This—circa November 2015—is my best shot. It’s “THE WORKS.” Some half-century in the making (from 1966, Vietnam, U.S. Navy ensign, combat engineer/Navy Seabees—my first “management” job); but also the product of a massive program of self-directed study in the last 36 months. It includes, in effect, a 250-page book’s worth—50,000++ words—of annotation.
The times are nutty—and getting nuttier at an exponential pace. I have taken the current context as fully into account as I am capable of doing. But I have given equal attention to more or less eternal verities that will continue to drive organizational performance and a quest for EXCELLENCE for the next several years—and perhaps beyond.
Enjoy.
Steal. (That’s the whole bloody point.)
P-L-E-A-S-E try something, better yet several somethings.* ** *** **** *****
*Make no mistake, this is a 14-chapter … BOOK. I think and write in PowerPoint; but the flow is emphatically “booklike”—and the annotations are extensive, to say the least; if something needs explaining, well, it’s explained. I dearly hope you will join me in this cumulative—half-century—journey.
**My “Life Mantra #1”: WTTMSW/Whoever Tries The Most Stuff Wins.
***I am quite taken by N.N. Taleb’s term “antifragile” (it’s the title of his most recent book). The point is not “resilience” in the face of change; that’s reactive. Instead the idea is proactive—literally “getting off” on the madness per se; perhaps I somewhat anticipated this with my 1987 book, Thriving on Chaos.
****Re “new stuff,” this presentation has benefited immensely from Social Media—e.g., I have learned a great deal from my 125K+ twitter followers; that is, some fraction of this material is “crowdsourced.”
*****I am not interested in providing “good presentations.” I am interested in spurring practical action—i.e., pick a few things and try them. Otherwise, why waste your time—or mine?
Contents/”The Works”/1966-2015/EXCELLENCE!
Chapter ONE: Execution/The “All-Important Last 95%”
Chapter TWO: EXCELLENCE (Or Why Bother at All?)
Chapter THREE: 34 BFOs/Blinding Flashes of the Obvious
Chapter FOUR: People (REALLY!) First
Chapter FIVE: Tech Tsunami/Software Is Eating the World++
Chapter SIX: People First/A Moral Imperative Circa 2015
Chapter SEVEN: Giants Stink/Age of SMEs/Be The Best, It’s the Only Market That’s Not Crowded
Chapter EIGHT: Innovate Or Die/W.T.T.M.S.W./Whoever Tries The Most Stuff Wins++
Chapter NINE: Nine Value-Added Strategies
Chapter TEN: The “PSF”/Professional Service Firm “Model” as Exemplar/”Cure All”
Chapter ELEVEN: You/Me/The “Age of ‘BRAND YOU’/’Me Inc.'”
Chapter TWELVE: Women Are Market #1 For Everything/Women Are the Most Effective Leaders
Chapter THIRTEEN: Leadership/46 Scattershot Tactics
Chapter FOURTEEN: Avoid Moderation!/Pursue “Insanely Great”/Just Say “NO!” to Normal
Epigraphs
“Business has to give people enriching, rewarding lives … or it’s simply not worth doing.”—Richard Branson
“Your customers will never be any happier than your employees.”—John DiJulius
“We have a strategic plan. It’s called ‘doing things.'”—Herb Kelleher
“You miss 100% of the shots you never take.”—Wayne Gretzky
“Ready. Fire. Aim.”—Ross Perot
“Execution is strategy.”—Fred Malek
“Avoid moderation.”—Kevin Roberts
“I’m not comfortable unless I’m uncomfortable.”—Jay Chiat
“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it.”—John DiJulius on social media
“Courtesies of a small and trivial character are the ones which strike deepest in the grateful and appreciating heart.”—Henry Clay
“You know a design is cool when you want to lick it.”—Steve Jobs
“This will be the women’s century.”—Dilma Rousseff
“Be the best. It’s the only market that’s not crowded.”—George Whalin