Comments

Tom, I'd like to see you enter a small enterprise, incognito, as the EVP sales and marketing and spend 12 months eating your own dog food. I think millions would find it fascinating to watch or read what unfolds as your caps and exclamation points confront reality.

Posted by Mike Smock at June 4, 2010 10:31 AM

"Leaders exist to serve. Period."

Love it!

Posted by Trevor Gay at June 4, 2010 11:38 AM

Short summary: EXCELLENCE = SERVICE.
And a reminder that “A cynic is not merely one who reads bitter lessons from the past; he is prematurely disappointed in the future.”

Trevor is spot on.

Posted by Randy Bosch at June 4, 2010 12:27 PM

Mike, study Zappos, all of Bo Burlingham's "small giants," george Whalen's book on the top 25 independent retailers. Go to a lecture by Capt Mike Abrashof. From the Navy to retail to Google & Apple, there are a host of firms who live exclamation points!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted by tom peters at June 4, 2010 12:40 PM

Have you read the Jacket flap of the book The Power of Kindness? Here is a bit from it

"Heaven help us from the fakes. This includes self interested politeness, calculated generosity and even kindness against ones will"

Seems to me that kindness for economic profit is self-interested and therefore, per what is printed on the jacket flap of the book you recommended, is fake.

Posted by zorro at June 4, 2010 3:36 PM

"Mike, study Zappos, all of Bo Burlingham's "small giants," george Whalen's book on the top 25 independent retailers. Go to a lecture by Capt Mike Abrashof. From the Navy to retail to Google & Apple, there are a host of firms who live exclamation points!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Tom, based on your answer to Mike, you are not listening.

Posted by zorro at June 7, 2010 7:37 PM

God, I hate epigramms!!!!!

Leaders exist to serve. By that I guess you mean an ideal representation of what it means to exhibit leadership behaviour, such behaviour tending to support and encourage behaviour from other people that is commensurate with promoting the achievement of goals of the organisation within which the leadership type behaviour occurs rather than requiring specific behaviour, ignorant of the abilities and persona of the parties from whom the behaviour is demanded, the specific nature of such behaviour arising from the individual leader's own narrow view of what behaviour by those persons will provide that leader with the greatest kudos and other rewards from the organisation, irrespective of the overall seeming reason for the organisation's existence.

Posted by Andrew Baines at June 8, 2010 1:50 PM

K = R = P + A = KRAP

Posted by zorro at June 13, 2010 10:23 PM

Amazing to see how few hits are generated by searching TDC or Thinly Disguised Contempt (for customers,employees, for coworkers). TDC does not even show up in Wikipedia, but it seems to be alive and well in the business world!
At least a few of us still remember,Tom!

Recently saw a good example of TDC for customers at an unnamed upscale National hotel chain that sports a decidedly European Feel.
The three best parking spaces in their lot are marked "Hybrid Vehicles Only".
Almost all of their customers are business travelers driving whatever non-hybrid vehicle the car rental company at the airport issued them, and they now have the opportunity to slog 50 yards in a torrential rainstorm past three perfect and empty parking next to the door in order to prove that the hotel cares more about saving the planet than it does about it's customers!
Talk about contemt not even thinly disguised!

Keep up the Good Work!

Posted by Stan at June 17, 2010 11:56 AM