Whoa!

A unanimous decision by the Supremes these days is roughly equivalent to the sun rising in the West. But what does an Andersen guy or gal who lost $5M in pension money do? All I can say is ... Whoa.

Interviewing Excellence

As promised, I spent several hours in London this past Saturday working on the "InterviewingExcellence31." You'll find it here. (FYI: I was in Copenhagen yesterday for HP ... and will scoot off today to one of my favorite places ... South Africa.)

REPEAT: No B.School teaches PresEx (Presentation Excellence) and IntEx (Interviewing Excellence). What a pity. (Or: How stupid!)

Tom's China Obsession

Try the cover story in this month's Atlantic. Global strategy expert/genius Robert Kaplan writes: "HOW WE WOULD FIGHT CHINA: THE NEXT COLD WAR." Provocative ...

Site Patrol

Was patrolling our Blogroll, and ended up spending quite a bit of time at Virginia Postrel's Dynamist Blog. Go visit. It'll not be time wasted.

EU: Why The French Said "Non!"

It's not easy for Americans to keep on top of all European Union news, but the French voting down the referendum on the European Constitution is an important event and I thought I'd try to put it in some perspective. I know all our European readers will comment and correct me if I slip up, so feel free.

[read more]

Event Slides: HP

Copenhagen is where Tom is speaking to HP. Get the slides: A.M., P.M., and Long Version.

Great Presentations/Great Comments

I'm going to add some stuff to my "PE56" list, thanks to your Comments.

But let me begin with something that may be personal: Why I use PowerPoint. You say, "Hey Tom, you're the guru." I say that my conclusions are much more credible when I back them up with Great Sources. I say pretty radical stuff. I say "Get radical!" That's one thing. But then I show a quote from Jack Welch, who, after all, ran a $150 billion company (I didn't): "You can't behave in a calm, rational manner; you've got to be out there on the lunatic fringe." Suddenly my radicalism is "certified" by a "real operator." Also, I find that people like to get beyond the spoken word, and see a SIMPLE reminder of what I'm saying. Also, we post all my slide shows so attendees (or anyone else) can go back at their leisure and recall the logic of the presentation and "steal" some Cool Quotes to use in their presentations!

So here are a few things, thanks to you, that I'm going to add to "PE56":

Props. I use very few, but a few can be incredibly powerful. For instance, I begin with a comment about a new foreign-owned factory opening in China every 26 minutes. I bring a simple kitchen timer, and visibly set it for 26 minutes. It's a Big Deal ... especially when it goes off 26 minutes later! (At which point I set it again!)

Get the Audience to Be Active. Great! I don't do this enough. One presenter on creativity (name eludes me) at the end gets everyone to introduce themselves to the person on their right—he then encourages them to call that person in a week, to see if they've applied anything from the Seminar. Cool!

No Physical Barrier. For me, but perhaps not for you, this is huge. I have trouble with stages. I need to get "up close and personal." I find this hard to recommend, because perhaps it's not for everyone? (There's a lot of stuff I do that I kept off the list, because I have been doing this for 38 years, and I can "get away with" things that those less experienced can't. For example, it's said by the infamous "they" that 20 minutes of speechifying is the most people can handle; I just spoke in Bogota for 3 hours—and had dozens of people pissed off at the organizers because they hadn't given me a couple more hours.)

Post-Q&A. Yes! After a Q&A session, it's imperative to save 2 minutes to re-energize the audience. More: Q&A is tricky. It's pure art to handle the "questioner" who in fact is giving a mini-speech. Cut him off too quickly, and you're being rude to the "locals." Let him go on forever, and people get hopelessly restless. (There's MUCH MORE to say on this topic. E.g., oral vs written questions: I far prefer oral, but many, especially in non-U.S. settings, are reticent about standing up in front of 1,000 countrymen, so written is also great.)

Access. You want people to feel they've "Joined a (relatively exclusive) Club." That's most of the reason for this Blogsite. Sharing slides, among other things, no strings attached, seems obvious to me, but not to some.

Hang Out (my addition). Stick around, there are always a few folks who want to talk. You learn some stuff, but mostly you demo that you're not a fly-by-night arrogant prick.

Humor (my addition). "Jokes" suck. PERIOD. But humor is the Coolest Thing on Earth. (NEVER AT THE EXPENSE OF THE LOCALS/AUDIENCE.) (BE ESPECIALLY CAREFUL WHEN OUT-OF-COUNTRY. I AM! WHAT'S HILARIOUS IN THE U.S.A. IS IRRELEVANT OR INSULTING SOMEWHERE ELSE.)

"Best" New Book Title!

Read it (NOW.) (DAMN IT.): Three Billion New Capitalists: The Great Shift of Wealth and Power to the East, by Clyde Prestowitz.

Factoids: Mall of America: 2.5 million square feet of shopping space. South China Mall: 7.1 million square feet. Adidas: 40 new stores per month opening in China ... for the next 40 months (1,500 Adidas stores already in China).

"Worst" Cover Article Title

Advertising Age/05.23.2005: "Brands Feel Pain of U.S. Image Woes."

BEST New Hotel in Warsaw

Le Regina. Great!

Falling in Love!

I had a Great Time in Bogota. Loved the Colombians!

Next Up ...

