Tom Peter

I have often talked about the company headquartered in Red wood cityin California, called VeriFone; they are the market leader in credit card, authorization, hardware and software. Over 2000 people are on a payroll multinational, growing fast, there is not one clerk, there is not one secretary in the company. Replenishing the ice box running the Xerox machine all of those so called every day test in my opinion ought to be divided up amongst the rest of the professional in the organizations. So I think everything can become a project job. I do not believe in dead end road work anywhere. Telemarketing, running the Xerox machines other non-sense if you have the imagination.

Reinventing yourself, what doesn’t it mean, it doesn’t mean mind verses job I think. It doesn’t mean a personality transplant every two years. It means something else. Two things in specific, two key ideas. The first one is what his I called Me Ink, You are a company, you are an enterprise even if you are a payroll of a 100 thousand person organization. Another way of describing the second way is what I call the professional service firm attitude. You are a Me Ink a one person professional service delivery firm. House painters get it they understand very well. If a House painter has a lousy day, the person who hired him or her dumps some of the job and then proceed to tell everybody within 10 mile radius which means they chopped meat. Look, I am not trying to give you a bad news story here in fact I think it is a very very good news story. This is an extraordinary liberating opportunity, opportunity and liberation; those are the two critical words.

Do neat stuff. I mean, Do neat stuff, it sounds like a mind versus an obvious things to do. I am afraid it’s not. We are in a world that is shockingly and competitive and too dull as many of us, I worry of this at every night myself, really don’t stand out in a very special way. My favorite word in English language is provocation. If what you doing is not trying to bring about of some sought of fundamentals change not trying to provoke you don’t get it. Others mean if you can show up late at work and be lazy. Professionalism is a part of provocation, on time, on budget etc. But how do you begin this process. Well Do something now, do something within next hour or so. Some small risky, slightly off beat activity. Allow yourself to be yourself, to be your passionate itself. Passion is one of my favorite words. Business is, should be, can be at its best all about Passion. Does your resume say “WOW”! that is the most practical questions that you can possible ask.

Everyone a leader. Professor Ronald Hyped said it well. Leadership without authority is the name of the game. Leadership especially today is imperative for a 18 year old or a 28 year old or a 38 year old, i.e. for you even if you are not officially a boss of anything as it is for Mr. Clinton or whoever else. Power and Powerless nest, I thought about this for a long long time. Powerless nest is a state of mind in the end. Dr. Martin Luther Kings of the world, Dr. Nelson Mandela’s of the world had very little if any official powers for years and years and years, and yet they create the phenomenal revolution. You must think about yourself as a leader, why you are a leader. You are leading You, You are leading your career, you are making your job, your life. Find a project, create a project, take the initiative within the next hour.

A brand called “You”, so what you want to be famous for, ya what you want to be famous for. You are not an employee, you not a staff. You don’t belong to General Motors or General mills or you are not at level 6 in a higher level organization. You are a brand, You are a brand as much as Nike as a Brand, Coke as a brand, Pepsi as a Brand, Body shop International as a Brand, think Brand, think what you want to be famous for, if you are not thinking that way, you are not going to be employed for very long and I am taking to 18 years waiters and waitress and people who sell peanuts in baseball stadium as much as I am talking to 42 year old purchasing professional. Think brand, live brand, eat brand sleep brand, you are a brand, period.

Curiosity today is arguably building block no 1. Skill no 1 for the person who would survive and thrive in these crazy times. Learning a living, it means a commitment all the times to picking up new stuffs, developing new ideas and now I did not mean you have to go back and get a master’s degree of business administration, but what I do mean is that you got to make it sure that the so called mundane project that you are working on now is twisted around so that you have an opportunity to study something new, work with some new people, learn something new and of the off the job stuff as well. Sure take your vacation, but how about a vacation to some place where you haven’t been before where you actually learn something new, learning a living, we got to get use to that phrase from literally greater to literally grave.

Roller desk power. You are as good as Roller desk is fat. In the old days it was simple, look in one direction, but pay attention to the boss, pay attention to the people who live inside the building with you. Today is a fluid game, the person who is your co-worker on a project today, is going to be your boss tomorrow and vice versa. We don’t know all how it’s going to work out that’s why the key word is Roller desk that is contacts, now that putting the name on Roller desk is not the same thing as developing the relationship. Putting on the roller desk, yes but maintaining it as well, how do you do it, a lot of little things, a lot of big things return those phone calls, especially those which are tough to return and don’t waist a single lunch. It’s all about networking developing the depth of the breath of that network. You are as good as your relationship.

