A few of our staff members were able to hear Tom Peters speak in Washington, D.C., at the Georgetown bakery Baked and Wired last week. Blog coach extraordinaire Debbie Weil arranged the event as part of her “Sweets and Tweets” series. There were 50 or so attendees packed in the small shop, enjoying cupcakes and iced tea.

Despite being a business rock star, Peters is a down-to-earth guy, very friendly and approachable. He’s grateful for his good fortune and happy to share his knowledge with others.

Peters spoke about social media, demographics, privacy, gender differences and, of course, business.

Peters had a number of insightful comments. A few that stood out include:

• Social media is in its early stages and still inventing itself.
• Blogging is the most powerful marketing tool he’s ever used.
• The essential element of prosperity is connections.
• Innovation is not just a product of smart people, but an incredible number of connections.
• The four most important words at an organization are, “What do you think?”
• It’s all about relationships.
• All things being equal, people prefer doing business with people they like.
• Most importantly, being nice works.

Peters demonstrated that being nice does, in fact, work. By taking the time to arrive early and hang around afterwards, connecting with whoever wanted to chat, his reputation with the group, already high, rose even higher.