There is a "Big Two" of success mostly overlooked: Presentation Excellence. (My recent riffs ... and yours.) Next: INTERVIEWING SKILLS! (Expect an "Interviewing25" or some such ... coming soon.)

FCC Worries

FCC commissioner Jonathon Adelstein spoke out this week about the increasing commercialization of media, decrying subtle advertising product placements and news "experts" who are really being paid by sponsors. He spoke of the need for clearer notice to consumers when news is "fake" or products show up on TV in exchange for payment.

What do you think? Should there be stricter guidelines revealing sponsorship? Or, should consumers make the call, by either watching (or not watching) the shows or buying (or not buying) the products being pitched?

Presentation Excellence

My brother-in-law, a senior ExxonMobil exec, and I got into a discussion about presentations the other night. We both heartily agreed that "presentation excellence" was a great boon to one's career/professional success. We also agreed that there is little or no formal training in preparing/giving presentations. He showed me a list of key ideas that he provided to his colleagues. (Proprietary.) The discussion motivated me to make my own list. You'll find my PowerPoint presentation "Presentation Excellence" appended to this Blog: 56 ideas for making a high-impact presentation. Such a long list is a little bit daunting no doubt ... but it's the culmination of 38 years of presenting, starting with my Pentagon tour in 1967-1968. Pick & choose as you wish. The main idea: TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY! (We're all in sales all the time!)

Pretzel Logic

Another corporate drama is playing out on the great rust belt stage here in the Midwest. Five years ago, Ford Motor Company spun off its component parts business and formed Visteon. The logic at that time was simple enough. If the company's parts plants had to compete on the open market, competitive pressures would drive performance improvements. They changed the structure, but the old culture never quite morphed into the new entrepreneurial, nimble entity they hoped to create. So, Ford buys back the Visteon plants. Once again, the US auto industry responds to change with its back to the wall. Visteon would have certainly filed bankruptcy without the bailout.

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Re-imagination at GE

Jeff Immelt, CEO of General Electric Company, is committed to creating a culture that sizzles with bold thinking and creative energy. He may have borrowed an idea or two from Tom's book, Re-imagine! in embarking on his quest for culture change at GE. At BusinessWeek online, Immelt says "the new imperatives are risk-taking, sophisticated marketing, and above all, innovation." Tom might add entrepreneurship, passionate leaders who are truly dreamers, and talent who can persist through failures in the drive to banish long-cherished traditions and beliefs. And a willingness to let loose all the real disruption that creates a mind shift for re-invention. In true GE fashion, Immelt has engineered a quantifiable and scalable process for coming up with money-making "eureka!" moments. And for folks steeped in Six Sigma, these are scary moments and a stretch of the imagination. "He really feels GE has a responsibility to get out in front and play a leadership role." Can he pull it off?

Bloggers' Freedom Of Speech

A hot topic this week in the blogosphere started with Joi Ito blogging about whether he'd lost his edge, gotten boring, and was not blogging about anything vital anymore because he gets so attacked in comments for having any opinion about anything.

Has extending our audience freedom of speech started to silence bloggers? I wrote about it here in some detail.

Lisa Williams spoke about a blogger's code of ethics here in her great blog "Learning The Lessons of Nixon" (also a podcast recording from her talk at Harvard Berkman Center is available). I really liked her notion of "The Living Room Doctrine" about what's acceptable in the comments section of blogs—speech and behavior that's acceptable in her living room.

Aeron Nirvana!

Last night, while strolling through Sears en route to the paint department, I spotted a design phenomenon that combines a number of my favorite things. Picture the Aeron mesh seat attached to a stationary bike, all in basic black. I detoured to take a test drive. This NordicTrack-designed toy was pure Heaven. Now, if they can attach a laptop and headphones for my iPod, I will be all set.

This is a beautiful example of design excellence and Frank Lloyd Wright's "form follows function":
sears.com

BP Crosses A Line

Global energy company BP has instituted an "ad-pull" policy for print publications that print what the company calls "objectionable editorial coverage."

The company's "zero tolerance" policy says that publications must inform BP in advance if an issue contains any coverage which violates a series of directives laid out by BP. Offensive coverage can include "any editorial that contains fuel/oil or energy news text or visuals," according to a story on adage.com today. It would be bad enough if BP wanted to threaten publications if they print negative stories about BP, but to threaten to pull ad schedules if publications run general stories on energy is beyond belief.

I'm thinking about our recent discussions about the marketing of the global warming issue, and Tom's "Lee vs. Jeff" post from yesterday, comparing how the CEO of GE is facing energy issues head-on while the CEO of ExxonMobil is in denial. If BP is able to do something like this with impunity, we should all worry about the integrity of both their advertising message and the editorial content of any publication in which they advertise.

Selling (Out) Broadway: Reprise

Last month we had a lively discussion here about how the Neil Simon musical, Sweet Charity, has agreed to a script change to promote the tequila Grand Centanario. Our discussion noted that most media stories talked about the deal between Jose Cuervo, who markets Grand Centanario, and the Broadway promoter, with very little attention to whether any consumers will be motivated to buy the tequila.

As an update to this story, the Tom Peters Wire Service lists an article from today's Ad Age. And, here's a recent story from the New York Times. The Times story also discussed how Hormel Foods Corporation's Spam is a sponsor of the Monty Python hit show, Spamalot. For obvious reasons, I find this easier to swallow (the sposorship, not the Spam) than Neil Simon agreeing to change "A double Scotch, sir?" to "Grand Centanario, the tequila?"

