A Bias for Action: Unleashing Excellence in Business

1. Tom Peters on …Action“You Only Find Oil If You Drill Wells”

2. CONTEXT

3. “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.”—Charles Darwin

4. Pathetic!

5. TP/BW on BigCo Sin #1:“too much talk, too little do”

6. “Ninety percent of what we call ‘management’ consists of making it difficult for people to get things done.”– Peter Drucker

7. “Forbes100” from 1917 to 1987: 39 members of the Class of ’17 were alive in ’87; 18 in ’87 F100; 18 F100 “survivors” underperformed the market by 20%; just 2 (2%), GE & Kodak, outperformed the market 1917 to 1987.S&P 500 from 1957 to 1997: 74 members of the Class of ’57 were alive in ’97; 12 (2.4%) of 500 outperformed the market from 1957 to 1997.Source: Dick Foster & Sarah Kaplan, Creative Destruction: Why Companies That Are Built to Last Underperform the Market

8. “I am often asked by would-be entrepreneurs seeking escape from life within huge corporate structures, ‘How do I build a small firm for myself?’ The answer seems obvious:Buy a very large one and just wait.”—Paul Ormerod, Why Most Things Fail: Evolution, Extinction and Economics

9. A BIAS FOR ACTION

10. Excellence1982: The Bedrock “Eight Basics” 1. A Bias for Action 2. Close to the Customer 3. Autonomy and Entrepreneurship 4. Productivity Through People 5. Hands On, Value-Driven 6. Stick to the Knitting 7. Simple Form, Lean Staff 8. Simultaneous Loose-Tight Properties”

11. “Never forget implementation boys. In our work it’s what I call the ‘missing 98 percent’ of the client puzzle.” —Al McDonald/McKinsey

12. “We have a ‘strategic plan.’ It’s called doing things.”— Herb Kelleher

13. “This is so simple it sounds stupid, but it is amazing how few oil people really understand that you only find oil if you drill wells.You may think you’re finding it when you’re drawing maps and studying logs, but you have to drill.” Source: The Hunters, by John Masters, Canadian O & G wildcatter (80%)

14. “We made mistakes. 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 No. 5. By the time our rivals are ready with wires and screws, we are on version No. 10.It gets back to planning versus acting: We act from day one; others plan how to plan—for months.” —Bloomberg by Bloomberg

15. "I think it is very important for you to do two things: act on your temporary conviction as if it was a real conviction; and when you realize that you are wrong, correct course very quickly.”—Andy Grove

16. S.A.V.

17. Screw Around Vigorously

18. Sam’s Secret #1!

19. “Fail faster. Succeed sooner.”David Kelley/IDEO

20. Fail. Forward. Fast.–High-tech Exec/PA

21. “Rewardexcellent failures. Punishmediocre successes.”Phil Daniels, Sydney exec

22. Boyd on TEMPO

23. “The most successful people are those who are good at plan B.”—James Yorke, mathematician, on chaos theory in The New Scientist

24. He who has the quickest O.O.D.A. Loops* wins!*Observe. Orient. Decide. Act./Col. John Boyd

25. OODA Loop/Boyd Cycle“Unraveling the competition” Quick Transients/Quick Tempo (NOT JUST SPEED!) Agility “So quick it is disconcerting” [adversary over-reacts or under-reacts] “Winners used tactics that caused the enemy to unravel before the fight” (NEVER HEAD TO HEAD)BOYD: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War (Robert Coram)

26. “The stuff has got to be implicit. If it is explicit, you can’t do it fast enough.”—John BoydBOYD: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War (Robert Coram)

27. Tempo!*70-10*Boyd/O.O.D.A. Loops/Mike Leach/Texas Tech

28. 70-10/Nebraska/Unk QB 643 yards K.State/ Linemen spread wide/All legals go out for pass/Defenders confused & tire(Boyd/Tempo is not speed/“Re-arrange the mind of the enemy”—T.E. Lawrence)/“By changing the geometry of the game, and pushing the limits of space and time on the gridiron, Mike Leach is taking Texas Tech to some far out places.” —Michael Lewis (NY Times Magazine, 12.04.05, onMike Leach/Texas Tech)

29. “In war, delay is fatal.”—Napoleon “The only way to whip an army is to go out and fight it.”—Grant“ … demonstrating the tactic that would become his hallmark: the immediate move to seek out the enemy and attack him”—John Mosier, on Grant“A good plan executed right now is far preferable to a ‘perfect’ plan executed next week.”—Patton

