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In Search of Excellence /1982-2012 XFX/Cross-functional Excellence PART 4 of 23 EXCELLENCE NOW “The 15H Theory of Everything” Tom Peters/1 January 2012/excellencenow.com.
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In Search of Excellence /1982-2012 XFX/Cross-functional Excellence PART 4 of 23 EXCELLENCE NOW “The 15HTheory of Everything” Tom Peters/1 January 2012/excellencenow.com
NOTE:To appreciate this presentation [and insure that it is not a mess], you need Microsoft fonts:“Showcard Gothic,”“Ravie,”“Chiller”and“Verdana”
Over the course of the last three years, always looking for a new format for presenting my core beliefs, I’ve been having fun playing around with “Hs.” Started with three [You’ll find the original “3H” presentation at Part 23, APPENDIX II], grew to 15—each one capturing a central idea associated with Excellence, tested management practices and organizational effectiveness. This is “my best shot”— 3,500+ slides encompassing the things that matter most to me in 2012, and the things that have mattered most since the publication ofIn Search of Excellence 30 years ago.I’ve given well over … 2,500 presentations … of this material in the last three decades [in 67 countries], all using slides—clunky old glass mounts for the longest time and then PowerPoint. It’s the medium I’m most comfortable with. Hence this effort to “say it [almost] all” is offered in PowerPoint format. What’s new—completely new for me—Is an effort to achieve some sort of “life closure” and “total comprehension” via the use of very extensive annotation.Probably 100,000+ words of annotations!Combine these extensive annotations and the slides themselves and you’ve likely got 125,000 words—that is, a 500-page book’s worth of text. (The unabashed goal indeed is to move from the “catchy” idea on the slide to coherent explanatory text.) I earnestly hope you enjoy using “this stuff” half as much as I have putting it together—and find numerous things you can “steal;” that’s the whole idea!Note: I have not used the PowerPoint annotations feature, because most people, I have observed, skip over the annotations—it’s my goal, as usual, to be “in your face.”
In Search of Excellence /1982-2012 XFX/Cross-functional Excellence PART 4 of 23 EXCELLENCE NOW “The 15HTheory of Everything” Tom Peters/1 January 2012/excellencenow.com
Opportunity #1: XFX/Cross-functional EXCELLENCE/Key IdeasVirtually all sizes and classes of organization: XFX = STRATEGIC OPPORTUNITY #1.“Lets do lunch”: SOCIAL FACTORS, not processes or software, are XFX key!!!XFX: METICULOUS/PLANNED/EVALUATED DEVELOPMENT OF XF FRIENDSHIPS.PUBLICLY HONOR support from other functions.“C(I)” > “C(E)”: INTERNAL CUSTOMER DEVELOPMENT/MAINTENANCE more important than external customer maintenance.“SUCK DOWN FOR SUCCESS”: Essential work done two or three levels “down” in the organization—nurture network “down there.”REALLY putting XFX at the TOP of your agenda: AT LEAST ONE CONCRETE ACTION DAILY!
Dick Anderson… my U.S. Navy Seabee commanding officer in Vietnam who taught me “Can do” Bob Waterman… my joined-at-the-hip co-author, In Search of Excellence Warren Bennis… my intellectual and moral mentor 1982-present Herb Kelleher… for whom “people first” is not a slogan but a way of life Dilma Rousseff … who assures us that this will be “the women’s century”
“Business has to give people enriching, rewarding lives … or it's simply not worth doing.” —Richard Branson
Epigraph/s “Business has to give people enriching, rewarding lives … or it's simply not worth doing.”—Richard Branson “We have a strategic plan. It’s called ‘doing things.’ ”—Herb Kelleher “Execution is strategy.”—Fred Malek “There is absolutely nothing that beats hard work.”—Sallie Krawcheck “Courtesies of a small and trivial character are the ones which strike deepest in the grateful and appreciating heart.” —Henry Clay “Avoid moderation.” —Kevin Roberts “You know a design is cool when you want to lick it.” —Steve Jobs “This will be the women’s century.” —Dilma Rousseff “Be the best. It’s the only market that’s not crowded.”—George Whalin
Translating the Epigraphs People [REALLY] first! Action! Action! Action! Execution is strategy! Basics win!/Out work ’em! Little gestures matter most! Re-imagine! “Wow” or bust! Women’s century! EXCELLENCE! NOW!
