Tom Peters
Thomas J. Peters (born November 7, 1942) is an American writer on business management practices, best known for In Search of Excellence (co-authored with Robert H. Waterman Jr.)
For other people named Tom Peters, see Tom Peters (disambiguation).
Tom Peters III
November 7, 1942
American
Author, consultant
Life and education[edit]
Peters was born in Baltimore, Maryland. He went to Severn School, a private, preparatory high school, graduating in 1960.[1] Peters then attended Cornell University, receiving a bachelor's degree in civil engineering in 1964,[2] and a master's degree in 1966.
He returned to academia in 1970 to study business at Stanford Business School[3] receiving an MBA followed by a PhD in Organizational Behavior in 1977. The title of his dissertation was "Patterns of Winning and Losing: Effects on Approach and Avoidance by Friends and Enemies."[4] Karl Weick credited Peters' dissertation with giving him the idea for his 1984 article:[5] "Small wins: Redefining the scale of social problems."[6]
While at Stanford, Peters was influenced by Jim G. March, Herbert Simon (both at Stanford), and Karl Weick (at the University of Michigan). Later, he noted that he was influenced by Douglas McGregor and Einar Thorsrud.[7]
In 2004, he also received an honorary doctorate from the State University of Management in Moscow.