Event Slides: Bogota

On the road again, Tom is speaking to Expogestion/Bogota in Colombia. Two slides versions: long and short .

C'mon Rummy!

I've frequently said that I think Don Rumsfeld is the best SecDef since James Forrestal, the first SecDef.* (*I had the honor of giving the Forrestal Lecture to 4,000 Midshipmen at the U.S. Naval Academy in 1992.) Rumsfeld's RMA (Revolution in Military Affairs) amounts to the most profound change in Warmaking Doctrine since the Civil War.

But ...

The Saddam Hussein tabloid photos sent me over the top. Personally, I don't mind seeing the genocidal old bugger in his skivvies. But it is an insult—once again—to our Islamic brothers. (And apparently the pics were taken by Yanks.) It's as if we had a "Special Branch for Terrorist Recruitment." No kidding. Ours is a big force ... and the Law of Large Numbers tells us that Shit Happens. But, Mr Rummy, time to let some of that shit fall on the Upper Reaches of the Chain of Command. Repeated "lapses" by "a few soldiers" have ... ALWAYS ... IN THE MILITARY ... been the basis for relieving Top Commanders. I want to see some 2-stars and 3-stars bite the dust. NOW!!

Lee vs Jeff

Lee Raymond, CEO of the wildly profitable ExxonMobil, is the Last Man on Earth to dis-believe ALL the research on Global Warming, and to believe that ... Conservation Is for Tree-hugging Weenies. Now he has an able adversary (since the White House is taking a pass). Namely Jeff Immelt, CEO of GE. While in D.C. this weekend, I read in the Post this article penned by Immelt and Jonathan Lash, president of World Resources Institute: "The Courage to Develop Clean Energy." Speaking of the U.S., the authors write, "Our primary objective must be to revolutionize the way we produce and consume energy. Diminishing oil and natural gas reserves, continued reliance on foreign and sometimes unstable energy sources, and global climate concerns demand nothing less." Immelt goes on to describe bold initiatives GE is taking to conserve resources and seek technology solutions that will ameliorate petro-dependency. Is it self-serving? DAMN RIGHT. GE could make a mint here. But ... obviously ... no less self-serving than Raymond's screeds at Exxon Mobil. In fact, that's the way Adam Smith planned it all along! Immelt sees a money-making opportunity from being on the side of the Angels ... and he goes for it. My take on his Blatant Self Interest: Go, Jeff!

In Love!

Every now and then I fall in love ... with a few words that conjure a Big Truth. At the moment I'm in love. As a Blue Water sailor who grew up around Annapolis (where I am right now), I devour everything I can about the great naval heroes. None more than Lord Horatio Nelson. As reported in this Blog, I recently read a new Nelson book. I gave you a summary. Fine. But one Quote has stuck in my craw as a Top 10 Universal Truth. The meticulous/academic author attributed much of Nelson's prowess to the fact that: "[Other] admirals more frightened of losing than anxious to win."

Ye gads! Those few words explain much (most?) of Business's Malaise, especially in Large Firms in Turbulent Times. I was recently with a wildly successful company whose chief kept saying that his/their strategic aim was to "protect the franchise." I put on my "Nelson hat" and claimed that such was unadulterated BS. Of course we must "protect the franchise." But I contend (in no uncertain way) the best Protection Policy By Far is to Vigorously Pursue "Winning" rather than to expend most of one's energy (as most do) on "Avoiding defeat."

Okay?

PLEASE: Ponder at length!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Pinnacle of "Change Management"

Reflect on this beaut I found in some material a friend from HP sent me:

"It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change."

I say: BREATHTAKING!

Holy Sith!

Last week, as we were trying to get the word out about our new TP Wire Service, it seemed our announcement was a whisper compared to the non-stop Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith commotion. Okay, what did you think of the movie?

TP Wire Service Launches

There's something new from the tompeters.com team, and I think it's COOL! Check out the TP Wire Service. We've developed our own news service. Why? To put all the stories from myriad media sources about cool companies and cool people and the work they do on a silver platter for you. This is a place for breaking news, tracking trends, and innovation. All the hot topics that we think would be of interest to you. We wanted a way to highlight those without necessarily having to comment on each one. (You'll find a little more information on the FAQ page.)

Please, please, please let us know what you think. You can comment here or you can send email to info@tpwireservice.com.

Call to Women Entrepreneurs

We got word of an extremely WOW! opportunity: Springboard Enterprises Venture Forum. Women entrepreneurs have until June 24th to apply for a chance to join a six-month program aimed at getting them ready to apply for venture funding. The culmination of the experience is a Venture Forum on September 28th, where the participants will present their business plans to a panel of influential venture, angel, private, and corporate investors in the Midwest. Co-sponsored by Northwestern University's Center for Women Entrepreneurs in Technology, the program will be held on the Northwestern campus and targets mid-western women-led businesses, though it is not restricted to them. Read more about it at Inc. magazine online, apply online at springboardenterprises.org, or contact Kirsten Osolind at re:invention.

Event Slides: Warsaw

Tom is speaking to the Youth Initiative Association in Warsaw, Poland. Get the slides.

Stalled Mobility

Some people are born great,
Some achieve greatness,
And some have greatness thrust upon them.

