The Excellence Dividend: Tom Peters’ Key Argument from … The Excellence Dividend: Meeting the Tech Tide With Work That Wows and Jobs That Last 09 May 2018 1 1

Given/Axiomatic … THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR NOT MAKING ANY ORGANIZATION/ANY SIZE/ANY BUSINESS A GREAT PLACE TO WORK EVERY LEADER/2018 HAS A MORAL OBLIGATION TO DEVELOP PEOPLE SO THAT WHEN THEY LEAVE THEY ARE BETTER PREPARED FOR TOMORROW THAN THEY WERE WHEN THEY ARRIVED. ANY/ALL ORGANIZATIONS ARE PEOPLE SERVING PEOPLE. LEADERS: PEOPLE SERVING PEOPLE SERVING PEOPLE.

Note: WHILE I'VE BEEN ON THE EXCELLENCE DIVIDEND BOOK TOUR--MOSTLY PODCASTS--I'VE BEEN ASKED OVER AND OVER TO EXPLAIN MY “OBSESSION” WITH THE "PEOPLE STUFF." I USUALLY ANSWER, SNIPPILY, "WELL WHAT THE HELL ELSE IS THERE?” “ORGANIZATIONS, NO MATTER HOW MUCH TECHNOLOGY THEY USE, ARE NO MORE AND NO LESS THAN 'PEOPLE SERVING PEOPLE.’ AND AS A LEADER, YOUR JOB IS: SERVE THE PEOPLE WHO SERVE THE PEOPLE. (ONE LAST THING: THE PEOPLE WE SERVE ARE OUR EMLOYEES AND OUR CUSTOMERS AND OUR COMMUNITIES.) 3

—Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Good Business “BUSINESS HAS TO GIVE PEOPLE ENRICHING, REWARDING LIVES … OR IT’S SIMPLY NOT WORTH DOING.” —Richard Branson (1/4,096) “[BUSINESS HAS THE] RESPONSIBILITY TO INCREASE THE SUM OF HUMAN WELL-BEING.” —Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Good Business

Read. (Please. ) Reflect. (Please Read. (Please.) Reflect. (Please.) I pulled everything together into a 17-chapter, 4,096-slide PP a couple of years ago. Something had to be Slide #1 (of 4,096!). The Branson quote took pride of place. As I said, read and re-read (re-re-re-read “or-it’s-simply-not-worth-doing” ) & reflect. (PLEASE.) Re the Csikszentmihalyi quote (he’s the father of “flow”), business is NOT “part of the community.” Business IS the community—i.e., where most adults spend most of their waking hours. Hence, the overall responsibility of business is … staggering. 5

MANAGING: AS A PAIN IN THE ASS MANAGING: AS A PAIN IN THE ASS. Somebody’s got to do it; punching bag for higher ups on one end, grouchy employees on the other; blame magnet if things go wrong, big bosses abscond with the credit if things go right. MANAGING: AS THE PINNACLE OF HUMAN ACHIEVEMENT. The greatest life opportunity one can have (literally). Mid- to long-term success is no more and no less than a function of one’s dedication to and effectiveness at helping team members grow and flourish as individuals and as contributing members to an energetic, self-renewing organization dedicated to the relentless pursuit of EXCELLENCE.

It’s simple, really. An “ordinary” manager (not a big company CEO) can profoundly re-direct more lives than the best of neurosurgeons. A manager—every day—has the opportunity to dramatically (no hyperbole) affect the life trajectory of every employee on her or his team or in her or his department. (And over a career this could add up to re-shaping the lives of hundreds [or more, even many more] of co-workers.) 7

more than they’ve dreamed of being.” “The role of the Director is to create a space where the actors and actresses can become more than they’ve ever been before, more than they’ve dreamed of being.” —Robert Altman, Oscar acceptance speech 8 8

This is beautiful language. WHY NOT EVERY. LEADER’S AGENDA ITEM No. 1 This is beautiful language. WHY NOT EVERY* LEADER’S AGENDA ITEM No. 1??? *Every = Every. Big firm or small. In fact, this applies to the leader of a disbursed project team that will be around for only, say, 4 to 6 months. (Please read this carefully:. “more than they have ever been before, more than they have dreamed of being.”) (Up for it???) 9

—Richard Sheridan, Joy, Inc.: How We Built a Workplace People Love “It may sound radical, unconventional, and bordering on being a crazy business idea. However— as ridiculous as it sounds—joy is the core belief of our workplace. Joy is the reason my company, Menlo Innovations, a customer software design and development firm in Ann Arbor, exists. It defines what we do and how we do it. It is the single shared belief of our entire team.” —Richard Sheridan, Joy, Inc.: How We Built a Workplace People Love

Only one thought: WHY NOT Only one thought: WHY NOT?? (Buy and read and digest the book—and don’t dismiss the idea out of hand. PLEASE.) 11

“What employees experience, Customers will “What employees experience, Customers will. The best marketing is happy, engaged employees. YOUR CUSTOMERS WILL NEVER BE ANY HAPPIER THAN YOUR EMPLOYEES.” —John DiJulius, The Customer Service Revolution “IF YOU WANT STAFF TO GIVE GREAT SERVICE, GIVE GREAT SERVICE TO STAFF.” —Ari Weinzweig, Zingerman’s (Bo Burlingham, Small Giants: Companies That Choose to Be Great Instead of Big) 12 12

If you want to WOW your customers, FIRST you EXCELLENT customer experience depends … entirely … on EXCELLENT employee experience! If you want to WOW your customers, FIRST you must WOW those who WOW the customers!

So damned obvious. So damned often honored in the breach. Why??? Why??? Why???* (*I honestly don’t know.) 14