Dear Project Manic, you shall be known by your projects, I want to scream at or yell at it or I shout at you. Project, Project, Project, Project, Project. It’s the new world order. Life will be defined by our projects. They are the punctuation marks; they are the meat and potatoes of the resume. All of life must be turned into a relentless pursuit of projects. Projects whom you will meet new people. Projects where you will learn new things. Projects with outcomes. Projects with customers, whatever you are doing transform into the projects. Don’t start today, start now. Projects.

Create a project now. There need be, there need be, no such thing as a humble project. Project theme could be the Manhattan project for the cast of thousand lasting years could be the designing the case work for neon and project can be a one person activity that last for half a day. Think project that is all about, transform any activity into a value added project with a special or WOW outcome. Four steps. Number 1. Find a client. Number 2. Create a goal or the deliverable that is something measurable. Number 3. A Deadline. There is no such thing as a real project without a deadline. Number 4. How do you make it that is something memorable, special and WOW. A one day WOW project. Yes it can be done, so DO IT.

Ambiguity, whatever you think you are doing during the day, everything will probably change by this time tomorrow morning. Get used to it that is what the game is all about. There are at least 4 things which you need to be constantly and simultaneously paying attention to. Number 1. You got to be a great team mate a supportive colleague. Number 2. You got to be narrow gauged. That is an exceptional expert at something of great value. Number 3. Not only narrow gauged but broad gauged everybody a leader, everybody a teacher, everybody a business person and finally Number 4. A business person that is public sector or private sector somebody who is dedicate to pragmatic outcome. So ask yourself right now on the project that you are working on today, how do you measure up on the four, supportive colleague, exceptionally talented expert, broad gauged visionary and pragmatic business person.

Relationship Management or everybody a Relationship Manager. I think I first heard the term in the big banking industry, the term Relationship Management and it had to do with symbiotic relationship which was formed between the commercial banker and his big client like his Syers or General Motors or whoever. Now today that idea of Relationship Management applies to each and every one of us. After all remember we were talking about Projects. There is no such things as projects without a client and that means Symbiosis with the client to create a fabulous mutual result that both of you will be bragging about a year or even about 2 years from now. Relationship management that means paying attention each and every day even as you attempt to be proactive to the little things the subtletythat allows the client to absorb your idea, your suggestions and create something bigger than either of your imagine. I called it, ROIR, almost all of you must have heard of it, ROI Return On Investment, the financial term, ROIR is Return on Investment in Relationship, so tell me specifically within the last 24 hours, what specific time have you devoted to investment in critical especially client relationship associated with your current project.

It’s over, no more vertical, no more ladder, that’s not that the way the career’s work anymore, linearity is out. What is the career about, the career is about projects, a career is about what I like to call braggibles, things that your client will brag about, things that you can brag about, things that made a lasting impact. A career now something that is that goes up today, down tomorrow, sideways and so on. Hey listen this is not a new idea. I worked in a professional service firms all my life. The last thing in the world that you want to do is to become a Manager in a professional service firm. What you want is more exciting project, more interesting project, something that allows you to grow, that means you will be down here today, up there tomorrow, you will be going sideways today afterword, forget ladder, forget linear, that’s not the way the game is played. All the world is a stage, you are the lead actress, this is the new world order, checkers boards are in, ladders are out. Love it, Live it now.

What does WOW mean, it means that you look at the resume, you look at the project, you look at the clients, you are bragging about what you have done and it says to the person who is reviewing it, WOW!, this is me, this is a special human being, this is the person who goes the extra mile, this is the person who has broken the back to learn something new tricks, to be at special service, to add unique value. WOW is a very very good word, may be it is a very conservative word to the like 1990 and the early part of the next century, WOW, W O W, does your resume stands out, not with all clever kinds of graphics, but really really neat stuff.

We are talking here about yes liberation, it is the very exciting idea and we are talking about survival, it is genuinely honestly a new world order and b we aint seen anything yet, but what we are talking about is this entire area is self-assessment. Is your resume getting better, is something new braggible and WOW been added to your resume at leastevery 90 to 120 days. There is no such thing as a static Resume today. A static resume is a resume that is getting literally worse every passing day. How am I doing? Put your resume in your own face. Keep it at hand all the time on paper, electronically the others programme by hook or by crook whatever, think growth think resume, think projects, think client value added, how am I doing, you must ask yourself that with great regularity.

Look things are changing automatically, but that doesn’t mean that you have a job hunt, that’s does not mean something which require by these crazy guys, what is required is the whole point really is saying that you do have to perpetually get better. But for heaven’s sake on the payroll of Hewlett Packard or on the payroll of Wal-Mart you can have a 20 year or 30 year career and get better with each passing day week month year. That’s the critical point not standing still, always adding value, always improving that resume curriculum vitae, every 120 days 180 days half a year. Do on somebody’s payroll for like or do as independent contract, just don’t stand still.

