Dr. D.A.

Henderson, who
led the international effort
to eradicate smallpox,
was asked what he
wanted to eradicate next.
His answer …

Source: Sabin Vaccine Institute

 Dr. D.A. Henderson, who led
the international effort to eradicate
smallpox, was asked what
he wanted to eradicate next.

“Bad
His answer:

management.”
Source: Sabin Vaccine Institute
FIRST THINGS
BEFORE FIRST
THINGS
CONRAD HILTON, at a gala celebrating
his career, was called to the podium and

“What were the

asked,

most important
lessons you learned
in your long and
distinguished
career?” His answer …
 “Remember
to tuck the
shower curtain
inside the
bathtub.”
 Tom Peters’

The Excellence
Dividend: Profits
Through [REALLY]
Putting People First
World Business Forum
Mexico City/24 October 2018

tompeters.com;
(This presentation/10+ years of presentation slides at
also see our annotated 23-part Monster-Master at excellencenow.com)
70%, 85%, 87%* =
Shame on Us!!
*% of people who dislike their job, are not engaged at
work, unhappy, “sleepwalking,” etc. (These numbers are
extraordinarily consistent around the world.)

Source: Inc., Gallup, Washington Post, etc.

 Given/Axiomatic …
THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR NOT
MAKING ANY ORGANIZATION OF
ANY SIZE IN ANY BUSINESS A
GREAT PLACE TO WORK
EVERY LEADER HAS A MORAL
OBLIGATION CIRCA 2018 TO
DEVELOP PEOPLE SO THAT WHEN
THEY LEAVE THEY ARE BETTER
PREPARED FOR TOMORROW THAN
THEY WERE WHEN THEY ARRIVED.
 “BUSINESS HAS TO GIVE
PEOPLE ENRICHING,
REWARDING LIVES … OR
IT’S SIMPLY NOT WORTH
DOING.” #1/4,096 —Richard Branson ( )

“[Business has the] responsibility to increase the

sum of human well-being.” —Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Good Business

“Business was originated to produce happiness,

not pile up millions.” —B.C. FORBES, 1917/first issue/Forbes
 “The role of the Director is to
create a space where the actors
become
and actresses can
more than they’ve ever
been before,
more than they’ve
dreamed of being.”
—Robert Altman, Oscar acceptance speech
 Les Wexner: FROM FASHION
TRENDS GURU TO JOY
FROM PICKING/
DEVELOPING PEOPLE!*
*Limited Brands founder Les Wexner queried on astounding
(>>Welch) longterm growth & profitability: It happened, he said,

“I got as excited
because

about developing
people” as he had been about predicting fashion
trends in his early years.
THE LAST WORD: PEOPLE SERVING
PEOPLE SERVING PEOPLE

People areNOT “human resources.”

People are NOT “our” “#1 asset.”

Business IS people.
Business IS people (leaders)
serving people (employees)
serving people (customers).
36 YEARS
6 WORDS
36 Years/52 Years/18 Books/
2,500 Speeches =
6 Words

“Hard is soft.
Soft is hard.”
(You can Google it!)
 Hard [numbers/plans] is Soft.
Soft
[relationships/culture] is Hard.
“Far too many companies invest too little time and money
in their soft-edge excellence. … The three main reasons
for this mistake are:

1. The hard edge is easier to

quantify. …
2. Successful hard-edge investment
provides a faster return on
investment. …
3. CEOs, CFO, chief operating
officers, boards of directors, and
shareholders speak the language of
finance. …”
Source: The Soft Edge, Rich Karlgaard
 Soft-Edge Advantages
1. Soft-edge strengths lead to greater
brand recognition, higher profit margins,
… [It] is the ticket out of
Commodityville.
“2. Companies strong in the soft edge
are better prepared to survive a big
strategic mistake or cataclysmic
disruption …
“3. Hard-edge strength is absolutely
necessary to compete, but it provides
only a fleeting advantage.”

Source: The Soft Edge, Rich Karlgaard

 GOOGLE GETS A SURPRISE I

“Project Oxygen [data from founding in 1998 to

2013] shocked everyone by concluding that,
among the eight most important qualities of
Google’s top employees, STEM [Science, Technology,
Engineering, and Mathematics] expertise comes in
dead last. The seven top characteristics of
success at Google are all SOFT SKILLS: being a
good coach; communicating and listening well; possessing
insights into others (including others’ different values and
points of view); having empathy toward and being
supportive of one’s colleagues; being a good critical
thinker and problem solver; and being able to make
connections across complex ideas. Those traits sound
more like what one gets as an English or theater major
than as a programmer. …
Source: Valerie Strauss, “The surprising thing Google learned about its employees
—and what it means for today’s students” (Washington Post, 20 December 2017)
 GOOGLE GETS A SURPRISE II

