Tom Peters

“The workplace revolution that transformed the lives of blue-collar workers in the 1970s and 1980s is finally reaching the offices and cubicles of the white-collar workers.”

“One of the biggest problems of 'In Search of Excellence' is that it focused on giant, publicly-traded companies. There are thousands upon thousands of excellent companies. Some of them are two-person accountancies in a community of three thousand people.”

“The magic formula that successful businesses have discovered is to treat customers like guests and employees like people.”

“Almost all quality improvement comes via simplification of design, manufacturing... layout, processes, and procedures.”

“If a window of opportunity appears, don't pull down the shade.”

“Test fast, fail fast, adjust fast.”

“I know it sounds crazy, but you've got to let what you're going to do find you, rather than you pursuing it.”

“All business success rests on something labeled a sale, which at least momentarily weds company and customer.”

“Leaders don't create followers, they create more leaders.”

“Good managers have a bias for action.”

“Business is about people. It's about passion. It's about bold ideas, bold small ideas or bold large ideas.”

“Vision is dandy, but sustainable company excellence comes from a huge stable of able managers.”

“One simply cannot pay tribute to Stephen Covey without saying at the outset that he was a lovely human being.”

“Mittelstand companies are incredibly focused and almost always family-run. The young men and women go through the apprenticeship system and learn that the goal is excellence.”

“The simple act of paying positive attention to people has a great deal to do with productivity.”

“Anybody who is an entrepreneur is a person who essentially has impaired judgment. The odds of success are zilch.”