In Search of Excellence: Lessons from America's Best-Run Companies

by Thomas J. Peters

Even if you’re big, act small. Organizations are simply collections of people, and people don’t relate well to big, abstract entities. If you want to understand the success of Johnson & Johnson, 3M, Wal-Mart, and the original HP, look to the fact that they organize themselves into small, relatively independent units, held together by common goals and cultural norms.

Even if you’re big, act small. Organizations are simply collections of people, and people don’t relate well to big, abstract entities. If you want to understand the success of Johnson & Johnson, 3M, Wal-Mart, and the original HP, look to the fact that they organize themselves into small, relatively independent units, held together by common goals and cultural norms.

Any well-functioning organization is neither centralized nor decentralized but a wonderful combination of both.

Around most dimensions the best companies, then and now, are loose. They give people exceptional freedom to do things their own way.† At the same time, the great companies are highly centralized around a few crucial dimensions:

the central values that make up t...

one or two (no more) top strategic priorities, and a few key f...

One must ensure that tens of thousands of people throughout the company are adhering roughly to the same high standard and that they all understand the company’s conception of and genuine concern for quality.)

He argues that man is driven by an essential “dualism”; he needs both to be a part of something and to stick out. He needs at one and the same time to be a conforming member of a winning team and to be a star in his own right.

“Society…is a vehicle for earthly heroism

burning ...

fashion unfreedom

self-perpetuation

In other words, men willingly shackle themselves to the nine-to-five if only the cause is perceived to be in some sense great. The company can actually provide the same resonanc...

At the same time, however, each of us nee...

call of duty

to work at the task.

The mere knowledge that one can exert control made the difference.

If there is one striking feature of the excellent companies, it is this ability to manage ambiguity and paradox.

Our tools are biased toward measurement and analysis.

structure follows strategy.

Form follows function.