“Project Aristotle [2017] further supports the

importance of soft skills even in high-tech environments. Project
Aristotle analyzes data on inventive and productive teams,. Google
takes pride in it’s A-teams, assembled with top scientists, each
with the most specialized knowledge and able to throw down one
Its data analysis
cutting-edge idea after another.
revealed, however, that the company’s most
important and productive ideas come from B-
teams comprised of employees that don’t always
have to be the smartest people in the room. Project
Aristotle shows that that the best teams at Google exhibit a range
of soft skills: equality, generosity, curiosity toward the ideas of
your teammates, empathy and emotional intelligence. And topping
the list: emotional safety. No bullying. …

Source: Valerie Strauss, “The surprising thing Google learned about its employees
—and what it means for today’s students” (Washington Post, 20 December 2017)
CULTURE IS
THE GAME
 CULTURE:
IT IS THE GAME
 “Culture eats
strategy for
breakfast.”—Ed Schein/1986
“If I could have chosen not to tackle the IBM culture head-on,
I probably wouldn’t have. My bias coming in was toward
strategy, analysis and measurement. In comparison, changing
the attitude and behaviors of hundreds of thousands of people

Yet I came to see in

is very, very hard.

my time at IBM that culture

isn’t just one aspect of the
game —IT IS THE
GAME.”
—Lou Gerstner, Who Says Elephants Can’t Dance
 CULTURE/CEO JOB #1/THE RULES:
CULTURE COMES FIRST.
CULTURE IS EXCEEDINGLY DIFFICULT TO CHANGE.
CULURE CHANGE CANNOT BE/MUST NOT BE
EVADED OR AVOIDED.
CULTURE MAINTENANCE IS ABOUT AS DIFFICULT
AS CULTURE CHANGE.
CULTURE MAINTENANCE: ONE DAY/ONE HOUR/
ONE MINUTE AT A TIME.
CULTURE CHANGE/MAINTENANCE MUST BECOME A
CONSCIOUS/PERMANENT/PERSONAL AGENDA ITEM.
CULTURE CHANGE = AN “OUTSIDE-THE OFFICE JOB”
= MBWA/MANAGING BY WANDERING AROUND.
CULTURE CHANGE/MAINTENANCE IS MANIFEST IN “THE
LITTLE THINGS” FAR MORE THAN IN THE BIG THINGS.
REPEAT/CULTURE CHANGE/MAINTENANCE:
ONE DAY/ONE HOUR/ONE MINUTE AT A TIME.
FOREVER.
AND EVER.
AMEN.
PUT PEOPLE

[REALLY !!]
FIRST
 Your Customers
Will Never Be Any
Happier Than Your
Employees
 “YOU HAVE TO TREAT YOUR EMPLOYEES
LIKE CUSTOMERS.” —Herb Kelleher

“What employees experience, Customers will. The best

YOUR
marketing is happy, engaged employees.

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
Hiring
 1/7,500

“May I help
you down the
jetway …”
 “We look for ...
listening, caring,
smiling, saying
‘Thank you,’ being
warm.” — Colleen Barrett, former President, Southwest Airlines
“The ultimate filter we use [in the hiring process] is
that we only hire NICE people. … When we
finish assessing skills, we do something called ‘running the gauntlet.’ We
have them interact with 15 or 20 people, and everyone of them have what
I call a ‘blackball vote,’ which means they can say if we should not hire
I believe in culture so strongly and
that person.
that one bad apple can spoil the bunch.
There are enough really talented people out there who are nice, you don’t
really need to put up with people who act like jerks.”
—Peter Miller, CEO Optinose (pharmaceuticals)

“When we talk about the qualities we

want in people, EMPATHY is a big
one. … If you can empathize with people, then you can do a good job.
If you have no ability to empathize, then it’s difficult to help people
improve. Everything becomes harder. —Stewart Butterfield, founder/CEO Slack,
Flickr
Training = Investment

# 1
In the Army and Navy,
3-star generals/
admirals obsess
on training. In most
businesses, it's a
“ho-hum” mid-level
staff function.
If you don't believe that training
is “Investment #1,” ask an
admiral, general, police chief,
fire chief, orchestra conductor,
football coach, archery coach,
movie director, actor [age 22 or 62],
prima ballerina, surgeon, ER or
ICU chief or nurse, nuclear
power plant operator ... or me.
 Gamblin’ Man
Bet #1: >> 5 of 10 CEOs see
training as expense rather than
investment.
Bet #2: >> 5 of 10 CEOs see
training as defense rather than
offense.
Bet #3: >> 5 of 10 CEOs see
training as “necessary evil”
rather than “strategic
opportunity.”
 >> 8 of 10
Bet #4:

CEOs, in 45-min
“tour d’horizon” of
their biz, would
NOT mention
training.
 Step #1
Is your CTO/Chief Training
Officer (Do you even
have a CTO?) your top paid

“C-level” job (other than CEO/COO)?

Are your top trainers
paid/cherished as much as
your top marketers/
engineers?
“Train ’em and
they’ll leave.”

