Tom Peters Quotes

born 1942 United States

Thomas J. "Tom" Peters (born November 7, 1942) is an American writer on business management practices, best-known for In Search of Excellence co-authored with Robert H. Waterman.

United States
Business theorists
Non-fiction authors
Orators

Also known as: Thomas J. Peters, Thomas Peters

Random Tom Peters quote

50 quotes

Organizations exist only to serve. Leaders exist only to serve.

A blizzard of small steps and memorable touches are more important than ‘breakthrough’ attempts. So, take those constant small steps forward into the unknown.

Read deep! Read often! Out-READ the 'Competition'!!!

Most of their real innovation comes from the market

In Search of Excellence (1982)

Life is too short for non-WOW projects.

The Project 50 (Re-Inventing Work Series) (1999)

Ask! Interviewing/information extraction is an (exceptionally important) ‘art’ that must be mastered!

Professional success requires ... drive, initiative, commitment, involvement, and—above all—enthusiasm.

What is my personal strategy for the next 10 hours? Who can I talk with or what can I volunteer for to learn something new?

The well-served customer...is an appreciating asset. Every small act on her or his behalf ups the odds of repeat business, add-on business, and priceless word-of-mouth referral.

As project chief you are creating a narrative, a story, a good yarn. If you look at the process-journey that way, you and your gang will … dramatically up the odds of a WOW outcome!

Have fun/Make it fun. … All human endeavor is about emotion. Zest, joy, pride—and fun—are near the heart of any successful enterprise.

Brains are in; heavy lifting is out. That's the essential nature of the new knowledge-based economy. Therefore, the development of knowledge is close to job No. 1 for corporations.

Do not even flippantly badmouth anybody this week. Button it up.

R&D/good times and bad times. R&D may have to take its lumps in tough times ... But beware of cutting too much muscle.

Everybody loves being recognized, in any way, large or small. ... Appreciation, applause, approval, respect—we all love it!

Life is pretty simple: You do some stuff. Most fails. Some works. You do more of what works. If it works big, others quickly copy it. Then you do something else. The trick is the doing something else.

Most important things take lots of time. Peerless quality. Relationship building. Developing people. Superb design. EXCELLENCE.

Service is the highest human calling.

The Excellence Dividend: Meeting the Tech Tide with Work That Wows and Jobs That Last (2018)

A career is a portfolio of projects that teach you new skills, gain you new expertise, develop new capabilities, grow your colleague set and constantly reinvent you as a brand.

If you want to achieve Excellence, you can get there today. As of this second, quit doing less than Excellent work. The first 99.9% of getting from here to there is the determination to do it and not to compromise, no matter what set of road blocks those around you erect.

Attribution

Quotes and notes from Wikiquote: Tom Peters (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.