I've written previously on tompeters.com about how our modern take on these lines from Shakespeare's Twelfth Night is so different from that of the Elizabethan audiences who originally heard them. They believed you had to be born into greatness, we believe that people can pull themselves up by their bootstraps to a higher station in life.

A fascinating—and somewhat disheartening—series this week in the New York Times challenges our current beliefs about "Class in America." Class is defined as the combination of education, income, occupation and wealth. The first installment, published Sunday, told how, in the last three decades, there is far less movement up and down the economic ladder than economists once thought. People of all economic strata, including those less fortunate, believe that it's possible to rise to a higher station in life through your own initiative, but the fact is that it has become less common in our society. Why? Well, it may be that the most important choice you ever don't get to make is who your parents are, and what kind of opportunities they make possible for you. What does this say about the "American Dream?"

Monday's article showed how healthcare is not distributed equally by class, but in fact has become a good that is disproportionately distributed to the wealthy, similar to "BMWs and goat cheese." The story follows 3 New York heart attack victims, a wealthy architect, a Con Ed worker, and a cleaning woman, describing the astounding differences in their experiences.

Do these findings surprise you? Is there a gap between perceived and real equal opportunity in our society?

The next installment is tomorrow (Thursday).

Move Over, Jamie Foxx

I pretty much thought I'd seen the best impersonation possible when I saw Jamie Foxx "do" Ray Charles. But last night changed all that. Don't know who I'd vote for if I were an Academy member and they were pitted against each other, but BRUNO GANZ's Adolph Hitler in Downfall is Foxx's clear equal. I stood outside the Curzon Mayfair (London) theater in a state of transfixed shock for many minutes after the film.

Speaking of Britain

I revere the U.S. Senate, but I must admit that I enjoyed the reports of British MP George Galloway's cheeky performance during testimony yesterday. The Senators are too used to hushed (terrified?) respect from Generals, Admirals, CEOs and Nominees alike.

Speaking of Britain II

Check out the column "Macho Business Muscle Gives Itself a Feminine Makeover" in the 05.17.05 Financial Times. Fits my biases like a glove.

Fit In or Get Fired

I consider myself a survivor. I recently left one of the world's largest hospitality companies to join Tom Peters Company! and follow my dream of helping to re-imagine the business world. Why? So people can thrive and not just survive in corporate America. During my 7 1/2-year career, I endured as many as 5 "re-orgs" of varying degrees (so much for job-security). I often wonder how I was able to walk out on my own terms, when many others were escorted to the door. Over the years, many of my colleagues/friends were "let go" (as if being done a favor), not for the sake of cost-cutting or streamlining, but because they simply were not a "good fit," which raises the questions ... what does it mean and how important is it to corporate survival/success? Does being a good fit mean you do what you're told? Conform? Maintain the status quo? Keep your opinions to yourself? If that is the case, how do organizations ever survive and thrive?

As I was pondering these thoughts, I came across this:

Creative abrasion means harnessing the frictional energies released between distinct perspectives and work styles to generate new directions and novel solutions.

     —Jerry Hirshberg, The Creative Priority

Wouldn't we all be better off if corporate leaders/managers knew how to do this?

Customer Love and Loyalty

Dick Heller has given us this post. NB: Posted by me, written by Dick:

I live in the suburbs surrounded by salons and barbershops. Yet I choose to drive nine miles of highway and downtown traffic to get a haircut. Why?

[read more]

Big Sucks

Slide of the Day (Year?)

A staple of my Seminars is a riff (WITH TONS OF SUPPORTING DATA) on the Lousy Long-term Performance of VERY BIG Companies. Imagine my delight at coming across, in a Heathrow bookshop, economist Paul Ormerod's Why Most Things Fail: Evolution, Extinction and Economics. Herewith, my "quote/slide of the month":

I am often asked by would-be entrepreneurs seeking escape from life within huge corporate structures, "How do I build a small firm for myself?" The answer seems obvious: "Buy a very large one and just wait."

Misguided to the Point of Deadly

Article in today's Times (of London): "Forget Self-esteem and Learn Some Humility." It's an attack on the "self-esteem movement." To be sure, the "movement" sets itself up for caricature. But these authors perform a DEADLY mis-service. People with HIGH self esteem are not, as the article claims, egocentric to the point of egomaniac. TO THE CONTRARY. People with high self-esteem are instead the lucky ones who are "comfortable with themselves" ... hence no need for egomaniacal behavior. The egomaniacs (from Hitler to Harry next door) in fact invariably suffer from LOW self-esteem, and exhibit counter-productive self-centered behavior to compensate for how shitty they feel about themselves. The other LOW self-esteemers just cower because of their uncertainty about themselves. (Or, rather, their certainty that they are not worthy of anyone's esteem.) The article is a travesty, and dangerous.

Genuine low self-esteem is nothing to trifle with.

Comments (starting with you, Trevor)?

Gotta Go to Florida

In his last start, the Marlins' Dontrelle Willis allowed 1 run in 8 innings, and his ERA went ... UP. (From 1.07 to 1.08.) Gotta go to Florida and see this kid. (My soft spot for incredible pitchers is infinite in size.) BBall fans, will Clemens be hurlin' at 50? Or my age, 62?

Blogosphere Hint ... Keep Digging

Newsweek is appropriately getting the beating of a lifetime. But click here and go read reliable Andrew Sullivan. Others have reported on similar happenings for months.

