LONG Tom Peters’ RE-IMAGINE ! EXCELLENCE/2016 BrightStar Care Annual Conference

1. LONG Tom Peters’ RE-IMAGINE! EXCELLENCE/2016 BrightStar Care Annual Conference Rosemont, IL/22 September 2016 (This presentation/10+ years of presentation slides at tompeters.com; also see our annotated 23-part Monster-Master at excellencenow.com)

2. SERVICEJOYEXCELLLENCE

3. ORGANIZATIONS EXIST TO SERVE. PERIOD. LEADERS LIVE TO SERVE. PERIOD. SERVICE is a beautiful word. SERVICE is character, community, commitment. (And profit.) SERVICE is a beautiful word. SERVICE is not “Wow.” SERVICE is not “raving fans.” SERVICE is not “a great experience.” SERVICE is “just” that—SERVICE. “SERVICE” is in fact the highest human calling.

4. MANAGING/ROYAL PAIN IN THE BUTT:Somebody’s got to do it; punching bag for higher ups on end, surrounded by grouchy, ungrateful employees on the other; blame magnet if things go wrong, big bosses abscond with the credit if things go right. MANAGING/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, enthusiastic, caring, self-renewing, future-thirsty organization dedicated to the relentless pursuit of Excellence.* *Robert Altman, Oscar acceptance speech: “The role of the Director is to create a space where the Actors and Actresses can become more than they have ever been before, more than they have dreamed of being.”

5. IF YOU (e.g., CHIEF) WORK YOUR ONE BUTT OFF HELPING YOUR TEAM MEMBERS SUCCEED AND GROW, THEY WILL WORK THEIR FIVE [or 55 or 555] BUTTS OFF HELPING YOU [AND YOUR CUSTOMERS] THRIVE.

6. Why in the World did you go to Siberia?

7. ENTERPRISE* (*AT ITS BEST):An emotional, vital, innovative, joyful, creative, entrepreneurial endeavor that elicits maximum concerted human potential in the wholehearted pursuit of EXCELLENCE in service of others.****Employees, Customers, Suppliers, Communities, Owners, Temporary partners

8. “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

9. Hard is Soft. Soft is Hard.

10. Hard [numbers/plans] is Soft. Soft [people/relationships/culture] is Hard.

11. “Strive for Excellence. Ignore success.”—Bill Young, race car driver

12. Joe J. Jones 1942 – 2015 Net Worth$21,543,672.48

13. Not.

14. “In a way, the world is a great liar. It shows you it worships and admires money, but at the end of the day it doesn’t. It says it adores fame and celebrity, but it doesn’t, not really. The world admires, and wants to hold on to, and not lose, goodness. It admires virtue. At the end it gives its greatest tributes to generosity, honesty, courage, mercy, talents well used, talents that, brought into the world, make it better. That’s what it really admires. That’s what we talk about in eulogies, because that’s what’s important. We don’t say, ‘The thing about Joe was he was rich!’ We say, if we can …

15. “ … We say, if we can … ‘The thing about Joe was he took good care of people.’” —Peggy Noonan, “A Life’s Lesson,” on the astounding response to the passing of journalist Tim Russert, The Wall Street Journal, June 21-22, 2008

16. The Memories That Matter The people you developed who went on to stellar accomplishments inside or outside the company. The (no more than) two or three people you developed who went on to create stellar institutions of their own. The longshots (people with “a certain something”) you bet on who surprised themselves—and your peers. The people of all stripes who 2/5/10/20 years later say “You made a difference in my life,” “Your belief in me changed everything.” The sort of/character of people you hired in general. (And the bad apples you chucked out despite some stellar traits.) A handful of projects (a half dozen at most) you doggedly pursued that still make you smile and which fundamentally changed the way things are done inside or outside the company/industry. The supercharged camaraderie of a handful of Great Teams aiming to “change the world.”

17. EXCELLENCE is not a “long-term” "aspiration.” EXCELLENCE is the ultimate short-term strategy. EXCELLENCE is … THE NEXT5MINUTES.* (*Or NOT.)

18. 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.

19. CONRAD’S COMMANDMENT

20. CONRADHILTON, at a gala celebrating his career, was called to the podium and asked,“What were the most important lessons you learned in your long and distinguished career?”His answer …

21. “Remember to tuck the shower curtain inside the bathtub.”

22. “Amateurs talk about strategy. Professionals talk about logistics.” —General Omar Bradley, commander of American troops/D-Day

23. Observed closely: The use of“I”or“We”during a job interview. Source: Leonard Berry & Kent Seltman, chapter 6, “Hiring for Values,” Management Lessons From Mayo Clinic

24. 1 Mouth,2 Ears

25. “It’s amazing how this seemingly small thing— simplypaying fierce attention to another, really asking, really listening, even during a brief conversation—can evoke such a wholehearted response.”—Susan Scott, Fierce Conversations: Achieving Success at Work and in Life, One Conversation at a Time

26. “The doctor interrupts after …* *Source: Jerome Groopman, How Doctors Think

27. 18 …

28. 18 … seconds!