30. Relentless!**Churchill, Grant, Patton, Welch, Bossidy, Nardelli (GE execs), UPS, FedEx, Microsoft/Gates-Ballmer, Eisner, Weill, eBay, Nixon-Kissinger, Gerstner, Rice, Jordan, Armstrong

31. “This [adolescent] incident [of getting from point A to point B] is notable not only because it underlines Grant’s fearless horsemanship and his determination, but also it is the first known example of a very important peculiarity of his character: Grant had an extreme, almost phobic dislike of turning back and retracing his steps. If he set out for somewhere, he would get there somehow, whatever the difficulties that lay in his way. This idiosyncrasy would turn out to be one the factors that made him such a formidable general. Grant would always, always press on—turning back was not an option for him.” —Michael Korda, Ulysses Grant

32. “METABOLIC MANAGEMENT”

33. The Leadership111. Talent Management2. Metabolic Management3. Technology Management4. Barrier Management5. Forgetful Management6. Metaphysical Management7. Opportunity Management8. Portfolio Management9. Failure Management10. Cause Management11. Passion Management

34. “The secret of fast progress is inefficiency, fast and furious and numerous failures.”—Kevin Kelly

35. “Active mutators in placid times tend to die off. They are selected against. Reluctant mutators in quickly changing times are also selected against.”—Carl Sagan & Ann Druyan,Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors

36. “How we feel about the evolving future tells us who we are as individuals and as a civilization: Do we search for stasis—a regulated, engineered world? Or do we embrace dynamism—a world of constant creation, discovery and competition? Do we value stability and control or evolution and learning? Do we think that progress requires a central blueprint, or do we see it as a decentralized, evolutionary process?? Do we see mistakes as permanent disasters, or the correctable byproducts of experimentation? Do we crave predictability or relish surprise? These two poles, stasis and dynamism, increasingly define our political, intellectual and cultural landscape.”—Virginia Postrel, The Future and Its Enemies

37. “If things seem under control, you’re just not going fast enough.”—Mario Andretti

38. “I’m not comfortable unless I’m uncomfortable.”—Jay Chiat

39. “If it works, it’s obsolete.”—Marshall McLuhan

40. Bossidy on EXECUTION

41. “I saw that leaders placed too much emphasis on what some call high-level strategy, on intellectualizing and philosophizing, and not enough on implementation.People would agree on a project or initiative, and then nothing would come of it.”—Larry Bossidy & Ram Charan/Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done

42. “Execution is the jobof the business leader.”—Larry Bossidy & Ram Charan/ Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done

43. “Execution isasystematic processof rigorously discussing hows and whats, tenaciously following through, and ensuring accountability.”—Larry Bossidy & Ram Charan/ Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done

44. “Realism is the heart of execution.”—Larry Bossidy & Ram Charan/Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done

45. “robust dialogue”—Larry Bossidy & Ram Charan/ Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done

46. “GE has set a standard of candor. … There is no puffery. … There isn’t an ounce of denial in the place.”—Kevin Sharer, CEO Amgen, on the “GE mystique” (Fortune)

47. “The person who is a little less conceptual but is absolutely determined to succeed will usually find the right people and get them together to achieve objectives. I’m not knocking education or looking for dumb people.But if you have to choose between someone with a staggering IQ and an elite education who’s gliding along, and someone with a lower IQ but who is absolutely determined to succeed, you’ll always do better with the second person.” —Larry Bossidy/Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done

48. Duct Tape Rules!“Andrew Higgins, who built landing craft in WWII, refused to hire graduates of engineering schools. He believed that they only teach you what you can’t do in engineering school. He started off with 20 employees, and by the middle of the war had 30,000 working for him. He turned out 20,000 landing craft. D.D. Eisenhower told me, ‘Andrew Higgins won the war for us. He did it without engineers.’ ”—Stephen Ambrose/Fast Company

49. The Leader’s Seven Essential Behaviors*Know your people and your business*Insist on realism*Set clear goals and priorities*Follow through*Reward the doers*Expand people’s capabilities*Know yourselfSource: Larry Bossidy & Ram Charan, Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done

50. Action8/VPMR+/Peters on Bossidy*External Focus (Competitors/Customers)*Realism/Truth-telling*Vision*Projects(Must add up to Vision)*Milestones*Commitment/Energy*RapidReview*Consequences(+/-)