"Unintended consequences outnumber intended consequences." Tom Peters

President of Environmental Defense Fund, and coauthor of Earth: The Sequel—The Race to Reinvent Energy and Stop Global Warming, Fred Krupp is our new Cool Friend. The book is a field guide to innovation in the alternative energy industry, primarily through a cap and trade law. Not familiar with cap and trade? Read the Cool Friends interview here.

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dispatches from the new world of work

Sorting Out Causes and Effects

Customers Second, Customers First.
Customers in the "Marketplace."
"Customers" in the Firm Who Serve the Customers in the Marketplace.

[Some of you said, in Comments, that I've gone too far in this "customer 2nd" stuff. Probably true—but I still contend that there is a fundamental correctness, which addresses a characteristic imbalance, to Matthew Kelly's, "Our employees are our first customers, and our most important customers"—from The Dream Manager. Let me get personal about "all this ..."]

I luuuuuuuv great customer-"end user" feedback! I am competitive to a fault in that regard and a slave to the market—"after all these years." At a higher level of marketplace engagement, I love a hearty business backlog, especially if it's based on repeat business—and I carefully measure it against year-to-date 2007, 2006, 2005, etc. And I love a fee-per-event yield that exceeds last year, the year before, etc.

And so on.
And on.

And yet ...

And yet ... in an important way ... I indeed put the customer-"end user" second or third or ...

Second or third to what?

Simple & crystal clear (to me): To give a high-impact, well-regarded, occasionally life-changing speech "to customers" I first & second & third have to focus all my restless energy on "satisfying" ... myself. I must be ... physically & emotionally & intellectually agitated & excited & desperate beyond measure ... to communicate & connect & compel & grab by the collar & say my piece about a small number of things, often contentious and not "crowd-pleasers," that, at the moment, are literally a matter of personal ... life and death.

I crave great "customer feedback"—but in no way, shape, or form am I trying to "satisfy my customer." I am, I repeat, trying instead to satisfy me, my own deep neediness to reach out and grab my customer & connect with my customer over ideas that consume & devour me.

Hence ... my "Job One" is purely selfish & internally focused, to be completely captivated by the subject matter at hand. That is, to repeat in slightly different words, Job One is ... self-motivation.

Warren Bennis, my primo mentor, in On Becoming a Leader, said, "No leader sets out to be a leader per se, but rather to express him- or herself freely and fully. That is, leaders have no interest in proving themselves, but an abiding interest in expressing themselves."

So I'm back to my somewhat disingenuous message: To put the marketplace customer first, I must put the person serving the customer "more first." (Myself, in the case of a speech, the frontline employee for Rosenbluth International's Hal Rosenbluth in days past or for RE/MAX'sDave Linegar—see yesterday's "customer second" PowerPoint re Hal, Dave, et al.)

Excitement & self-stimulation first.
"Service" second.

That's my cause & effect scheme.

Tom Peters posted this today.
Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Service

Organizational Excellence

On April 30th, Tom spoke from a studio in Watertown, MA for the Skillsoft Leadership Development Channel that was broadcast out to about 10,000 people. At the end of the hour-long talk, Tom was asked to record some short videos on various topics. And then Tom added a couple of his own. The folks at Skillsoft have been kind enough to let us use these videos at tompeters.com. The first one is called Organizational Excellence (length is just under 3 minutes) in which Tom says that "fundamentally the brand is the talent." And that the best way to serve your external customer is to be sure to serve your internal customers, your employees, first. By happenstance, this topic coincides with the slide set Tom published today called "The Customer Comes Second."

This is the first of eight videos ranging from "Organizational Excellence" to "Yes, You are in Sales!" We'll be posting these sporadically over the next week or two, whenever we think you may need a jolt of inspiration. Hope you enjoy them.

Shelley Dolley posted this yesterday.
Permalink | Comments (13) | TrackBack (0) | Talent

Spring 2008 on the Farm/Vermont

Cathy has been bugging me for spring-on-the-farm pictures from VT. Herewith are four:

(1) the chickens are out and about

chickens are out

(2) the tulips are finally blooming

finally tulips

(3) new porch furniture—it's warm enough to move outdoors

new porch furniture

(4) construction of Susan's new studio

susan's studio construction

Happy Spring! (I know it's almost over for some of you—we're just gearing up. And, of course, for others of you south of the Equator, winter is just around the corner in our "little" "global village.")

