life

In the movie, Scent of a Woman, there's a scene where Al Pacino asks a girl to dance and she replies, 'I can't, my boyfriend will be here any minute now'. To which Pacino responds, 'A life is lived in an instant'. Then they dance to a tango.

Let us march

“In classical times when Cicero had finished speaking, the people said, ‘How well he spoke,’ but when Demosthenes had finished speaking, they said, ‘Let us march.’”

—Adlai Stevenson

the boss as the CHR, Chief Hurdle Remover (Tom Peters says)

Peter Drucker once famously said, “Ninety-percent of what we call ‘management’ consists of making it difficult for people to get things done.”

There is more than a grain of truth to that.

On the other side, and there can be an “other side,” I see the manager’s principal role as identifying things that get in people’s way (by asking them!) and meticulously getting those things out of their way. Thence, you could call the boss the CIRO, or Chief Impedance Reduction Officer, or my choice, CHR, Chief Hurdle Remover. In any event the idea is that this is a/the primary task the boss performs—and that it is a systematic, pro-active affair (e.g., on the daily agenda).

Getting Things Done (GTD)

“It works this way, Tom. You’re talking to a guy who’s important to implementation down where the rubber meets the road. He’s skeptical—he either really is, or it’s the act he chooses to play. You go over the thing with him and he has a thousand objections. You nod your head a lot, and take copious notes. Then you go back to your guys, and you find a few places where you can very specifically accommodate him. You make the changes, even if they are pretty ugly. Then you go back to him, and show him exactly what you’ve done. You have a ‘born again’ supporter. You took him seriously—and through the changes, he’s now your co-inventor, your savior. Now he’s doing the selling for you. Hey, the whole damn thing wouldn’t have worked were it not for his interjections—that’s the way he frames it to his folks. I tell you, it never fails.”

Source: Australian
IS-IT chief, mid-sized company in financial services

Purpose of the Corporation

“I have always believed that the purpose of the corporation is to be a blessing to the employees.” —Boyd Clarke

Nothing Is Irrelevant (Tom Peter Says)

Stop.Right now.


Check the reception desk.

Check the reception area.

Check the bathroom.
Check your last Client email.
Check etc.Check etc.

Check 10 "little things."Right now.

Is each one stunningly, amazingly excellent?Does each one confirm & extend & broadcast your "brand promise"?You, personally?Your training department?Your 3-person accountancy on Main Street?Your BigCo division?

Repeat.Daily.

(Remember: You are in control. There are things you cannot make happen, to be sure; but you can project Brand Excellence on a thousand "atmospherics" that determine Client-Employee perception.)