Melinda Byerley interviewed Tom Peters for the Stayin’ Alive In Technology podcast.
Tom told a story about a swim coach. « Once a week, everyone had to give a report of something they had done to help one of their teammates get better at something. »
Tom spoke of a company where job interviews include vetting by 15 employees, including the janitor and receptionist, all of whom have veto power.
Tom mentioned research about employees and teams at Google. « The top 7 of 8 traits were soft attributes: listening, being respectful, not a bully… The most innovative teams were the teams that had B players, not A players. Because the B players weren’t a bunch of arrogant bastards and bullies… It’s the human attributes which are critically important. »
« People don’t leave companies. They leave bosses. »
« A leader who has 75% disengaged people has committed a felony as far as I’m concerned. »
To leaders during the COVID-19 crisis, Tom says « This is the 10 defining days of your life… You really have to care about your fellow human beings… Go too far in helping people out… I have never seen a tombstone with somebody’s net worth on it… It’s all about taking care of people.” »
« What are you going to tell your grandkids 25 years from now. The grandkid is not going to say, “Show me the spreadsheet.” »
« I think people are going to have long memories. The people who have misbehaved are going to find getting decent employees to be hell on earth… This is a big deal… And it’s going to make a huge difference in the reemployment process. »
My favorite part of this interview was the story of Tom’s receptionist in Palo Alto. « The receptionist had the best disposition. If a prospective client sat with her in our waiting area, she made the sale long before you ever talked to us—just because of who she was as a human being. I gave her the top salesperson’s commission plus 5%. »
Tom Peters is the author of 18 books about “putting people first” and “give-a-shit-ism.” His most recent book is The Excellence Dividend.
[ Corona virus, COVID-19 ]
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