Tom Peters posted this yesterday.
Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBack (0) | Tom's Travels

Special Presentation: The Customer Comes Second

This new PPT titled "The Customer Comes Second" acts as a follow-up to last week's Post.

Tom Peters posted this yesterday.
Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0) | Tom's Slides

Frequent Flyer Alert!!

Do not read "Flying Foul: Passengers Behaving Badly" on page D1 in the May 6 issue of the Wall Street Journal.

(I'll say no more other than what goes around comes around—treat customers like dirt and they will return the favor. Literally.)

[For heaven's sake, don't read this article. Ugh!—CM]

Tom Peters posted this on 05/07.
Permalink | Comments (20) | TrackBack (0) | Service

Comments on TP.com

We haven't said anything about comment protocol in a while, and we thought it was a good idea to mention our "discussion area" again. Most important: Tom reads all the comments. He often calls Erik or me to talk about the tenor of the responses his blog posts are getting. Keep that in mind when posting in our comments. We appreciate your participation, and we invite those who haven't yet added to the discussion to please join in!

Some of you send emails to Tom, using tom (at) tompeters.com or info (at) tompeters.com in an attempt to get a response directly from him. Tom sees the emails, but I answer them, so that we can be sure that every message gets a reply. Though Tom occasionally answers the email, if you'd like a direct response from him, you are much more likely to get his input by commenting on a blog post (brilliantly!). And, as we've said before, please try to keep your exposition in our comments section short and to the point, remembering that we follow the "living room" rule—don't behave in any way you would not behave towards guests in your home.

Cathy Mosca posted this on 05/06.
Permalink | Comments (26) | TrackBack (0) | General

Is Mac Going Mainstream?

In its May 12th cover story, "The Mac in the Grey Flannel Suit," BusinessWeek confirmed that Apple has finally made some promising inroads into the corporate market in the last year. As a long-time Macophile and anti-PC-er I'm thrilled to see more company Macs. According to research data from the Yankee Group, 87% of surveyed companies now have some Apple computers in their offices, compared to 48% two years ago—due in large part to the iPhone's success in gaining new Apple customers. Meanwhile, Microsoft's problems with Vista, the latest version of its Windows operating system, have further weakened the MS hegemony and encouraged corporate users to upgrade to Mac.

But as the article points out, Apple CEO Steve Jobs, who wouldn't even comment on the BusinessWeek story, may not be that anxious to get the grey flannel business. Why? Because a corporate sales strategy would require both an expensive sales & support staff and a willingness to modify Mac product designs to suit the conflicting demands of corporate buyers. Apple is doing just fine without these hassles, making high margins catering to students and artists who will pay extra for the Apple cool. Budget-conscious CIOs may not be as accommodating.

If you were Steve Jobs, what would YOU do?

John O'Leary posted this on 05/06.
Permalink | Comments (22) | TrackBack (1) | Technology

????????

Jan Gunnarsson and Olle Blohm, in Hostmanship: The Art of Making People Feel Welcome, write:

"The path to a hostmanship culture paradoxically does not go through the guest. In fact it wouldn't be totally wrong to say that the guest has nothing to do with it. True hostmanship leaders focus on their employees. What drives them is finding the right people and getting them to love their work and see it as a passion. ... The guest comes into the picture only when you are ready to ask, 'Would you prefer to stay at a hotel where the staff love their work or where management has made customers its highest priority?'"

"We went through the hotel and made a 'consideration renovation.' Instead of redoing bathrooms, dining rooms, and guest rooms, we gave employees new uniforms, bought flowers and fruit, and changed colors. Our focus was totally on the staff. They were the ones we wanted to make happy. We wanted them to wake up every morning excited about a new day at work."

Works for me.
And you?

Tom Peters posted this on 05/05.
Permalink | Comments (39) | TrackBack (0) | Talent

CEOs with A Sense Of Humor

BP just reported very nice results. (I'm sure this comes as a great surprise to Americans paying $4.00+ per gallon at the pump—and Brits springing for $10.00+ for the same amount of petrol.) The "humor" part of the news item was the relatively new CEO, Tony Hayward, claiming that the good news was a product of "the first signs of real change inside the company." (He inherited a bit of a mess.)

He was joking, right?

If 100.00000000000% of BPers had been sound asleep at their work stations throughout the quarter, BP would have had great results as oil hit $120 per barrel.

