Tom Peters

Tom Peters has been called the Ur-guru (guru of gurus) of management -- and compares him to Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Walt Whitman and H.L. Mencken.

The Economist tags him the Uber-guru, and his unconventional views led Business Week to describe Tom as "business' best friend and worst nightmare."

Tom describes himself as a prince of disorder, champion of bold failures, maestro of zest, professional loudmouth (as a speaker he's "a spitter" ... according to Dilbert), corporate cheerleader, lover of markets, capitalist pig, and card-carrying member of the ACLU.

Tom & Bob Waterman co-authored In Search of Excellence in 1982; the book was named by NPR (in 1999) as one of the "Top Three Business Books of the Century," and ranked as the "greatest business book of all time" in a poll by Britain's Bloomsbury Publishing (2002).

Tom followed Search with a string of international bestsellers: A Passion for Excellence (1985, with Nancy Austin -- which ousted Lee Iacocca from the #1 slot), Thriving on Chaos (1987), Liberation Management (1992: acclaimed as the "Management Book of the Decade" for the '90s), The Tom Peters Seminar (1993), The Pursuit of WOW! (1994), and The Circle of Innovation (1997).

Tom's series of books on Reinventing Work were released in September 1999: The Brand You50, The Project50 and The Professional Service Firm50. In 2001, Tom began a new chapter in his work with the electronic publication of 13 "Manifestos" in what he calls the "Brawl with No Rules Series."

Tom presents about 100 major seminars each year, has written hundreds of articles for various publications, and serves as Chairman of Tom Peters Company. When he’s not on an airplane, Tom and his wife Susan Sargent (and Max and Ben) co-habit a 1,500-acre working farm in Tinmouth, Vermont ... along with alpacas, chickens, goats, horses, barn cats, sheep, geese and dogs (Rosie, Hummer and Wally ... two of whom sleep on the bed).

Tom is a graduate of Cornell (B.C.E., M.C.E.) and Stanford (M.B.A., Ph.D.), and holds honorary degrees from several institutions. He served on active duty in the U.S. Navy in Vietnam (a Navy Seabee) and Washington from 1966 to 1970, was a senior White House drug abuse advisor in 1973-74 and worked at McKinsey & Co. from 1974 to 1981, becoming a partner in 1979.

Tom is a Fellow of the International Academy of Management, The World Productivity Association, the International Customer Service Association, and the Society for Quality and Participation.

Quotes by Tom Peters ...

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