A Passion for the Future

"Ambition is so powerful a passion in the human breast, that however high we reach we are never satisfied."
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

The successful search for excellence in today's turbulent times requires a continuing dissatisfaction with the status quo and a deeply held belief that we can do better, we can be better. At Tom Peters Company, the element of ambition sits atop our Future Shape of the Winner model for good reason. Whether you call it a goal, a vision, or a purpose statement matters little. The passion unleashed by this shared and compelling desire for a better future provides the fuel for the pursuit of excellence. A well-communicated ambition invites like-minded organization members to align their best efforts towards the promise the future holds.

Likewise, it can serve to filter out those who have ambitions that could run counter to the organization's pursuit. Ambition is the mechanism for engagement, and with today's research showing levels of disengagement reaching as high as 75%, a shared ambition provides a significant competitive advantage.

Here are a few things we have learned about the criteria for a successful ambition:

• It must be shared by all the members. People rarely wake at the beginning of the work week with a hearty, "Thank God it's Monday," and race to work to improve the organizational scorecard. Metrics are important, but rarely a source of engagement.
• It must be compelling. Even inspiring. It should be a statement of aspirations, rather than a dour warning of what our fate will be if we don't perform. Pursue excellence rather than avoid failure.
• It must be in the line of sight. People can't hit a target they can't see. The leader must communicate the ambition in words that create a clear and inviting mental image in all the members of the organization.
• It must be a stretch. Longfellow got it right ... it should leave us wanting even more.
• It should be an invitation to dialogue, not the leader's monologue. If members of the organization can't see themselves in the ambition, it won't be shared. Don't create it in a vacuum.

We recognize that merely having ambition is not enough for excellence. The other elements in our Future Shape of the Winner are necessary for success. But without that ambition at the beginning, the other elements cannot move you closer in your search for excellence. Max DePree, former CEO of Herman Miller understood this when he taught his leaders this: "Management has a lot to do with answers. Leadership is a function of questions. And the first question for a leader always is: 'Who do we intend to be?' Not 'What are we going to do?' but 'Who do we intend to be?'"

Excellence starts with this.

Mike Neiss
Tom Peters Company
US Consultant, Facilitator, Keynote Speaker

Leading Professionals in the 21st Century
January 2008

Attracting, retaining and getting the best out of ‘knowledge workers’ has to be a long way up the list of priorities for today’s leaders and managers. So, in Tom Peters Company, we are always interested in what the traditional powerhouses of knowledge workers, the Professional Service Firms, are learning about this complex, and often perplexing subject. A recent new book on the subject from Thomas J DeLong, John J Gabarro and Robert J Lees has surfaced some of the dilemmas they face in these highly competitive times.

Two of the elements of the new leadership model they recommend show a lot of alignment with our FSW model. DeLong et al believe that much more effort now needs to be put into setting the direction of the organisation so that everyone can understand their role in making it happen. But more than that, they recommend devoting more time and energy to gaining the commitment of these talented individuals to the overall direction.

We agree with both of these recommendations! In FSW terms, we would position Setting Direction under the Ambition element of our model, and gaining commitment would sit on the Ambition/Talent/Performance axis. It’s heartening to know there is some emerging consensus around the new organisation logic that is developing in (what Tom calls) the White Collar Revolution.

Read more about the book in a Harvard Business Review article entitled New Challenges in Leading Professional Services.