The Little Big Things: 163 Ways to Pursue EXCELLENCE [Paperback]

Thomas J. Peters (Author)

Book Description

Release date: January 24, 2012

"It is [Tom] Peters—as consultant, writer, columnist, seminar lecturer, and stage performer—whose energy, style, influence, and ideas have [most] shaped new management thinking.” —Movers and Shakers: The 100 Most Influential Figures in Modern Business

“We live in a Tom Peters world.” —Fortune Magazine

Business uber-guru Tom Peters is back with his first book in a decade, The Little Big Things. In this age of economic recession and financial uncertainty, the patented Peters approach to business and management—no-nonsense, witty, down-to-earth, insightful—is more pertinent now than ever. As essential for small-business owners as it is for the heads of major corporations, The Little Big Things is a rousing call-to-arms to American business to get “back to the basics” of running a successful enterprise.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Those who want to improve their business, whether a boss or an employee, will find great ideas in this compelling and very browsable book.” (Library Journal)

“If you truly believe ‘excellence’ is what Tom Peters is all about, then you will buy this book, read it, learn from it and go away confirmed in your belief. Tom’s 163 tips are validated through experience again and again.” (Stephen R. Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and The Leader in Me)

“The single best management book I’ve ever read.” (Warren Bennis)

From the Back Cover

No one has had more influence in shaping the idea of modern management than Tom Peters. An avowed enemy of conformism and the status quo, Peters is a necessary voice of experience to guide us through times of financial uncertainty. In The Little BIG Things, he provides essential wisdom for everyone—from the freelancer to the small business owner to the head of a major corporation—offering 163 ways to excel at the "people side of business" by pursuing excellence at every level.

"The 'Excellence Standard' is not about Grand Outcomes. In Zen-like terms, all we have is today. If the day's work cannot be assessed as Excellent, then the oceanic overall goal of Excellence has not been advanced. Period."

"If membership in your club (organization) is not aimed at 'mind-blowing' development for each staff member and 'window rattling' service for each customer and other extended family members, then . . . just what the hell is the point?"

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 576 pages
• Publisher: HarperBusiness; Reprint edition (January 24, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061894109
• ISBN-13: 978-0061894107
• Product Dimensions: 5.3 x 1.7 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #365,300 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

81 of 102 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars 538 pages of incoherent rant March 17, 2010

By Jeffrey Myers

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I've never seen so many font sizes, exclamation points and redundancy in one book. There is nothing new here, and what IS here is so mercilessly pounded on that you would have to be severely ADHD to get anything out of it. A typical paragraph: "Communicate. Communicate. Communicate. Communicate. Communicate. Communicate. Communicate. Communicate." (I wish I was exaggerating).

I made it to page 85 before swearing I would never read another Tom Peters book as long as I live. The thought of trying to make it through the remaining 453 pages made me want to pull my eyeballs out. The Little Big Things becomes the fourth book I've ever ordered from Amazon that I am returning, and the second this week. Must be a bad week for business books.

You're better off buying a used copy of The Search for Excellence, even though many of the companies featured in that book have been out of business so long that under-40 readers won't have ever heard of them.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Very helpful and very useful with one caveat... November 16, 2010

By Stan Dubin

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I've been listening to Tom's "The Little Big Things" and reading along on the Kindle version. Tom likes to zero in on simple ideas that can have a powerful impact on the success of a business (small, medium or large). This is a really healthy approach to helping businesses succeed. Folks like to read, absorb and apply...not spend all kinds of time trying to understand graphs, analyses, and information presented all-too-often intended to impress than to assist. So Tom scores very big points throughout in getting us immediately useable information.

There is one item I strongly disagree with in the book. Tom says:

"I argue here and elsewhere that the *only* effective source of innovation is pissed-off people! Hence, bite your tongue and cherish such misfits!" (the word *only* was in italics presumably for emphasis)

I'm sure some points of innovation come from pissed-off people, and I imagine Tom has considerably more examples of this than I do. But I'm also sure superb innovation has come from those not pissed-off at all. This I've seen with my own eyeballs on quite a few occasions. And sometimes these pissed-off misfits are just that: pissed-off misfits with no innovation whatsoever in their space. Quite the contrary, some are involved with undoing innovation, creativity and productivity. So I'm not on the look-out for pissed-off misfits nor should you be. Be on the look-out for innovation in whatever form it presents itself. Then check it out, test it out and use it liberally when you see it gets the desired results.

34 of 45 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Will Last A Lifetime. March 13, 2010

By T SANTOSO

Format:Hardcover

I have been in Tom Peters' camp for 20+ years, buying all of his books, visiting his website religiously, buying the books he recommend, downloading his youtube files, watching his DVD, and learning form him more than from anyone else. He is The Guru of Gurus. I have always looked forward to his books, I bought them all, I read them all. I bought more than 20 copies of Re-Imagine to give to friends.

This book is in the same vein as his previous books, which is always crunchy, fun to read, fresh, and enlighting. Most are his regular materials, packed into one book. The chapters are made for easier search: Crisis, Opportunity, Resilience, Connection, Attitude, Performance, Work, Initiative, Leadership, Networking, Talent, Innovation, Learning, Design, WOW, and so on........ A Huge 500+ pages of stuffs that will en-light and shine on your days. This is some sort of "reference book" that you can pick and read for 10 minutes or an hour or a whole weekend every now and then.

"Business Motivation" is what this is all about, It's the little BIG things THAT MATTER. One Chapter or even one "cut" is worth reading and thinking and considering (There are 163 ways to pursue Excellence, as the subtitle said). If you have ever downloaded Tom Peters' Powerpoint Master Files, you know this is it, the complete set, sorta His Legacy. This is not a "One Big Idea" that change the world, but a bunch of small things that will make us all better business persons.

For the new readers who have never known Tom, this is a huge book with 163 ideas, jammed into one, that will last forever. Most will love it, some will hate it. Tom always thinks that being loved and being hated is much better than being ignored! (He matters.) Give it a try, you might get hooked.

I graduated from University of Chicago MBA, have started and succeeded in more than ten new start-ups, and am doing lots of public seminars nowadays. I know that I owe a lot to Tom of the way I am now. He is the mentor I have not met yet. Thank You Tom.