Or …
 “TRAIN PEOPLE
WELL ENOUGH SO
THEY CAN LEAVE,
TREAT THEM WELL
ENOUGH SO THEY
DON’T WANT TO.”
—Richard Branson
1 -Line
st Leaders
 If the regimental commander lost most of his
2nd lieutenants and 1st lieutenants and captains

IF HE
and majors, it would be a tragedy.

LOST HIS SERGEANTS

IT WOULD BE A
CATASTROPHE. The Army and
the Navy are fully aware that success on the
battlefield is dependent to an extraordinary
degree on its Sergeants and Chief Petty
Officers. Does industry have the same
awareness?
 Front-line Chiefs:
Principal determinant of … enterprise
productivity.
Principal determinants of … employee
retention.
Principal determinants of … product/
service quality.
Principal carriers/embodiments of …
corporate culture.
Principal visible “spear carriers” for …
Excellence.
Principal champions/enablers of …
sustained employee development.
 FIVE
VALUE-ADDED
STRATEGIES
 The “8/80” Fiasco:
TGRs/Things Gone Right
LBTs/Little Big Things
 Customers describing their service

experience as “superior”:

Companies describing
8%
the service experience they provide as

“superior”:

—Source:
80%
Bain & Company survey of 362 companies , reported in
John DiJulius, What's the Secret to Providing a World-class Customer Experience?
 <TGW
and …

>TGR
[Things Gone WRONG-Things Gone RIGHT]
“May I clean your
glasses, sir?”
 SMALL>>>>>BIG
“Courtesies of a small and
trivial character are the
ones which strike deepest
in the grateful and
appreciating heart.” —Henry Clay

"Let's not forget that small

emotions are the great
captains of our lives." –—van Gogh
Big carts =

Source: Walmart
 Las Vegas Casino/2X
“When Friedman slightly
curved the right angle of an entrance
corridor to one property, he was ’” amazed at the
percentage who entered increased from

one-third to nearly

two-thirds.”
—Natasha Dow Schull, Addiction By Design: Machine Gambling in Las Vegas
 DESIGN/
RADICAL
HUMANIZATION
DESIGN triumphs!
(10 August 2011)

APPLE market cap

> Exxon Mobil
 “We don’t have a good language to talk
about this kind of thing. In most people’s
vocabularies, design means veneer. … But
to me, nothing could be further from the
DESIGN IS
meaning of design.

THE FUNDAMENTAL
SOUL OF A MAN-
MADE CREATION.”
—Steve Jobs
 THE LIMITS OF AI???/
“RADICAL HUMANIZTION”

“It is fair to say

that almost no new vehicle
in recent memory has
provoked more smiles.”
—review of the MINI Cooper S, reported in
Donald Norman, Emotional Design:
Why We Love (or Hate) Everyday Things
Design is [EVERYTHING] …
* The reception area
* The restrooms!!
* Dialogues at the call center
* Every electronic [or paper] form
* Every business process “map”
* Every email
* Every
meeting agenda/setting/etc.
* Every
square meter of every facility
* Every
new product proposal
* Every
manual
* Every
customer contact
* A consideration in every promotion decision
* The presence and ubiquity of an “Aesthetic sensibility”/
“Design mindfulness”
* An encompassing “design review” process
* Etc.
* Etc.
 Value-Added
on Steroids: The
[ENORMOUS]
[UBIQUITOUS]
“Services Added”
Opportunity
“Rolls-Royce now earns

MORE from tasks

such as managing clients’
overall procurement
strategies and maintaining
aerospace engines it sells
than it does from making
them.” —Economist
UPS to

UPS
UPS = United
Problem Solvers
 Women BUY

[Everything] !
W > 2X (C + I) = $28 TRILLION

“Forget CHINA,
INDIA and the
INTERNET: Economic
Growth Is Driven by
WOMEN.”
Source: Headline, Economist
“Women are
THE majority
market”
—Fara Warner/The Power of the Purse
AND: “Women are rated higher in
12
fully of the 16 competencies
that go into outstanding leadership.
And two of the traits where
women outscored men to the
highest degree — taking
initiative and driving for results
— have long been thought of as
particularly male strengths.”
—Harvard Business Review
 For One [BIG] Thing …
“McKinsey & Company found that the
international companies with more
women on their corporate boards far
outperformed the average company in
return on equity and other measures.
Operating profit was …

56% higher.”

