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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

A completely free library is as rare as a truly free lunch.
TOM PETERS

Free Library Lunch Rare
Hire disrespectful people.
TOM PETERS

Disrespectful People Work
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
Listen while you can, so that you can lead when you must.
TOM PETERS

Deliver Formula Success
Business is about people. It’s about passion. It’s about bold ideas, bold small ideas or bold large ideas.
TOM PETERS

Ideas Passion People
Oh Lord, there it is again. The question;” What kind of business should I start?” Incidentially, it has a twin that also sets me off: “What should I specialize in during the second year of my MBA studies?”
TOM PETERS

Business Incidentally Sorry Specialization Years
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
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
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.
TOM PETERS

Miserable Stuff Trying Way
The idea of intimately entwining with customers [to get ideas] is an idea whose time has come.
TOM PETERS

Customers Ideas Intimately
I don’t want the 35-year-olds in my audience to think of me as as ‘pops’ giving the kind of advice that only 65-year-olds can understand.
TOM PETERS

Giving Thinking Understand Years
A passive approach to professional growth will leave you by the wayside.
TOM PETERS

Approach Growth Passive
Forget loyalty. Or at least loyalty to one’s corporation. Try loyalty to your Rolodex-your network-instead.
TOM PETERS

Corporations Loyalty Trying
Appreciation, applause, approval, respect – we all love it!
TOM PETERS

Applause Appreciation Approval
The top athletes are consummate pros who work obsessively at their craft. Approach yours the same way.
TOM PETERS

Athlete Crafts Way
We cannot innovate without opening the door to havoc.
TOM PETERS

Doors Havoc Innovation
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 best kept secret in the global economy today is this: When your service is AWESOME you get so stinking rich you have to buy new bags to carry all the money home.
TOM PETERS

Best Economy Home Secret Today
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
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
Effective listening is a professional achievement-achieved only through hard work.
TOM PETERS

Achievement Effective Hard Listening Work
Entrepreneurs have no memories. They take on the world with a completely fresh view.
TOM PETERS

Entrepreneur Memories Views
Your calendar never lies. All we have is our time. The way we spend our time is our priorities, is our strategy. Your calendar knows what you really care about. Do you?
TOM PETERS

Calendar Care Lying Priorities
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
Don’t ‘tolerate’ mistakes. Embrace them!
TOM PETERS

Business Mistake Training
Leaders trust their guts. “Intuition” is one of those good words that has gotten a bad rap. For some reason, intuition has become a “soft” notion.
TOM PETERS

Decision Leader Rap
You are your projects!
TOM PETERS

Country Execution People Projects

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

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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

Related Topics

Popular Authors

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