What we are saying is loyalty is death, loyalty is gone. I think that is utter nonsense, I think loyalty is much more important than it has been in the past. Loyalty in the old days in my opinion and I know that it is a brutal remark was in ventured server tooth. My dad worked for 41 years for the Baltimore Gas and Electric company and it was basically in ventured server tooth. Today the loyalty is the only thing that matters, but not loyalty to a company logo, loyalty to one’s colleague, loyalty to one’s project, loyalty to one client, that’s truest to much deeper sense of loyalty than what we have seen onbig companies payroll in the years gone by.

All of what I have been saying sound at first blush like selfishness and it is guess what, Me Ink that means developing yourself growing, but management for heaven’s sake that has it head has even on hands screwed right has got to or certainly ought to loved that because the definition of You as Me Ink, the definition is that you are learning new things that you are developing network that you are creating projects that have outcomes that are measurable that will be bragged about by your clients and so boss who has got half a grain of sense is got to love it if you if are dedicate to being a perpetually growing human being.

I think the biggest problem of people having in getting ahead in their job, is walking into the office in the morning seeing a full end basket and then mindlessly working through it. To me and I don’t think I am not even 54 years old and all about too old for that every day is honestly an opportunity to create projects, to find new clients, work with new colleagues, to learn new things. I think that true that’s if you are a 18 year old working as a waiter or a waitress. I worked as a waiter for about 7 years and each night in the restaurant can be an opportunity to be entertaining in the best and force sensitive world in a slightly different way that you were in the past. So opportunity is name of the every day’s game if you want to look at it that way.

I have often said that is the part of the process of refreshing yourself, that you need to take breaks, you need to take sabbaticals, if you are smart you take sabbaticals in 6 months or sabbaticals in a year,guess what, sometimes you come to work and find that you have shuffled aside. Can that be an annoying experience, can that be a terrible experience absolutely and I have not got `in magic board to offer, but what I am guessing that is if you are persistent that you are vilely 3 years from now even though if you had a bad six months you will have figured out a way to apply the new stuffs that you learnt or picked up or the new freshness in yourself in a way that ends up in a way that being positive. We have no magic boards not having bad day’s weeks months and years. That’s what the real and rich life is all about. Find me a great politician who hasn’t been defeated in an election 2 or 3 times in a course of her or his career and you are the better person than I.

A woman coming back to the work force from after her maternity leave may find once again that the door has been shut automatic career path and in the next job that she thought was going to be there but it isn’t there, Well again and I hope I am I am not being naive about this, I believe that it can be an advantage. Life is not a linear path, I mean the wonderful news about coming back from the maternity leave now is that, in the old days in a big company if you ever got off a waist track, you were dead professionally. Now I think that is a real opportunity to turn those junctions into something positive, not automatically I use the word opportunity, but I think it’s positive and I don’t think it is naïve.

One of the real breakthrough in thinking about the new careers to me was in thinking about myself and you as a brand. We talk about the notion of you are a brand. You have brand equity. I think the most important think we can think about is what ismy local reputation, what is my global reputation. How is the project that I am working on now going to make me more marketable 3 6 9 months from now. Think marketing, marketing is not a dirty word, marketing is not a smarmy idea. Marketing is very legic, marketing is communication, communication of your strengths and track record to others.

Let’s talk about the issue of happiness of violently competitive economy with downsizing, rightsizing whatever going around this, now like the two things that are antithetical and I don’t do that are antithetical I think that they go to together. Happiness I think is about commitment, being committed to your profession, being committed to growth. Happiness doesn’t mean wondering through like would selling grin on your face and not being challenged. Remember years ago coming across the description best business school professors, everyone single one of them was very very tough, very very demanding but people who had been through in education experience with them had experience extraordinary growth. Happiness is not a silly grin. Happiness is like working like a devil, learning new things, developing new network and moving forward in the world.

Richard Bradsen is the founder of Virgin group including Virgin Air. I recently read an article about Bradsen that said over the course of 20 or 30 years in his business he is now on notebook number 220. Mr. Bradsen is an absorber of ITES and impression. Almost all the people I have most admired in my life are just instinctual learners and so one of my advisors in addition to reading about things, is be a note tech.

What am I always looking for is some sub text which says this person is really stretched in an unusual way in an unusual time. When I was doing a British broadcasting co-operation documentary a while back I talked to a guy with the name Garry Withers who is the head of the marketing services firm headquartered in London called Imagination. I said to him “Garry, how did he get these great people”. He said “I look for a Demonstrated appetite for adventure”. I love those words and In fact I had shameless stolen them in my own life. I want to find some heard edge indication for a Demonstrated appetite for adventure at age 18 or 58 as the case may be.