Source: Nicholas Kristof, “Twitter, Women, and Power,” NYTimes, 1024.13

INNOVATION:
WTTMSW
 50:
INNOVATION I/Lesson

WTTMSW+
WHOEVER
TRIES
THE
MOST
STUFF
WINS
 “We made mistakes, of course. Most of them were
omissions we didn’t think of when we initially wrote the
software. We fixed them by doing it over and over, again
and again. We do the same today. While our competitors
are still sucking their thumbs trying to make the design

perfect, we’re already on prototype version #5. By

the time our rivals are ready with wires and screws, we

are on version #10. It gets back to

planning versus acting: We act
from day one; others plan how
to plan—for months.”
—Bloomberg by Bloomberg
 “EXPERIMENT
FEARLESSLY”
TACTIC #1
Source: BusinessWeek, “Type A Organization Strategies: How to Hit a Moving Target”—

“RELENTLESS TRIAL
AND ERROR”
Source: Wall Street Journal, cornerstone of effective approach to “rebalancing” company
portfolios in the face of changing and uncertain global economic conditions
 “The difference between BACH and his forgotten peers isn’t
necessarily that he had a better ratio of hits to misses. The difference is
that the mediocre might have a dozen ideas, while Bach, in his lifetime,

created more than a thousand full-

fledged musical compositions. A genius is a
genius, psychologist Paul Simonton maintains, because he can put
together such a staggering number of insights, ideas, theories, random
observations, and unexpected connections that he almost inevitably ends

up with something great. ‘Quality,’ Simonton

writes, ‘is a probabilistic

function of quantity.’”
—Malcolm Gladwell, “Creation Myth,” New Yorker
WTTMSASTMSUTFW
WHOEVER
TRIES
THE
MOST
STUFF
AND
SCREWS
THE
MOST
STUFF
UP
THE
FASTEST
WINS
 “Fail. Forward. Fast.”
—High Tech CEO, Pennsylvania

“Fail faster. Succeed sooner.”

—David Kelley/IDEO

“REWARD excellent failures.

PUNISH mediocre successes.”
—Phil Daniels, Sydney exec

“Success represents one percent

of your work, which results only
from the ninety-nine percent that
is called failure.” —Soichiro Honda
 “If things seem
under control, you’re
just not going fast
enough.” —Mario Andretti, race driver

“I’m not comfortable unless I’m

uncomfortable.” —Jay Chiat

“If it works, it’s obsolete.”

—Marshall McLuhan
 Innovation is messy.
Innovation is non-linear.
Innovation is a circus.
Innovation depends in full on a robust …
“culture of ‘try it now.’”
Innovation is fun.
Innovation is heartbreaking.
Innovation is not for sissies.
If you know where you’re heading …
you’re not innovating.
If things “work out as planned” … you
weren’t chasing anything interesting.
“The Bottleneck is at the …
“Where are you likely to find people with
the least diversity of experience, the
largest investment in the past,
and the greatest reverence for
industry dogma …

Top of the
Bottle”
— Gary Hamel/Harvard Business Review
LOSERS AND
WINNERS
 AND THE
WINNERS
AREN’T/ARE
“Mr. Foster and his McKinsey colleagues collected
detailed performance data stretching back 40
years for 1,000 U.S. companies. They

found that NONE

the long-term survivors managed to
of

outperform the market. Worse, the

longer companies had been in the
database, the worse they did.”
—Financial Times
Where the +201,000 new private-sector
jobs came from* …

51% Small firms

41% Medium-sized
8% Big
*ADP National Employment Report/March 2011
 AND THE
WINNERS
AREN’T/ARE
 Jim’s Mowing Canada
Jim’s Mowing UK
Jim’s Antennas
Jim’s Bookkeeping
Jim’s Building Maintenance
Jim’s Carpet Cleaning
Jim’s Car Cleaning
Jim’s Computer Services

Jim’s Dog Wash

Jim’s Driving School
Jim’s Fencing
Jim’s Floors
Jim’s Painting
Jim’s Paving
Jim’s Pergolas [gazebos]
Jim’s Pool Care
Jim’s Pressure Cleaning
Jim’s Roofing
Jim’s Security Doors
Jim’s Trees
Jim’s Window Cleaning
Jim’s Windscreens

Source: Jim Penman, What Will They Franchise Next? The Story of Jim’s Group
JUNGLE JIM’S INTERNATIONAL MARKET,
FAIRFIELD, OH: “An adventure in

‘shoppertainment,’ begins

1,600
in the parking lot and goes on to cheeses and

1,400 12,000
varieties of hot sauce—not to mention

$8-$8,000
wines priced from a bottle; all

4,000
this is brought to you by vendors.

Customers from every corner of the globe.”

Source: George Whalin, Retail Superstars: Inside the

25 Best Independent Stores in America
 “AMERICA’S
BEST
RESTROOM”
—Sixth Annual competition sponsored by Cintas Corporation,
a supplier of restroom cleaning and hygiene products
 The Commerce Bank/Metro Bank Model

“WE WANT
THEM IN OUR
STORES.”
Source: Vernon Hill, Fans! Not Customers. How to
Create Growth Companies in a No Growth World
 Commerce Bank/Metro Bank:
Get ’Em Away From the ATM and Into the Branches:

7X.
7:30A-8:00P. Fri/12A.
7:30AM = 7:15AM.
8:00PM = 8:15PM.
Source: Vernon Hill, Fans, Not Customers
 “YESBANK”: “When we had a
processing problem with MasterCard, it came to our
attention that a customer couldn’t pay for their airline

She
flights. A Metro Bank team member stepped in.

put the customer’s flights

on her personal credit
card so that the customer could still take advantage
of a good deal, and later—with their permission, of
course— transferred the money from their account.”

