Quotes by Tom Peters

About Tom Peters:

Thomas J. "Tom" Peters is an American writer on business management practices, best known for In Search of Excellence (co-authored with Robert H. Waterman, Jr).
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

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 peo...

Tom Peters

'In Search of Excellence' was an afterthought, the runt of the McKinsey consulting litter, a hip-pocket project that was never supposed to amount to much.

Tom Peters

I don't want the 35-year-olds in my audience to think of me as as 'pops' giving the kind of advice that only 65-year-olds can understand.

Tom Peters

I think economics is about passion. Economic progress, whether it is a two-person coffee shop or whether it is Netscape, is about people with brave ideas. Because it is brave to mortgage the house, when you've got two kids, to start a coffee shop.

Tom Peters

A while back, I came across a line attributed to IBM founder Thomas Watson. If you want to achieve excellence, he said, you can get there today. As of this second, quit doing less-than-excellent work.

Tom Peters

There is no such thing as a minor lapse of integrity

Tom Peters

Test fast, fail fast, adjust fast.

Tom Peters

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

Tom Peters

As far as I'm concerned, the first business leader who was able to establish a cult of personality around his tenure was Lee Iacocca.

Tom Peters

I don't read many business books. I read good fiction. Business is about people, so my favorite business books are anything by Dickens.

Tom Peters

'In Search of Excellence' - even the title - is a reminder that business isn't dry, dreary, boring, or by the numbers. Life at work can be cool - and work that's cool isn't confined to Tiger Woods, Yo-Yo Ma, or Tom Hanks. It's available to all of us ...

Tom Peters

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

Tom Peters

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

Tom Peters

Business book writing for me is when some set of ideas gets stuck in my mind, I write a book about it. I haven't got a theory and I haven't got a framework.

Tom Peters

Everyone has a chance to learn, improve, and build up their skills.

Tom Peters

Stop being conned by the old mantra that says, 'Leaders are cool, managers are dweebs.' Instead, follow the Peters Principle: Leaders are cool. Managers are cool too!

Tom Peters

Communication is everyone's panacea for everything.

Tom Peters

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

Tom Peters

The whole secret to our success is being able to con ourselves into believing that we're going to change the world because statistically we are unlikely to do it.

Tom Peters

For the blue-collar worker, the driving force behind change was factory automation using programmable machine tools. For the office worker, it's office automation using computer technology: enterprise-resource-planning systems, groupware, intranets, ...

Tom Peters

Mastery is great, but even that is not enough. You have to be able to change course without a bead of sweat, or remorse.

Tom Peters

Author Bio

  • NameTom Peters
  • DescriptionAmerican writer on business management practices
  • BornNovember 7, 1942
  • CountryUnited States Of America
  • ProfessionAuthor; Economist