Back from Saudi

It is true that most of the 9/11 principals were Saudi. It's true that women's rights are "meager" in Saudi. (Kuwaiti women got the Right to Vote yesterday!) It is also true that the internal terrorist threats in Saudi are high enough that my hotel had a camouflaged artillery piece at the front driveway (yes, I said artillery piece).

None the less ... I HAD A BOFFO TIME IN THE KINGDOM! Post 9/11, Americans have avoided the country like the plague, and thence a visitor was looked upon as an Excellent Aberration. Fact is, I met an extraordinary group of public & private & university execs yesterday who were exceptionally personable and who aim for nothing more than the improvement of their country and the lot of their fellow citizens. I considered myself an ambassador as much as a "speaker," and feel that I made several true friends, a couple of whom I invited to my Vermont farm.

To survive, we must learn (or re-learn) to be friends, while reserving the right to chide that of which we disapprove—e.g., the absence of women's rights (Saudi has allowed women to do the full bit in schooling, and apparently there are now more women than men with PhDs ... but the women still cannot work). I must also add that while I unflinchingly support our energetic efforts to deal with the War on Terror, I was appalled to hear the stories of our officials' harassment of senior Saudis on obviously innocent missions to the U.S. (I haven't confirmed this—Newsweek take note—but one Veeeery Senior Saudi Exec refused to visit the U.S. because he wanted to bring his wife, but on her Visa application she apparently had to certify that she was not a prostitute. If true ... )

The "back from" means, alas, not Spring-y Vermont but arrival into my "second home country" ... England. I'm taking R & R today and being cosseted by my Great Pals at the Four Seasons London as I prepare for my assault on Warsaw tomorrow.

NB: And re the above, as long as California Governator Arnie keeps driving his Hummer, we're gonna need the Saudis as pals! Q.E.D.

Enterprise on Fire!

On one small issue (SUBSTANCE) I had troubles yesterday. My "value added" message works better in the U.S. & Ireland & Singapore & Dubai than in resource-rich Saudi. (And with the Chinese Breakout, expect energy demand & oil prices to remain stratospheric.) But "it" went well. Hence, here in London, I had a mini-epiphany. And I've encapsulated it in a new Title for my presentations: ENTERPRISE ON FIRE. I figured out that what I'm really "selling" is not a "detailed strategy" (much as I see it that way), but a "State of Mind." Said "state of mind" encompasses and glorifies: Energy & Technicolor & WOW & Spirit & Entrepreneurial Spunk & Risk-taking & Wild and Woolly Innovation & Outrageously Cool Talent & Freaks & Service & Gasp-worthy (my new fav term) Experiences & Passion per se & Compassion & Grace & Independence and Individualism-at-Work & Inspired Failures & Great Leaps of Faith & Bet-the-Company (or Career) Projects.

And: This Idea (or Agenda) (ENTERPRISE ON FIRE) is as practical (necessary) in Saudi as in the U.S.A. Hence, it apparently resonates in both. (Hence, my continued employment!)

Lucky Me!

How fortunate I am to see so much of humanity, f***** up as we are! VT to Saudi to Warsaw to Bogotá in a week. Lucky me! (Tired as the Old Boy is!)

Right as Rain!

Well, it rarely rains in the desert, but several of my new Saudi friends nailed me dead-to-rights. As usual (Saudi or at home), I was on a hit & run mission. In this case 36 hours; my only free time was spent in prep or sleeping off the jet lag. One, CEO of an IS firm who is incidentally busy founding a University (as I said, intriguing folk), said, not with rancor, "I'd love to be your host. You should spend a week, get to know us, learn about our traditions."

Yes! I should, and so should so many of my countrymen. I/we still might find there are points of difference (there are between SF & LA in my adopted state of California), but "getting to know you" is always more than a "good idea" ... an Imperative!

So, will I? Only time will tell. But I do buy the idea, which is a small start.

Tradition!?

Sure, I'm a ... radical. BUT I'M ALSO A SUCKER FOR TRADITION. As I write, my touch-pad shakes as Queen (Elizabeth) is receiving about a 100-gun salute (maybe not 100, but far more than our 21 max), as she leaves Buckingham Palace and heads off to Westminster to open a New Parliament with the traditional "Queen's Speech." Of course, this nod to tradition is also a nod to Radicalism (especially after a return from the Middle East). The "radical idea" (ever so recent in the human journey) is ... DEMOCRACY! Problems with Old Georgey Three aside, we Americans are the descendants of the Great British Experiment with self-rule! Hooray for the Queen! Hooray for her symbolic importance! Hip Hip Hooray for her powerlessness!

Speaking of the Brits ...

Passing the time this trip with the usual collection of mysteries and spy novels. Two straight home runs, courtesy the Brits' supremacy in this field: Peter Robinson's STRANGE AFFAIR and Charles Todd's A COLD TREACHERY.

This Is Stupid

Just got a telemarketing call from Comcast. They told me they could lower my Comcast high-speed Internet bill if I subscribed to their basic cable service. I told them that I already subscribed to their basic cable service, and, in fact, I had some premium cable services also. I said that I was excited to hear how much I, already a good customer, could save on my high-speed Internet bill.