Source: Fans! Not Customers. How to Create Growth Companies

in a No Growth World, Vernon Hill with Bob Andelman
 The Commerce Bank/Metro Bank Model

“COST CUTTING IS A DEATH SPIRAL.

OUR WHOLE STORY IS GROWING
REVENUE.”

“ARE YOU GOING TO COST CUT YOUR

WAY TO PROSPERITY?
or …
ARE YOU GOING TO SPEND YOUR WAY
TO PROSPERITY?”

“OVER-INVEST IN OUR PEOPLE,

OVER-INVEST IN OUR FACILITIES.”
Source: Source: Source: Vernon Hill, Fans! Not customers.
How to Create Growth companies in a No Growth World
 The Commerce Bank/Metro Bank Model

“COST CUTTING IS A DEATH

SPIRAL. OUR WHOLE STORY IS
GROWING REVENUE.”
“ARE YOU GOING TO COST CUT
YOUR WAY TO PROSPERITY?
or …
ARE YOU GOING TO SPEND YOUR
WAY TO PROSPERITY?”
“OVER-INVEST IN OUR PEOPLE,
OVER-INVEST IN OUR FACILITIES.”
Source: Source: Source: Vernon Hill, Fans! Not customers.
How to Create Growth companies in a No Growth World
Michael Raynor and Mumtaz Ahmed: THE THREE
RULES: How Exceptional Companies Think* …

1. Better before cheaper.

2. Revenue before cost.
3. There are no other rules.
(*5-year study/Deloitte: From a database of over 25,000 companies from
hundreds of industries covering 45 years, the authors uncovered 344 companies that
qualified as statistically “exceptional,” and finally winnowed the list to 27 firms,
including Thomas & Betts, Weis Markets, Hartland Express.)
2,0000,000
(+17,000!)
 “BE THE BEST.
IT’S THE ONLY
MARKET THAT’S
NOT CROWDED.”
From: Retail Superstars: Inside the 25 Best
Independent Stores in America, George Whalin
 A FEW
LEADERSHIP
TIPS
 MBWA
(Managing By
Wandering Around)
 “I’m always stopping by our

at least
stores— 25
a week. I’m also in other
places: Home Depot, Whole Foods,
Crate & Barrel. I try to be a sponge to
pick up as much as I can.” —Howard Schultz
Source: Fortune, “Secrets of Greatness”
Golden Bay [NZ] Revelation

You do MBWA
because it’s …
… FUN
Enterprise Core

Value # 1
“The doctor
interrupts
after 18 …*
*Source: Jerome Groopman, How Doctors Think
18 … seconds!*
*Are you an “18-second manager”?
[An obsession with] LISTENING is ... the ultimate mark
of Respect .
Listening is ... the heart and soul of Engagement.
Listening is ... the heart and soul of Kindness.
Listening is ... the heart and soul of Thoughtfulness.
Listening is ... the basis for true Collaboration.
Listening is ... the basis for true Partnership.
Listening is ... a Team Sport.
Listening is ... a Developable Individual Skill.* (*Though women
are far better at it than men.)
Listening is ... the basis for Community.
Listening is ... the bedrock of Joint Ventures that work.
Listening is ... the bedrock of Joint Ventures that grow.
Listening is ... the core of effective Cross-functional
Communication* (*Which is in turn Attribute #1 of
organization effectiveness.)
Listening is … Etc., Etc. Etc.
 Suggested Core Value
#1: “We are Effective
Listeners—we treat
LISTENING EXCELLENCE as
the Centerpiece of our
Commitment to Respect and
Engagement and Community
and Growth.”
Part ONE: LISTEN*
(pp11-116, of 364)

*“The key to every one of our [eight] leadership

attributes was the vital importance of a leader’s
ability to listen.” (One of Branson’s personal keys to listening
is notetaking—he has hundreds of notebooks.)

Source: Richard Branson, The Virgin Way: How to Listen, Learn, Laugh, and Lead
Acknowledgement
 “The deepest principle in
human nature is the
craving to be appreciated.”
—William James

“Employees who don't feel

significant rarely make
significant contributions.”
—Mark Sanborn
 THE FOUR MOST IMPORTANT
WORDS IN ANY ORGANIZATION ARE

“WHAT
…

DO YOU
THINK?”
Source: courtesy Dave Wheeler, posted at tompeters.com
 “LITTLE” >> “BIG”