Sometimes the most important stuff in a presentation gets lost in the middle of a logical argument. But the following five things, if you were to take them (or evenone of them!) seriously, would, I believe, pay for any seminar of mine you attend X1,000,000. Hence these 1st things before 1st things …
MORAL Basis for EnterpriseOrganizations Exist to SERVE.Leaders Exist to SERVE.FIRST THINGS before FIRST THINGS: “To Do”A. Build the ABSOLUTE BEST Cadre of 1st LINE MANAGERS … or BUST!B. Cross-functional EXCELLENCE: OBSESS on the SOCIAL Factors! C. EXCELLENCE in LISTENING = Differentiator #1: IMPLEMENT It Now! D. TRILLION$$$ at Stake: DOMINATE the Boomer+ Market!E. MEETINGS = Leadership/“Culture change” Tool #1. Headlines from the 15 “Hs”1. FANATIC about EXECUTION! SWEAT & SWEAT (& SWEAT) the Details! 2. Never RELENT! Keep MOVING! OFFENSE!3. You = Your CALENDAR! ENTHUSIASM Trumps All! Best STORY Wins! 4. NO STONE UNTURNED: “Small” Courtesies Move MOUNTAINS!5. People FIRST. (And 2nd & 3rd & 4th & …)6. BRAND YOU World! “DISTINCT or Extinct.” NO OPTION. 7. ACTION. NOW. “Blame NOBODY. Expect NOTHING. Do SOMETHING.”8. You = [All] Who You HANG OUT With: CHOOSE STRATEGICALLY! 9. MAXIMIZE-Measure-Obsess on TGRs/“Things Gone RIGHT”!10. Scintillating EXPERIENCE: Make EVERY Contact MEMORABLE!11. Great DESIGN Differentiates Anything-Everything DRAMATICALLY!12. Seek MONOPOLY-Through-OUTRAGEOUS-Commitment-to-EXCELLENCE!13. WOMEN Buy! WOMEN Roar! WOMEN Rule!14. Satisfaction+++: Make EVERY Customer a … RAGING SUCCESS!15. No less than … 100% “WOW”! WEIRD STUFF COMING!
XFX = #1* *Cross-Functional eXcellence
The Strategic Importance of XFX(Cross-functional eXcellence) I believe that in most any organization of, say, more than a dozen people, the #1 issue is “cross-functional communication-integration.” It is both “Problem #1” and “Opportunity #1.” From intelligence pattern recognition to order execution to innovation, our INTERNAL barriers, not our competitors’ cleverness, are the principal impediment to effectiveness. I suspect we mostly agree with that. But is it—AND IT RARELY IS—literally seen as “SO1” —Strategic Opportunity #1? (Please do me the great honor of thinking about this.)
If XFX is truly “Strategic Opportunity #1”—and it is—then manage and spend you time accordingly!
I’ve studied this/XFX for a long long time. And I’ve come to a clearcut solution. The key to successful (“excellent”/friction-free/value-ADDING) cross-functional integration is what I call the “social stuff,” or “social lubricants.” Not the software or formal systems (though both are clearly important), but the strenuous investment in people “across the way.” I use “lunch” per se to exemplify or act as a metaphor for this idea. Odds are 9 in 10 that when you (in purchasing) go to lunch with Sara (in finance), you’ll learn that you have lots in common as human beings. You’ll still be “the purchasing guy” and she’ll still be “the finance lead”—but now you’ll be dealing with each other as [trusted, in all likelihood] professional colleagues, not just members of warring tribes.Could it be that simple?No. (Of course not.)Yes.(Absolutely.)
“Personal relationships are the fertile soil from which all advancement, all success, all achievement in real life grow.”—Ben Stein
“The terms ‘hard facts,’ and ‘the soft stuff’ used in business imply that data are somehow real and strong while emotions are weak and less important.”—George Kohlrieser, Hostage at the Table (Kohlrieser is a hostage negotiator and professor of management)
Amen! (From a great investment guru.)(From a successful hostage negotiator.)And in absolutely no place is this more important than in the pursuit of … XFX.
