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| Luanda Lucky boy. (He said for the 1000th time.) Had a lovely full-day seminar with wonderful folks in Luanda, Angola. It's said to be the most expensive city in the world—oil related activities booming, and relatively thin infrastructure; hence demand exceeds supply in the likes of the hospitality industry. But now the construction cranes have flocked to Luanda—oil, oil, and more oil (OPEC's #3 producerer?) and available credit courtesy, mostly, the Chinese. At any rate, I enjoyed my brief visit, and was overwhelmed by the kindnesses of my seminar hosts and participants. Progress, oil or not, is remarkable given that Angola is but a half-dozen years past a multi-decade, brutal civil war. As I prepared my "all-knowing" "guru remarks," I couldn't help but reflect that 90% of audience members over, say, 35 were far wiser to the twisted ways of the world than I. [Get the PPT slides.—CM] Posted by Tom Peters | Comments? |
| Sorry. Redux. Once again, AWOL. This time a weeklong trip to India followed by a 40-hour journey from New Delhi to Austin TX via god-knows-where-cubed. Then back from Austin to Boston, logging my third consecutive midnight in the air—followed by a return to intensive book editing, about round #6 or #7 or #8 as I figure. (And the editing to a manuscript that was supposedly "ready to go" when I started the half-dozen or so rounds in late June—summer, where did thou go? Snow predicted for VT tomorrow, and also for Toronto where my carcass will be, eh?) At least at an Austin signing for airport managers and board members, I had the thrill of autographing 250 sets of our galleys. And all this from a body that's 23 days from finishing up its 67th year—dear God Almighty that's frigging old. FYI, one other highlight ... |
| When the Phone Rings at 3 A.M. ...Something's Afoot! Last Saturday at 3 a.m. my home phone rang. It was my Hong Kong client canceling yesterday's event—just hours before I was due to leave. I inform you of this because it means that my "after 40 years" trip to Vietnam also bit the dust; hence no [brilliant, incisive, soul-searching ...] commentary associated therewith. |
| Short Takes.Catching Up. Before I leave for Hong Kong-Korea-Delhi, I thought I'd catch up with "stuff" lying in my file from my last trip to Holland-China. I think I'll do a new feature, TomChirps. I am not so keen on Twitter, but I am keen on short (140 characters—or so!) comments on stuff I deem important, not egocentric posts about my-life-as-tom having a secret Cinnabon at the Omaha airport. |
| Home Is Where the ...Kubota Is!
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| You Know It's Been ... You know it's been a long trip when your day's highlight is doing three full loads of laundry. |
| Thank You! By the time you read this I'll doubtless be in Bogotá. And I will doubtless be treated with great kindness. Such has been the nature of 99% of my experiences outside the U.S. (and in!) over the years. Yet for reasons beyond simple logic, I must pause and offer a big-humongous "thank you" to my hosts in Abu Dhabi. I can't measure it on any scale, but the kindness and thoughtfulness and engagement I experienced are way out on the tip of the tail of a normal distribution that encompasses all 3,000 (more or less) of my speeches. One tiny episode is characteristic. Quite unusually (thank God), I picked up some damnable airplane bug-virus, and my voice was, almost instantaneously, cracking and unclear and sliding downhill. During the coffee time before the seminar, while croaking to one of my hosts, he suddenly turned on a dime and said, "We must get you hot water with honey and ginger." Magically, he managed to make it happen in a flash. If you were a 100% cynic you could call it a matter of self-interest. But the genuine concern with which it was done was, well, wonderful. Throughout the croaky day, various folks told me to "calm down, save your voice." Etc. Etc. The wee example is indeed characteristic—but the overall warmth from everyone I crossed paths with will nurture me for a long time to come. (I think it's why I keep doing what I'm doing.) (FYI, the honey-ginger-hot water mix was a great help.) Posted by Tom Peters | |
| NZ. Not.
To finish NZ musings, and break a self-inflicted rule ... (The pictures above and below are from the "back yard," all of about 9X9, of our wee Boston abode. Above, obviously, table and chair; below, a sculpture.)
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| The Boss Off to see Bruce Springsteen tonight—68,000 of us stuffed into Gillette Stadium. Thunderstorms predicted. Let you know how it all turns out on Monday. |
| A.SAD
But there's a catch—only in Vermont. (Or perhaps, also Nome, Alaska.) That is, I realized that this time next week the days will have begun to get shorter. Hence, I am suffering A.SAD. That is ... Anticipatory Seasonal Affective Disorder. As I said, only in VT! |
| Event: Korea Design Forum Tom is keynoting (for three hours) the Korea Design Forum 2008 in Seoul. He tells us that Korea is making a concerted push, as a nation, to become a "Worldclass Design Hub," following the sort of value-added strategy that Tom has participated in before, in places such as New Zealand and Taiwan. Check out the first ten slides. Together, they amount to a new Design Manifesto, drafted (according to Tom) between 1 a.m. and 4 a.m. (?!) Korean time. You can get the PPT here: Korea Design Forum, Seoul Posted by Cathy Mosca | |
| 25E, 62 Spent a couple of days in D.C. last week. Saturday (before Mother's Day) bright and sunny. Long walk.
