Hard is Soft, Soft is Hard

Little BIG Things: Excellence (16 Segments - 52 Minutes)

If not Excellence, what? If not Excellence now, when?   Tom Peters

A Bias for Action 3:17

One of the original 8 principals from the best-selling book In Search of Excellence, A Bias for Action is just as, if not more, relevant today as it was then. The lesson here is quite simple: Too much talk, too little do!

Angry People Make Change 2:57

Change and innovation tend to begin with people who are angry and frustrated with the status quo. These types of emotions can really draw attention to inefficiencies and motivate change. Channel all that frustration into new ideas!

Cross Functional Communication 2:56

Although this ability is critical to success, most people would agree that the cross functional communication practices at their own organization are not very good. Well, here is a fun and easy tool to really improve your cross-functional communication skills. Lunch! Socialization is a great way to build a cross functional relationship that will help you now, and in the future.

Excellence Can Happen Anywhere 2:18

You can do it in groceries as well as in the wacky and wonderful world of Google. What are we talking about? Excellent people practices! Some people think that excellence in people practice only happen in large corporations, not small companies or the service industry. But, it can be found anywhere!

Fail Forward Fast 3:30

If, as Tom believes, trying a lot of stuff is key to Excellence, then failure, too, is key. A CEO once told Tom that their philosophy was Fail. Forward. Fast. That is: Fail fast. Learn from it fast. And try again fast! Each failure leads to a better solution.

Hard is Soft, Soft is Hard 1:54

Tom goes back to the basic lessons from "In Search of Excellence" and recaps the importance of people and relationships. Tom believes that the so-called Hard Stuff (budgets, strategy, etc) is the easy stuff. The "soft stuff" (people, relationships, etc) is the most difficult but the most important.

Have You 50 12:10

Tom saw an article in the Harvard Business Review called, Mapping Your Competitive Position. That triggered the thought: Instead of mapping your competitive position, why dont you just call a customer? If would be easier and better! Over time, this has led to these 50 pragmatic ideas for achieving excellence.

Language Matters! 2:44

Radically Thrilling! Insanely Great! WOW! These are all quotes Tom uses to illustrate the impact of the language you use. If you want an energetic place, use energetic language!

MBWA 2:22

One of the original concepts from In Search of Excellence is "MBWA" or Managing by Wandering Around. This concept was radically different from the practices of many organizations where the CEOs were locked in their offices. Tom still believes that this concept if very important and that getting out of your office is critical to success.

The 19 E's of Excellence 4:21

From Edginess to Excellence, The 19 Es of Excellence contain some of Toms thoughts on what it means to have excellence.

Thoughts From Tom Watson 1:48

It is such an incredible aspiration, to pursue excellence. In fact, I dont understand the pursuit of anything else. Tom Watson, the legendary IMB founder, said this after being asked about achieving excellence: The secret to excellence is a deep-seated personal commitment to the fact that you will never again, knowingly, do anything that is not excellence.

Thoughts On Enterprise 2:26

Every organization exists to be of service to others. Explore this Enterprise at its Best philosophy and what it means, or should mean, to you and your organization.

Tuck In The Shower Curtain 2:34

What does happen when you forget to tuck the shower curtain into the bathtub? As far as Tom is concerned, we talk way too much about strategy when we should be getting the job done and getting it done with excellence. Tom explores the idea that execution is strategy while discussing the importance of consistency and passionate attention to detail. How much do you sweat the details in your organization?

Unleash Individuals 2:16

If you want an outstanding organization that values a strong focus on the customer and giving great service, then you must first develop your people. Your organization must be devoted to the full-scale and constant development of your people.

Value Talent! 2:26

How much importance does your company place on developing and managing talent? Is this a strong focus company-wide, or just an item on an HR check list? The London marketing services firm WPP feels that it is so important that theyve put it right in the mission statement! There are many companies making plenty of statements about their values and Tom has mixed reactions to many, but this one he likes from WPP: Our Mission to develop and manage talent; to apply that talent, throughout the world, for the benefit of clients; to do so in partnership; to do so with profit.

Why Excellence 2:25

Ever since the publication of the book In Search of Excellence, Tom has fallen in love with the word excellence. The reason is simple: Tom believes that any endeavor can be made better by pursuing excellence.