[Tom Peters] Be afraid. Be very afraid.

“Do one thing every day that scares you,” said Eleanor Roosevelt. That is at the heart of innovation, says leadership/management guru Tom Peters. The indefatigable Tom Peters is back in South Africa for what is his third or fourth visit so far, and as usual, the event venue in Midrand from which I am blogging live is packed out.

His topic for this-mid morning session is servant leadership and the sub text is challenging any widely held beliefs about leadership, management and pretty much anything to do with business.

As usual, his pithy quotes are interspersed with the wisdom of others – full credit given – Peters is humble enough to acknowledge all the other sages in his life who have added to his learning.

That humility and the narrative tone of his presentations, which are always peppered with wonderful stories of his own experiences with clients on his travels, is what brings us all back for more. He constantly challenges his audience, walking up and down, connecting with each one here as he speaks.

The point is, if you are not scared, you are not growing. One of the problems we all have, he says, is when we get in a position of responsibility, down deep, we know what phonies we are and therefore, we are not willing to expose ourselves. ”That is when we are on the road to professional oblivion,” Peters says.

He reassures the audience that this is entirely normal… “I don’t know what I’m talking about… nobody does… You got to drill wells, experiment, try things… The problem for us leaders is that we don’t want to make an idiot out of ourselves. Leaders are supposed to know everything?!”

Not true.

The leader is supposed to hire people who know things, Peters emphasises.

Here’s some more of his personal wisdom…

1. Leaders ‘do’ people. Period.
2. Leaders ‘serve’ people. A leader is a servant, period. Our goal is only one thing… it is to make sure that the people who work for us do their best.
3. Leading is a royal pain in the neck. Leaders by definition are insecure, he says. We think we don’t deserve to be here.

He quoted director Robert Altman in his Oscar acceptance speech… “The role of the director is to create a space where the actors and actresses can become more than they’ve ever been before, more than they’ve dreamed of being.” That is the core of leadership.

He didn’t say it, but wished he had… the wildly successful Kevin Roberts’ credo (worldwide CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi)…

1. Ready. Fire! Aim.
2. If it ain’t broke… break it
3. Hire crazies
4. Ask dumb questions
5. Pursue failure
6. Lead, follow… or get out of the way
7. Spread confusion
8. Ditch your office
9. Read odd stuff
10. Avoid moderation!

And if you want to find an industry that is not successful, try advertising, he quipped! “Ninety eight percent of what they do is repetition. They don’t take risks. I find that amusing. I enjoy the people who work in them a lot, but they are not creative, and the only time they are, is to amuse other advertising people.”