Thomas J. "Tom" Peters (born November 7, 1942) is an American writer on business management practices, best-known for In Search of Excellence co-authored with Robert H. Waterman.
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Life is pretty simple: You do some stuff. Most fails. Some works. You do more of what works. If it works big, others quickly copy it. Then you do something else. The trick is the doing something else.
A career is a portfolio of projects that teach you new skills, gain you new expertise, develop new capabilities, grow your colleague set and constantly reinvent you as a brand.
Most of their real innovation comes from the market
Brains are in; heavy lifting is out. That's the essential nature of the new knowledge-based economy. Therefore, the development of knowledge is close to job No. 1 for corporations.
Machines can automate a lot of things, but design is something humans do best.
Lists simplify, clarify, edify.
Musing on the phrase ‘waste of time.’ So much more complex than it appears. Many ‘wastes of time’—small talk, daydreaming—are imperatives.”
Life is too short for non-WOW projects.
Bosses: You make your living going to meetings. Hence any meeting that does not bubble and incite enthusiasm is a forever-lost opportunity.
If not excellence, what? If not excellence now, when?
EXCELLENCE in <140 Characters: Cherish your people, cuddle your customers, wander around, “try it” beats “talk about it,” Excellence or else, tell the truth.
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In the private or public sector, in big business or small, we observe that there are only two ways to create and sustain superior performance over the long haul. First, take exceptional care of your customers ... via superior service and superior quality. Second, constantly innovate. That’s it.
An organization, no matter how ‘technologically transformed,’ is at the end of the day no more/no less than: PEOPLE SERVING PEOPLE. (And as leader, your job is: SERVE THE PEOPLE WHO SERVE THE PEOPLE.) (One last thing: The people we serve are our Customers AND our Communities.)
Most important things take lots of time. Peerless quality. Relationship building. Developing people. Superb design. EXCELLENCE.
The vitality of our network will determine our professional fate.