Risk & Business Magazine JGS Insurance Magazine Spring 2019 | Page 17

EXCELLENCE
In Pursuit of
Excellence
WITH: TOM PETERS
W
ith artificial intelligence
(AI) replacing humans
in unprecedented ways,
Tom Peters predicts a
coming “employment
apocalypse.” As he notes, an Oxford
study shows that 50 percent of American
white-collar jobs could disappear over the
next 10 to 15 years. “It may be an extreme
prediction, but if it happens, the effect
will be transformational,” says Peters, co-
author, with Robert H. Waterman, Jr., of
the best-seller In Search of Excellence.
In his newest book, The Excellence Dividend,
Peters offers ideas on how both companies
and individuals can stay relevant. Although
the business world has changed drastically
in the 36 years since In Search of Excellence
came out in 1982, the path to business
distinction in many ways remains the same.
“If you spend the $17 to purchase The
Excellence Dividend, I guarantee you there
will be nothing really new in it,” he jokes.
“The principal messages of focusing on
people, paying attention to your customers,
and managing by wandering around
[which Peters terms MBWA] is still not
being done by most companies.”
The solution to surviving this fallout from
AI is to focus on unique human attributes,
which are likely to remain beyond the
scope of artificial intelligence, Peters
suggests. “The things I talked about over
the last few decades were always good
things to do in order to stand out from the
competition, but now they are becoming
basic survival tactics,” he says. “You can’t in
any way, shape, or form get away with what
you could 20 or 25 years ago. The heat has
been turned up dramatically.”
In The Excellence Dividend, Peters examines
the success of Vernon Hill, founder of
Commerce Bank in the United States
and Metro Bank in the United Kingdom.
While the recent retail banking model has
entailed closing brick-and-mortar bank
branches and reducing staffing in favor of
online alternatives, Hill has maintained a
contrarian view. Rather than specializing
in “soulless transactions,” according to
Peters’ book, he wanted to transform “every
inhuman account number into a fully
engaged member of our family.”
Hill accomplished this feat by taking
a completely unorthodox approach in
everything he did—from remaining open
seven days a week to instituting a dog-
friendly policy to teaching employees to
never say “no.” His methods worked, with
thousands coming out for splashy, new
branch openings and the growth of Metro
Bank’s customer base to more than one
million accounts. The bank’s attention
to customer service—delivering banking
in fun and unconventional ways—not
only benefited the bank but also helped
create thousands of well-paying jobs. That
accomplishment is even more impressive
given that the banking industry is in the
top decile of software automation.
Peters refers to this type of outcome as an
“Excellence Dividend,” essentially saying
that businesses that commit to excellence
in both their internal and external dealings
are likely to be the survivors. “They are
better and more-spirited places to work,”
says Peters. “Their employees are engaged
and growing and preparing for tomorrow.
Their customers are happier and inclined
to spread tales of their excellence far and
wide.”
Even their communities and vendors
are rooting for them. If each of these
small companies is able to add one or
two employees to the payroll due to their
reputation for excellence, millions of jobs
could be added to the economy, Peters
notes.
One of the keys to creating the type of
excellence Hill achieved is continual
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