Oops. The offer wasn't for good customers like me. It was for non-cusotmers. WELL, THEN WHY DID THEY CALL ME? Oh, by the way—they called me over my Comcast local phone service, after I had just spent half an hour on the same phone paying for a Comcast long distance phone call.

I have been a customer of all of these services ever since they came to Chicago and took over from AT&T. What a bunch of dolts.

New Cool Friend: Richard Florida

Richard Florida is the author of the 2002 bestseller
The Rise of the Creative Class, named by Harvard Business Review as one of the top breakthrough ideas of 2004. He recently released his newest book, The Flight of the Creative Class: The New Global Competition for Talent. Read the interview.

News from the UK

There's been a bit of discussion about so-called "work/life balance" on this website lately, but folks not based in Europe may not be aware that the European Union looks set to strengthen its control on our working hours. The working time directive which was under debate last week prevents employers from employing workers to work more than 48 hours per week. The modifications currently being debated will remove the opt-out arrangements for employers that currently exist.

[read more]

What's a GM to Do?

Mike Neiss offers this commentary on the state of GM.

May 6th started with the normal routine ... coffee, turn on the music, fire up the web, and head to my favorite newspapers online. As REM sang in the background, "It's the end of the world as we know it ...", the headline from the Detroit Free Press seemed to confirm REM's sentiment. "GM, Ford credit rated junk". The Lansing, Michigan, assembly plant rolled their last car off the line after 85 years. Legacy costs are at an astronomical high with 2.5 retirees for every active worker. And GM's response? We have to lower costs again. If ever there was a case for re-imagining, it is at GM.

[read more]

Event Slides: Saudi

Tom is once again in a far-off locale, speaking at King Fahd University, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Get the slides here.

Is It the Water?

What's in the water in Greater Seattle? Microsoft. Amazon. Starbucks. Nordstrom. Boeing. (Troubles & all. And, no, it's not a "Chicago company.")

Baltimore (Balmer) Boy ...

I grew up near Baltimore. Was in York, PA, giving a speech recently. Created a new slide. Had the word "water" in it. How did I spell it? No kidding: WARTER. That's the way we Baltimoreans say it. (T.God for spell check, which saved me from mortification. Though I admitted my sin to the audience, and the Yorkies got a short case of hysterics. Me, too.)

Event Slides: PMI

And the week rolls on ... Tom's now in Denver speaking to the Mile Hi Chapter of Project Management Institute. You can get a short version and a long version of the slides.

Guest Blogger: Corporate Social Stance or Not?

[A new tompeterscompany voice joins our discussion. Here's a very short offering from Darci Riesenhuber, a recent addition to the company. She's bringing up a topic not aired here before. Please welcome Darci.—CM]

When should a public company take a position on a broader social issue, and when should it not? Read this article from BusinessWeek and share your thoughts.

Travel Log

On a tear. 5 speeches in 5 days. (Reminds me of the In Search of Excellence days.) In Milwaukee yesterday (cold as hell). Seattle today. Tip: Seattle's Sorrento Hotel may be a candidate for "Best in the US."

The "problem" is wrapping one's mind around such different stuff. Monday AM: Project Management Software. (Bentley Systems/Baltimore.) Monday Dinner: Capital Markets. (RBC/Royal Bank of Canada/S Carolina.) Wednesday AM: Financial Services Transaction Software. (Metavante/Milwaukee.) Today/Thursday Noon: Workforce & Economic Development. (Snohomish County, WA.) Yikes! My trademark is a VERY DIFFERENT speech for each setting. Taxes the mind! (Not to mention that next week is Middle East (Saudi Arabia)/Eastern Europe (Poland)/South America (Colombia).

Event Slides: Snohomish

As he mentioned above, Tom is speaking to the folks of Snohomish County, Washington. Get the slides here.

MicroPPT

Just added some (pretty cool?) new slides; see them here. For instance, consider this from poet Mary Oliver (perhaps my favorite living poet):

Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?

These Lovely Days Of May

I've been thinking about what Tom wrote below about blogging overtaking his schedule and how he wants to cut back a bit. (See Factoid #2)

With the great weather finally arriving here in the Northeast, I'm trying to cut back on time in front of a screen and spend more time outside every day.

Wondering how you all manage to put some outside time into your days. It's not so easy and I'm finding if I don't plan it from the beginning of the day, it's evening all too soon and I've missed my chance.

The Abusive Boss

"Abusive bosses" is a time-old complaint that's back in the news, thanks to Washington politics. But leaving the Beltway for a moment, can this really be as big a deal in business as it's made out to be? I've seen statistics that say that having an abusive boss is one of the major reasons (if not the primary reason) people leave their jobs. (I googled "abusive bosses" and found over 200 references to articles, books, blogs on the subject—with no end in sight!) But isn't abuse in the eye (or ear) of the beholder? Is there something else going on here? Is this just a justification for people not doing their job? Or does this problem deserve SERIOUS attention given the costs of low productivity and/or turnover that abusive leadership is said to produce? If so, what should be done about it? (What have YOU done about it?)

Disappearing Pensions

Yesterday, United Airlines announced yesterday that they are going to default on $3.2 Billion in pension payments to prevent bankruptcy.

Also this week, I noticed that United has reinvigorated their feel-good, animated ad campaign, in which we follow United travelers around on their business trips. In a spot I saw this week, a United passenger carries a rose with him on planes, through client meetings, in cabs—and ultimately home to his grey-haired mom.