30,000
CEO Doug Conant sent

handwritten
‘Thank you’
notes to employees during the 10
years [approx 15/work day] he ran Campbell Soup.
Source: Bloomberg BusinessWeek
 “If I had to
pick the#1
failing of CEOs,
it’s that …
“If I had to pick one failing of

they
CEOs, it’s that …

don’t read
enough.”
THE FIVE MINUTE
RULE
EXCELLENCE
THE LAW OF 5
 EXCELLENCE is

not a “long-
term” “aspiration.”
EXCELLENCE is not a “long-term”
"aspiration.”
EXCELLENCE is the ultimate short-
term strategy. EXCELLENCE is …
THE

NEXT 5 MINUTES.*

(*Or NOT.)
EXCELLENCE is not an "aspiration."
EXCELLENCE is … THE NEXT FIVE MINUTES.
EXCELLENCE is your next conversation.
Or not.
EXCELLENCE is your next meeting.
Or not.
EXCELLENCE is shutting up and listening—really listening.
Or not.
EXCELLENCE is your next customer contact.
Or not.
EXCELLENCE is saying “Thank you” for something “small.”
Or not.
EXCELLENCE is the next time you shoulder responsibility and apologize.
Or not.
EXCELLENCE is waaay over-reacting to a screw-up.
Or not.
EXCELLENCE is the flowers you brought to work today.
Or not.
EXCELLENCE is lending a hand to an “outsider” who’s fallen behind schedule.
Or not.
EXCELLENCE is bothering to learn the way folks in finance [or IS or HR] think.
Or not.
EXCELLENCE is waaay “over”-preparing for a 3-minute presentation.
Or not.
EXCELLENCE is turning “insignificant” tasks into models of … EXCELLENCE.
Or not.
 THE EIGHTEEN
“NUMBER ONES”
 The Excellence Dividend

THE EIGHTEEN
“NUMBER ONES”*

*52 YEARS, 1 PAGE

 The Excellence Dividend
THE EIGHTEEN “NUMBER ONES”
*Investment #1: TRAINING (“Radical personal development” for all = Moral Responsibility = Immeasurable longterm strategic-differentiation
opportunity = $$$$$. 10X more important in the Age of AI.)
*Asset #1: PORTFOLIO OF FIRST-LINE MANAGERS (Key #1 to employee productivity/retention/product-service quality/customer fan-hood.
Selection/training/mentoring of 1st-line chiefs a strategic priority.)
*Core Value #1: LISTENING EXCELLENCE!!! (“Fierce listening”/“Aggressive listening” to staff, outsiders. Note: Effective listening is time-
consuming/exhausting! Effective listening is train-able!) Branson: Listening is Leadership Key #1.)
*Obsession #1: EXECUTION/“THE LAST 95%” (Omar Bradley: “Amateurs talk about strategy. Professionals talk about logistics.” Fred Malek:
“Execution is strategy.” Conrad Hilton Secret #1: “Don’t forget to tuck the shower curtain into the bathtub.”)
*Job #1: ESTABLISHING/MAINTAINING “60/60/24/7/365” A CULTURE OF EXCELLENCE-BY-PUTTING-PEOPLE-REALLY-FIRST (Plausible/ Profitable
/Ennobling: No less than a “joyful” workplace!!!!/FYI: “PEOPLE [REALLY] FIRST” = CUSTOMERS FIRST = $$$$ = SOCIETAL CONTRIBUTION.)
(Branson/“Business has to give people enriching rewarding lives, or it’s not worth doing.” DeJulius/“Your customers will never be happier than your
employees.”)
*Calling #1: LEADING IS A HUMAN-POTENTIAL-MAXIMIZATION ACTIVITY—THERE IS NO HIGHER CALLING. Any leader absolutely has the opportunity
to dramatically affect the lives of thousands—far more than any surgeon.
*Value-Added Strategy #1: DESIGN EXCELLENCE/RADICAL HUMANIZATION (Apple: “Steve and Jony spent hours discussing corners.”/Review of MINI
Cooper S: “No vehicle in recent memory has provoked more smiles.”/Metro Bank: A jillion little touches, e.g., dog biscuits, scintillating branches, and
