The Power of Listening : Key to Excellence

1. Excellence. Always. Listen. Learn. Respect. Appreciate. Tom Peters 25 November 2009 (Annotated)

2. #1

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

4. The patient is the best source of information. Sooo …

5. 18seconds

6. Shame on docs. True enough. But most managers are equally indictable on this charge!!! Are you an “18-second manager”? I’d put money on it in 5 cases out of 7.

7. [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 thatlast. Listening is ... the core of effective Cross-functional Communication* (*Which is in turn Attribute #1 of organizational effectiveness.) Listening is ... the engine of superior EXECUTION. Listening is ... the key to making the Sale. Listening is ... the key to Keeping the Customer’s Business. Listening is ... the engine of Network development. Listening is ... the engine of Network maintenance. Listening is ... the engine of Network expansion. Listening is ... Learning. Listening is ...the sine qua non of Renewal. Listening is ...the sine qua non of Creativity. Listening is ...the sine qua non of Innovation. Listening is ... the core of taking Diverse opinions aboard. Listening is ... Strategy. Listening is ... Source #1 of “Value-added.” Listening is ... Differentiator #1. Listening is ... Profitable.* (*The “R.O.I.” from listening is higher than from any other single activity.) Listening underpins ... Commitment to EXCELLENCE

8. The power of listening is … limitless. Read—and ponder—this list very carefully.

9. [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 thatlast. Listening is ... the core of effective Cross-functional Communication* (*Which is in turn Attribute #1 of organizational effectiveness.) [cont.]

10. Listening is ... the engine of superior EXECUTION. Listening is ... the key to making the Sale. Listening is ... the key to Keeping the Customer’s Business. Listening is ... the engine of Network development. Listening is ... the engine of Network maintenance. Listening is ... the engine of Network expansion. Listening is ... Social Networking’s “secret weapon.” Listening is ... Learning. Listening is ... the sine qua non of Renewal. Listening is ... the sine qua non of Creativity. Listening is ... the sine qua non of Innovation. Listening is ... the core of taking Diverse opinions aboard. Listening is ... Strategy. Listening is ... Source #1 of “Value-added.” Listening is ... Differentiator #1. Listening is ... Profitable.*(*The “R.O.I.” from listening is higher than from any other single activity.) Listening is … the bedrock which underpins a Commitment to EXCELLENCE

11. *Listening is of the utmost … strategic importance!*Listening is a proper … core value! *Listening is … trainable!*Listening is a … profession!

12. This is not just an exhortation, “Hey, listen.” I’m suggesting that listening become a pre-occupation. That it be the whole-damn-organization’s trademark.

13. Listen = “Profession” = Study = practice = evaluation = Enterprise value

14. Listen! • Listening Leaders: The Ten Golden Rules To Listen, Lead & Succeed—Lyman Steil and Richard Bommelje • The Zen of Listening—Rebecca Shafir • Effective Listening Skills—Dennis Kratz and Abby Robinson Kratz • Are You Really Listening?—Paul Donoghue and Mary Siegel • Active Listening: Improve Your Ability to Listen and Lead—Michael Hoppe • Listening: The Forgotten Skill —Madelyn Burley-Allen

15. Yes you can! That is, study “this stuff.”

16. #1A

17. Message: Listening is a … profession!

18. Just like becoming a professional musician. Or a neurosurgeon.

19. #1B

20. Listen = Profession = Study = practice = evaluation =Enterprise value:"We listen intently to and fully engage all with whom we work."

21. Core value #1. No kidding.

22. #1C

23. Questioning, the art [and “profession”] of.

24. Listening’s corollary: the Art of Asking.

25. Ask! • Leading with Questions: How Leaders Find the Right Solutions by Knowing What to Ask —Michael Marquardt • Smart Questions: Learn to Ask the Right Questions for Powerful Results —Gerald Nadler and William Chandon • The Art of Asking: Ask Better Questions, Get Better Answers—Terry Fadem • How to Ask Great Questions —Karen Lee-Thorp • Change Your Questions, Change Your Life—Marilee Adams • Asking the Right Questions: A Guide to Critical Thinking—Neil Browne and Stuart Keeley

26. Can be studied.

27. Listen! Ask! • Listening Leaders: The Ten Golden Rules To Listen, Lead & Succeed —Lyman Steil and Richard Bommelje • The Zen of Listening—Rebecca Shafir • Effective Listening Skills—Dennis Kratz and Abby Robinson Kratz • Are You Really Listening?—Paul Donoghue and Mary Siegel • Active Listening: Improve Your Ability to Listen and Lead —Michael Hoppe • Listening: The Forgotten Skill—Madelyn Burley-Allen • Leading with Questions: How Leaders Find the Right Solutions by Knowing What to Ask—Michael Marquardt • Smart Questions: Learn to Ask the Right Questions for Powerful Results—Gerald Nadler and William Chandon • The Art of Asking: Ask Better Questions, Get Better Answers —Terry Fadem • How to Ask Great Questions—Karen Lee-Thorp • Change Your Questions, Change Your Life—Marilee Adams • Asking the Right Questions: A Guide to Critical Thinking—Neil Browne and Stuart Keeley

28. #2

29. “The fourmost importantwords in any organization are …

30. Ta-da …

31. The four most important words in any organization are …“What do you think?” Source: courtesy Dave Wheeler, posted at tompeters.com

32. “WDYT” = Certification of me as a person of Importance whose opinion is valued.

33. Biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiig deal. (Remember, The Little BIG Things.)

34. Tomorrow: How many times will you “ask the WDYT question”?[Count!] [Practice makes better!] [This is a STRATEGICskill!]

35. Not to be left to chance. Yup … can be MEASURED.

36. #2A

37. From Enemy/Reluctant User to Champion/Savior/Owner:The “one line of code!”Axiom

38. Ask my opinion of a system revision. I give you an earful. You go back and make a couple of tiny changes [“a line of code”] to accommodate me. Now I “own” the thing—and become a champion rather than a resistor. More or less ... GUARANTEED … to work.

39. #3

40. “The deepest human need is the … need to be appreciated.”—William James

41. Once again. ALL POWERFUL. (And usually neglected or half-hearted.)

42. “Thank you” lingers on: 10 years

43. Exec retires. At going away party, someone comes up to him, very emotional, to thank the exec for a thank you note he’d sent 10 years ago. (I’ve got a ton of similar stories.)

44. Tomorrow: How many times will you mange to blurt out, “Thank you”? [Count ’em!] [Practice makes better!* *The engineer from Manchester.]] [This is a STRATEGICskill!]

45. Not a casual idea. Measure it.

46. *appreciation is of the utmost … strategic importance!*appreciation is a proper … core value! *appreciation is … trainable!*appreciation is a … profession!

47. One more time. A topic worthy of serious study.

48. And the answer is …. otis

49. Teacher gives a science exam. Students prepped—know what’s coming. Quiet in the room. Then din. Students complaining. “Will the last question count?” Teacher: “Most definitely.” And the last question is: “What is the first name of the person who cleans the room after class?”(Hint: Otis.)Teacher: “As you go forward in life, you will meet many people. All of them are important. Each one deserves your attention and respect …”Source: Deborah Norville, The Power of Respect.

50. “It was much later that I realized Dad’s secret. He gained respect by giving it. He talked and listened to the fourth-grade kids in Spring Valley who shined shoes the same way he talked and listened to a bishop or a college president.He was seriously interested in who you were and what you had to say.” —Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot, Respect