Is running these ads on the same media that are reporting on the pension default, at the same time, a good idea? Will the ads have 1) a positive effect, neutralizing some of the bad publicity from the pension default, 2) no effect, because no one will notice the ads if they're hearing about bankruptcy and pension defaults, or 3) a negative effect when people say, "Why are you spending all this money on ads designed to help the business long-term when you can't pay your employees their pensions and may go bankrupt now?

What would you think of the ads if you were a United employee?

Event Slides: Metavante

Now in Milwaukee, Tom is speaking to a "banking and payment technology solutions" company, Metavante. Get the slides here.

Credibility

"An internal committee at The New York Times has made specific recommendations to improve the paper's credibility with readers." (Subscription required.) Talk about transparency. Not many organizations are willing to publish or highlight their perceived weaknesses. What do you think of this list? Are they on target?

Factoid #2

Some of you wondered "where I'd gone." Thanks! Here's your answer. (1) "Blogging" took over my life. Hours (& hours) (& hours) a day. I lost a life (mine) & gained a life (ours!) and decided it wasn't necessarily a totally good deal. So now I plan to "have a life" AND share a life. Okay? (Think about it. I did.) (2) We all bump up against reality from time to time. I DID. Big time. My life has been "frenetic" since the precursor to In Search Of Excellence, 27 years ago. Due to some "personal stuff," I finally decide to deal with the obvious, my "frenetic" behavior. "Going like crazy" is something I've recommended for years. I still do! It's what gets you in the history books, from T Jefferson to Jack Welch. BUT.

But ... it costs you ... BIG TIME. And, at age 62, I have begun to consider that cost. AND... consider how BEAUTIFUL my farm is in Vermont.

Etc.

So ... whatever.

I'll be around.

From time to time ...

Thanks, Steve

I'm in a "generative" mood at the moment—happens to old guys (& gals) upon occasion. I simply want to acknowledge all the great posts from The Yas (Steve Yastrow); I saw that a recent one on Global Warming had elicited 64 comments. Nice. (No matter what your view is.)

Job Love-Hate

I hate my job. (It's killing me. Literally.) I love my job. (I have the rare chance to change the world for the occasional person.) What do you think about that? (I.e., about your job?)

Event Slides: RBC

Two in one day. I don't remember this happening before in all the time I've posted Tom's slides. Kiawah Island, South Carolina, was Tom's second stop, to speak to RBC Capital Markets. Download the slides, short version and long version.

Factoid?

Off on a nasty 3-week trip. Baltimore. Kiawah Island, South Carolina. Milwaukee. Everett, WA. Denver. Saudi Arabia. London. Warsaw. Bogotá. D.C. Copenhagen. (Home, if I'm allowed.) But here's the question: I'm packing for three weeks (2 computers, a dozen plug adaptors, 5 back-up 1-gig memory sticks, lightweight camera, iPod, Bose headset, airplane voltage converter, etc.); my bag is FULL ... but I want to stuff a backpack in for rambles. I DO!!!!! Though I'm trained as a scientist, I truly believe there is always room for "one more item" in one's bag. Query: COULD, USING THE "ONE MORE ITEM PRINCIPLE," ONE STUFF THE WHOLE UNIVERSE/GALAXY INTO ONE QUARTO BAG? (IS THE BAG A "BLACK HOLE"?)

You Must Read ...

In a way there's nothing new in Tom Friedman's THE WORLD IS FLAT. But the fact is he's one helluva reporter and one helluva storyteller. So ... it's simple ... you must read the book. (See my 2 summary slides.)

I Love (LIKE) Tim ...

Tim Sanders' book, The Like-Ability Factor, is dedicated "to my wife, Jacqueline." She deserves it. Tim's a nutter. (My highest praise.) Still, I thought he'd gone off the proverbial TDE/Truly Deep End when he wrote an entire book on "like-ability." That is, I thought he'd gone off the deep end ... until I read the book. (On a flight from Los Cabos, Mexico, to Dallas.) The fact is, Timmy's .. RIGHT. Incredibly right. If you are "likeable," the odds of "good things happening to you" go up ... dramatically. The book is not only "right," but actually "practical." Yes, there are plausible (read "do-able") ideas for mortals like you & me to raise our "like-ability" quotients. (Reminds me of Marty Seligman's Learned Optimism in that regard.) Bottom line: I BELIEVE THAT (1) LIKE-ABILITY & (2) OPTIMISM & (3) ENTHUSIASM ARE THE THREE MOST IMPORTANT TRAITS THAT WE DO (or don't) BRING TO THE PARTY. (ANY Party.)

My only concern is that Timmy sent me an inscribed book that said, "I love you, dude." Great! But does he "LIKE" me?

Event Slides: Bentley

Bentley Systems is the first stop in a long week ahead for Tom. Get the slides here, or the longer version here.

Marketing Issues

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Our debate on the marketing of the global warming/climate change issue has been fascinating. Thanks for all the articulate arguments put forth by everyone. online canadian pharmacy generic viagra

What other social issues have either been marketed poorly, or well? Did "This is your brain on drugs" accomplish its goals? Didn't Anita Bryant's anti-gay campaign in the late '70s actually backfire on her, actually helping the gay rights movement? (Although it may have helped orange juice sales, so Anita shouldn't hang her head too low!) One of the most successful efforts I've ever seen is Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD). What about the effects of over-exposure to the sun?

