces are to the needs of their employees in terms of inflexible work policies and processes, declining benefits and stagnate wages. There is just something about working folks being poor that really doesn't seem right to me. Or that folks who work don't qualify for many of the services or subsidies like childcare, health insurance or tuition assistance to name a few that their tax dollars pay for so folks who don't work can benefit from them. The federal poverty line doesn't account for rising costs and stagnant wages that the "working poor" face daily.

2010 is going to be about contributing. The first project is going to be to organize a group of parents and patrons to serve as an advocacy, education, and resource network with the Pulaski Association of Classroom Teachers to get the "building level" perspective and needs represented in planning and decision making within this school district. There is a need and I have a bit of knowledge that addresses that need.

Bill Williams comment above gets right to the root cause of the problem. There is far to little collaboration and far to much conflict between administrators and building level leaders, teachers, support staff, parents, and the local community each school serves. If Mr. Williams is a school administrator he is a special one indeed!

2010 is gonna be a good time!

Posted by Dave Wheeler at December 31, 2009 10:37 PM

Tom P. offers 5 words of virtue for us to consider in the new year. Thanks and happy 2010.

But I, Tom K., offers only one word to my host for consideration.

Reckon.

As in why the US of A now find itself in shit shape in so many fronts? By thoroughly violating Tom's 5 words of virtue, as a nation, it must now confront reckoning.

I don' want to bore everybody with the long sordid history of the past decade. The most recent terrorist attempt near Detroit deserves some new year reflection. What is it about this country's conduct that is so defective that 8 years after 9/11, we continue to have one brave soul, knowing the consequences, did what he did. Bet everything just to do harm to a land he has never been and to a people he does not know.

Could it be that America has sent thousands of people to do what the Nigerian did? We did send quarter of a million to a foreign lands to do harm to foreigners, in the name of our interests.

Reckoning is what one do when virtues have stopped.

Posted by Tom K at January 1, 2010 1:35 AM

From my perch let me refresh and add to Tom's New Year thoughts;

Resilience. To capture that old cliche "The race is not always to the swift but to those who keep on running"
Resilience is what makes you remarkable.

Thoughtfulness-Civility.No matter how bad my situation, it's better than most. True humility is understanding the impact you will have on others.

Serve.The people I admire most do this naturally. That alone guides me.

Contribute is an imperative. Wisdom is for sharing. It's how we learn, it's how we teach.

Learn.It's the purpose of life and your useful legacy when you have gone.

Excellence.To be the best, it's cumpolsory.

To finish. To be happy, to be the best, adjust your compass to these values.
Your business will flourish, your followers will follow but, more importantly, you will leave a meaningful footprint.

Happy New Year

Posted by Conor Kenny at January 1, 2010 4:33 AM

Tom,

Agree with the previous comment that John Robb's "Global Guerrillas" site is the best go-to place for information on Resilient Communities.

Also, Paul Romer's CharterCities.org and Mike Gibson/Patri Friedman's AThousandNations.com blog cover interesting new ways for free, civil institutions to emerge and flourish.

Best,

Mark Frazier
Buildership.org and Openworld.com
@buildership @openworld (twitter)

Posted by Buildership at January 1, 2010 11:25 AM

I like what David Brooks has to say.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/01/opinion/01brooks.html?hp

Posted by zorro at January 1, 2010 1:21 PM

Zorro, if there was a Pulitzer for "sane" or "measured" or "reasonable-ness," Brooks would get it in my book.

Posted by tom peters at January 1, 2010 1:47 PM

Try this.
But use headphones or plug in good
audio for your PC or Mac.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuuTlQ0FzEU

Posted by zorro at January 1, 2010 9:49 PM

Zorro - You are in the zone! The article and video are super! Thank you! Thank you!

Posted by Judith Ellis at January 1, 2010 10:20 PM

I liked both article and video too. There you go Zorro,in the zone!

Posted by Fausto at January 2, 2010 11:27 AM

Thanks, Tom. Here's a 3-min video on Smoving (smiling & moving). It's a fun supportive message to your message...

http://www.SmileAndMove.com/resolution

Posted by Sam Parker at January 2, 2010 2:25 PM

http://www.danpink.com/archives/2010/01/2questionsvideo

here is a promo for dan pinks new book.
the video is very cool.

Posted by zorro at January 2, 2010 8:11 PM

Powerful thoughtful comment, Tom K. Thank you.

Zorro - Cool Dan Pink video. I have tweeted it with thanks to you. :-)

Posted by Judith Ellis at January 3, 2010 9:52 AM

Nice to know we can always count on some things--like Tom P and Excellence. Did you ever think about the connection--not just a "sounds like..." connection, but a meaningful connection between excellence and excessive? My dictionary (American Heritage) gives this definition:

"ex•ces•sive (k-ssv) adj.: Exceeding a normal, usual, reasonable, or proper limit."

Nice, huh? I've been accused of preaching excess. Guilty as charged.

Posted by Bob Stone at January 4, 2010 2:00 AM

Bob - Excess is most certainly a word that hardly seems responsible or appropriate in this excessive greedy, excessive self-centered, and excessive bailout society. But I assume that if one is on the good spectrum the word is appropos. I assume that it can also be important for those in shell shock after a difficult year. But overall coming out of such an incredibly tenuous time where excess was destructive, it seems not the appropiate word. We seem to need more temperance and steadfastness. Balance is always essential so it seems, even when we have swung too far in any direction.

Posted by Judith Ellis at January 4, 2010 3:29 AM

Jack Bogle's beautiful book, Enough, where he writes about "too much..." and "not enough . . ." seems important to mention.

Posted by Judith Ellis at January 4, 2010 3:51 AM

Waiting for you book and enjoy this new year celebration and have a great blogging on 2010.

Posted by Rinnell Garrett at January 5, 2010 1:39 AM

Thank you for the kind words Tom. You of all people must know the power of words. It was a pleasure to read your most excellent wishes for a New Year. May your 2010 be everything you wish for!

Posted by Tom N at January 5, 2010 8:49 AM

zorro -
We tried to contact you directly regarding one of your comments. The email you list with your comments belongs to another party who would prefer that you not use it. We were attempting to contact you out of courtesy, so if you would, please contact us at tom@tompeters.com.
Thanks.

Posted by Shelley Dolley at January 5, 2010 7:15 PM

Zorro! Zorro! Zorro! Do you wear a mask too? :-)

Posted by Judith Ellis at January 5, 2010 8:10 PM