The Redbull of Management

There are those in your life that shape your thoughts and careers. For me in particular, there are two management thinkers that have shaped how I view business. The first is Peter Drucker who is called "The Father of Modern Management." His teachings and writings spanned a 65 year career starting with the publication in 1939 The End of Economic Man to his last publication in 2004 of The Daily Drucker. Peter Drucker passed away November 11, 2005 in Claremont, California. The second management thinker that affected our business thinking is "The Redbull of Management Thinking," Tom Peters. We will discuss their teachings and thoughts which have affected thinkers and students globally.

History of MBWA

One of the best concepts popularized by Tom Peters and his co-author Robert H. Waterman in their best seller In Search of Excellence: Lessons from America's Best Run Companies is MBWA. Most of us who are students of MBWA know that it is an acronym for "Management by Wandering Around" or also known as "Management by Walking Around." But the concept popularized by the book has been around since the 1970s. Tom Peters found MBWA while researching for the book at Hewlett Packard (HP). William Hewlett and David Packard, founders of HP, used and taught this concept to their managers. They even wrote a book on it called The HP Way. The real goal of MBWA is not just exercise but increasing interaction opportunities between senior management and employees. This is a simple concept that works flawlessly as we've used it throughout our careers effectively.

What stops you from excellence?

This question may sound counterintuitive as who would build a company without excellence. The reality is for one reason or the other the company that is built or that you manage becomes mediocre. The company becomes mediocre because of a disengaged workforce, a toxic culture, bad strategy, or more commonly bad leadership. This rot was built up in days, weeks, months, and years of forgotten maintenance on what excellence means. But what does it mean to be on the other side. Tom Peters sums it up in his book The Excellence Dividend perfectly. Excellence equals the next five minutes. We discuss this in a different blog on our website. So our question to you (the reader) is, "What stops you from excellence for people and humanity?" We are helping people answer this question through The PeopleFirst Academy.

The basics of management

For any business, management is an important factor in its success or failure. As Tom Peters has a nickname, Peter Drucker also had a name. Peter Drucker was known as "The Father of Modern Management Theory." This was due to his 65 year contribution to management theory and the 39 books that he wrote during his lifetime. The reason we are drawn to Peter Drucker is because he was a holistic thinker where he believed that businesses were components of a larger social system. The six concepts that Drucker was well known for included decentralization, knowledge work, workforce development, corporate social responsibility, organizational culture, and customer experience. Both of these thinkers have highly influenced us at The PeopleFirst Academy.

Leadership and Why it Matters

In times like COVID19, leadership is more important and vital to a company's health than ever. Drucker believed that a company's primary responsibility is to serve its customers. Profit is not the primary goal, but rather an essential condition for the company's continued existence and sustainability. He also believed in the notion that great companies could stand among mankind's noblest inventions. This is where the philosophical roots of The PeopleFirst Academy is born where we "stand among mankind's noblest inventions." It's something we admire about thinkers like Drucker and Peters where they are decades ahead in their vision. We are using these concepts to build a business with a rock-solid foundation of management and leadership thinking.

In these times of COVID19, leadership is sorely needed. Whether in business or politics or at that micro-level of a small mom-and-pop restaurant, the determinant to success or failure is leadership. Our leadership and management thinking is based faithfully on Peter Drucker's and Tom Peter's time-tested concepts and thinking. This is where The PeopleFirst Academy is training the next generation of Managers and Leaders. Our primary responsibility is to serve our customers. Our customer is YOU.

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Why Now?

By Tony Nguyen • 05 Jul, 2022

These last several years have been unprecedented for everyone with a global pandemic. In the United States alone (June 2022), over 1 million+ Americans have died from covid19. If we thought it couldn't get worse in 2022, we have a war in Ukraine, economic turmoil, and mass shootings. It's these events that have caused havoc on mental health and fitness for everyone. The consequences are devastating with an uptick in suicides and mental health illnesses.

Purpose Of Life

By Tony Nguyen • 01 Jul, 2020

Everyone will get to a point in their lives where they seek purpose. This search could have been caused by a job loss, a death in the family, or just a mid-life crisis. Viktor Frankl, a renowned psychiatrist, describes purpose in his book Man's Search for Meaning where he describes his life in a Nazi death camp. Frankl argues that we cannot avoid suffering but we can choose how to cope with it, find meaning in it, and move forward with renewed purpose. This is from his tragic experiences where his parents, brother, and pregnant wife all died in these Nazi death camps. We don't think about Life until we have an encounter with Death. Below is an excerpt from Frankl's book and the experiences of someone who escaped Death. And found his real PURPOSE OF LIFE . "And yet, Frankl argues that despite the hellish conditions, some prisoners rose above their pain and continued to treat their fellow prisoners with compassion . They exercised what little freedom they had within themselves and adjusted their attitude toward their suffering, even if they could not eliminate the root of that suffering . While surviving the camps was largely a matter of luck, Frankl writes that those who were able to keep themselves going without committing suicide or choosing to waste away tended to have something to live for, a higher purpose to pursue . He argues that those who dedicate their lives to something can face any pain or hardship. " The definition of purpose is, "the reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists." Keep this definition in mind as covid19 has forced individuals and businesses to question their purpose in life. What is important to you in Life? What is your POL? As many of you can guess from the title, POL is an acronym for Purpose Of Life. It's something each and every one of us will question at different stages in our Life. Without purpose, there is no meaning to Life. This leads us to the reason we built The PeopleFirst Academy. The purpose of The PeopleFirst Academy is to serve humanity by teaching organizations how to build People First cultures. The goal is to bring together a global community of people thinkers where "the power of the whole is greater than the sum of its parts." These thinkers are staunch advocates for the PeopleFirst Philosophy . These are the people practitioners who are on the front lines of the #PeopleFirst Revolution. Covid19 has exposed a lot of the inequalities in our society today. The divide between the rich and the poor. It has exposed the lack of diversity and inclusion. Covid19 has exposed that we only move forward by placing People First in business and politics. At The PeopleFirst Academy, we believe in serving humanity for the better. We believe in diversity and inclusion. We are believers in the Working Class. WE BELIEVE IN PEOPLE! "Surround yourself with the Dreamers and the Doers, the Believers, and Thinkers. But most of all, surround yourself with those who see greatness within YOU, even when you don't see it in yourself." -Edmund Lee- If you believe in our PURPOSE , make a decision and take the first step. #PeopleFirst JOIN US IN THIS REVOLUTION AT THE PEOPLEFIRST ACADEMY!

The Redbull of Management

By Tony Nguyen • 23 May, 2020

There are those in your life that shape your thoughts and careers. For me in particular, there are two management thinkers that have shaped how I view business. The first is Peter Drucker who is called "The Father of Modern Management." His teachings and writings spanned a 65 year career starting with the publication in 1939 The End of Economic Man to his last publication in 2004 of The Daily Drucker. Peter Drucker passed away November 11, 2005 in Claremont, California. The second management thinker that affected our business thinking is "The Redbull of Management Thinking," Tom Peters. We will discuss their teachings and thoughts which have affected thinkers and students globally.

The PeopleFirst Pledge

By People Engagement Team • 22 May, 2020

The PeopleFirst Academy is all about the People. Our Academy focuses on the study of human potential and how they create better PeopleFirst organizations. We are Thinkers bringing together a community of Leadership and Management Thinkers. A global community consisting of Entrepreneurs, Educators, Small Business Owners, Managers, and Students. We are developing leadership who are building great PeopleFirst organizations. The PeopleFirst Pledge is our stand for humanity and to use our power to change the world positively for all humans. The revolution is symbolized by the hashtag #PeopleFirst.