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Free Stuff

Tom Peters is a passionate communicator with many provocative ideas to share. The documents listed here include a number of Tom's most inspiring messages. And they're all absolutely free. Download, print, discuss, dissect, and disseminate to your heart's content. We ask only that you not alter the files, claim them as your own work, or charge for their use.

PDFs require Acrobat Reader which you can download for free from Adobe.

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Don't miss new additions to our Free Stuff page. To subscribe by RSS, copy and paste this URL into your feed reader: http://www.tompeters.com/freestuff/index.xml

 

Recession 46

This is what Tom calls "Recession46: Forty-six 'Secrets' and 'Clever Strategies' For Dealing with the Recession of 2008-XXXX." It's part of a collection titled "Tom Peters' Thoughts About Getting Things Done, in Good Times and Bad," and we offer it to you here as a stand-alone. At only two pages long, it is a tidy, handy list of counterintuitive thoughts on handling the current financial downturn.

Download file, 38 KB | posted on 08/14/09

 

Quality 136

A speech in New Delhi co-sponsored by the American Society for Quality led me to concoct this list. I have always had a broad view of "quality," and decided to let my mind and keyboard go where they would. Resulting in "Quality & Excellence: The Quality 136—One Hundred Thirty-six Random Thoughts on Quality, Emphasizing the Elements That Are Often Missing in Conventional Quality Programs."

Download file, 38 KB | posted on 06/04/09

 

Heart of Strategy

We usually think of business strategy as some sort of aspirational market positioning statement. Doubtless that's part of it. But I believe that the number one "strategic strength" is excellence in execution and systemic relationships (i.e., with everyone we come in contact with). Hence I offer 48 [now 56! 01 April 2009] pieces of advice for creating a winning strategy that is inherently sustainable.

Download file, 59 KB | posted on 02/26/09

 

Innovation Tactics

Recession or no recession, deep recession or not, the challenge to add more and more value grows, and the importance of innovation, and a culture of innovation, grows exponentially. A "culture of innovation" covers "everything." There is no half way. There of course are "first principles." Or are there? I started a list of "stuff" that's imperative to creating an innovative enterprise. The list of 10 or so grew to 25, than 45, and at the moment includes no less than 121 "tactics." Of course you can't do all of them. Or must you? Well, you can't do all 121, or maybe even half that number, or less, but the absence of any one or two or three or six weakens and perhaps even imperils the entire structure; that is, we are talking overall about an abiding "culture of innovation," and it takes a thousand signals roughly aligned to establish it and, especially, keep it in place.

Download file, 120 KB | posted on 01/08/09

 

Real People

"Real People" is the shorthand title for what Tom calls "Excellence for the Rest of Us: A Book for Real People, Working in the Real World in 2008." In this manifesto, Tom contrasts the thinking of gurus (like him!) to the thinking of the rest of us ... those who toil in more conventional settings. In Search of Excellence introduces this idea when Tom and Bob Waterman write, "Hard is Soft. Soft is Hard." By that phrase, they are referring to the people things, the soft stuff that's more difficult than the numbers game of business. Tom revisits and expands on this thinking in "Real People."

Download file, 552 KB | posted on 04/21/08

 

Cookie Lessons, 24 December 2007

We're re-issuing this column as a holiday offering from tompeters.com. Tom wrote it once upon a time for his column syndicated by the Chicago Tribune, but we think its lessons are timeless. And, what better way for us to recognize the holiday season than to post this article—"Lessons About Life & Enterprise from Baking Christmas Cookies."

Download file, 68 KB | posted on 12/24/07

 

XF 50

Tom introduced this collection as his effort to get you to pay "'strategic' attention to what has always been Issue #1 in organizational effectiveness ... from Napoleon to the man in the moon." Namely, cross-functional effectiveness, which will help you "'Deliver Speed,' 'Service Excellence,' and 'Value-added Customer Solutions.'"

Download file, 82 KB | posted on 12/11/07

 

"Top 50" "Have-Yous"

The Top 50 Have You [done these things in the last week, day, hour?] list is Tom's reaction to the phrase "Mapping Your Competitive Position." He contends that you should, instead, put some effort to the tasks on his list. In his estimation, they're important to the short- and long-term health of any enterprise, big or small. If so, the mapping will become a secondary issue.

Download file, 71 KB | posted on 12/11/07

 

Organizations Serve

Further ruminations on the ideas that led Tom to his "Purpose" screed, below, resulted in this offering—his attempt to lay out the "big stuff." He introduced this rambling piece in a blog titled "To Get Out of Bed. Or Not Get Out of Bed. That Is the Question." You can find Tom's answer in this PDF, "Organizations Serve."

Download file, 106 KB | posted on 09/04/07

 

Tom Peters' Purpose

As the 25th birthday of In Search of Excellence approaches, Tom has been pondering what the practice of management is all about—good, bad, or indifferent. He concluded that entrepreneurial capitalism is the strongest force possible for unleashing human potential, and that it depends upon the effective practice of management. And, according to a review of Thriving on Chaos, "Effective management is management that delivers more value to customers and more opportunity for service, creativity, and growth to workers. ... The decent thing to do is also the smart thing." That is, effective management is humanistic management.

After a lot of thought on these matters, Tom came up with this attempt to answer the perennial question, "What's it all about, Alfie?"