wonderfully welcoming staff./Healthcare: Human kindness in its delivery promotes healing/DesignX and RadHumanization by and large beyond the
foreseeable reach of AI) (And a great-legacy.)
*Success Credo #1: “ARE YOU GOING TO COST CUT YOUR WAY TO PROSPERITY? OR ARE YOU GOING TO SPEND YOUR WAY TO PROSPERITY?”
“OVER-INVEST IN OUR PEOPLE, OVER-INVEST IN OUR FACILITIES.” “COST CUTTING IS A DEATH SPIRAL. OUR WHOLE STORY IS GROWING
REVENUE.” (Metro Bank/Commerce Bank mantra/hyper-contrarian consumer banking mega-success USA/UK.)
*Organization Effectiveness/$$$$ Payoff #1: WOMEN BUY EVERYTHING (Consumer/ Commercial) WOMEN HAVE ALL THE MONEY (Another $22 trillion
wealth transfer to women next 5 years) WOMEN ARE BETTER LEADERS (Solid research on this: E.g., F>M in 12 of 16 key leadership traits per Harvard
Business Review/50-50 MF Boards = Plus 58% profitability per McKinsey. SO WHAT’S YOUR LEADERSHIP TEAM AND PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT TEAM
F-M COMPOSITION????)
*Missed Opportunity #1: OLDIES/RICH, MEGA-NUMEROUS, IGNORED—PLENTY OF TIME LEFT (“People at 50 have more than half their adult life ahead
of them”—e.g., Americans buy 13 cars in a lifetime, 7 after age 50. Household net worth 65 plus is 47X > 35 minus. “Marketers attempts at reaching
those over 50 have been miserably unsuccessful.”)
*Economic Cornerstone #1: SMEs RULE/“BE THE BEST, IT’S THE ONLY MARKET THAT’S NOT CROWDED” (SMEs/Small and Medium-size Enterprises
create the jobs, employ almost all of us, are the prime innovators—every economy’s backbone. Monster-size businesses cut costs, dump people over
the side, underperform the market.)
*Innovation Strategy #1: WTTMSW/WHOEVER TRIES THE MOST STUFF WINS Extended: WTTMS(ASTMSUTF)W/WHOEVER TRIES THE MOST STUFF
(AND SCREWS THE MOST STUFFUP THE FASTEST) WINS (Innovation guaranteed!!!/But requires supportive culture: “Try it. NOW.” “Fail Forward. Fast”
“Reward excellent failures. Punish mediocre successes.” Wayne Gretzky: “You miss 100% of the shots you never take.”)
*Personal Habit #1: READ. READ. READ. READ. READ. (Investor superstar: Not reading enough = CEO Deficit #1.)
*Time Management Must #1: SLOW DOWN (All the important things—relationship building and maintenance, culture maintenance, aggressive
listening, Excellence—take time, lots of.)
*Making Things Happen Dictate #1: LUNCH!!! (The “Sacred 225 At Bats” = 225 Lunch Opportunities/Year = 225 Golden-Never-to-Be-Repeated
Opportunities to meet new people, learn new things, establish and cement relationships up/down the organization and way beyond. LUNCH =
NETWORKING OPPORTUNITY #1. Do NOT waste a single lunch opportunity/Keep score!)
*Daily Activity #1: MBWA/MANAGING BY WANDERING AROUND (Daily. Daily = EVERY DAY. No excuses. Ever./And: If you don’t LOVE doing regular
MBWA, choose another career!!!)
*Commandment #1: EXCELLENCE IS THE NEXT FIVE MINUTES (Excellence = ULTIMATE SHORT-TERM STRATEGY = Next email/Chance hallway
meeting/Saying “Thank you” for something small/Lending a helping hand for a half-hour when you’re busy …)
*Axiom #1: HARD (NUMBERS, PLANS, ORG CHARTS) IS SOFT. SOFT (RELATIONSHIPS, CULTURE, LISTENING, EXCELLENCE) IS HARD. Sustaining
winners: THE MIS-NAMED “SOFT STUFF” COMES F-I-R-S-T!!!!!!
 The Excellence Dividend
THE EIGHTEEN “NUMBER ONES”

