Management Theory of Tom Peters Key Terms

Stella Stewart

Sep 21, 2010

Understanding key terms of the Tom Peters management theory

Successful business leaders and managers around the world study and use the management theory of Tom Peters. Peters earned fame with his book titled "In Search of Excellence," which revealed the results of his research on companies known for quality management and leadership. Peters shared his findings, including details on the qualities shared by efficient managers and effective leaders in the companies.

Tom Peters and his colleagues emphasize the importance of formulating an effective business strategy for developing a dynamic organization. He notes the importance of leaders who nurture all relationships and make a conscious effort to show gratitude to employees, customers and partners for their work, their business and their loyalty.

Stick to the knitting

Tom Peters and his team continue to lead the way with information on the management of organizational behavior. His theory is to encourage managers to stick to the knitting, or, in other words, concentrate on the business that you know best. In his view, organizations encounter problems when expanding into new fields outside of their expertise.

Culture of innovation

Organizational leaders continue to look to their most successful peers to find guidance for improvement. The management theory of Tom Peters provides a foundation for sculpting an excellent organization by creating a culture of innovation. Leaders build on this foundation and apply the principles to real, daily concerns, including angry customers, discouraged employees and incompetent suppliers.

Productivity through people

Tom Peters proposed that organizational change should focus on productivity through people for maximum success. This guru of management theory focused on starting immediately to change organizational behavior in a thoughtful way by motivating people. Peters also noted that the changes should be marked with innovation in order to keep the organization viable.

Habitual leader

Tom Peters advocates a strong, highly involved leader and manager for every organization, and urges executives to interact with supervisors and employees on a daily basis. Peters also believes that each leader should develop good leadership habits and make use of these habits to improve his or her organization.

Shared values

Tom Peters' theory of quality management is built on elements that were common to successful companies. After he became the guru of quality management, he stressed these elements including the importance of shared values. He encourages management teams to discuss the importance shared values with the all the workers in an organization.

Strategic strength

Tom Peters leads a dynamic organization and he continues to coach leaders and managers on the key principles of his management theory. Although Peters and other experts at his organization present his ideas personally at various forums, his organization provides materials for use at management seminars and workshops. Included in most of his current speeches which are often available on the web or at the local library is his belief that excellence at all times will lead to strategic strength in an organization.

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Stella Stewart