Download file, 335 KB | posted on 08/31/07

 

100 Ways to Succeed/Make Money: 51-75

This is the next installment in the Success Tips series. Tips 51-75 is a quick conversion from MSWord to Adobe Acrobat. When we get to 100, we'll have ChangeThis post the second half of the collection, and offer a more polished PDF here. But now, at the request of a member of our community, we present here Tom's Success Tips 51-75.

Download file, 71KB | posted on 01/10/07

 

Redux. Redux. Redux.

Tom unapologetically repeats himself and revisits a favorite theme—the importance of saying "Thanks." He asks you to send the PDF to ten colleagues-friends today. Get Tom's "Redux. Redux. Redux." here, and pass it on. Thank you.

Download file, 71KB | posted on 11/02/06

 

Pursuit of Luck

Unofficially called "Getting Lucky," of course. This is a list that appeared in Liberation Management in 1992, in which Tom offers 50 ideas for increasing the likelihood that you'll "get lucky"—in business. Download it below, and find its relevance to your life today. (Don't miss the challenge at the end.)

Download file, 166KB | posted on 09/08/06

 

111 Ridiculously Obvious Thoughts on Selling

On 24 January 2006, Tom spoke to a group at GE Energy, and he posted seven PPTs and two PDFs for the occasion. Among them were a PowerPoint presentation titled 89 Ridiculously Obvious Thoughts About Selling Stuff, and a PDF document titled "90 Ridiculously Obvious Thoughts on Selling." By 28 January, four days later, the piece had grown into "111 Ridiculously Obvious Thoughts on Selling," and made available on our website as a simple PDF. It was then picked up by our friends at ChangeThis to be produced as a manifesto. Thus, Tom's collection of sales theorems evolved into its final form, which you find below.

Download file, 476KB | posted on 03/31/06

 

The 209 Irreducibles

Confronted during an executive session with Investec in Mauritius, Tom was asked, "So what's 'for sure'? Anything?" He said, "No. The world is too fluid for certainties." But, then he got to thinking and the result was this list, his "Irreducibles," which began with 173 things he'd say "for sure," and expanded over time to 209.

Download file, 33KB | posted on 03/13/06

 

Cup Challenge

Asked to come up with some quotes suitable for printing on the side of a coffee mug, Tom was inspired to write this collection: The Cup Challenge.

Download file, 112KB | posted on 02/14/06

 

TP's "Top 41" Quotes

As an alternative to New Year's Resolutions, Tom assembled his "Top 41" Quotes to live by in 2006. He offers them to you to adopt if you wish, also. Pick one or two, or use them all. TP's "Top 41" Quotes.

Download file, 166KB | posted on 01/03/06

 

What I've Done This Year

In Dubai, on September 18th, 2005, the head of IIR Middle East, Jessica Sutherland, asked Tom a "simple" question. He pondered it for weeks and gave us this, What I've Done This Year (updated 3 Jan 2006).

Download file, 228KB | posted on 01/03/06

 

The "PSF" is Everything

In the face of outsourcing, automating, downsizing, and all the other possible assaults on your position, Tom gives you tips on turning your company, your department, yourself into a Professional Service Firm—doing work that makes a difference. Also available from ChangeThis.

Download file, 899KB | posted on 09/07/05

 

Project05

Tom's 2005 summer project, a 240-page PDF full of rants ("CEOs Are Idiots!"), raves ("Lord Nelson Had All the Answers"), and more. Link to PDF.

Download file, 1.3MB | posted on 08/08/05

 

Tomato, Toma[h]to!

They say, "Plan it." Tom says, "Do it." They say, "We need an initiative." Tom says, "We need a Dream. And Dreamers." Tom takes issue with what "they" say and goes against popular organizational wisdom in Tomato, Toma[h]to!.

Download file, 1.3MB | posted on 07/25/05

 

100 Ways

… to Help You Succeed/Make Money, Pt. 1 This is the first half, Success Tips #1-50, of a work in progress. Tom set out to post 100 success tips on the tompeters.com blog, and this PDF includes the first 50. Also available at ChangeThis.

Download file, 776KB | posted on 02/24/05

 

Tom's Big Blog

This Microsoft Word file includes every post Tom wrote for the tompeters.com blog from July 2004 through January 2005. It's a searchable, printable reference for easy reading of Tom's posts. Link to Big Blog.

Download file, 552KB | posted on 01/31/05

 

The Off-Shoring Manifesto

Tom presents 20 hard truths about the inevitabilities, pitfalls, and matchless opportunities arising as off-shoring, automation, and technology permanently change how we do business in the world. This manifesto is also available at ChangeThis.

Download file, 372MB | posted on 11/02/04

 

A Baker's Dozen Eternal Verities

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Strategy. If your business strategy hinges on knowing where you're going, you'll find a very different point of view in Tom's questions and answers about "strategies" for success. Link to file.

Download file, 1.1MB | posted on 10/18/04

 

Summer04

This compilation of topics on Tom's mind in the summer of '04 features his "Summer of Soul" discussion of the journey to Greater Awareness. You'll also get "10 Good Reasons to Get Up in the Morning," and more. Link to PDF.

Download file, 716KB | posted on 09/26/04

 

This I Believe!

Tom's 60 TIBs. In honor of his 60th birthday, Tom put pen to paper (and fingers to keyboard) and compiled 60 thoughts, one for each year, that captured his professional and, to some extent, personal journey. He wrote about technicolor, audacity, revolution, weirdos, branding, and taking charge of your own destiny, among other things. This manifesto is also available from ChangeThis.

Download file, 900KB | posted on 08/24/04

 

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