I think economics is about passion. Economic progress, whether it is a two-person coffee shop or whether it is Netscape, is about people with brave ideas. Because it is brave to mortgage the house, when you’ve got two kids, to start a coffee shop.
TOM PETERSFact is, the work place to a great extent is “where we live.” We need star accountants. Boffo saleswomen. Over-the-top creatives in marketing and new product development.
More Tom Peters Quotes
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I think it’s wonderful to save the world, but you need to be part of the world, too.
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The day firing becomes easy is the day to fire yourself.
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It doesn’t matter what product or service you’re offering; there is unlimited ability to improve the quality of anything.
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Don’t ‘tolerate’ mistakes. Embrace them!
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Forget loyalty. Or at least loyalty to one’s corporation. Try loyalty to your Rolodex-your network-instead.
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Integrity may be about little things as much or more than big ones.
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Knowing when to take your losses is an essential part of eventual success.
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Don’t let the vision be shot through with holes, but be damn sure some of your best and brightest are shooting at it — with bazookas as well as sniper’s rifles.
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If there is a single tragic flaw that mars our biggest enterprises, it is conservatism – the failure to fail, and fail big, in an era of unprecedented volatility and ambiguity.
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If no one is pissed-off with you then you are dead but just haven’t figured it out yet.
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Accept change as a friend. And don’t take yourself too seriously.
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Passion. The life of an entrepreneur is occasionally exhilarating, and almost always exhausting. Only unbridled passion for the concept is likely to see you through the 17-hour days (month after month) and the painful mistakes that are part and parcel of the start-up process.
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Mastery is great, but even that is not enough. You have to be able to change course without a bead of sweat, or remorse.
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The delivery and presentation media are important, and each format has its advantages and disadvantages, but ultimately I just want to read what I want to read, when and where I want.
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South Africa has all the tools to compete in the new global village – an eager workforce, ready to take on any challenge.
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Today brands are everything, and all kinds of products and services – from accounting firms to sneaker makers to restaurants – are figuring out how to transcend the narrow boundaries of their categories and become a brand surrounded by a Tommy Hilfiger-like buzz.
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I still read quite a few printed books, but if something is available in digital format I do not print it before I read it.
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Even a poor, out-of-datecollection reflects in its own way the values of the people who created it and the community it serves.
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Almost all quality improvement comes via simplification of design, manufacturing… layout, processes, and procedures.
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Quite simply, no matter how hard you try, no matter how “open” you are, you’ll end up surrounded by “yes people.” It’s hard not to believe people who are repeating your own ideas. Resist the temptation.
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Life is pretty simple: You do some stuff. Most fails. Some works. You do more of what works. If it works big, others quickly copy it. Then you do something else. The trick is the doing something else.
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But there’s no substitute for getting smarter faster. And the way you get smarter is to screw around vigorously. Try stuff. See what works. See what fails miserably. Learn. Rinse. Repeat.
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Public Speaking is a skill that can be studied, polished, perfected. Not only can you get good at it, you can get damn good at it and it makes a heck of a difference.
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Business is about people. It’s about passion. It’s about bold ideas, bold small ideas or bold large ideas.
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What you decide not to do is probably more important that what you decide to do.
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The best leaders are the best notetakers, best askers, and best learners.
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