Excellence & Leadership Reimagined: Tom Peters on Soft Skills, Culture & What Lasts | DisrupTV Ep. 116

In Episode 116 of DisrupTV, hosts R “Ray” Wang (Principal Analyst & Founder of Constellation Research) and Vala Afshar (Chief Digital Evangelist at Salesforce) welcome one of the most influential voices in modern management:

  • Tom Peters — Co-author of the groundbreaking bestseller In Search of Excellence and author of The Excellence Dividend. For more than four decades, Peters has shaped the way executives, entrepreneurs, and leaders think about management, culture, customer obsession, and the human side of business. His core message has remained consistent yet ever-relevant: excellence is not an aspiration but a daily practice.

In this conversation, Peters revisits his enduring principles—soft skills, empathy, listening, culture, and continuous learning—and applies them to the modern workplace, where disruption, digital transformation, and human connection intersect.

Major Themes & Insights

Soft Skills Trump Hard Skills
Drawing from research and real-world examples, Peters emphasizes that what most defines leadership excellence today are soft skills—being a good coach, communicating well, listening, seeing from others’ perspectives, empathy, and supporting others. Hard skills matter less than how you treat, enable, and grow others. 

Leadership & Culture as Longevity Drivers
Excellence isn’t a buzzword; it’s a pervasive culture. Peters argues that culture shapes outcomes, and that leaders should focus on culture, passion, relationships, and continuous learning. Excellence must be embedded. 

People Over Process
Peters warns about quantitative obsession: metrics, KPIs, efficiency. While necessary, they shouldn’t overshadow the human side—mentoring, creativity, and emotional intelligence. One “rotten apple” can spoil team culture. 

Lifelong Learning & Adaptability
The idea that excellence is perpetual—leaders and teams who keep educating themselves, anticipating change, and remaining curious maintain relevance. The best organizations are those that refuse to become complacent. 

Hiring, Empathy & Relationship Building
Key traits like listening, empathy, and enabling others are essential. Peters also highlights how opportunities as simple as lunches, conversations, relationship-building matter deeply for leadership, collaboration, and trust.

Final Thoughts & Implications for Leaders

  • Rebalance what you value: Soft skills, culture, relationships are not nice-to-haves—they’re foundational. Prioritize them alongside metrics and performance.
  • Culture as competitive advantage: Companies with strong cultures rooted in excellence are more resilient, adaptable, and sustainable.
  • Leadership is service: Helping others grow, listening well, fostering trust—these are not sidelined tasks but central leadership responsibilities.
  • Continuous reinvention: Even established principles (like excellence) must be revisited, refined, re-championed—especially in times of disruption.

Related Episodes

For more on leadership, culture, and organizational excellence, check out:

 

Business Research Themes

Future of Work, New C-Suite

Roles

Chief Executive Officer, Chief People Officer