*Investment #1: TRAINING (“Radical personal development”

for all = Moral Responsibility = Immeasurable longterm
strategic-differentiation opportunity = $$$$$. 10X more
important in the Age of AI.)
*Asset #1: PORTFOLIO OF FIRST-LINE MANAGERS (Key #1 to
employee productivity/retention/product-service quality/
customer fan-hood. Selection/training/mentoring of 1st-line
chiefs a strategic priority.)
*Core Value #1: LISTENING EXCELLENCE!!! (“Fierce
listening”/ “Aggressive listening” to staff, outsiders. Note:
Effective listening is time-consuming/exhausting! Effective
listening is train-able!) (Branson: Listening is Leadership
Key #1.)
*Obsession #1: EXECUTION/“THE LAST 95%” (General Omar
Bradley: “Amateurs talk about strategy. Professionals talk
about logistics.” Fred Malek: “Execution is strategy.” Conrad
Hilton Secret #1: “Don’t forget to tuck the shower curtain
into the bathtub.”)
 The Excellence Dividend
THE EIGHTEEN “NUMBER ONES”

*Job #1: ESTABLISHING/MAINTAINING “60/60/24/7/365” A CULTURE

OF EXCELLENCE-BY-PUTTING-PEOPLE-REALLY-FIRST (Plausible/
Profitable/Ennobling: No less than a “joyful” workplace!!!!/FYI:
“PEOPLE [REALLY] FIRST” = CUSTOMERS FIRST = $$$$ = SOCIETAL
CONTRIBUTION.) (Branson/“Business has to give people enriching
rewarding lives, or it’s not worth doing.” DeJulius/“Your customers
will never be happier than your employees.”)
*Calling #1: LEADING IS A HUMAN-POTENTIAL-MAXIMIZATION
ACTIVITY—THERE IS NO HIGHER CALLING. Any leader absolutely has
the opportunity to dramatically affect the lives of thousands—far
more than any surgeon.
*Value-Added Strategy #1: DESIGN EXCELLENCE/RADICAL
HUMANIZATION (Apple: “Steve and Jony spent hours discussing
corners.”/Review of MINI Cooper S: “No vehicle in recent memory has
provoked more smiles.”/Metro Bank: A jillion little touches, e.g., dog
biscuits, scintillating branches, and wonderfully welcoming
staff./Healthcare: Human kindness in its delivery promotes
healing/DesignX and RadHumanization by and large beyond the
foreseeable reach of AI) (And a great-legacy.)
 The Excellence Dividend
THE EIGHTEEN “NUMBER ONES”

*Success Credo #1: “ARE YOU GOING TO COST CUT YOUR WAY TO
PROSPERITY? OR ARE YOU GOING TO SPEND YOUR WAY TO
PROSPERITY?” “OVER-INVEST IN OUR PEOPLE, OVER-INVEST IN
OUR FACILITIES.” “COST CUTTING IS A DEATH SPIRAL. OUR WHOLE
STORY IS GROWING REVENUE.” (Metro Bank/Commerce Bank
mantra/hyper-contrarian consumer banking mega-success USA/UK.)
*Organization Effectiveness/$$$$ Payoff #1: WOMEN BUY
EVERYTHING (Consumer/ Commercial) WOMEN HAVE ALL THE
MONEY (Another $22 trillion wealth transfer to women next 5
years/USA) WOMEN ARE BETTER LEADERS (Solid research on this:
E.g., F>M in 12 of 16 key leadership traits per Harvard Business
Review/50-50 MF Boards = Plus 58% profitability per McKinsey. SO
WHAT’S YOUR LEADERSHIP TEAM AND PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
TEAM F-M COMPOSITION????)
*Missed Opportunity #1: OLDIES/RICH, MEGA-NUMEROUS,
IGNORED—PLENTY OF TIME LEFT (“People at 50 have more than half
their adult life ahead of them”—e.g., Americans buy 13 cars in a
lifetime, 7 after age 50. Household net worth 65 plus is 47X > 35
minus. “Marketers attempts at reaching those over 50 have been
miserably unsuccessful.”)
 The Excellence Dividend
THE EIGHTEEN “NUMBER ONES”

*Economic Cornerstone #1: SMEs RULE/“BE THE BEST, IT’S THE

ONLY MARKET THAT’S NOT CROWDED” (SMEs/Small and Medium-size
Enterprises create the jobs, employ almost all of us, are the prime
innovators—every economy’s backbone. Monster-size businesses cut
costs, dump people over the side, underperform the market. )
*Innovation Strategy #1: WTTMSW/WHOEVER TRIES THE MOST
STUFF WINS Extended: WTTMS(ASTMSUTF)W/WHOEVER TRIES THE
MOST STUFF (AND SCREWS THE MOST STUFF UP THE FASTEST)
WINS (Innovation guaranteed!!!/But requires supportive culture: “Try
it. NOW.” “Fail Forward. Fast.” “Reward excellent failures. Punish
mediocre successes.” Wayne Gretzky: “You miss 100% of the shots
you never take.”)
*Personal Habit #1: READ. READ. READ. READ. READ. (Investor
superstar: Not reading enough = CEO Deficit #1.)
*Time Management Must #1: SLOW DOWN (All the important things—
relationship building and maintenance, culture maintenance,
aggressive listening, Excellence—take time, lots of.)
 The Excellence Dividend
THE EIGHTEEN “NUMBER ONES”

*Making Things Happen Dictate #1: LUNCH!!! (The “Sacred 225 At

Bats” = 225 Lunch Opportunities/Year = 225 Golden-Never-to-Be-
Repeated Opportunities to meet new people, learn new things,
establish and cement relationships up/down the organization and way
beyond. LUNCH = NETWORKING OPPORTUNITY #1. Do NOT waste a
single lunch opportunity/Keep score!)
*Daily Activity #1: MBWA/MANAGING BY WANDERING AROUND
(Daily. Daily = EVERY DAY. No excuses. Ever./And: If you don’t LOVE
doing regular MBWA, choose another career!!!)
*Commandment #1: EXCELLENCE IS THE NEXT FIVE MINUTES
(Excellence = ULTIMATE SHORT-TERM STRATEGY = Next
email/Chance hallway meeting/Saying “Thank you” for something
small/Lending a helping hand for a half-hour when you’re busy …)
*Axiom #1: HARD (NUMBERS, PLANS, ORG CHARTS) IS SOFT. SOFT (RELATIONSHIPS,
CULTURE, LISTENING,, EXCELLENCE) IS HARD. Sustaining winners: THE MIS-
NAMED “SOFT STUFF” COMES F-I-R-S-T!!!!!!