“They brainstormed about how to turn this [catastrophic] mis-understanding around, and came up with a simple plan— every day for the next three months she would have lunch or coffee with one of the partners. Today she is executive vice president for [Fortune 50 company].” —Betsy Myers, on an extraordinarily talented professional who had been blocked from leadership positions in her firm, from Take the Lead: Motivate, Inspire, and Bring Out the Best in Yourself and Everyone Around You
A talented partner at a prestigious law firm kept missing the promotions she clearly was due. After some analysis and coaching, it appeared that she had her head down working hard and effectively—but had not bothered to bond with her fellow partners; she assumed that the clearly brilliant work would stand on its own.The coach and she came up with a plan: DO LUNCH. That is, initiate a systematic process of bridge building, with lunch as the chosen vehicle.It worked.Big time.
“Don’t ever use that word ‘synergy.’ It’s a hideousword. The only thing that works is natural law. Given enough time, natural relationships will develop between our businesses.”—Barry Diller, responding to a student question, address at the Harvard Business School (from Marshall Goldsmith, What Got You Here Won’t Get You There)
The topic here is not synergy among businesses. Yet such a topic is enormous. Business after business promises “synergies”—and fails to deliver in 9 cases out of 9.4. Diller says synergies may well emerge—but emerge is the key word. They will emerge through friendships (“natural relationships”). I.e., courtesy … SOCIAL FACTORS.Which of course is … precisely … my point re all-important XFX/Cross-functional Excellence.
“Allied commands depend on mutual confidence and this confidence is gained, above all through thedevelopment offriendships.” —General D.D. Eisenhower, Armchair General* *“Perhaps his most outstanding ability [at West Point] was the ease with which he made friends and earned the trust of fellow cadets who came from widely varied backgrounds; it was a quality that would pay great dividends during his future coalition command.”
General Eisenhower’s success in the D-Day adventure, those close to the scene agree, stemmed to an extraordinary degree from his ability to keep warring tribes from each others’ throats. (Oddly to some, the nastiest infighting known to man can occur among generals and their political bosses.) Eisenhower may or may not have been a great strategist. He was definitely possessor of an extraordinary temperament and a peerless bridge builder.
George Crile (Charlie Wilson’s War ) on Charlie Wilson:“The way things normally work, if you’re not Jewish you don’t get into the Jewish caucus, but Charlie did. And if you’re not black you don’t get into the black caucus. But Charlie plays poker with the black caucus; they had a game, and he’s the only white guy in it.The House [of Representatives], like any human institution, is moved by friendships, and no matter what people might think about Wilson’s antics, they tend to like him and enjoy his company.”
Not quite as profound as the Eisenhower story … but revelatory nonetheless. (Oh, and Charlie to a certain degree did “change the world”—i.e., contributed significantly to the implosion of the Soviet Union.)
Promote into functional leadership positions based primarily on … temperament.
We all know “temperament” is “important.” In fact it is … decisive.(Act accordingly.)(Starting now.)
“Keep a short enemies list. One enemy can do more damage than the good done by a hundred friends.” —Bill Walsh, The Score Takes Care of Itself (Walsh was the “hall of fame” coach of the San Francisco 49ers football team)
R.O.I.R.Always #1.You’ll see this slide again.As well you should.(I should use it 50 times!) 100:1.Put your ego on hold.“Who was ‘right’” is [wholly] irrelevant.100:1.In the GRG/Great Relationships Game … which in the end is “the only game in town” … making enemies is “Sin #1.”(What a waste!)100:1.
% XF lunches* *Measure! Monthly! Part of evaluation! [The PAs Club.]
For example: As, say, a finance boss, I should/will measure-evaluate each of my folks on the number/share of lunches they have each month with people in other functions!It is a “HARD” measure of the first order. (As to the “PAs club,” the CEO of an Australian consumer finance company reports that now and again his Personal Assistant will host a lunch for PAs from the top ranks of client companies—between lunches the group operates as an informal network. Nice! Potent!)
These sorts of ideas are “hard” … not “soft.”(To succeed you … must must must … treat them as such.)
The sacred 220 “ABs”.* *“At bats”