Georgetown, C & O (Chesapeake & Ohio) Canal. America's Internet 2.0. (Arguably the Pony Express was Internet 1.0. Or was it pamphleteering surrounding the buildup to the Revolutionary War?)
Far end of Memorial Bridge, Seabee Memorial. "Seabee" from "CB"—U.S. Naval Mobile Construction Battalion. Navy combat contractors, born in World War II, first notable service at Guadalcanal. Sailors recruited directly from the Union halls. Motto: "Can do." (John Wayne made a Seabee movie. Sailors in "South Pacific," subject of a current Broadway revival, were Seabees.) (Yrs truly served with them in Vietnam—I stop by, pat the marble, salute, and say hello to old friends.)
Vietnam Memorial. Over 58,000 names, listed in chron order—from 1958 to 1975. Many visitors last Saturday. Mothers of "the names"?
Waterproof book with all the names, locations. Youngster looking for name, granddad?—typical rubbing.
Names.
Recent tribute. Dozens each day. In fact, one soldier's family left his Harley at The Wall. (Gov't keeps all stuff—not available for public viewing.)
25E, 62. East 25 [each wall section is numbered], line 62 [up to you to count]. LT David C. Hall, USA. College roommate. How many of ours died in Vietnam? One answer is: 112 "Halls" alone. Godspeed, Dave. Posted by Tom Peters | |
| Spring 2008 on the Farm/Vermont Cathy has been bugging me for spring-on-the-farm pictures from VT. Herewith are four:
(1) the chickens are out and about
(2) the tulips are finally blooming
(3) new porch furniture—it's warm enough to move outdoors
(4) construction of Susan's new studio Happy Spring! (I know it's almost over for some of you—we're just gearing up. And, of course, for others of you south of the Equator, winter is just around the corner in our "little" "global village.") Posted by Tom Peters | |
| PNC Financial Services Group On this day of global market madness, I'm in Pittsburgh talking to leaders at PNC Financial Services Group. At first blush, "Ouch" would seem to be the order of the day. But hold on. First, through good sense or good luck or both, PNC's subprime exposure is minimal. Moreover, the company has a bushel of awards that distinguish them as far different from banking's mindless conglomerators. PNC is a 2007 "BusinessWeek 50" top performing company, on Fortune's "Most Admired" list, on numerous other lists such as "Best Companies for Working Mothers," "Top 10 Companies for African-Americans," "Top 50 Employers for Women," "CIO 100 for Technology Excellence," etc. So, why do they need me? Beats me, but I'll do my best to roil the waters here and there. [Slides are here.—CM] Posted by Tom Peters | |
| The Cultured Spanish and the Joy of Day #27!
Planned to "pop into" the Prado, my favorite museum in the world—my hotel room only 50 yards away. Line when I arrived Saturday was, I'd judge, almost a quarter-mile long, and I don't think I'm exaggerating. Sunday, my last chance, was the same by about 11 a.m. So, on the advice of the concierge, adding a little of my usual conservatism, I got in the queue at 8 a.m. Sunday for a 9 a.m. opening. I'd guess I was about #150. The problem was that it was colder (about 25°F, -4°C) in Madrid than in VT; but I persisted, despite totally inadequate clothes. I'm used to Madrid at 95°F, +35°C, its summer #. Net was, it was, as always, worth it. (I once flew from SF to Madrid and back to see one picture here—Brueghel's "The Triumph of Death." I'm sure that'll draw Comments. Never done anything comparable before or since.) At any rate, above and below are a couple of crowd pics at 6 p.m. Sunday, a mix of tourists, including a ton of Japanese, but mostly locals, including a heavy youth component. Hats off to the Spanish for Museo Del Prado's just-completed renovation and for the popularity of the museum. ("Public" thanks for getting me through "all this" to, especially, Abbey Bishop, Nancy Paul, Klair Sirianna, Ivy Gustafson, the inimitable Harry "He Da Man" Rhoads; and Cathy Mosca, Erik Hansen, and Shelley Dolley for keeping the Blog up to date. A special debt of gratitude to the Interpreters here, there, and everywhere, whose job when I'm racing and colloquial, approximately always, is much harder than mine!)
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| Apologies!
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| Bologna 11.09.07
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| "Guru Gaffes"
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| And How Was Your Week?
