Tom Peters On the subprime crisis and The Art of War

I'm focusing on "common sense stuff" lately that I've picked up over the years—and presenting it in as straightforward a way as I can. (I have recently begun my public remarks with, "I am here under false pretenses. I have nothing interesting to say. I have flown 5,000 miles for the sole purpose of reminding you of things you've known for years or decades—which, alas, get lost in the shuffle of daily affairs.") I believe to my marrow that we fail to achieve excellence by failing to obsess on the basics—not because we couldn't decide precisely where in
the blue ocean we wanted to drop our anchor.

Thinking about sub prime mortgage mathematically derived packaging instruments and sports agents with sophisticated spin-driven negotiating tactics, doubtless based on "game theory" math, led me to a pair of quotes from an 18th century leader, N Bonaparte: "The art of war does not require complicated maneuvers; the simplest are the best, and common sense is fundamental. From which one might wonder how it is generals make blunders; it is because they try to be clever." "A military leader must possess as much character as intellect. Men who have a great deal of intelligence and little character are the least suited. It is preferable to have much character and little intellect." (Source: Jerry Manas, /Napoleon on Project Management) Manas claims that Napoleon's "six winning principles" were:
exactitude—sweat the details, speed, flexibility, simplicity, character,
moral force. This makes sense to me, especially since Manas' sextet
matches perfectly the approach of the two military figures I most
respect, Horatio Nelson and Ulysses Grant.)

There's one other quote that comes to mind, from Picasso: "Every child
is born an artist. The trick is to remain an artist." So, if we
(Napoleon's generals or commanding officers of 4-person training
departments) can somehow manage to hold dear those beloved basics of
childlike artistry, we will be well served, regardless of our chosen
field of practice.

Quoted from Tom Peters' Blog

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