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Integrity may be about little things as much or more than big ones.

Tom Peters

I’m fundamentally not interested in the Fortune 500 companies – in US, Mexico, anywhere. The real backbones of economic growth are small and medium businesses.
TOM PETERS

Business Country Growth Real
If future competitiveness depends on treating people as an important part of the institution, the least respectful thing I can imagine doing to a human being is asking him to urinate in a cup.
TOM PETERS

Asking Important People
Customers perceive service in their own unique, idiosyncratic, emotional, irrational, end-of-the-day, and totally human terms. Perception is all there is!
TOM PETERS

Educational Funny Leadership
If your company has a clean-desk policy, the company is nuts and you’re nuts to stay there.
TOM PETERS

Clean Desk Company Nuts Office Policy
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

Business Remembers Everything Vulnerable
What gets measured gets done.
TOM PETERS

Done Inspirational Customer Service Measurement
A completely free library is as rare as a truly free lunch.
TOM PETERS

Free Library Lunch Rare
Cost does not equal value… and low cost parts decrease brand equity for a very long time.
TOM PETERS

Cost Elapsed Long
I think it’s wonderful to save the world, but you need to be part of the world, too.
TOM PETERS

Needs Thinking World
Hire attitude train skills.
TOM PETERS

Attitude Skills Train
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
Those who succeed always reach far beyond formal deputation, take initiatives, and take the heat when things go awry. That’s true in the military in times of war, true for 200 person manufacturing firms, and true at giant automakers or software companies.
TOM PETERS

Initiatives Manufacturing Reach Reputation
The workplace revolution that transformed the lives of blue-collar workers in the 1970s and 1980s is finally reaching the offices and cubicles of the white-collar workers.
TOM PETERS

Blue Office Revolution White
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
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
Usage tends to be global, while funding tends tobe local. When we allow it to happen, usage of a digital library is remarkably diverse and widespread.
TOM PETERS

Digital Library Usage Widerspread
Fact 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.
TOM PETERS

Caring Stars Talking
The race will go to the curious, the slightly mad, and those with an un-satiated passion for learning and dare-deviltry.
TOM PETERS

Deviltry Mad Passion Race
With most competitors moving ever faster, the race will go to those who listen (and respond) most intently.
TOM PETERS

Faster Moving Race
I used to be skeptical when educators and technologists predicted that we may be entering a new era of oral culture, in which audible information will be at least as important as visible information.
TOM PETERS

Entering Important May
Divas do it, golfers do it, pilots do it, violists do it, sprinters do it, soldiers do it, surgeons do it, astronauts do it…only business people think it isn’t necessary to train.
TOM PETERS

People Teamwork Thinking
Success requires a persistent misreading of the odds.
TOM PETERS

Misreading Odds Persistent
The day firing becomes easy is the day to fire yourself.
TOM PETERS

Easy Fire Wisdom Yourself
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
Without exception, the dominance and coherence of culture proved to be an essential quality of the excellent companies.
TOM PETERS

Culture Essentials Quality
How do you achieve excellence?…Stop doing non-excellent stuff!
TOM PETERS

Achieve Excellence Stuff
The company’s most urgent task is to learn to welcome, beg for, demand – innovation from everyone.
TOM PETERS

Demand Innovation Tasks

Integrity may be about little things as much or more than big ones.

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Integrity may be about little things as much or more than big ones.

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Popular Authors

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