The Case of the Two-Cent Candy

By 864 • March 10th, 2010

candy A couple of decades ago, consultant, writer, and “uberguru” of all things business, Tom Peters, told his story of the two-cent candy. There was a retail store in Palo Alto that had a box of candy available at checkout. For Peters, that candy was a last symbolic goodbye from store to customer — a gesture that says thank you and come again in simple sweet fashion for the price of two cents.

Peters revisits the story in his new book, The Little Big Things: 163 Ways to Pursue Excellence, a 400 page volume of 163 strategies and tips for successfully managing life and business. “Make ‘two-centing it’ part and parcel of ‘the way we do business around here.’ Don’t go light on the so-called substance—but do remember that … perception is reality … and perception is shaped by two-cent candies as much as by that so-called hard substance.”

Chris Brogan (author of the New York Times besteller Trust: Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation, and Earn Trust) reviews The Little Big Things, giving it a thumbs-up for offering tips that are “so simple you’ll kick yourself for not doing it already.”