Tom’s 60TIBs*

*TIB = This I Believe

London: 02.October.2002

“If you don’t like change, you’re going

to like irrelevance even less.” —General Eric Shinseki, Chief of Staff, U. S. Army

1. TECHNICOLOR RULES! (Passion Moves Mountains!)2. Audacity Matters!3. Revolution Now!4. Question Authority! (& Hire Disrespectful People.) 5. Disorganization Wins! (LOVE THE MESS!)

6. Think 3M: Markets Matter Most. ONLY EXTREME COMPETITION STAVES OFF STALENESS. (You can take the boy out of Silicon Valley, but you can’t take Silicon Valley out of the boy!)7. Three Hearty Cheers for Weirdos. (Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Larry Ellison, Scott McNealy, Craig Venter et al.) 8. Message 2003: Technology Change (Info-sciences, Biosciences) Is in Its Infancy! (WE AIN’T SEEN NOTHIN’ YET!)9. Everything Is Up For Grabs! Volatility Is Thy Name! (Forever & Ever. Amen.) RE-INVENT … OR DIE! 10. Big Sucks. (Mostly.) (VERY Mostly.)

11. “Permanence” Is a Snare & a Delusion. (Forget “Built to Last.” It’s Yesterday’s Idea.)12. Kaizen” (Continuous Improvement) Is … Dangerous.13. DESTRUCTION RULES!14. Forget It! (“Learning” = Easy. “Forgetting” = Nigh on Impossible.) 15. Innovation Is Easy: Hang Out with Freaks. (Employees, Board Members, Customers, Suppliers, Alliance Partners, Consultants.)

16. Boring Begets Boring. (Cool Begets Cool.)17. Think “Portfolio.” (We’re All V.C.s.)18. Perception Is All There Is. (“Insiders” … ALWAYS … overestimate the Radicalism of What They’re Up To.)19. Action … ALWAYS … Takes Precedence. Think: R.F!A./Ready. Fire! Aim. (REWARD SUCCESS. REWARD FAILURE. PUNISH … INACTION.) 20. He Who Makes & Tests the Quickest & Coolest Prototypes Reigns!

21. Haste Makes Waste. (SO GO WASTE!)22. Screw-ups are … the … Mark of Excellence. (“Do It Right the First Time” Is a Very Stupid Idea.) 23. Play Hard! Play Now! (Cherish Play!)24. TALENT TIME! (He/She Who Has the Best “Roster” Rules!)25. Re-do Education. Totally. (FOSTER CREATIVITY … NOT UNIFORMITY.) (THE NOISIEST CLASSROOM WINS.)

26. Diversity’s Hour Is Now!27. SHE … Is the Best Leader!28. MARKETING MANTRA: Embrace the “BIG THREE” Demographics. (1) SHE … is the Customer. (For everything.) (2) Rapidly Aging Boomers Have … ALL THE MONEY. (3) Green … Matters. (TRILLIONS OF $$$$$ Are at Stake.) (NOBODY … Gets It.) (Mere “Programs” Will Not Suffice.)29. Re-boot Healthcare. (UNDERSTATEMENT.)30. WHAT ARE WE SELLING? “Experiences” & “Solutions” > “Quality” & “Satisfaction.” (The Traditional Value-added Equation Is Being Set on Its Ear.)

31. DESIGN = New Seat of the Soul. 32. Branding Is for … EVERYONE. He Who Has the … BEST STORY … Takes Home the Marbles.33. DRAMATIC DIFFERENCE = Only Difference.34. WORDS/Language Matters … a Lot. (E.g.: Three Hearty Cheers for “Wow”!)35. WHAT MATTERS IS STUFF THAT MATTERS. (Query #1: “Are You Proud of It?”)

36. eALL. (IS/IT: Half-way = No Way.)37. DREAM … Big! DREAM … Enormous. DREAM … Gargantuan. (These Are XXXL Times.)38. THINK MIKE! (Michelangelo: “The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.”)39. There Is Only … ONE BIG ISSUE. Cross- functional Communication.40. Stop Doing Dumb Shit. (SYSTEMATIZE THE PROCESS OF “UN-DUMBING.”)

41. Beautiful Systems Are … BEAUTIFUL.42. The … WHITE-COLLAR REVOLUTION … Will Devour Everything in Its Path. 43. Take Charge of Your Destiny! BrandYou Moment! DISTINCT … OR EXTINCT!44. “Powerlessness” Is a State of Mind! Think: King. Gandhi. De Gaulle.45. Pursue Adventure … in Every Task.

46. EXCELLENCE … Is a State of Mind. (Excellence Takes a Minute.) (No Bull.)47. SHOW UP! (If You Care, You’re There.)48. YOUR CALENDAR KNOWS ALL. (You = Calendar.) (Mind Your “TO DON’T” List.)49. LIFE IS SALES. (The Rest Is Details.)50. Boss Mantra #1: “I DON’T KNOW.” (“I Don’t Know” = Permission to Explore.)

51. Management Role 1: GET OUT OF THE WAY. (Clear the Way.) (“Manager” = Hurdle Removal Professional.)52. Epitaph from Hell: “He Woulda Done Some Truly Cool Stuff … But His Boss Wouldn’t Let Him.”53. Change Takes However Long You Think It Takes. (Eschew … “Incrementalism.”)54. Respect! (Rule 1: Don’t Belittle!)55. “Thank You” Trumps All!

56. Integrity Matters! Integrity = Credibility. (Dennis K. Is a Jerk.)57. SOFT IS HARD. HARD IS SOFT. (Numbers Are Soft. People Are Not.)58. Try Sunny! (Sunny Begets Sunny. Gloomy Begets Gloomy.)59. DISPENSE ENTHUSIASM!60. FUN …Is Not a 4-Letter Word. So, too … JOY. (And … GRACE.)

The End.