And, what other issues could use some effective marketing? (Which, of course, does not just mean a cool ad campaign.) Childhood obesity? Teen smoking? Or, would these be futile efforts? (Or, you may argue, its nobody's business but the obese 17-year-old with a pack of Marlboro's in his pocket.)

Customer Intimacy

Blogs are getting us up close and personal with our customers. Some blogs are product fan sites, and let the raves and rants about a product live under one roof. Some corporate blogs, by brave companies who get blogging, let their comments become an ongoing conversation with their customers. The line is blurring between the people who make things and the people who buy them. Blogs live right on that blurry line.

I've been thinking about it here and wondering if we just need to come up with a new word. Maybe "customer" just doesn't describe the partnership you have with the people who love your product. It's too cold.

If you really want to know about a product—where do you go first to read up on it? The official corporate site, the corporate blog, the opinion sites, a fan blog site?

Blogging Vs. Doing?

Another of the tompeterscompany! Brits joins in. Chris Nel introduces himself below. Welcome, Chris! And his offering:

As someone with a strong bias for action, I have orbited around the giant blogging hairball for some time. Provoked and convinced at the recent meeting of the potential value of blogging, I am now here!

Why 'orbited'? ... Well, my role in Tom's business is to coach/provoke my clients, clarify and catalyse the changes they must make in their businesses in order to thrive in the b%!~*y chaos we are all facing in our organisations. The main barrier I encounter in my client businesses is beautifully described by Jeffrey Pfeffer & Bob Sutton in their book The Knowing-Doing Gap as TALK SUBSTITUTES FOR ACTION. Endless circular discussions about how to proceed. What Tom would describe as "Ready, aim,aim,aim,aim ..." in an environment where survival requires a Ready.Fire!Aim. approach. AKA action.

So ... When we blog, how can we ensure that we are adding to the amount of action in the world rather than the amount of chattering? What advice would you give me as a new blogger for helping others to take action?

Jackpot?

A participant in one of my recent programmes had an interesting spin on incentivising 'good' behaviour. He called it the Jackpot theory. When coaching youngsters in sports he introduced the possibility that good performers ('good' being defined by whatever behavioural norms you are trying to stimulate) become eligible for a significant prize that will be awarded to only one person on a relatively random frequency. In his experience the desirability of these prizes and their irregularity keeps the youngsters really focused on doing well all the time.

I was pleased to find a business example of this approach in a recent Financial Times article by Lucy Kellaway: The UK's Royal Mail has adopted just this approach in grappling with their unacceptable attendance levels. "If they show up for work every day for six months, they will be entered for a prize draw and could win a car or a holiday in the sun." Absence levels have plummetted by 15 percent!

The randomness and surprise elements seem to me to add excitement and fun to a subject that many managers agonise over—who to select for recognition! As long as someone worthy gets the prize, the others are always in with a chance for the next big payout! Could this approach be used more widely in organisations that have challenging change agendas (i.e., EVERY organisation)?

[Note from Cathy: Madeleine McGrath is co-founder, with Richard King, of tompeterscompany!UK. They've been working with Tom since 1988.]

Event Slides: Hilton

Tom is in Los Cabos, Mexico, to speak to Hilton Hotels, on Cinco de Mayo! Get the slides. There's also a long version.

The Future, China, and You

buying pfizer viagra online canada In a special report by Newsweek magazine, they take a look at China. The article is entitled, "Does the Future Belong to China?" China has been in the news a lot these days, but read the article and ask yourself; "Has China re-imagined their world?" I think so.

Has your organization re-imagined its world? If not, why not? Does the future belong to your organization?

Are We Ready?

This past weekend Tom Peters Company had a meeting, and everybody there was encouraged to join our blog. So, though we know many of our readers want to hear more from Tom, there will be a group of new voices here. We think they have a lot of good things to say.

viagra with prescription online Dick Heller, President of Full Extension LLC, is a consultant and speaker who describes himself as "former Chief Inspiration Officer for TPC." He writes here on a trend towards isolationism in the U.S. Thank you for a great topic, Dick:

As we march towards globalization, or it marches on towards us, are the United States and our economy ready for the new world?

In Cambridge for an award from Harvard University's W.E.B. Du Bois Institute, Wole Soyinka was interviewed by Boston Globe columnist Derrick Z. Jackson. Soyinka, the Nigerian Nobel Prize winning writer, has had a voice on the global stage for many years. A novelist, dramatist, and poet, he was forced into political positions (and out of Nigeria) by his writings and has seen much of the world.

[read more]

Issue most poorly marketed?

Have you read the article on global warming in the April 25th New Yorker, titled "Five Minutes Past Midnight"? Islands are disappearing, glaciers are receding, permafrost is melting, symptoms are rampant.

Yet ...

I'm reading the article on the sidelines of a little league game (in bits and pieces when my son wasn't up to bat or in the field!) and I was so moved by it I mentioned it to another dad. This is a really smart guy, who runs a successful business. His reaction was, "Yeah, but has it really yet been proven to be a problem?"

I fear his attitude is pretty typical. Why is an issue that is so grave and so real so poorly understood? Why has the issue of global warming been so poorly marketed? Why is the brand called "The Global Warming Catastrophe" such a weak brand? What can—and should—be done?