Tom Peters is one of the world’s more visible business management gurus. If you haven’t read one of his books yet, you really should. He’s also got a list of 48 Things the Matter, available as a free PDF. I’m sharing the whole list here, but I also wanted to do a little art. Here’s a Wordle of his entire list. (Click the image to see a full-size version)
Tom Peters’ 48 Quick Tips on Being a Better Manager
- “Thank you.” Minimum several times a day. Measure it.
- “Thank you” to everyone even peripherally involved in some activity—especially those “deep in the hierarchy.”
- Smile. Work on it.
- Apologize. Even if “they” are “mostly” to blame.
- Jump all over those who play the “blame game.”
- Hire enthusiasm.
- Low enthusiasm. No hire. Any job.
- Hire optimists. Everywhere. (“Positive outlook on life,” not mindless optimism.)
- Hiring: Would you like to go to lunch with him-her. 100% of jobs.
- Hire for good manners.
- Do not reject “trouble makers”—that is those who are uncomfortable with the status quo.
- Expose all would-be hires to something unexpected-weird. Observe their reaction.
- Overwhelm response to even the smallest screw-ups.
- Become a student of all you will meet with. Big time.
- Hang out with interesting new people. Measure it.
- Lunch with folks in other functions. Measure it.
- Listen. Hear. Become a serious student of listening-hearing.
- Work on everyone’s listening skills. Practice.
- Become a student of information extraction-interviewing.
- Become a student of presentation giving. Formal. Short and spontaneous.
- Incredible care in 1st line supervisor selection.
- World’s best training for 1st line supervisors.
- Construct small leadership opportunities for junior people within days of starting on the job.
- Insane care in all promotion decisions.
- Promote “people people” for all managerial jobs. Finance-logistics-R&D as much as, say, sales.
- Hire-promote for demonstrated curiosity. Check their past commitment to continuous learning.
- Small “d” diversity. Rich mixes for any and all teams.
- Hire women. Roughly 50% women on exec team.
- Exec team “looks like” customer population, actual and desired.
- Focus on creating products for and selling to women.
- Focus on creating products for and selling to boomers-geezers.
- Work on first and last impressions.
- Walls display tomorrow’s aspirations, not yesterday’s accomplishments.
- Simplify systems. Constantly.
- Insist that almost all material be covered by a 1-page summary. Absolutely no longer.
- Practice decency.
- Add “We are thoughtful in all we do” to corporate values list. Number 1 force for customer loyalty, employee satisfaction.
- Make some form of employee growth (for all) a formal part of values set. Above customer satisfaction. Steal from RE/MAX: “We are a life success company.”
- Flowers.
- Celebrate “small wins.” Often. Perhaps a “small win of the day.”
- Manage your calendar religiously: Does it accurately reflect your espoused priorities?
- Use a “calendar friend” who’s not very friendly to help you with this.
- Review your calendar: Work assiduously on your “To don’ts”—stuff that distracts.
- Bosses, especially near the top: Formally cultivate one advisor whose role is to tell you the truth. Regularly!
- Commit to Excellence.
- Talk up Excellence.
- Put “Excellence in all we do” in the values set.
- Measure everyone on demonstrated commitment to Excellence.
