|
Listen up, executives! Read on for Tom Peters’
summary of
|
 |
 It
is the foremost task--and responsibility-- of our generation
to RE-IMAGINE our
enterprises and institutions, public and private. |
|
 Rather
strong rhetoric. But I believe it. The fundamental nature
of the change that engulfs us has caught us unprepared.
No aspect of the way our public and private institutions
are organized must go unexamined. Or unchanged. “Foremost
task,” “our generation”? Without a doubt,
the answer is. . . YES.
|
|
 War-making,
commerce, politics, and the essential nature of human
interchange have come unglued. We are in a. . . Brawl
with NO RULES.
We have to make it up as we go along. (Success = SAV =
Screw Around Vigorously.) (Fail. Forward. Fast.) |
| Yesterday’s
strictures and structures leave us laughably-- and tragically--
unprepared for this Brawl with No Rules. From al Qaeda
to Wal*Mart, new entrants on the world stage have flummoxed
regnant institutions and their leaders. |
|
|
Incrementalism is. . . Out. DESTRUCTION
IS... IN.
Built to last is... Out. Built to flip is... In.
|
| “Continuous
improvement,” the lead mantra of the 1980s, is now
downright dangerous-- from the schoolroom to the battlefield.
We must gut the innards of our enterprises-- before the
new competitors (in war or in the marketplace) do it for
us/to us. |
|
 There
is no higher priority than the Total Transformation of
all business practice to eBusiness practice-- encompassing
every element of the enterprise and every member of its
family of alliances and partners. THE
INTERNET CHANGES EVERYTHING. NOW |
| The
new technology is the. . . Real Thing. It is in its infancy.
And yet it has already changed the rules, changed them
so fundamentally that it will be years, if not decades,
before it’s even possible to begin talking about
constructing a new rule book. |
|
 Ninety
percent of WHITE COLLAR JOBS
(which in turn are 90 percent of all jobs) as we know
them will be disemboweled in the next 15 years. DONE.
GONE. KAPUT. |
| Between
the microprocessor, 60/60/24/7 connectivity, and outsourcing
to developing countries, the developed nations’ white
collar jobs are. . . doomed. Time frame? Zero to 15 or
20 years. How confident am I of this? Totally. |
|
 “WINNERS”
(survivors!) will become de facto bosses of ME
Inc. Free the cubicle slaves! Self-reliance
replaces corporate cosseting! Hurray! |
| The
only defense is a good offense. Hackneyed? Sure. But no
less true, because that’s so. A scary (and exciting,
for me) New Age of Self-reliance is being birthed before
our eyes. Old --corporate-- security (lifetime employment,
etc.) is evaporating. |
|
 We
must learn to add value through CREATIVITY,
by inventing Extraordinary Experiences. . . which provide
scintillating “solutions” to customers’
oft unexpressed desires and dreams. Out: tangibles. In:
intangibles. |
| Old-fashioned
manufacturing (and jobs associated therewith) is no longer
the provenance of the developed nations’ economies.
The Age of Services and Intangibles has arrived. Moreover,
we are quickly moving beyond conventional services. .
. even farther out on the Intangibles Scale. . . to create
scintillating, value-added “experiences.” In
the words of the famous bank robber, Willy Sutton: “It’s
where the money is.” Don’t believe me? Ask Harley
Davidson. Or UPS (What can Brown do for you?). |
|
 DESIGN
RULES... in an Age of Experiences/Dream Fulfillment.
|
| Embracing
intangibles as the prime source of economic added means
embracing. . . Design. One marketing guru insists that
tomorrow’s CEOs will need to trade their MBA for
M3: from Master of Business Administration to Master of
Metaphysical Management. (Hint: I agree.) |
|
 BRAND
value equals all value. |
|
If
design is the Seat of the Soul of the New Value-Added
Paradigm. . . Brand Power is its ultimate expression.
Brand as in Brand You (e.g., Tom), as in the reason
for being at the two-person financial advisory firm.
. . or the basis for billions upon billions of dollars
of market capitalization at the likes of Nokia or Nike.
|
|
 WOMEN
BUY (ALL) the stuff. Re-imagine the brand itself--
and all business practices-- around women-as-purchasers-of-damn-near-everything.
|
|
The
world is/is going “feminine.” Feminine sensibilities
will dominate the creation of economic value. But forget
future directions: women already purchase the lion’s
share of everything, consumer and commercial-- and it
is (oddly) the ever so rare firm that has fully re-aligned
its enterprise parameters to cater to women’s needs.
|
|
 Boomers
& GEEZERS have
(ALL) the money. Pay attention! |
|
A
second neglected mega-Megatrend also (1) has trillions
of dollars in potential and is (2) blithely ignored
by 9.99 out of 10 enterprises. Namely the All New &
Different & Enormous & Wealthy Boomer-Geezer
group. (E.g.: boomers, those born between 1946 and 1964,
number 80 million in the U.S. alone.)
|
|
 Creative
Enterprises demand. . . AWESOME
(& Creative) TALENT.
Everywhere. |
|
This
statement is obvious. And its implications should be
(but seldom are): Talent Acquisition & Development
must become as much of an obsession for conventional
companies and government agencies as it is for an NFL
franchise or Cirque du Soleil.
|
|
 WOMEN
are. . . Tomorrow’s LEADERS.
|
|
Better
than it used to be? Sure! Nonetheless, women remain
our No. 1 underutilized source of talent, especially
leadership talent. Furthermore, the world is moving
women’s way: the new economy’s leadership
requirements – such as improvisation, power sharing
and appreciation of intangibles -- are a near perfect
match with women’s inherent strengths.
|
|
 “Talent
Development” rests upon total re-imagining of our
insipid schools. Kids who ‘COLOR
OUTSIDE THE BOX ,’ ‘can’t sit
still,’ must become the new Heroes. |
|
We
must learn to honor the creative and entrepreneurial
instinct. The school system is a near-perfect device
for quashing both. If Talent Rules All. . . then there
is no higher priority than the 179.5 degree reinvention
of the fundamental nature of schooling. Won’t sit
still? Talks back? Promote ‘em early!
|
|
 Weird
Wins. . . in Weird Times. (Innovation = Easy. Hang Out
with Weird= GET WEIRD.
Q.E.D.) |
|
We
must use every device imaginable to force ourselves
out of comfort zones. My short list of “must haves”:
weird boards of directors, weird customers, weird suppliers,
weird employees. . . weird lunchmates and weird vacations.
We must try and emulate advertising genius Jay Chiat,
who once said, “I’m only comfortable when
I’m uncomfortable.” Amen.
|
|
Leading = Re-imagining = Unleashing Passion in One &
All. Winners. . . Pursue Quests to Places as Yet Unimagined.
Leaders applaud their “followers’ “Quirky
Bravery. . . and egg them on to ever more WILD
AND WOLLY EXPERIMENTS |
|
We
must use every device imaginable to force ourselves
out of comfort zones. My short list of “must haves”:
weird boards of directors, weird customers, weird suppliers,
weird employees. . . weird lunchmates and weird vacations.
We must try and emulate advertising genius Jay Chiat,
who once said, “I’m only comfortable when
I’m uncomfortable.” Amen.
|
View Basket
dk books 
Buy
the book
About
Tom
are registered and/or unregistered trade marks of Dorling Kindersley Limited.
