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First Things Before First Things: CONRAD HILTON …. CONRAD HILTON , at a gala celebrating his career, was called to the podium and asked, “ What were the most im p ortant lessons y ou learned in y our lon g and distin g uished career ?” His answer ….
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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 …
“Amateurs talk about strategy. Professionals talk about logistics.” —Omar Bradley, commander of American troops/D-Day
Tom Peters’ Leadership Excellence in the “Real (Non-linear) World”: The Mess Is the Message! University of Auckland Business School/12 February 2015 (For more see tompeters.com and our fully annotated 23-part Master Compendium [“Mother of All Presentations”] at excellencenow.com)
EXCELLENCE is the ultimate short-term strategy. EXCELLENCE is … THE NEXT5MINUTES.* (*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.
Hard is Soft. Soft is Hard.
MBWA 25/50
“I’m always stopping by our stores— at least 25a 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 SchultzSource: Fortune, “Secrets of Greatness”
“Most managers spend a great deal of time thinking about what they plan to do, but relatively little time thinking about what they plan not to do. As a result, they become so caught up … in fighting the fires of the moment that they cannot really attend to the long-term threats and risks facing the organization. So the first soft skill of leadership the hard way is to cultivate the perspective of Marcus Aurelius: avoid busyness, free up your time, stay focused on what really matters.Let me put it bluntly: every leader should routinely keep a substantial portion of his or her time—I would say as much as50percent—unscheduled.… Only when you have substantial ‘slop’ in your schedule—unscheduled time—will you have the space to reflect on what you are doing, learn from experience, and recover from your inevitable mistakes. Leaders without such free time end up tackling issues only when there is an immediate or visible problem. Managers’ typical response to my argument about free time is, ‘That’s all well and good, but there are things I have to do.’Yet we waste so much time in unproductive activity—it takes an enormous effort on the part of the leader to keep free time for the truly important things.” —Dov Frohman (& Robert Howard), Leadership The Hard Way: Why Leadership Can’t Be Taught— And How You Can Learn It Anyway (Chapter 5, “The Soft Skills Of Hard Leadership”)
THE FOUR MOST IMPORTANT WORDS IN ANY ORGANIZATION ARE …“WHAT DO YOU THINK?” Source: courtesy Dave Wheeler, posted at tompeters.com
MBWA 8: Change the World With EIGHT WordsWhat do you think?*How can I help?***Dave Wheeler: “What are the four most important words in the boss’ lexicon?”**Boss as CHRO/Chief Hurdle Removal Officer **********************************
Are you a full-fledged “professional” when it comes to helping?* * >>harder than neurosurgery
No Bad Days: “Nothing is so contagious as enthusiasm.”—Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Meetings ROCK! (Make that: SHOULD Rock)
Bitch all you want, but meetings are what you (boss/leader)do!
Meetings are #1 thing bosses do. Therefore, 100% of those meetings:EXCELLENCE. ENTHUSIASM. ENGAGEMENT. LEARNING. TEMPO. WORK-OF-ART.DAMNIT.
“Being aware of yourself and how you affect everyone around you is what distinguishes a superior leader.”—Edie Seashore (strategy + business #45)
"Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself." —Leo Tolstoy
R.O.I.R. > R.O.I.
“Personal relationships are the fertile soil from which all advancement, all success, all achievement in real life grow.”—Ben Stein
The Magic 220:Never waste a lunch!* ** *Bonus points: “XF”/Cross-functional lunch **Bonus bonus points: Lunch with finance folks
“Success doesn’t depend on the number of people you know; it depends on the number of people you know in highplaces!”or“Success doesn’t depend on the number of people you know; it depends on the number of people you know in low places!”
“I got to know his secretaries.”—Dick Parsons(as CEO Time Warner, on successfully dealing with Carl Icahn)
The … “80% Rule”
Spend 80% of your time on allies—finding and developing and nurturing allies of every size and shape is the name of the winning game.
“The deepest principle in human nature is the craving* to be appreciated.”—William James*“Craving,” not “wish” or “desire” or “longing”/Distinction per Dale Carnegie in How to Win Friends and Influence People, chapter titled “The BIG Secret of Dealing With People”
“Employees who don't feel significant rarely make significant contributions.”—Mark Sanborn
Relationships (of all varieties):THERE ONCE WAS A TIME WHEN A THREE-MINUTEPHONECALL WOULD HAVE AVOIDED SETTING OFF THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL THAT RESULTED IN A COMPLETE RUPTURE.* *Divorce, loss of a BILLION $$$ aircraft sale, etc., etc.