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And remember: Everything in business is a paradox. To be excellent, you have to be consistent. When you’re consistent, you’re vulnerable to attack. Yes, it’s a paradox. Now deal with it!

Tom Peters

Something mysterious happens to a curious, fully engaged mind – and it happens as often as not, subconsciously. Strange little sparks are set off, connections made, insights triggered
TOM PETERS

Connections Littles Mind
The difference between great and average is, mostly, having the imagination and zeal to re-create yourself daily.
TOM PETERS

Average Differences Imagination
Make an extensive table of project ‘deliverables’. Label one column ‘as requested’. Create another column labeled ‘could be’. Make each ‘could be’ wild and woolly!
TOM PETERS

Column Impact Labels Make Tables
Even a poor, out-of-datecollection reflects in its own way the values of the people who created it and the community it serves.
TOM PETERS

Community People Way
Gandhi and Mandela and Churchill and JFK and Reagan and Thatcher and Sarkozy and Franklin and Washington set the tone to an incredible degree-their “personal style” was their “brand.” (“It” starts with personal style of the tip-top leadership team.
TOM PETERS

Degree Leadership Sorry Team
Swipe from the best, then adapt.
TOM PETERS

Business Innovation Innovative
Integrity may be about little things as much or more than big ones.
TOM PETERS

Integrity Littles May
What have you done lately – this week – to make yourself stand out? What would your colleagues or your customers say is your greatest and clearest strength? Your most noteworthy (as in, worthy of note) personal trait?
TOM PETERS

Colleagues Greatest Lately Networthy
Become a “learning organization”. Shuck your arrogance – “if it isn’t our idea, it can’t be that good” – and become a determined copycat/ adapter/ enhancer.
TOM PETERS

Arrogance Ideas Organization
What gets measured gets done.
TOM PETERS

Done Inspirational Customer Service Measurement
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 PETERS

Coffee Kids Passion
Leaders’ careers will usually be determined by their handling of one or two critical events that no one could possibly anticipate or plan for.
TOM PETERS

Careers Leadership Two
Mastery is great, but even that is not enough. You have to be able to change course without a bead of sweat, or remorse.
TOM PETERS

Able Mastery Remorse Sweat
The good news – and it is largely good news – is that everyone has a chance to stand out. Everyone has a chance to learn, improve, and build up their skills. Everyone has a chance to be a brand worthy of remark
TOM PETERS

Builds Chance Everyone News Skills
Leaders understand the ultimate power of relationships.
TOM PETERS

Inspirational Leader Ultimate
David Ogilvy contends that the greatest ad copywriters are marked by an insatiable curiosity ‘about every subject under the sun.’
TOM PETERS

Copywriters Curiosity Subject Sun
All white-collar work is project work. The single salient fact that touches all of our lives is that work is being reinvented.
TOM PETERS

Facts Life Reinvented White
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.
TOM PETERS

Inspirational Inspiring Life
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.
TOM PETERS

Believe Friends Ideas
It may be primarily property taxes in the case of a public library, or state taxes and tuition in the case of an academic library at a public university, but the funding sources of most libraries continue to have a strong geographic component.
TOM PETERS

Academic Library Strong Tuition
The company’s most urgent task is to learn to welcome, beg for, demand – innovation from everyone.
TOM PETERS

Demand Innovation Tasks
I find digital content much easier and more rewarding to interact with on screen than printed on paper.
TOM PETERS

Digital Easier Paper
If a window of opportunity appears, don’t pull down the shade.
TOM PETERS

Inspirational Opportunity Success
Confidence means non-paralysis, a willingness to act, and act decisively, to start new things and cut failing ventures off.
TOM PETERS

Cutting Mean Motivational Ventures
Listen while you can, so that you can lead when you must.
TOM PETERS

Deliver Formula Success
Momentum is a fragile force. Its worst enemy: procrastination. Its best friend: a deadline (think Election Day). Implication no. 1 (and there is no no. 2): Get to work! NOW!
TOM PETERS

Enemy Procrastination Thinking Worst
The magic formula that successful businesses have discovered is to treat customers like guests and employees like people.
TOM PETERS

Business Educational Inspirational

And remember: Everything in business is a paradox. To be excellent, you have to be consistent. When you’re consistent, you’re vulnerable to attack. Yes, it’s a paradox. Now deal with it!

Related Topics

Popular Authors

And remember: Everything in business is a paradox. To be excellent, you have to be consistent. When you’re consistent, you’re vulnerable to attack. Yes, it’s a paradox. Now deal with it!

Related Topics

Popular Authors

More Tom Peters Quotes