Eight Attributes of Management Excellence

Searching for excellent organizations. Explanation of Eight Attributes of Management Excellence of Tom Peters and Bob Waterman.

The Eight Attributes of Management Excellence of Tom Peters and Bob Waterman were described in their management book: "In Search of Excellence". The research and theorizing of the book was based on the McKinsey 7-S model.
 

Eight Attributes of Management Excellence

1. A Bias for Action.
2. Close to the Customer.
3. Autonomy and Entrepreneurship.
4. Productivity through People.
5. Hands-on, Value-driven.
6. Stick to the Knitting.
7. Simple Form, Lean Staff.
8. Simultaneous loose-tight Properties.

The last attribute (Simultaneous loose-tight Properties) is a summary of the other 7, according to Peters and Waterman. "Simultaneous loose-tight properties is in essence the coexistence of the central direction and maximum individual autonomy of a company... Organizations that live by the loose-tight principle are on the one hand rigidly controlled. Yet at the same time they allow (indeed, insist on): autonomy, entrepreneurship, and innovation from the rank and file".

Peters said in a 2001 interview that a ninth item should be added to the list:

9. Capabilities concerning ideas, liberation, and speed.

Book: Tom Peters and Bob Waterman - In Search of Excellence -

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