"TIPs & QUIPs" Archive

Subject: Lifescope TIPs & QUIPs [11] "The Pursuit of WOW!"

Occasionally a business book comes out which not only transforms the way you
think about business, but the way you think about life. Usually these books
are good for a re-read from time to time (or a re-listen if you do the
audiotape thing). Well I happened to pull one of these books from my shelf 
recently: a Tom Peters' original masterpiece from 1994, THE PURSUIT OF WOW!
I hope this snippet gives you a chuckle and a pause for thought. --Lee Lukehart

TIPs & QUIPs, the free occasional email of helpful hints and quotes (and
sometimes challenging suggestions) for getting the most from life.

In this issue:
     *** WiseWords
     *** This Issue's Theme
     *** Suggested Resources
     *** Thrive On! Recommended Site


*** WiseWords ***
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"The intelligent man finds almost everything ridiculous, 
 the sensible man almost nothing."
  --Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

"The privilege of absurdity; 
 to which no living creature is subject but man only."
  --Thomas Hobbes

"The weather-cock on the church spire, though made of iron, would soon be 
 broken by the storm if it did not understand the noble art 
 of turning into the wind."
  --Heinrich Heine

(For a collection of some of our favorite WiseWords, see our web page at
<http://www.lifescope.com/pages/WiseWords.html>.)


*** This issue's theme:  THE PURSUIT OF WOW!
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You either hate Tom or love Tom, because he definitely has an "in-your-face"
style. (I fall into the latter camp.) In this book he shares 210 'numbered
observations,' from one line to several pages in length -- all of which are
classic Tom Peters, roughly organized into thirteen chapters:
   Starters
   Getting Things Done
   Milk, Cookies, and Managing People
   Pens, Toilets, and Businesses That Do It Differently
   Just Say No to Commodities (and Yes to Free Spirits)
   Breaking the Mold
   The Wacky World
   Searching for the Diversity Advantage
   Tomorrow's Strange Enterprises
   Entrepreneurs' Dreams
   Lists!
   Attaining Perpetual Adolescence
   Parting Shots

Here follows just one of his 'observations,' typical of Tom's direct and
personable style:

A student in New Zealand recently wrote, asking me to reveal my
time-management secrets. My first instinct was to ignore the request -- the
topic irks me. I get irritated when people pull out fat "organizer" kits.
Time-management "consultants" really bug me. My reaction is doubtless
defensive. I have no time-management secrets. In fact, I consider myself a
crappy time manager. Still, I like to respond to student requests. Besides, I
figured I must have an implicit time-management model.

I came up with five strategies:

1. Focus and reject.
Over the years, when something gets really serious, I "switch on" the issue at
hand and "switch off" everything else. To switch off is more important than to
switch on. Mail, phone calls, dinner parties, the leaky barn roof -- later,
ace. Such intensity of focus involves risk -- alienating superiors and
subordinates alike, maybe even quitting a job. It means that "available
you/good ole Joe" ain't available for the next month, the next year.

2. Use your day "right."
Understanding your metabolism is critical. I can work creatively from about 4
A.M. to 11 A.M. and work reasonably intelligently for another three hours.
After that, forget it. It took me decades to figure that out. But now I'm
religious about paying attention to my inner clock.

3. Rest and/or frolic.
Winston Churchill invariably took a long afternoon nap -- even while he was
England's prime minister during World War II. I like that idea, and practice a
variant while working on books. I write from about 4 A.M. to 7:30 A.M., nap
until about 8:30, then go at it again. I'm always surprised at how refreshed I
feel after an hour's pillow time. Everyone goes through daily doldrums. Knock
off -- nap, isometrics, meditation -- and recharge. Beyond that, a couple of
weeks (or months) of rest and frolic in the midst of a daunting task is
enormously stimulating. (I try to take at least a few weeks off between drafts
of a book.) Woe betide the "pluggers" who pride themselves on never taking
breaks: Dullness is their just dessert.

4. Pursue "mindless" interruptions.
Studies suggest the most effective bosses thrive on unscheduled interruptions;
the least effective chiefs program their days down to the minute. Practical
translation: Allow for (plan for!) productive diversions. Take occasional
off-the-wall calls that just might provide a highly profitable insight: "I
thought you ought to know that your top-of-the-line product has a fatal flaw,
though I'm sure your engineers must have told you." Ho. Ho. Ho. No, they had
not. I worry when the infotech gurus promise we'll soon be able to get our
news (papers, magazines, etc.) tailored to "detailed informational needs."
Yuck! I often find more useful information about "life" in Section D of USA
Today than in the Wall Street Journal. Most bursts of inspiration come from
the quirky juxtaposition of information. The weekly TV ratings may suggest
more about consumer trends than the $200,000 market research you just
commissioned. A night at the opera may be more help with a personnel problem
than three hours with a human resources staffer -- or reading some damn
bestseller on e-m-p-o-w-e-r-m-e-n-t.

5. Be true to yourself.
While I hope this brief recitation helps stretch your imagination, it is not a
to-do list. We all have different rhythms. Your "time-management strategy"
must fit you.

But can you get away with strategies like mine? I can tell you I've been
practicing these sometimes antisocial habits since I was a young Navy ensign
in Vietnam (my first real job). When faced with a challenge, like designing a
bridge to be built out of the scraps at hand, I'd sometimes disappear for
several days. In subsequent jobs, I'd evaporate for weeks and, in one case,
months. In the latter instance, I was subsequently fired. It was the biggest
career boost ever. (It gave me the space to focus on what was important.)

-- Excerpted from THE PURSUIT OF WOW! by Tom Peters
[Excerpt authorized as Fair Use under Copyright Act of 1976, Section 107]


*** Suggested Resources ***
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Pursuit of WOW!
Business guru Tom Peters again breaks ground in how business does business. He
urges you to take the leap - to catapult their imaginations, blow their
mindsets, and knock their Nikes off. In a word, WOW them! This brash book
might drive you up the wall, but it might also drive you (and your business)
to new heights in the twenty-first century global marketplace.

    (softcover book, 349pp) Item# C6192-BK
        SRP$15.00  (see link for special price)
Buy this item online now at Lifescope.com or Amazon.com.
Your satisfaction is assured with our RISK-FREE Guarantee!

    (1 audiotape, 90 min) Item# C6192-AT
        SRP$12.00  (see link for special price)
Buy this item online now at Lifescope.com or Amazon.com.
Your satisfaction is assured with our RISK-FREE Guarantee!

The Tom Peters Seminar
Are you ready to embrace chaos? Drop your job title? Try to get fired? In this
trademark seminar, celebrated author and business provocateur Tom Peters gives
you the tools to thrive in the tumultuous nineties-and beyond. In nine
sections, each loaded with real inspiration and how-to information, he
repeated demonstrates that in an insane world, sane organizations make no
sense. The main message: Take that leap. Then take it again. And do it now!

    (softcover book, 320pp) Item# C6208-BK
        SRP$15.00  (see link for special price)
Buy this item online now at Lifescope.com or Amazon.com.
Your satisfaction is assured with our RISK-FREE Guarantee!

    (2 audiotapes) Item# C6208-AT
        SRP$17.00  (see link for special price)
Buy this item online now at Lifescope.com or Amazon.com.
Your satisfaction is assured with our RISK-FREE Guarantee!


*** Thrive On! Recommended Site ***
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Meet Tom Peters (of course!) <http://www.tompetersgroup.com/p7.html>
Tom describes himself as a champion of bold failures, prince of disorder,
professional loudmouth, corporate cheerleader, and lover of markets. 
This is his "Meet Tom" page.


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