TOM PETERS 'SEVEN STEPS TO SUSTAINING SUCCESS'!

Here’s the way I like to put it, which I label “Seven Steps to Sustaining Success”:

• You take care of the people.
• The people take care of the service.
• The service takes care of the customer.
• The customer takes care of the profit.
• The profit takes care of the re-investment.
• The re-investment takes care of the re-invention. 
• The re-invention takes care of the future.

(And at every step the only measure is EXCELLENCE.)

The obvious point: Developing people comes first.
It is the “That without which there is nothing ...”

TAKE FIVE STEPS!

If we are really serious about changing the culture and creating a culture of excellence we must incentivise and reward co-operation, teamwork, collaboration, networking and partnering. Here are five steps that help to release the magic!

THE THINGS THAT REALLY MATTER!

This great story reminds us all about the things that really matter...

"A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was...

THESE ARE THE SKILLS THAT MATTER!

Tony Wagner suggests that these are the skills we need to help students develop to equip them for adult life and the world of work:

1. Critical thinking and problem-solving
2. Collaboration across networks and leading by influence
3. Agility and adaptability
4. Initiative and entrepreneurialism
5. Effective oral and written communication
6. Accessing and analyzing information
7. Curiosity and imagination

A CURRICULUM FOR EXCELLENCE!

We need to develop a curriculum for excellence and where best to look but Scotland. The Scottish Government education strategy, and the curriculum frameworks that deliver it, recognise that learning is lifelong, and are designed to help learners develop the skills they need for learning, life and work. The Curriculum for Excellence aims to achieve a transformation in education in Scotland by providing a coherent, more flexible and enriched curriculum from 3 to 18.

FEEDBACK ON "CUTLERS' AMBASSADORS AT THE BLUE SHED!"

Young people need to develop skills, character and knowledge to be equipped for the world of work and I received this wonderful feedback from Deborah Egan who helped us deliver part of the programme this year. It was great to hear such positive comments about the Cutlers' "Made in Sheffield" Ambassadors programme...

HOLD HANDS AND STICK TOGETHER!

Everyone should have this pinned up at work and at home to remind them about the things that really matter and the importance of teamwork!

HAPPY SUNNY SUNDAY

CULTURE MATTERS!

The culture of an organisation is so important and shapes and controls almost everything that happens.

HOW DO YOU EAT AN ELEPHANT?

It's interesting that in so many places people create hugely complex problems so that anyone looking to change things is discouraged by the enormity of the challenges they might face. I am always reminded of the line about how you might eat an elephant... one bite at a time! The real challenge we face is to break problems down into manageable bite-size chunks.

BELIEVE!

People constantly tell me that things are impossible and the more I visit brilliant learning places the more I realise what is possible. These are some of the things I've learned...

SKILLS MATTER!

"The principal goal of education... 

should be creating men and women who are capable of doing new things... 

men and women who are creative, inventive and discoverers."

There seems to me to be a huge contradiction between the freedom and empowerment for headteachers and schools and the command and control mentality the DfE is imposing on schools and particularly primary schools.

SKILLS, CHARACTER AND KNOWLEDGE MATTER!

Research from DfE, OFSTED, OECD, PISA suggests that we need to develop a new approach to learning to create world class outcomes for our children. Everything points to the fact that to help young people achieve and succeed we must recognise that character is at least as important as intelligence and in a conceptual age where we are surrounded by information young people need skills, character and knowledge to succeed!