I am not complaining—I've enjoyed my various engagements in the past 7 days. (It's the people, stupid! Everywhere! I feed off them with what seems to be an insatiable appetite.) On the other hand, I guess I'm not surprised that I've been falling asleep in various poses, then snapping out of it a few minutes to an hour later in exactly the same position in which I faded out. In the 8 days that encompassed Saturday through Saturday last, I've given nine seminar-presentations in three countries—marked by 27 hours with the lapel mic in the "on" mode. (Plus a number of media interviews, some, well, interminable—I'll go on forever if the interviewer is well prepared, but I am a bit testy when it's clear the interviewer hasn't done any prep.) Travel was: Tupelo to Memphis to Boston to London to Madrid to Buenos Aires to Frankfurt to Zurich; it encompassed 40 hours in the air and it appears 25,000 miles ... or so. (Lufthansa, as usual, takes the honors.) And all this during the week before my 65th birthday—I think a shrink might argue that I was trying to prove something to myself. Susan would argue that I did, indeed, prove it—that I'm an idiot. I, of course, will reserve judgment. I slept in Sunday in Zurich, then enjoyed a looooong walk through and around this lovely city—zonked or not, it is a privilege of the first order to have such opportunities! (And, yes, the Swiss are tidy—I don't even think the pigeons are allowed to poop.) Now in the midst of prep for a 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. seminar ("all day" in my lingo). (Above, a gorgeous Japanese maple on the hotel grounds—in full fall farewell plumage. Below, street vendor roasting chestnuts—Bahnhofstrasse, Zurich.)
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| Event: FEMSA I am finishing my 2-day stint with HSM in Buenos Aires. The "speech du jour" is to executives of FEMSA. The enormous consumer goods company, headquartered in Mexico, is, among many other things, the second largest Coca-Cola bottler in the world. Tonight: Back to Europe, more specifically, Zurich. [The link for the PPT slides is below.—CM] |
| Back "Home"!
I do love London and feel fully at home; I've been coming over here since serving a summer stint as a midshipman in the Royal Navy in 1965. I gave two speeches at the London Business Forum today, and have another two ticketed tomorrow. How I made it through, I don't know. Though still suffering bigtime from jetlag, I nonetheless stayed up, tracking every pitch in Game 4 of the World Series—Jonathan Papelbon's capper occurred at 4:08 a.m. Greenwich time, just 37 minutes before my wake-up call. It's a long way from my new Kubota in Tinmouth, VT, to the shop windows of London being dressed on Sunday—see above. Posted by Tom Peters | |
| North Mississippi Medical Center Rules! I'm in Tupelo, Mississippi, today, courtesy the North Mississippi Medical Center. Among (many!) other things, NMMC is a 2006 recipient of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award—the "Nobel Prize of Enterprise Excellence," as one observer put it. Now, NMMC is stepping boldly forward with an innovative health education program aimed at children in general and childhood obesity in particular. (Our HHS secretary described it as a problem that is worse than terrorism.) Called "HealthWorks," and modeled after a pioneering program invented by Memorial Hospital of South Bend, Indiana (skip the Notre Dame football quips, please), the program aims to rock the world—and, God knows, we need it. I am speaking to several groups here, from the medical center and the community at large, and despite the cold (Tupelo is colder than Boston today), having a great time—Southern Hospitality matched with Olympian Aspirations of Excellence. [You can get the PPT presentations with the links below.—CM] |
| No-No.(As You Know.) In Korea last week I had a long discussion with a BigCo CEO about the Japanese and Chinese (and Koreans). While I think I passed the implicit test, I was reminded of the obvious: We far too often spout utterly useless words like "European" or "Asian." Maybe the Chinese and Japanese and Koreans share skin tint to some extent, but otherwise they have about as much in common as America and Albania and Afghanistan. Well, that's hardly the case, but you know what I mean. Implication: Eliminate the use of terms such as "Asia"—as in "the Asian management style." Eliminate: as in zero, none, never, naught, zip. Posted by Tom Peters | |
| Event! World Knowledge Forum I had the privilege today of speaking at the opening plenary session of the 8th annual World Knowledge Forum in Seoul. My fascinating position in the lineup was immediately after Colin Powell, who keynoted, and immediately before Philip Rosedale, founder-creator of Second Life/Linden Lab. (I had to wonder if I was just a space bar between the two.) In any event, the meeting has a lineup that rivals that of Davos—and it's a lot more fun to be doing this in Seoul, where, despite the looming nuclear neighbor to the north, there is an "Asian optimism" missing in the rest of the world. I was lit up by the whole thing. But my afternoon actually topped my morning—my 3rd and last speech of the day was to several hundred students. Such groups lift the heart—but they're also stressful; young women and young men will not tolerate the bullshit that their elders, unfortunately, often become immune to. Back to VT tomorrow—long flights but worth it. |