Do these guys—e.g., "Big Tony"—really believe that their "programs are paying off"? I know it's a game, but surely they must understand what complete idiots they sound like.

On second thought, I guess I can understand their reluctance to tell it like it is: "Wow, are we ever lucky blokes! The Chinese are inhaling hydrocarbons by the gazillions of barrels with no end in sight, the guzzlin' Americans still think "conservation" is a 4-letter word, and the Royals in Saudi and their pawns at OPEC know they have the world over a barrel, as it were. Hence, with no action whatsoever by us, demand is soaring, supply is constrained, and our shareholders are rolling in the resultant loot. Plus, we'll be able to keep capital expenditures well under control, since there is utterly no incentive to find or refine more hydrocarbons and thence increase supply and thereby wound the geese that are laying the golden eggs. You can confidently look forward to us doing absolutely nothing except hiring more accountants and acquiring bigger vaults."

Tom Peters posted this on 05/02.
Permalink | Comments (30) | TrackBack (0) | Markets

I Do Love You, Lee, But ...

How simply can I put it: There is no one in ad world that I respect more than Lee Clow, the chief creative at TBWA Worldwide—he's been my hero since the 1985 Apple ad showing IBMers as lemmings walking off a cliff. (I was in the Stanford stadium when it played for the one and only time during the Super Bowl.)

The New York Times recently reported on Lee's remarks at a big ad world confab. He seems to have said that the key to getting with it in the New World Order of advertising-marketing is hiring lots of youngsters and giving them more or less free rein to invent the future.

Seems as though I've heard that line before—from me.

Well, to a large extent, Lee and I are simply full of it.

How about hiring ... old people [and giving them more or less free rein to invent the future]?

That is: I have met the future, and it is me!

As most of you know, Susan and I have just returned from a seven-day walking tour along the Dalmatian Coast of Croatia. There were about 15 of us. As I recall, the age range was about fifty to a little over seventy-five. (!!) While the daily hikes were not reminiscent of the Boston Marathon that occurred the day after we left, they were up-and-down, rocky, and averaged perhaps eight miles a day.

You didn't have to be a Rockefeller to be a part of the group, but a reasonable amount of money changed hands, especially when airfare is included.

We—collectively—are the poster "children" for the most enormous-wealthy-healthy market opportunity, well, ever. As in: ever.

Boomers.
Geezers.

Bill Novelli, AARP head, lets us in on the world's most commercially profound "secret":

"People turning 50 today have more than half of their adult life ahead of them."

When I first read that, I believe it's no exaggeration to say that I literally "gasped." I guess I more or less knew it, but I'd never seen it in such plain-succinct text.

50.
Over.
Half.
To go.

Of equal impact, on a micro level, was the fact that:

The average American buys 13 cars in the course of a lifetime.
She-he buys seven of the thirteen after the age of 50.

Cars.
More than half.
After 50.

The leading edge of boomer-dom is now over 60. I tried to describe, on a single PPT slide, what I think is coming-here, from the Boomers, and their older peers, the [amazingly healthy] Geezers:

"We are the Aussies & Kiwis & Americans & Canadians. We are the Western Europeans & Japanese. We are the fastest growing, the biggest, the wealthiest, the boldest, the most (yes) ambitious, the most experimental & exploratory, the most different, the most indulgent, the most difficult & demanding, the most service & experience obsessed, the most vigorous, (the least vigorous,) the most health conscious, the most female, the most profoundly important commercial market in the history of the world—and we will be the Center of your universe for the next twenty-five years. We have arrived!"

We.
Have.
Arrived.

Back to my gripe with my friend Lee Clow.

Here is my current report card on the market's (manufacturers, retailers, designers, marketers, product and service developers) effort to understand and encompass and exploit this Incredible-Humongous Expanding Market Opportunity:

Awful.
Dumb.
Disgraceful.
Insane.
Stupid.
Pitiful.
Embarrassing.

As I put it, ever so gently, and with great cultural sensitivity, post-Croatia, in my London seminar on 28 April:

"You are all idiots."

Hint: I considered it understatement.

NB: I am not suggesting that things aren't changing. But I am suggesting-insisting that I and my friends on the trip to Croatia and several hundred million others with literally trillions of bucks-Euros burning holes in our collective pockets, will be the centerpiece of economic opportunity for the next Two Decades or so. It ain't forever, but 20 or 25 years is a good, solid hunk of time.