29. [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 forCommunity. Listening is ... the bedrock of Joint Ventures that work. Listening is ... the bedrock of Joint Ventures thatgrow. Listening is ... the core of effective Cross-functional Communication* (*Which is in turn Attribute #1 of organization effectiveness.)

30. Best Listeners Win … “IF YOU DON’T LISTEN, YOU DON’T SELL ANYTHING.” —Carolyn Marland, CEO, Guardian Group

31. **8 of 10 sales presentations fail**50% failed sales presentations … talking “at” before listening!—Susan Scott, “Let Silence Do the Heavy Listening,” chapter title, Fierce Conversations: Achieving Success at Work and in Life,One Conversation at a Time

32. “The best way to persuade someone is with your ears, by listening to them.” —Dean Rusk, former U.S. Secretary of State

33. 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.”

34. 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

35. “I always write‘LISTEN’on the back of my hand before a meeting.” Source: Tweet viewed @tom_peters

36. CULTURE EATS STRATEGY FOR BREAKFAST

37. WSJ/0910.13: “What matters most to a company over time? Strategy or culture? Dominic Barton, Managing Director, McKinsey & Co.:“Culture.”

38. “Culture precedes positive results. It doesn’t get tacked on as an afterthought on the way to the victory stand.”—NFL Hall of Fame Coach Bill Walsh .

39. “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 is very, very hard.Yet I came to see in 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

40. “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” —Ed Schein/1986

41. PEOPLE EAT STRATEGY FOR BREAKFAST, LUNCH AND DINNER

42. “PEOPLE BEFORE STRATEGY” —Lead article, Harvard Business Review. July-August 2015, by Ram Charan, Dominic Barton, and Dennis Carey

43. “You have to treat your employees like customers.”—Herb Kelleher, upon being asked his “secret to success”Source: Joe Nocera, NYT, “Parting Words of an Airline Pioneer,” on the occasion of Herb Kelleher’s retirement after 37 years at Southwest Airlines (SWA’s pilots union took out a full-page ad in USA Today thanking HK for all he had done) ; across the way in Dallas, American Airlines’ pilots were picketingAA’s Annual Meeting)

44. Rocket Science. NOT. “If you want staff to give great service, give great service to staff.” —Ari Weinzweig, Zingerman’s Source: Small Giants: Companies That Choose to Be Great Instead of Big, Bo Burlingham

45. “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: Overthrow Conventional Business, Inspire Employees, and Change the World

46. 1/4,096: excellencenow.com “Business has to give people enriching, rewarding lives … or it's simply not worth doing.” —Richard Branson

47. “Who’s on Second?” “Nobody comes home after a surgery saying, ‘Man, that was the best suturing I’ve ever seen!” or ‘Sweet, they took out the correct kidney!’ Instead, we talk about the people who took care of us, the ones who co-ordinated the whole procedure—everyone from the receptionist to the nurses to the surgeon. And we don’t just tell stories around the dinner table. We share our experiences through conversations with friends and colleagues and via social media sites.”—from the chapter “What Does Come First?” in the book Patients Come Second: Leading Change By Changing the Way You Lead by Paul Spiegelman & Britt Berrett

48. “The path to a hostmanshipculture paradoxically does not go through the guest. In fact it wouldn’t be totally wrong to say that the guest has nothing to do with it. True hostmanship leaders focus on their employees. What drives exceptionalism is finding the right people and getting them to love their work and see it as a passion. ... The guest comes into the picture only when you are ready to ask, ‘Would you prefer to stay at a hotel where the staff love their work or where management has made customers its highest priority?’”“We went through the hotel and made a ... ‘consideration renovation.’ Instead of redoing bathrooms, dining rooms, and guest rooms, we gave employees new uniforms, bought flowers and fruit, and changed colors.Our focus was totally on the staff.They were the ones we wanted to make happy.We wanted them to wake up every morning excited about a new day at work.” —Jan Gunnarsson and Olle Blohm, Hostmanship: The Art of Making People Feel Welcome.

49. “ … The guest comes into the picture only when you are ready to ask, ‘Would you prefer to stay at a hotel where the staff love their work or where management has made customers its highest priority?’”

50. 1996-2014/Twelve companies have been among the “100 best to work for” in the USA every year, for all 16 years of the list’s existence; along the way, they’ve added/ 341,567 new jobs, or job growth of +172%:PublixWhole FoodsWegmansNordstromCisco SystemsMarriottREIGoldman SachsFour SeasonsSAS InstituteW.L. GoreTDIndustriesSource: Fortune/ “The 100 Best Companies to Work For”/0315.15