An Academic Response To My 2013 Annual Letter

Yesterday I received the note below from my friend Professor Oscar Hauptman, who I met while speaking at the APOE annual conference in Wuhu, China last year.  Oscar is your quintessential Professor of Entrepreneurial Studies.  His vast knowledge of economics, marketing, and social behavior is nothing short of amazing.  

With that said, I always love his notes to me about communications I send out.  They are always stimulating and enlightening.  For this reason I thought it important to share his last note with all of you, as I really felt it to be one of the more fascinating notes he has sent.  As you will see, his note is focused on a quote I placed in my 2013 Annual Letter, which I have placed below.

"Excellent firms don't believe in excellence - only in constant improvement and constant change."

- Tom Peters, author of In Search of Excellence

_________________________________________________________________________________ 

Oscar Hauptman has sent you a message.

Date: 1/15/2013

Subject: RE: 2013 - Annual Letter

Thank you Michael and Happy New Year! 


I am enjoying this as your previous communiqués, keep it up!
 


Your quote stimulated the following stream of analysis and prescription. First, isn't it telling us something that most of the "Search of Excellence" companies "excellent" companies screwed up so bad that some went belly up in 5-10 years? My lessons are, repeated again and again: the moment you think you cracked the "code for success" you are sowing the seeds of your demise. 

Danny Miller wrote about it in the "architecture of simplicity" paper, suggesting that excellent companies, which are doing many things right to be excellent, reduce their complex repertoire to a "code"/"menu"/"recipe" of 5-10 rules, and this fucks them up badly, sometimes permanently. 
It is also about the very high cost of arrogance. 

So here is my list: 


1. You NEVER crack the code for success, as it changes daily; 


2. You NEVER know it all, as most there is to know lies beyond the horizon, which is impossible to observe; 


3. Motorcyclist's Rule: The moment you deem yourself an excellent driver, you should write your will and organ donation card. Applied to business: you are never a good enough "driver" (executive/decision-maker), as you are always driving beyond your capabilities and knowledge. 


4. Female corollary: Less testosterone reduces the risk of all the above, as women are on average less arrogant, less full of themselves, and more prudent in assessing risk in decision-making. 


5. Finally: Paranoia is good for you, as most businesses have real enemies. 


Oscar's 5 rules are things that so many of us businessmen and women forget to take into account when leading our organization.  We must remember that we don't know it all, and the moment we think we do, we need to fire our self, or prove to our self that we really don't.  This is the only way to continue to be successful as the world is ever changing, and our organizations must be just as changing to keep up. 

A great example of this is seen with Apple under the leadership of Tim Cook.  A great man, but maybe not as a great of leader for a company like Apple who has all of a sudden forgot that they are innovators not followers!  Tim's leadership style has been to rest on the greatness that was built for him by the late Steve Jobs.  We see this with the huge mess of up Apple Maps, the quick release of an unimpressive new iPad, and now the coming of a "Cheap" iPhone.

in closing I would like to share with you a little saying I tell myself each and everyday.  It is something that helps me get my mind focused on what I need to do each day.  "Push the boundaries of what is deemed impossible, as they are only there in your mind, not in reality!"

To Your Success & Prosperity!!