Think: Next quarter century!
(After that you're on your own—and I ain't gonna be bugging you.)

Attached is a short PowerPoint "Special Presentation" on this topic.

Above and below are a couple of pics from our trip.

Tom Peters posted this on 05/02.
Permalink | Comments (26) | TrackBack (1) | Trend$

100 Ways to Succeed #116:

Boomers! Geezers! Now!

Before the week [day?] ends, somehow or other begin a serious conversation about your attitude toward and approach to the Boomer-Geezer market.

(Like race in the world of politics, try to examine your implicit biases—eventually with the help of an outside facilitator.)

If at all applicable, consider Very Radical Alternatives—e.g., re-aligning strategy around Boomers-Geezers.

Big idea/s:

    (1) It is a big idea.
    (2) Stir the pot. Now.
    (3) The opportunities are enormous; the response so far is pitiful.
    (4) Don't be an idiot.

Tom Peters posted this on 05/02.
Permalink | Comments (8) | TrackBack (0) | Success Tips

A Personal Top Ten Tom Quotes from London

Further to Valarie's "tuck it in" clip from Tom's London speech, here's my personal top ten takeaway thoughts from another mega happening in London. Tom, sorry if these are not quite verbatim. I did my best. You deliver the hits faster than I can scribble them down!

1. Excellence comes from human beings doing things of value that customers find memorable.

2. Remember. You are the only human being in the world who can help this particular customer at this particular moment in time.

3. The thing that keeps a business ahead of the competition is excellence in execution.

4. Brand inside is more important than brand outside for sustained success.

5. Leaders' careers will usually be determined by their handling of one or two critical events that no one could possibly anticipate or plan for.

6. Make sure that you spend your time on the things you say are your priorities.

7. Tuck the shower curtain in and give away two-cent candy!

8. It's remarkable how quickly an excellent culture can be torn apart by poor management.

9. Irrelevance comes from always doing the things you know how to do in the way you've always done them.

10. If you love your company and love what you do, you will serve your customers better—period!

Enjoy!

Richard King posted this on 05/01.
Permalink | Comments (10) | TrackBack (0) | Excellence

Event: Skillsoft

Tom's closer to home in Watertown, Massachusetts, speaking for SkillSoft's Leadership Development Channel. Featuring best-selling business authors, experts, and CEOs—those who can have the biggest impact in motivating and challenging the thinking of learners, Leadership Development Channel is a collection of on-demand programs (videos) in multiple learning formats designed to help organizations develop their managers.
You can download the slides here:
Skillsoft, Watertown, MA

Cathy Mosca posted this on 04/30.
Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBack (0) | Tom's Slides

Tucking the Shower Curtain

I was lucky to get to London for the Tom event yesterday. Repeating his message from this blog post, Tom told the story about Conrad Hilton, founder of Hilton hotels. At a gala celebrating his life, he was asked, "What was the most important lesson you've learned in your long and distinguished career?" His reply was, "Remember to tuck the shower curtain inside the bathtub."

At first glance, one may think, that's it? But, think about it ... paying attention to detail makes all the difference when we are trying to achieve excellence. When we miss the little things, we miss the opportunity to achieve excellence; we fall just short of it.

My question of the day is, "What shower curtain do you need to tuck in?"

Val Willis posted this on 04/29.
Permalink | Comments (19) | TrackBack (0) | Excellence

Event: London Tom Day

Today, Tom's in London sharing the stage with our Cool Friend Kjell Nordström, with the theme being "Look Beyond Change." Presented by old friends Benchmark in partnership with Tom Peters Company!UK, it should be a great day! As always, the slides are available here:
Excellence. Always. Benchmark/TPC!UK, London

Cathy Mosca posted this on 04/28.
Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBack (0) | Tom's Slides

What the Hell!

Found this on a greeting card in a Boston paper store. Frankly, it doesn't get much better than this:

"Ever notice that 'what the hell' is always the right decision?"—unknown Hollywood script writer (courtesy The Borealis Press)

Tom Peters posted this on 04/24.
Permalink | Comments (27) | TrackBack (0) | Innovation

100 Ways to Succeed #115:

What the Hell!

At some point today (today!), despite "overload" ... just say, "what the hell" and go for it in some way or other.

(Likewise, worry if it's been more than a week or so since you said to yourself, "what the hell.")

