The 15-Second “Pep talk”
(And more)

Summary to a colleague of my recent 15-minute speech (“pep talk”):

Don’t worry about ’21st century leadership’ (my assigned topic). If you are just decent to people, listen instead of talk, respect and encourage them, are religious about ‘managing by wandering around,’ most things will work out. And I said that, in the end, taking good care of people was the only thing worthy of a tombstone epitaph. My closing line, ‘My ex-father-in-law carved tombstones. Nobody ever gets their net worth carved on their tombstone.'”

The 15-second version of the 15-minute talk, in the form of a tweet:

Do your MBWA and take good care of people. No one has their net worth on their tombstone.”

More tweets inspired by the short talk:

Listening rules. Listening effectively is a “profession” as much as neurosurgery—though much more powerful than neurosurgery.

Listening is the ultimate mark of respect.
Listening is the ultimate motivator.
Listening is the ultimate source of knowledge.

Listening is the ultimate—and only trustworthy—”culture barometer.”

Listening rocks, rolls, and rules. Do your MBWA first thing this morning, last thing in the afternoon.

(Response tweet from Leslie Ann Howard: “When two people are talking, only one is communicating, the person who is listening.”)

If you think “small talk” is small, then resign your leadership role this morning.

Friendships are the lubricant of effective leadership. So says Bill George. So said Dwight David Eisenhower.

Being pleasant is not antithetical to being tough-minded. In fact, though it’s counterintuitive, they are handmaidens.

Internal impatience is a virtue. External impatience is a vice.

SIN OF “SEND.” Edgy email? Hold it for 6 hours before sending.

Tom Peters posted this on June 17, 2015, in Leadership.
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