Tom Peters

Tom Peters is one of America’s most prolific business authors and thought leaders. Over the past four decades, Peters has authored or co-authored nineteen books, hundreds of magazine articles and countless speeches. His groundbreaking works have shaped strategies for companies around the world and helped generate healthy returns in times of uncertainty.

Peters was born in Baltimore, Maryland on November 7, 1942. After attending Cornell University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he earned a PhD in Organizational Behavior, Peters began working for McKinsey and Company in the early 1970s, where he specialized in helping companies dramatically improve their business performance and create systems that raised standards within the organization. During this time, he conducted an extensive amount of research into the corporate world and, in 1982, wrote the path breaking book In Search of Excellence with Bob Waterman.

In Search of Excellence was an instant success, selling more than three million copies and becoming one of the most widely read business books of all time. The book’s groundbreaking approach to discovering business excellence was based on the idea that it is the “people behind good ideas” that make all the difference in the success of any company. The authors identified eight key success factors that could be used to drive a business forward: stick to the knitting, autonomy and entrepreneurship, simple form, retention of “prime movers”, simultaneous loose-tight properties, productivity through people, close to the customer, and stick to the future. In the three decades since its release, the book has become a business classic.

The success of In Search of Excellence sparked Peters’ writing career and saw him authoring a series of bestselling books, including Thriving on Chaos, Re-imagine!, The Little Big Things and The Excellence Dividend. Across his various works, Peters emphasizes the importance of out-of-the-box thinking and human-centered leadership.

Peters believes that the most successful organizations formulate strategies and models that enable them to be “slightly ahead of the curve” and more responsive to customer needs than those of their rivals. He also emphasizes the importance of innovation and agility, emphasizing the need for companies to take risks and embrace failure as part of their innovation process.

Peters is a sought-after speaker and consultant, traveling extensively to advise corporations and public bodies on how to remain competitive and profitable. His impact on the corporate world has been wide-reaching and lasting and his teachings will remain relevant for many years to come. With each of his books, Peters strives to bridge the gap between managers and employees, assuring each stakeholder of his or her rightful place in the company’s success.