Tom Peters posted this on 04/24.
Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0) | Success Tips

Innovation ... It's Easy as P___!

If innovation is still the best source of competitive advantage, then this truism should apply beyond the world of fashion, IT, and pharmaceuticals, and into less obviously promising areas, like aircraft toilets! A client who works in this sector told me recently that men (still) make up 70% of airline passengers carried. (Reason in itself to re-read Chapter 13 of Re-imagine!) Further, and without going into unnecessary detail, he told me that three out of every four visits passengers make to the toilet during flights is to pee. So, putting these two statistics together, over 50% of toilet utilisation on flights is by men peeing. Question then. Why are there no men's urinals on planes, as there are in just about every other venue where men and women co-exist in large numbers?

Some cynics amongst us might say that this is largely because the status quo does not cause a big problem for men! But things are starting to change. A German company (see Dasell.com) has just won an industry prize for offering the first aircraft urinal as a unique feature for their customers, the big airlines and plane manufacturers. These novel facilities are certainly more space- and weight-efficient, and attractive for the specifying aero-engineers on that basis alone. But it's likely to be the women passengers who turn out to be the biggest beneficiaries of this particular piece of German ingenuity. Having to share toilet facilities with us men on long flights can't be the best aspect of the air travel experience for women passengers. Installing urinals to take most of the male traffic opens up the attractive possibility of an airline's being able to designate some of the conventional toilet facilities as for "ladies only" without inconveniencing the male majority. This seems like a really good service innovation to me. But how could I possibly know or understand!

Does anyone know of similarly mundane innovations that had surprising benefits?

Richard King posted this on 04/23.
Permalink | Comments (31) | TrackBack (0) | Innovation

Keystone Seven

In the course of the last few weeks, in addition to "live events" (e.g., Johannesburg, Mexico City), I've been working on a set of "Keystone Presentations," seven to be exact. Fact is, they collectively amount to a significant shift in emphasis. I am focusing on the "practical" "eternal" "human" (oh so human!) basics of GTD/Getting Things Done, or Implementation. We have posted several of these presentations along the way. With this post I want to offer you, in one place, all seven—prior to my taking off for a week-long trek on the Dalmation Coast-Croatia.

[Download links for all seven are below—CM]
The Alternate Master—The 1158-slide set that Tom would choose from if he were presenting a day-long seminar
Real People (PDF)—Also known as "Excellence for the Rest of Us: A Book for Real People, Working in the Real World in 2008"
The Healthcare Master—Ten Years in the Making, a completely annotated slides presentation
The Implementation Master—The case for Implementation as business strategy #1
3 Cases—Implementation—A corollary to the Implementation Master above
Guru Gaffes—Contrasts: Guru-world vs. Real World
Equations—A series of equations stating that "Success is a function of ..."

Tom Peters posted this on 04/22.
Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBack (0) | Tom's Slides

Re-imagine! China

What are they reading in China? According to Joe Nocera in the New York Times this past Saturday, everything to do with business management, and their Tom Peters book of choice is Re-imagine! See what Nocera has to say at NYTimes online.

Cathy Mosca posted this on 04/21.
Permalink | Comments (20) | TrackBack (0) | General

More Dispatches...

Master

It's in seven parts—roughly 3,500 slides:

Excellence, Version 2007!
A Seven-part Harmony!

Part One: Context. Excellence. "Must dos."
Part Two: Innovation. The case. Tactics (e.g., SAV—Screw Around Vigorously).
Part Three: Climbing-clawing Up-up-up-up the Value-added Ladder. Solutions-The Essential Professional Service Firm model- Experiences- Dreams-Lovemarks.
Part Four: Staggering "New" Market Trillion-dollar opportunities—still neglected. Women. Boomers & Geezers. Women. "Best fit" as Tomorrow's Leaders.
Part Five: "People." Brand You imperative. "Talent," best Roster wins.
Part Six: Leadership in Changing Times including The Leadership50
Part Seven: Key Lists (E.g., "The Irreducible 209." "Us" vs "Them.")

Also:
The Alternate Master—the 1158-slide set that Tom would choose from if he was presenting a day-long seminar | 11 Apr

And, New!
Ten Years in the Making!—The Healthcare Master—completely annotated | 9 Apr

Special

Specialized slides sets for Tom's turn-on topics. Recent selections:

The Customer Comes Second | 8 May
Boomers-Geezers: Market Opportunity | 2 May

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