Excellence 2019: Thriving Amidst the Tech Tsunami

1. EXCELLENCE 2019THRIVING AMIDST THE TECH TSUNAMI/EXTREME EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT/EXTREME HUMANIZATIONTom PetersGRUPO BANCOLOMBIA/Bogota/5 June 2019(This presentation/10+ years of presentation slides at tompeters.com; also see our annotated 23-part Monster-Master at excellencenow.com)

2. 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 …

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

4. EXCELLENCE 2019+++ THE BUSINESS OF BUSINESS IS PEOPLE SERVING PEOPLE SERVING PEOPLE Tom PetersGROUPO BANCOLOMBIA/Bogota/5 June 2019

5. 70%, 85%, 87%*=ShameonUs!!*% 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.

6. “BUSINESS HAS TO GIVE PEOPLE ENRICHING, REWARDING LIVES … OR IT’S SIMPLY NOT WORTH DOING.” —Richard Branson (#1/4,096)

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

8. MANAGING: A PAIN IN THE BUTT. 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: 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.

9. Les Wexner:FROM FASHION TRENDS GURU TO JOY FROM PICKING/ DEVELOPING PEOPLE!* *Limited Brands founder Les Wexner queried on astounding (>>JackWelch) longterm growth & profitability: It happened, he said, because “I got as excited about developing people”as he had been about predicting fashion trends in his early years.

10. PEOPLE (LEADERS) SERVING PEOPLE (EMPLOYEES) SERVING PEOPLE (CUSTOMERS)

11. Given/Axiomatic …THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR NOT MAKING ANY ORGANIZATION OF ANY SIZE IN ANY BUSINESS A … GREATPLACETOWORKEVERY LEADER/2019 HAS A MORAL OBLIGATION TO DEVELOP PEOPLE SO THAT WHEN THEY LEAVE THEY ARE BETTER PREPARED FOR [CRAZY] TOMORROW THAN THEY WERE WHEN THEY ARRIVED.

12. 2,000,000 17,000 8.6B

13. 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

14. 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

15. “YESBANK”:“When we had a processing problem with MasterCard, it came to our attention that a customer couldn’t pay for their airline flights. A Metro Bank team member stepped in.SHE PUT THE CUSTOMER’S FLIGHTS ON HER PERSONAL CREDIT CARD SO THAT THE CUSTOMER COULD STILL TAKE ADVANTAGE OF A [time-sensitive]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

16. The Commerce Bank/Metro Bank Model“COST CUTTING IS A DEATH SPIRAL. OUR WHOLE STORY IS GROWING REVENUE.”“ARE YOU GOING TO COSTCUT 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

17. 2,000,000 dog biscuits 17,000 [good] jobs $8.6 billion/TD

18. The Excellence Dividend’s “poster child”/Commerce Bank-Metro Bank:The human touchcan prevail(thrill customers and create jobs and earn big bucks and embarrass the cost-cutting job destroyers)circa 2019!

19. “Mr. Foster and his McKinsey colleagues collected detailed performance data stretching back 40 years for1,000U.S. companies.They found thatNONEofthe long-term survivors managed to outperform the market. Worse, the longer companies had been in the database, the worse they did.” —Financial Times

20. SME Strategy #1 “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

21. 37 Years/18 Books/ 2,500+ Speeches/63 Countries = 6 Words “Hard is soft. Soft is hard.”

22. Hard (numbers/plans) is Soft. Soft (relationships/culture) is Hard.

23. 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)

24. The “Hard-Edge-First” Logic “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, CFOs, chief operating officers, boards of directors, and shareholders speak the language of finance.” Source: The Soft Edge, Rich Karlgaard

25. 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

26. HIRING

27. 1/7,500 “May I help you down the jetway …”

28. “We look for ...listening, caring, smiling, saying ‘Thank you,’ being warm.”— Colleen Barrett, former President, Southwest Airlines

29. “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 that person. I believe in culture so strongly and 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

30. USETHESEWORDS LISTENING. CARING. SMILING. SAYING “THANK YOU.” BEING WARM. NICE. EMPATHY.

31. TRAINING = INVESTMENT#1!

32. In the Army and Navy, 3-STARGENERALS/ ADMIRALS obsess on training. In most businesses, it's a “ho-hum” mid-level staff function.

33. If you don't believe that training is “Investment #1,” ask an admiral, general, policechief, firechief, orchestraconductor, footballcoach, archery coach, moviedirector, actor(age 22 or 62), primaballerina, surgeon, ER or ICUchief or nurse,nuclear power plantoperator ... (or me).

34. 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.”

35. Bet #4:>> 8 of 10 CEOs, in 45-min “tour d’horizon” of their biz, would NOT mention training.

36. 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?

37. ASSET #11ST-LINE LEADERS

38. If the regimental commander lost most of his 2nd lieutenants and 1st lieutenants and captains and majors, it would be a tragedy. IF HE LOST HIS SERGEANTS IT WOULD BE A CATASTROPHE.The Army and the Navy are fully aware that success on the battlefield or at sea is dependent to an extraordinary degree on its Sergeants and Chief Petty Officers. Does industry have the same awareness?

39. Employee retention & satisfaction:“Overwhelminglybased on the first-line manager!”—Marcus Buckingham/Curt Coffman, First, Break All the Rules“People leave managers not companies.”—Dave Wheeler

40. Front-line Chiefs (Full Complement of): Principal determinants 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. (Or not.) Principal champions/enablers of … sustained employee development.

41. EEE/E-cubedEXTREME EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

42. Extreme Employee Engagement/EEE/“E-cubed” Extreme Employee Engagement/EEE maximizes the quality of customer engagement. EEE maximizes customer retention. EEE turns “customers” into “fans.” EEE makes it safe to take risks and make mistakes—which in turn generates and maximizes innovation at all levels of the organization. EEE radically improves individual and organizational learning. EEE underpins and spurs teamwork. EEE enhances co-operation and communication which in turn increases productivity and quality.

43. EEE reduces friction throughout the organization which dramatically improves all-important cross-functional communication and innovation and efficiency associated therewith. EEE improves the quality of joint ventures. EEE dramatically improves execution. EEE is the best defense against the AI tsunami—and by and large makes AI a partner/ally rather than enemy. EEE spurs humanization of everything—which is by and large not copy-able by AI in the foreseeable future. EEE reduces turnover and stabilizes the work force.

44. EEE makes it possible to recruit top talent. EEE means top employees are far more likely to stay with the organization. EEE improves the reputation of the company as viewed by all stakeholders. EEE improves community relations. EEE is a contribution to humanity EEE makes coming to work a pleasure—not a pain. EEE is the only sane and honorable response to the forthcoming radical changes in the global workplace.

45. EEE makes it possible for leaders to look in the mirror without barfing. EEE makes it possible for leaders to look in the mirror and smile. EEE is hard to copy. EEE is Competitive Advantage #1 EEE is the bedrock of EXCELLENCE. (No EEE, no excellence. That simple.) EEE (beancounters take note!!) is a peerless/the best/sustainable profit-maximization tool. EEE makes consistent wage and benefits growth possible. EEE = $$$$/Money [lots of] in the bank for one and all.

46. BUILDING/MAINTAINING A “PEOPLE (REALLY) FIRST” CULTURE

47. “CULTURE EATS STRATEGY FOR BREAKFAST”—Ed Schein “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

48. 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.

49. INNOVATIONWTTMSW

50. WTTMSW* *Whoever Tries The Most Stuff Wins