Top 311 Quotes & Sayings by Tom Peters - Page 2

It's this simple: You are a brand. You are in charge of your brand. There is no single path to success. And there is no one right way to create the brand called You. Except this: Start today. Or else.

There is no such thing as an insignificant improvement.

Don't 'tolerate' mistakes. Embrace them!

Progress is mostly the product of rogues.

I imagine a school system that recognizes learning is natural, that a love of learning is normal, and that real learning is passionate learning. A school curriculum that values questions above answers...creativity above fact regurgitation...individuality above conformity.. and excellence above standardized performance..... And we must reject all notions of 'reform' that serve up more of the same: more testing, more 'standards', more uniformity, more conformity, more bureaucracy.

WORK ON YOUR STORY! He/she who has the best story wins! In life! In business! The White House!

The best leaders are the best notetakers, best askers, and best learners.

It's not enough to be close to the customer. You've got to be glued to the customer.

We're going to see leadership emerge as the most important element of business - the attribute that is highest in demand and shortest in supply.

Entrepreneurs have no memories. They take on the world with a completely fresh view.

Innovation comes only from readily and seamlessly sharing information rather than hoarding it.

Formula for success: under promise and over deliver.

To sell is above all to master the art and science of listening.

Appreciation, applause, approval, respect - we all love it!

If you're a leader, your whole reason for living is to help human beings develop - to really develop people and make work a place that's energetic and exciting and a growth opportunity, whether you're running a Housekeeping Department or Google. I mean, this is not rocket science.

There is no such thing as a minor lapse of integrity

It doesn't matter what product or service you're offering; there is unlimited ability to improve the quality of anything.

Only those who constantly retool themselves stand a chance of staying employed in the years ahead.

Unless you walk out into the unknown, the odds of making a profound difference in your life are pretty low.

Customers perceive service in their own unique, idiosyncratic, emotional, irrational, end-of-the-day, and totally human terms. Perception is all there is!

If not excellence, what? If not excellence now, when?

You can only improve what you measure.

Divas do it, golfers do it, pilots do it, violists do it, sprinters do it, soldiers do it, surgeons do it, astronauts do it...only business people think it isn't necessary to train.

What gets measured gets done.

The best kept secret in the global economy today is this: When your service is AWESOME you get so stinking rich you have to buy new bags to carry all the money home.

Change is not so much about being the first one to embrace a new idea, but being the first to forget an old one

There are few things that will take you further in life, than your ability to make a good presentation.

With most competitors moving ever faster, the race will go to those who listen (and respond) most intently.

Nearly 100% of innovation-from business to politics-is inspired not by "market analysis" but by people who are supremely pissed off by the way things are.

TRUST, not technology, is the issue of the decade.

Treat the customer as an appreciating asset.

Listen while you can, so that you can lead when you must.

One percent improvement in 1,000 things is better than 1,000% improvement in one thing.

Lavish credit on anyone and everyone who helped you the least bit.

The leaders who work most effectively, it seems to me, never say 'I'. They don't think 'I'. They think 'we'; they think 'team'.

In today's economy there are no experts, no 'best and brightest' with all the answers. It's up to each one of us. The only way to screw up is to not try anything.

You have to stand out if you want to move up.

You can't live life without an eraser.

Who comes first? Don't be silly, says King Hal; it's employees. That is - and this dear Watson, is elementary - if you genuinely want to put customers first, you must put employees more first.

Are you placing enough interesting, freakish, long shot, weirdo bets?

If no one is pissed-off with you then you are dead but just haven't figured it out yet.

Excellence comes from human beings doing things of value that customers find memorable.

The thing that keeps a business ahead of the competition is excellence in execution.

Mistakes are life. Mistakes are not to be tolerated...they are to be encouraged. The bigger the better.

If you love your company and love what you do, you will serve your customers better-period!

Leadership is about tapping the wellsprings of human motivation - and about fundamental relations with one's fellows.

Never, ever rest on your laurels. Today's laurels are tomorrow's compost.

Leaders win through logistics. Vision, sure. Strategy, yes. But when you go to war, you need to have both toilet paper and bullets at the right place at the right time. In other words, you must win through superior logistics.

If I read a book that cost me $20 and I get one good idea, I've gotten one of the greatest bargains of all time.

Listen to Everyone. Ideas come from everywhere

How do you achieve excellence?...Stop doing non-excellent stuff!

OLD: Be No.1 or No.2 in Your Market. NEW: Find a Niche, Create Something New.

Smile if it kills you. The physiology of smiling diffuses a lot of anger and angst. It makes your body and soul feel better.

They say plan it. I say do it.

The trouble with much of the advice business gets today about the need to be more vigorously creative is that its advocates often fail to distinguish between creativity and innovation. Creativity is thinking up new things. Innovation is doing new things... The shortage is of innovators.

Only pissed-off people change the world.

Organizations exist to serve. Period. Leaders live to serve. Period.

The winners stun us not by their cleverness, but by the fact that every tiny aspect of the business is just a touch better than the norm.

The good news - and it is largely good news - is that everyone has a chance to stand out. Everyone has a chance to learn, improve, and build up their skills. Everyone has a chance to be a brand worthy of remark

Dot the i's, cross the t's, answer the phones promptly, send out errorless invoices, and in general never forget that the devil is in the details.