Lean Blog Interviews - Healthcare, Manufacturing, Business, and Leadership

Tom Peters on His Compact Guide to Excellence – New Book

Dec 13, 2022

Tom Peters, author, consultant, and speaker, discusses core concepts from his new book on leadership, including the moral bankruptcy of 'maximizing shareholder value' and the importance of caring about people. He shares examples of CEOs prioritizing employee safety and emphasizes the power of human connection in effective leadership.

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Introduction

00:00 • 2min

Reflections on the Past and Present

02:24 • 2min

Giveusshitism.com: The Birth of a Domain

04:42 • 15min

The Power of Caring and Stories of Respect

19:39 • 5min

Leadership Qualities and the Power of Human Connection

24:56 • 23min

Conclusion of Interview with Tom Peters and Announcement of Audio Book Release

48:02 • 2min

Episode page with transcript, video, and more

My guest for Episode #465 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is the legendary (my word, not his) author, consultant, and speaker — Tom Peters. His new book is Tom Peters's Compact Guide to Excellence.

Click here to enter to win a paperback copy (through December 20).

He was previously a guest in Episode 382 of this podcast and My Favorite Mistake Episode 58. See previous blog posts about Tom and his ideas.

Today, Tom and I talk about some core concepts from his book, but we also weave through many topics including leadership that demonstrates “extreme humanism” (and leaders who do not, such as Elon Musk). As always, it's a fun, free-wheeling, and thought-provoking conversation when Tom is involved.

Note: Tom says he swears like a sailor… there are a few occasional mild curse words, so please be warned about that.

Questions, Notes, and highlights:

The moral bankruptcy of “maximizing shareholder value” — are we really moving away from that? Getting lip service from the Conference Board and others?
“People got ‘the brand called you' all wrong — it's not about self-marketing”
“Being good is good business. When you take the high moral ground it is difficult for anyone to object without sounding like a complete fool.”
Caring about people… Reminds me of Paul O'Neill saying nobody should ever get hurt at work (Alcoa) — “habitual excellence“
The HP Way – Management By Wandering Around (MBWA) is an “intimate act”
Following up on our Aug 2020 discussion about leading during Covid… how is MBZA (management by zooming around) working out?
You've been very active on Twitter — still there? Should we still be using Twitter, even the free service?

The podcast is sponsored by Stiles Associates, now in their 30th year of business. They are the go-to Lean recruiting firm serving the manufacturing, private equity, and healthcare industries. Learn more.

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